Exodus 4:30
in Exodus 4and Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said to Moses. And Moses performed the signs before the people,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and Aaron spake all the words which Jehovah had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
KJV
And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses, and did the signs in the sight of the people.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAaron spake all the words - It is likely that Aaron was better acquainted with the Hebrew tongue than his brother, and on this account he became the spokesman. See Clarke on Exo 4:14 (note). Did the signs - Turned the rod into a serpent, made the hand leprous, and changed the water into blood. See Clarke on Exo 4:6 (note) and Exo 4:8 (note).
This site's exposition
gathered together all the elders
on Exodus 4:29-31
The chapter closes on the answer to the objection it opened with, since Moses had said they will not believe me and the people believed. What moves them is the report that the LORD had visited the children of Israel and looked upon their affliction, which is the language of Genesis 50:24 where Joseph promised that God will surely visit you. They bow their heads and worship, the same act the people perform at Exodus 12:27 on the night the passover is commanded. The belief recorded here does not hold past chapter five, where these same people turn on Moses once Pharaoh doubles the work.
This site's exposition
Aaron relayed everything the LORD had said
The plan of verses 15 and 16 now works before the elders. Aaron speaks the words given to Moses, and Moses performs the signs of the staff, the hand and the water before the people. Adam Clarke suggests Aaron knew the Hebrew tongue better than his brother, which made him the natural spokesman.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
18 ), knowing that no man could do those works that they did, unless God were with him. They gave glory to God: They bowed their heads and worshipped, therein expressing not only their humble thankfulness to God, who had raised them up and sent them a deliverer, but also their cheerful readiness to observe orders, and pursue the methods of their deliverance.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
And Aaron spake all the words which the Lord had spoken unto Moses,.... As Moses had related to him, being his mouth and spokesman: and did the signs in the sight of the people; not Aaron, but Moses, and these were the turning of his rod into a serpent, and the serpent into a rod again; putting his hand into and out of his bosom, when it was leprous, and then doing the same when it was well again; and taking water out of the river, and changing it into blood, which he did for the confirmation of his mission.
It was a very great honour that Moses was called to when God commissioned him to bring Israel out of Egypt; yet he is with difficulty persuaded to accept the commission, and does it at last with great reluctance, which we should rather impute to a humble diffidence of himself and his own sufficiency than to any unbelieving distrust of God and his word and power.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Moses and Aaron went--towards Egypt, Zipporah and her sons having been sent back. (Compare Ex 18:2). gathered . . . all the elders--Aaron was spokesman, and Moses performed the appointed miracles--through which "the people" (that is, the elders) believed (1Ki 17:24;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר | vaydaber | and he spoke | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֔ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אֵ֚ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַדְּבָרִ֔ים | hadevarim | the words | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֥ר | diber | he had spoken | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וַיַּ֥עַשׂ | vaiyaas | and he did | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| הָאֹתֹ֖ת | haotot | the signs | H226 → | 80 times |
| לְעֵינֵ֥י | leeinei | to [the] eyes of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הָעָֽם׃ | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
וַיְדַבֵּ֣רand he spoke
vaydaberH1696 →1141 times
אַהֲרֹ֔ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
אֵ֚ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הַדְּבָרִ֔יםthe words
hadevarimH1697 →1440 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֥רhe had spoken
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וַיַּ֥עַשׂand he did
vaiyaasH6213 →2628 times
הָאֹתֹ֖תthe signs
haototH226 →80 times
לְעֵינֵ֥יto [the] eyes of
leeineiH5869 →887 times
הָעָֽם׃the people
haamH5971 →1873 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
4 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
Exodus 4:16He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.
it leads to
- Exodus 7:1–2
The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
- Psalms 82:6
I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- John 10:34–35
Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’?
- Exodus 18:19
Now listen to me; I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people’s representative before God and bring their causes to Him.
- Exodus 7:1–2
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; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.