Exodus 4:8 ASV

The Pulpit Commentary - Exodus 4:8

The voice of the first sign . Some understand "the voice of Moses as he gave them the first sign;" but it is better to regard the sign itself as speaking to them. According to the sacred writers everything that can teach us anything—day, night, the heavens, the firmament, the beasts, the fowls of the air, the fishes, nay, the very stones—have a voice. They teach us, speak to us, declare to us, cry out aloud, lift up their voice, shout, sing, proclaim God's will, whether man will hear or... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 4:8

Exodus 4:8. The voice of the first sign The expression here is peculiarly proper and forcible; for God’s works have a voice as well as his word, to which we ought diligently to attend. And these miracles spoke aloud in the ear of reason, and said, Believe in him whom God hath sent. Bishop Warburton observes here (see Divine Legation, book 4, sect. 4) that “in the first ages of the world, men being obliged to supply the deficiencies of language by significant signs, mutual converse... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 4:1-17

God gives his power to Moses (4:1-17)In reply to Moses’ further complaints that the people of Israel would not believe God had sent him, God enabled Moses to perform three startling signs. The Israelites had no doubt seen magicians in Egypt and such signs would impress them. But they would see that what Moses demonstrated was more than mere magic (4:1-9).At times Moses himself showed a tendency towards the same disbelief as he suspected in his fellow Israelites. Whether his claim to be... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 4:8

voice . Figure of speech Prosopopoeia ( App-6 ), by which the "sign" is personified. read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 4:6-8

"And Jehovah said furthermore unto him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. And he said, Put thy hand into thy bosom again. (And he put his hand into his bosom again; and when he took it out of his bosom, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh). And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign."This second... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 4:8

Exodus 4:8. That they will believe the voice of the latter sign— This perhaps might be better rendered, they MAY believe; for GOD doth not so much foretel what will happen, as what is the purpose and design of these miracles: asserting, that, if the first do not prevail with some, the second may: against both which, however, if any should stand out, he enables Moses to work a third, which shall prove more convincing than the others. There is great beauty in the expression, the voice of the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 4:1-9

God gave Moses three miracles to convince the Israelites that the God of their fathers had appeared to him. They also served to bolster Moses’ faith. Moses had left Egypt and the Israelites with a clouded reputation under the sentence of death, and he had been away for a long time. He needed to prove to his brethren that they could trust and believe him. Not only were these miracles strong proofs of God’s power, but they appear to have had special significance for the Israelites as well (cf.... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 4:1-18

6. Moses’ call 3:1-4:18 read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 4:1-31

Signs Attesting the Commission of Moses. His Return to EgyptMoses still hesitates, and now objects that the péople will not believe him when he tells them that Jehovah has sent him. He is granted the power of working three signs by way of substantiating his commission.2. A rod] probably his shepherd’s staff.3. Fled from before it] A graphic trait, showing that the change was real, and that Moses was not prepared for it. 4. By the tail] Snake charmers usually take snakes by the neck to prevent... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 4:8

(8) The voice of the first sign.—Not “the voice of Moses witnessed to by the first sign” (Rosenmüller), but the voice, which the sign itself might be regarded as uttering. (Comp. Psalms 105:27, where Moses and Aaron are said to have proclaimed “the words of God’s signs.”) A miracle speaks to men.They will believe, i.e., most of them. Accustomed to the tricks of the serpent charmers (see Exodus 7:11 and comment ad loc.), the Israelites might be unmoved by the sight of the first miracle. They... read more