Exodus 4

Exodus · Chapter 4

Exodus 4:20

1And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say, The LORD hath not appeared unto thee.2And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.3And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.4And the LORD said unto Moses, Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand:5That they may believe that the LORD God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.6And the LORD said furthermore unto him, Put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow.7And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again. And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his other flesh.8And 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.9And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.10And Moses said unto the LORD, O my LORD, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.11And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?12Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.13And he said, O my LORD, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.14And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.15And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do.16And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.17And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs.18And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father in law, and said unto him, Let me go, I pray thee, and return unto my brethren which are in Egypt, and see whether they be yet alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace.19And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.21And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.22And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:23And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.24And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the LORD met him, and sought to kill him.25Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.26So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.27And the LORD said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.28And Moses told Aaron all the words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which he had commanded him.29And Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the children of Israel:30And Aaron spake all the words which the LORD had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.31And the people believed: and when they heard that the LORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped.

King James Version (1769)

Other translations

VerseKJVBSBASV
20And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

In context

Who is speaking and to whom, what is happening, when and where, and why it matters, each with its sources. Coming with the context cards.

Where

Locations from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Some ancient sites are uncertain.

Original Hebrew words

EnglishHebrewSay itStrong'sMeaning
and he tookוַיִּקַּ֨חvai-yi-KACHH3947G
to take: take

לָקַח (la.qach) : take 1) to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to take, take in the hand 1a2) to take and carry along 1a3) to take from, take out of, take, carry away, take away 1a4) to take to or for a person, procure, get, take possession of, select, choose, take in marriage, receive, accept 1a5) to take up or upon, put upon 1a6) to fetch 1a7) to take, lead, conduct 1a8) to take, capture, seize 1a9) to take, carry off 1a10) to take (vengeance) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be captured 1b2) to be taken away, be removed …

Mosesמֹשֶׁ֜הmo-SHEHH4872
Moses

מְנַשֶּׁה (me.nash.sheh) A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Exo.2.10; son of: Amram (H6019) and Jochebed (H3115); brother of: Aaron (H0175) and Miriam (H4813); married to Zipporah (H6855); father of: Gershom (H1647) and Eliezer (H0461H); also called Manasseh at Jdg.18.30(?) Another name of mo.sheh (מֹשֶׁה "Moses" H4872) § Manasseh = "causing to forget" 1) the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh 1a) the tribe descended from Manasseh 1b) the territory occupied by the tribe of Manasseh …

wife hisאִשְׁתּ֣וֹ'ish-TOH0802H
woman

אִשָּׁה (ish.shah) : woman 1) woman, wife, female 1a) woman (opposite of man) 1b) wife (woman married to a man) 1c) female (of animals) 1d) each, every (pronoun)

sons hisבָּנָ֗יוba-NAVH1121A
son: child

בֵּן (ben) : child/son

and he made ride themוַיַּרְכִּבֵם֙vai-yar-ki-VEMH7392
to ride

רָכַב (ra.khav) 1) to mount and ride, ride 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to mount, mount and sit or ride 1a2) to ride, be riding 1a3) rider (subst) 1b) (Hiphil) 1b1) to cause to ride, cause to (mount and) ride 1b2) to cause to draw (plough, etc) 1b3) to cause to ride upon (fig)

onעַֽל־'al-H5921A
upon

עַל (al) prep 1) upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against 1a) upon, on the ground of, on the basis of, on account of, because of, therefore, on behalf of, for the sake of, for, with, in spite of, notwithstanding, concerning, in the matter of, as regards 1b) above, beyond, over (of excess) 1c) above, over (of elevation or pre-eminence) 1d) upon, to, over to, unto, in addition to, together with, with (of addition) 1e) over (of suspension or extension) …

the donkeyהַחֲמֹ֔רha-cha-MORH2543
donkey

חֲמוֹר (cha.mor) (he) ass

and he returnedוַיָּ֖שָׁבvai-YA-shovH7725G
to return: return

שׁוּב (shuv) : return 1) to return, turn back 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to turn back, return 1a1a) to turn back 1a1b) to return, come or go back 1a1c) to return unto, go back, come back 1a1d) of dying 1a1e) of human relations (fig) 1a1f) of spiritual relations (fig) 1a1f1) to turn back (from God), apostatise 1a1f2) to turn away (of God) 1a1f3) to turn back (to God), repent 1a1f4) turn back (from evil) 1a1g) of inanimate things 1a1h) in repetition 1b) (Polel) 1b1) to bring back 1b2) to restore, refresh, repair (fig) 1b3) to lead away (enticingly) 1b4) to show turning, apostatise 1c) (Pual) restored (participle) …

[the] land of towardsאַ֣רְצָה'AR-tzahH0776G
land: country/planet

אֶ֫רֶץ (e.rets) : country/field 1) land, earth 1a) earth 1a1) whole earth (as opposed to a part) 1a2) earth (as opposed to heaven) 1a3) earth (inhabitants) 1b) land 1b1) country, territory 1b2) district, region 1b3) tribal territory 1b4) piece of ground 1b5) land of Canaan, Israel 1b6) inhabitants of land 1b7) Sheol, land without return, (under) world 1b8) city (-state) 1c) ground, surface of the earth 1c1) ground 1c2) soil 1d) (in phrases) 1d1) people of the land 1d2) space or distance of country (in measurements of distance) 1d3) level or plain country 1d4) land of the living 1d5) end(s) of the earth …

Egyptמִצְרָ֑יִםmitz-RA-yimH4714G
Egypt

מָצוֹר (ma.tsor) "Matsor", a name for Egypt Another spelling of mits.ra.yim (מִצְרַ֫יִם "Egypt" H4714G) This name means siege, entrenchment

and he tookוַיִּקַּ֥חvai-yi-KACHH3947G
to take: take

לָקַח (la.qach) : take 1) to take, get, fetch, lay hold of, seize, receive, acquire, buy, bring, marry, take a wife, snatch, take away 1a) (Qal) 1a1) to take, take in the hand 1a2) to take and carry along 1a3) to take from, take out of, take, carry away, take away 1a4) to take to or for a person, procure, get, take possession of, select, choose, take in marriage, receive, accept 1a5) to take up or upon, put upon 1a6) to fetch 1a7) to take, lead, conduct 1a8) to take, capture, seize 1a9) to take, carry off 1a10) to take (vengeance) 1b) (Niphal) 1b1) to be captured 1b2) to be taken away, be removed …

Mosesמֹשֶׁ֛הmo-SHEHH4872
Moses

מְנַשֶּׁה (me.nash.sheh) A man of the tribe of Levi living at the time of Egypt and Wilderness, first mentioned at Exo.2.10; son of: Amram (H6019) and Jochebed (H3115); brother of: Aaron (H0175) and Miriam (H4813); married to Zipporah (H6855); father of: Gershom (H1647) and Eliezer (H0461H); also called Manasseh at Jdg.18.30(?) Another name of mo.sheh (מֹשֶׁה "Moses" H4872) § Manasseh = "causing to forget" 1) the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh 1a) the tribe descended from Manasseh 1b) the territory occupied by the tribe of Manasseh …

[the] staff ofמַטֵּ֥הma-TEHH4294G
tribe: rod

מַטֶּה (mat.teh) : rod/staff 1) staff, branch, tribe 1a) staff, rod, shaft 1b) branch (of vine) 1c) tribe 1c1) company led by chief with staff (originally)

the Godהָאֱלֹהִ֖יםha-'E-lo-HIMH0430G
God

אֱלֹהִים (e.lo.him) This name means "gods" (plural intensive-singular meaning), "God" Another name of ye.ho.vah (יהוה "LORD" H3068G)

in hand hisבְּיָדֽוֹ׃be-ya-DOH3027G
hand

יָד (yad) : hand/arm[anatomy] 1) hand 1a) hand (of man) 1b) strength, power (fig.) 1c) side (of land), part, portion (metaph.) (fig.) 1d) (various special, technical senses) 1d1) sign, monument 1d2) part, fractional part, share 1d3) time, repetition 1d4) axle-trees, axle 1d5) stays, support (for laver) 1d6) tenons (in tabernacle) 1d7) a phallus, a hand (meaning unsure) 1d8) wrists

Words and meanings from STEPBible data (Tyndale House, Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). The capitalized syllable is the stressed one.