He put forth his hand, and caught it - Considering the light in which Moses had viewed this serpent, it required considerable faith to induce him thus implicitly to obey the command of God; but he obeyed, and the noxious serpent became instantly the miraculous rod in his hand! Implicit faith and obedience conquer all difficulties; and he who believes in God, and obeys him in all things, has really nothing to fear. read more
That they may believe - This is an example of what is called an imperfect or unfinished speech, several of which occur in the sacred writings. It may be thus supplied: Do this before them, that they may believe that the Lord hath appeared unto thee. read more
His hand was leprous as snow - That is, the leprosy spread itself over the whole body in thin white scales; and from this appearance it has its Greek name λεπρα , from λεπις , a scale. Dr. Mead says, "I have seen a remarkable case of this in a countryman, whose whole body was so miserably seized with it, that his skin was shining as if covered with snow; and as the surfuraceous scales were daily rubbed off, the flesh appeared quick or raw underneath." The leprosy, at least among the... read more
If they will not believe - the voice of the first sign, etc. - Probably intimating that some would be more difficult to be persuaded than others: some would yield to the evidence of the first miracle; others would hesitate till they had seen the second; and others would not believe till they had seen the water of the Nile turned into blood, when poured upon the dry land; Exodus 4:9 . read more
I am not eloquent - דברים איש לא lo ish debarim , I am not a man of words; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job 11:2 , שפתים איש ish sephathayim , a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Psalm 140:11 , לשון איש ish lashon , a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts, Acts 7:22 , that he was mighty in words as well as in deeds? There are three ways of solving this difficulty: Moses... read more
Who hath made man's mouth? etc. - Cannot he who formed the mouth, the whole organs of speech, and hath given the gift of speech also, cannot he give utterance? God can take away those gifts and restore them again. Do not provoke him: he who created the eye, the ear, and the mouth, hath also made the blind, the deaf, and the dumb. read more
I will be with thy mouth - The Chaldee translates, My Word, meimeri , shall be with thy mouth. And Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases, I and my Word will be with the speech of thy mouth. See Clarke on Genesis 15:1 ; (note), and Leviticus 25:10 ; (note). read more
Send - by the hand of him whom thou wilt send - Many commentators, both ancient and modern, have thought that Moses prays here for the immediate mission of the Messiah; as if he had said: "Lord, thou hast purposed to send this glorious person at some time or other, I beseech thee send him now, for who can be sufficient to deliver and rule this people but himself alone?" The Hebrew תשלח ביד נא שלח shelach na beyad tishlach literally translated is, Send now (or, I beseech thee) by the hand... read more
And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses - Surely this would not have been the case had he only in modesty, and from a deep sense of his own unfitness, desired that the Messiah should be preferred before him. But the whole connection shows that this interpretation is unfounded. Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? - Houbigant endeavors to prove from this that Moses, in Exodus 4:13 , did pray for the immediate mission of the Messiah, and that God gives him here a reason why... read more
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Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 4:3
A serpent - Of what sort we know not, as the word נחש nachash is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Genesis 3:1 ; : but it was either of a kind that he had not seen before, or one that he knew to be dangerous; for it is said, he fled from before it. Some suppose the staff was changed into a crocodile; see Clarke on Exodus 7:10 ; (note). read more