1Odpověděl pak Mojžíš, a řekl: Aj, neuvěří mi, ani uposlechnou hlasu mého; nebo řeknou: Neukázalť se tobě Hospodin. 2Tedy řekl jemu Hospodin: Co jest to v ruce tvé? Odpověděl: Hůl. 3I řekl: Vrz ji na zem. I povrhl ji na zem, a obrácena jest v hada; a utíkal Mojžíš před ním. 4Tedy řekl Hospodin Mojžíšovi: Vztáhni ruku svou, a chyť ho za ocas. Kterýžto vztáh ruku svou, chytil jej, a obrácen jest v hůl v rukou jeho. 5Aby věřili, že se ukázal tobě Hospodin, Bůh otců jejich, Bůh Abrahamův, Bůh Izákův a Bůh Jákobův. 6Potom zase řekl jemu Hospodin: Vlož nyní ruku svou za ňadra svá. I vložil ruku svou za ňadra svá; a vyňal ji, a aj, ruka jeho byla malomocná, bílá jako sníh. 7Řekl opět: Vlož ruku svou zase v ňadra svá. Kterýž vložil ruku svou zase v ňadra svá; a vyňal ji z ňader svých, a aj, učiněna jest zase jako jiné tělo jeho. 8I budeť, jestliže neuvěří tobě, a neposlechnou hlasu a znamení prvního, uvěří hlasu a znamení druhému. 9A pakli neuvěří ani těm dvěma znamením, a neuposlechnou hlasu tvého, tedy nabereš vody z řeky, a vyliješ ji na zem; a promění se vody, kteréž vezmeš z řeky, a obrátí se v krev na zemi. 10I řekl Mojžíš Hospodinu: Prosím, Pane, nejsem muž výmluvný, aniž prvé, ani jakž jsi mluvil s služebníkem svým; nebo zpozdilých úst a neohbitého jazyku jsem. 11Jemuž odpověděl Hospodin: Kdo dal ústa člověku? Aneb kdo může učiniti němého, neb hluchého, vidoucího, neb slepého? Zdali ne já Hospodin? 12Nyní tedy jdi, a já budu v ústech tvých, a naučím tě, co bys mluviti měl. 13I řekl: Slyš mne, Pane, pošli, prosím, toho, kteréhož poslati máš. 14A rozhněvav se velmi Hospodin na Mojžíše, řekl: Zdaliž nemáš Arona bratra svého z pokolení Léví? Vím, že on výmluvný jest; ano aj, sám vyjde v cestu tobě, a vida tebe, radovati se bude v srdci svém. 15Ty mluviti budeš k němu, a vložíš slova v ústa jeho; a já budu v ústech tvých a v ústech jeho, a naučím vás, co byste měli činiti. 16A on mluviti bude za tebe k lidu; a bude tobě on za ústa, a ty budeš jemu za Boha. 17Hůl pak tuto vezmeš v ruku svou, kterouž činiti budeš ta znamení. 18Tedy odšed Mojžíš, navrátil se k Jetrovi tchánu svému, a řekl jemu: Nechť jdu nyní, a navrátím se k bratřím svým, kteříž jsou v Egyptě, a pohledím, jsou-li ještě živi. I řekl Jetro Mojžíšovi: Jdi v pokoji. 19Nebo řekl byl Hospodin Mojžíšovi v zemi Madianské: Jdi, navrať se do Egypta; nebo zemřeli jsou všickni muži, kteříž hledali bezživotí tvého. 20A vzav Mojžíš ženu svou, a syny své, vsadil je na osla, aby se navrátil do země Egyptské; vzal také Mojžíš hůl Boží v ruku svou. 21I řekl Hospodin Mojžíšovi: Když půjdeš a navrátíš se do Egypta, hleď, abys všecky zázraky, kteréž jsem složil v ruce tvé, činil před Faraonem. Jáť pak zatvrdím srdce jeho, aby nepropustil lidu. 22Protož díš Faraonovi: Toto praví Hospodin: Syn můj, prvorozený můj jest Izrael. 23I řekl jsem tobě: Propusť syna mého, ať slouží mi; a nechtěl jsi ho propustiti. Aj, já zabiji syna tvého, prvorozeného tvého. 24I stalo se, když byl Mojžíš na cestě v hospodě, že se obořil na něj Hospodin, a hledal ho usmrtiti. 25Tedy vzala Zefora nůž ostrý, a obřezala neobřízku syna svého, kteroužto vrhla k nohám jeho, řkuci: Zajisté ženich krví jsi mi. 26I nechal ho. Ona pak nazvala ho tehdáž ženichem krví pro obřezání. 27Řekl také Hospodin Aronovi: Jdi vstříc Mojžíšovi na poušť. I šel a potkal se s ním na hoře Boží, a políbil ho. 28A vypravoval Mojžíš Aronovi všecka slova Hospodinova, kterýž ho poslal, i o všech znameních, kteráž přikázal jemu. 29Tedy šel Mojžíš s Aronem, a shromáždili všecky starší synů Izraelských. 30I mluvil Aron všecka slova, kteráž byl mluvil Hospodin k Mojžíšovi, a činil znamení před očima lidu. 31A uvěřil lid, když uslyšeli, že navštívil Hospodin syny Izraelské, a že viděl ssoužení jejich. A sklonivše se, poklonu učinili.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 MIRACULOUS CHANGE OF THE ROD, &c. (Exo. 4:1-31)
But, behold--Hebrew, "If," "perhaps," "they will not believe me."--What evidence can I produce of my divine mission? There was still a want of full confidence, not in the character and divine power of his employer, but in His presence and power always accompanying him. He insinuated that his communication might be rejected and he himself treated as an impostor.
2 the Lord said, . . . What is that in thine hand?--The question was put not to elicit information which God required, but to draw the particular attention of Moses.
A rod--probably the shepherd's crook--among the Arabs, a long staff, with a curved head, varying from three to six feet in length.
6 Put now thine hand into thy bosom--the open part of his outer robe, worn about the girdle.
9 take of the water of the river--Nile. Those miracles, two of which were wrought then, and the third to be performed on his arrival in Goshen, were at first designed to encourage him as satisfactory proofs of his divine mission, and to be repeated for the special confirmation of his embassy before the Israelites.
10 I am not eloquent--It is supposed that Moses labored under a natural defect of utterance or had a difficulty in the free and fluent expression of his ideas in the Egyptian language, which he had long disused. This new objection was also overruled, but still Moses, who foresaw the manifold difficulties of the undertaking, was anxious to be freed from the responsibility.
14 the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses--The Divine Being is not subject to ebullitions of passion; but His displeasure was manifested by transferring the honor of the priesthood, which would otherwise have been bestowed on Moses, to Aaron, who was from this time destined to be the head of the house of Levi (
1Chr 23:13). Marvellous had been His condescension and patience in dealing with Moses; and now every remaining scruple was removed by the unexpected and welcome intelligence that his brother Aaron was to be his colleague. God knew from the beginning what Moses would do, but He reserves this motive to the last as the strongest to rouse his languid heart, and Moses now fully and cordially complied with the call. If we are surprised at his backwardness amidst all the signs and promises that were given him, we must admire his candor and honesty in recording it.
18 Moses . . . returned to Jethro--Being in his service, it was right to obtain his consent, but Moses evinced piety, humility, and prudence, in not divulging the special object of his journey.
19 all the men are dead which sought thy life--The death of the Egyptian monarch took place in the four hundred and twenty-ninth year of the Hebrew sojourn in that land, and that event, according to the law of Egypt, took off his proscription of Moses, if it had been publicly issued.
20 Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass--Septuagint, "asses." Those animals are not now used in the desert of Sinai except by the Arabs for short distances.
returned--entered on his journey towards Egypt.
he took the rod of God--so called from its being appropriated to His service, and because whatever miracles it might be employed in performing would be wrought not by its inherent properties, but by a divine power following on its use. (Compare
Acts 3:12).
24 inn--Hebrew, "a halting place for the night."
the Lord met him, and sought to kill him--that is, he was either overwhelmed with mental distress or overtaken by a sudden and dangerous malady. The narrative is obscure, but the meaning seems to be, that, led during his illness to a strict self-examination, he was deeply pained and grieved at the thought of having, to please his wife, postponed or neglected the circumcision of one of his sons, probably the younger. To dishonor that sign and seal of the covenant was criminal in any Hebrew, peculiarly so in one destined to be the leader and deliverer of the Hebrews; and he seems to have felt his sickness as a merited chastisement for his sinful omission. Concerned for her husband's safety, Zipporah overcomes her maternal feelings of aversion to the painful rite, performs herself, by means of one of the sharp flints with which that part of the desert abounds, an operation which her husband, on whom the duty devolved, was unable to do, and having brought the bloody evidence, exclaimed in the painful excitement of her feelings that from love to him she had risked the life of her child [CALVIN, BULLINGER, ROSENMULLER].
26 So he let him go--Moses recovered; but the remembrance of this critical period in his life would stimulate the Hebrew legislator to enforce a faithful attention to the rite of circumcision when it was established as a divine ordinance in Israel, and made their peculiar distinction as a people.
27 Aaron met him in the mount of God, and kissed him--After a separation of forty years, their meeting would be mutually happy. Similar are the salutations of Arab friends when they meet in the desert still; conspicuous is the kiss on each side of the head.
29 Moses and Aaron went--towards Egypt, Zipporah and her sons having been sent back. (Compare
Exod 18:2).
gathered . . . all the elders--Aaron was spokesman, and Moses performed the appointed miracles--through which "the people" (that is, the elders) believed (
1Kgs 17:24;
Josh 3:2) and received the joyful tidings of the errand on which Moses had come with devout thanksgiving. Formerly they had slighted the message and rejected the messenger. Formerly Moses had gone in his own strength; now he goes leaning on God, and strong only through faith in Him who had sent him. Israel also had been taught a useful lesson, and it was good for both that they had been afflicted.