Exodus 4:2

World English Bible

Contextual Overview

¹ Moses answered, "But, behold, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, 'Yahweh has not appeared to you.'" ² Yahweh said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod." ³ He said, "Throw it on the ground." He threw it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses ran away from it. ⁴ Yahweh said to Moses, "Put forth your hand, and take it by the tail." He put forth his hand, and laid hold of it, and it became a rod in his hand. ⁵ "That they may believe that Yahweh, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has appeared to you." ⁶ Yahweh said furthermore to him, "Now put your hand inside your cloak." He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow. ⁷ He said, "Put your hand inside your cloak again." He put his hand inside his cloak again, and when he took it out of his cloak, behold, it had turned again as his other flesh. ⁸ "It will happen, if they will neither believe you nor listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. ⁹ It will happen, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take of the water of the river, and pour it on the dry land. The water which you take out of the river will become blood on the dry land."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

a rod: Exodus 4:17, Exodus 4:20, Genesis 30:37, Leviticus 27:32, Psalms 110:2, Isaiah 11:4, Micah 7:14

Reciprocal: Exodus 4:30 - did the Exodus 7:9 - Take Exodus 7:15 - the rod Exodus 14:16 - lift Exodus 17:9 - the rod Numbers 17:2 - twelve rods Numbers 20:8 - the rod Numbers 22:9 - What men 2 Kings 13:17 - The arrow

Cross-References

Genesis 3:23
Therefore Yahweh God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken.

Genesis 4:25
Adam knew his wife again. She gave birth to a son, and named him Seth. For, she said, "God has appointed me another child instead of Abel, for Cain killed him."

Genesis 4:26
There was also born a son to Seth, and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on Yahweh's name.

Genesis 9:20
Noah began to be a farmer, and planted a vineyard.

Genesis 37:13
Israel said to Joseph, "Aren't your brothers feeding the flock in Shechem? Come, and I will send you to them." He said to him, "Here I am."

Genesis 47:3
Pharaoh said to his brothers, "What is your occupation?" They said to Pharaoh, "Your servants are shepherds, both we, and our fathers."

Exodus 3:1
Now Moses was keeping the flock of Jethro, his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the back of the wilderness, and came to God's mountain, to Horeb.

Psalms 127:3
Behold, children are a heritage of Yahweh. The fruit of the womb is his reward.

Amos 7:15
and Yahweh took me from following the flock, and Yahweh said to me, 'Go, prophesy to my people Israel.'

Luke 11:51
from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.' Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And the Lord said unto him,.... Not reproving him for contradicting him, or showing any diffidence of what he had said; but rather as approving the hint he gave of having some sign or miracle wrought, to command from the Israelites an assent unto him, as commissioned of God to deliver them:

what [is] that in thine hand? which question is put, not as being ignorant of what it was, but to lead on to what he had further to say, and to the working of the miracle:

and he said, a rod; or staff, such as shepherds use in the management of their flocks, for Moses was now feeding the flock of his father-in-law; but Aben Ezra seems rather to think it was a walking staff, such as ancient men lean upon, since Moses did not go to Pharaoh after the manner of a shepherd; yea, it may be added, he went with the authority of a prince or ruler of Israel, and even with the authority of the ambassador of the King of kings.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

A rod - The word seems to denote the long staff which on Egyptian monuments is borne by men in positions of authority. It was usually made of acacia wood.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Exodus 4:2. A rod. — מתה matteh, a staff, probably his shepherd's crook; see Leviticus 27:32. As it was made the instrument of working many miracles, it was afterwards called the rod of God; see Exodus 4:20.