Exodus 4:10
in Exodus 4“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses said unto Jehovah, Oh, Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; for I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseMoses himself once said: "I am alogos"("wordless"). The Latin version uses a different expression, but we can translate the word alogos exactly as "without words and reason." After he said this, he received reason and speech, which he admitted that he did not have before. When the people of Israel were in Egypt, before they had received the law, they too were without words and reason and thus in a sense mute. Then they received the Word; Moses was the image of it.
This site's exposition
I am not eloquent
on Exodus 4:10-12
The next objection is his own mouth, and the Hebrew idiom behind slow of speech reads as heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue. God's answer moves off the mouth and onto its maker, naming the dumb and the deaf and the blind as his own doing, then promising to be with the mouth and to teach it what to say. Acts 7:22 says Moses was mighty in words and in deeds, and readers have long set that beside this verse without settling how the two fit together.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
I am not eloquent - לא איש דברים lo ish debarim, I am not a man of words; a periphrasis common in the Scriptures. So Job 11:2, איש שפתים ish sephathayim, a man of lips, signifies one that is talkative. Psa 140:11, איש לשון ish lashon, a man of tongue, signifies a prattler. But how could it be said that Moses was not eloquent, when St. Stephen asserts, Act 7:22, that he was mighty in words as well as in deeds? There are three ways of solving this difficulty:
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
on Exodus 4:10-13
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.
The words behind it
25 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָה֮ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בִּ֣י | bi | pardon me | H994 → | |
| אֲדֹנָי֒ | ʾadonai | O Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| לֹא֩ | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אִ֨ישׁ | ʾish | [am] a man of | H376 → | 1663 times |
| דְּבָרִ֜ים | devarim | words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אָנֹ֗כִי | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| גַּ֤ם | gam | neither | H1571 → | 769 times |
| מִתְּמוֹל֙ | mitemol | from yesterday | H8543 → | 23 times |
| גַּ֣ם | gam | nor | H1571 → | 769 times |
| מִשִּׁלְשֹׁ֔ם | mishilshom | from three days ago | H8032 → | 24 times |
| גַּ֛ם | gam | nor | H1571 → | 769 times |
| מֵאָ֥ז | meaz | from then | H227 → | 141 times |
| דַּבֶּרְךָ | daberkha | speaking you | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עַבְדֶּ֑ךָ | ʾavdekha | servant your | H5650 → | 799 times |
| כִּ֧י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כְבַד־ | khevad- | [am] heavy of | H3515 → | 41 times |
| פֶּ֛ה | peh | mouth | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וּכְבַ֥ד | ukhevad | and heavy of | H3515 → | 41 times |
| לָשׁ֖וֹן | lashon | tongue | H3956 → | |
| אָנֹֽכִי׃ | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
יְהוָה֮Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בִּ֣יpardon me
biH994 →
אֲדֹנָי֒O Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
לֹא֩not
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אִ֨ישׁ[am] a man of
ʾishH376 →1663 times
דְּבָרִ֜יםwords
devarimH1697 →1440 times
אָנֹ֗כִיI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
גַּ֤םneither
gamH1571 →769 times
מִתְּמוֹל֙from yesterday
mitemolH8543 →23 times
גַּ֣םnor
gamH1571 →769 times
מִשִּׁלְשֹׁ֔םfrom three days ago
mishilshomH8032 →24 times
גַּ֛םnor
gamH1571 →769 times
מֵאָ֥זfrom then
meazH227 →141 times
דַּבֶּרְךָspeaking you
daberkhaH1696 →1141 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
עַבְדֶּ֑ךָservant your
ʾavdekhaH5650 →799 times
כִּ֧יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
כְבַד־[am] heavy of
khevad-H3515 →41 times
פֶּ֛הmouth
pehH6310 →498 times
וּכְבַ֥דand heavy of
ukhevadH3515 →41 times
לָשׁ֖וֹןtongue
lashonH3956 →
אָנֹֽכִי׃I
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Jeremiah 1:6“Ah, Lord GOD,” I said, “I surely do not know how to speak, for I am only a child!”
it leads to
- Exodus 4:10–16
“Please, Lord,” Moses replied, “I have never been eloquent, neither in the past nor since You have spoken to Your servant, for I am slow of speech and tongue.”
- Exodus 6:12
But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “If the Israelites will not listen to me, then why would Pharaoh listen to me, since I am unskilled in speech?”
- Jeremiah 32:17
“Oh, Lord GOD! You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You!
- 1 Kings 3:7–9
And now, O LORD my God, You have made Your servant king in my father David’s place. But I am only a little child, not knowing how to go out or come in.
- Exodus 4:10–16
Through
2 Corinthians 11:6Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.
it leads to
- Ephesians 3:4
In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
- 1 Corinthians 1:17
For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
- 1 Corinthians 1:21
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.
- 2 Corinthians 4:2
Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…
- Ephesians 3:4
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF LUKE 5:3.