Exodus 4:20
in Exodus 4So 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Moses took his wife, and his sons,.... Gershom and Eliezer; by which it appears that he intended to stay in Egypt, and that he believed that God would work deliverance by him: and set them upon an ass: which though with us a mean creature, yet in those times and countries were rode upon by great personages; and these, as Aben Ezra says, were reckoned in Egypt more honourable than mules.
This site's exposition
set them upon an ass
Moses carries a wife and sons back into the country he fled, and the text says sons in the plural though only Gershom has been named, at Exodus 2:22. The second is Eliezer, named at Exodus 18:4 on the day the family is sent back out again. The staff becomes the rod of God in this verse, which is what a shepherd's stick is called once God has told a man what to do with it.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
What was said above, that Moses placed his wife and his children on carts so that he might go with them into Egypt, but afterwards his father-in-law Jethro met him with them [in his company], after Moses had led the people out of Egypt, one can ask how both assertions can be true. One should realize that after the killing of Moses or of the child that the angel was going to carry out, his wife returned with the children. For some interpreters thought that the angel threatened them to keep a woman from accompanying Moses and thus forming an obstacle to the ministry that God had imposed on him.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
31 And the people believed: and when they heard that the L ORD had visited the children of Israel, and that he had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshipped. Moses is here going to Egypt, and we are told, I.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
His wife and his sons - Both Gershom and Eliezer, though the birth of the latter has not yet been mentioned in the Hebrew text. See Clarke’s note on Exo 2:22. Set them upon an ass - The Septuagint reads the word in the plural, εκι τα ὑποζυγια, upon asses, as it certainly required more than one to carry Zipporah, Gershom, and Eliezer.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
An ass - Literally, “the ass,” which, according to Hebrew idiom, means that he set them upon asses. This is the first notice of other sons besides Gershom. The rod of God - The staff of Moses was consecrated by the miracle Exo 4:2 and became “the rod of God.”
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֜ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אִשְׁתּ֣וֹ | ʾishto | wife his | H802 → | 781 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בָּנָ֗יו | banav | sons his | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וַיַּרְכִּבֵם֙ | vaiyarkivem | and he made ride them | H7392 → | 78 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַחֲמֹ֔ר | hachamor | the donkey | H2543 → | 96 times |
| וַיָּ֖שָׁב | vaiyashov | and he returned | H7725 → | 1056 times |
| אַ֣רְצָה | ʾartzah | [the] land of towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיִּקַּ֥ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַטֵּ֥ה | mateh | [the] staff of | H4294 → | 252 times |
| הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים | haelohim | <the> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ | beyado | in hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
מֹשֶׁ֜הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אִשְׁתּ֣וֹwife his
ʾishtoH802 →781 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
בָּנָ֗יוsons his
banavH1121 →4930 times
וַיַּרְכִּבֵם֙and he made ride them
vaiyarkivemH7392 →78 times
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַחֲמֹ֔רthe donkey
hachamorH2543 →96 times
וַיָּ֖שָׁבand he returned
vaiyashovH7725 →1056 times
אַ֣רְצָה[the] land of towards
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַיִּקַּ֥חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַטֵּ֥ה[the] staff of
matehH4294 →252 times
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים<the> God
haelohimH430 →2601 times
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃in hand his
beyadoH3027 →1618 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
Numbers 20:11Then Moses raised his hand and struck the rock twice with his staff, so that a great amount of water gushed out, and the congregation and their livestock were able to drink.
it leads to
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
- Exodus 17:6
Behold, I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. And when you strike the rock, water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in…
- Deuteronomy 8:15
He led you through the vast and terrifying wilderness with its venomous snakes and scorpions, a thirsty and waterless land. He brought you water from the rock of flint.
- Numbers 20:8
“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from…
- 1 Corinthians 10:4
Through
Exodus 4:2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
it leads to
- Exodus 4:17
But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
- Exodus 4:17
Through
Exodus 17:9So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:44
Then Moses came with Joshua son of Nun and recited all the words of this song in the hearing of the people.
- Exodus 24:13
So Moses set out with Joshua his attendant and went up on the mountain of God.
- Exodus 4:2
And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
- Deuteronomy 32:44
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Exodus
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON EXODUS 12; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.