Exodus 4:6
in Exodus 4Furthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak.” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said furthermore unto him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
9 notes on this verseAgain, another sign which Moses gave points to our Lord Jesus Christ. He put his hand into his bosom and drew it out again, and his hand had become as snow. A second time he put it in and drew it out, and it was again like the appearance of human flesh. This signified first the original glory of the Godhead of the Lord Jesus and then the assumption of our flesh, in which truth all nations and peoples must believe.
This site's exposition
Put now thine hand into thy bosom
on Exodus 4:6-7
The second sign is worked on Moses himself and it costs him what the first did not, since leprosy is the condition that put a man outside the camp. It is the only one of the three signs with no later scene attached to it anywhere in the book. What it announces is answered in words at Exodus 15:26, I am the LORD that healeth thee, which is the first occurrence of healeth in Scripture.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Just as Moses was allowed to perform miracles with a rod, so he was ordered to thrust his hand into his bosom, and when it was brought out again it was found to be leprous; then he was ordered to insert it again, and it …
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.268 · Written before 253.
proposed
It is difficult to see what this sign can symbolize for us. But since we must not stop seeking and must deliver to the reader what occurs to us as an interpretation, we will say that in many passages the hand is a symbol of deeds. Now the bosom of Moses has two meanings. The first, in accordance with the sense of the letter, makes the deed of the doer like snow, as it says in the Hebrew, and leprous. The second, however, in accordance with the spiritual law, shows that the conduct is pure and that it is restored to the will of the nature of the Word.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
His hand was leprous, as snow - For whiteness. This signified, That Moses, by the power of God, should bring sore diseases upon Egypt, that at his prayer they should be removed. And that whereas the Israelites in Egypt were become leprous, polluted by sin, and almost consumed by oppression, by being taken into the bosom of Moses they should be cleansed and cured.
And the Lord said furthermore unto him,.... Continued his discourse, and gave him another sign: put now thine hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom; within his coat, under that part of the garment next to his breast: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow; that is, white as snow, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, through the leprosy that was upon it; it was a leprosy of the white sort, and which is reckoned the worst and most difficult to be cured, see Lev 13:
Now it was supposed that, if the former sign did not convince, this latter would. Note, God is willing more abundantly to show the truth of his word, and is not sparing in his proofs; the multitude and variety of the miracles corroborate the evidence. He is directed, when he shall come to Egypt, to turn some of the water of the river into blood,
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
His hand was leprous as snow - That is, the leprosy spread itself over the whole body in thin white scales; and from this appearance it has its Greek name λεπρα, from λεπις, a scale.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Leprous - The instantaneous production and cure of the most malignant and subtle disease known to the Israelites was a sign of their danger if they resisted the command, and of their deliverance if they obeyed it. The infliction and cure were always regarded as special proofs of a divine intervention.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמֶר֩ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֨ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| ל֜וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| ע֗וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| הָֽבֵא־ | have'- | put | H935 → | 2568 times |
| נָ֤א | na' | please | H4994 → | 404 times |
| יָֽדְךָ֙ | yadekha | hand your | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָ | becheikecha | in bosom your | H2436 → | 38 times |
| וַיָּבֵ֥א | vaiyave' | and he put | H935 → | 2568 times |
| יָד֖וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| בְּחֵיק֑וֹ | becheiko | in bosom his | H2436 → | 38 times |
| וַיּ֣וֹצִאָ֔הּ | vaiyotziah | and he brought out it | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| וְהִנֵּ֥ה | vehineh | and there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| יָד֖וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| מְצֹרַ֥עַת | metzoraat | [was] leprous | H6879 → | |
| כַּשָּֽׁלֶג׃ | kashaleg | like <the> snow | H7950 → |
וַיֹּאמֶר֩and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֨הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
ל֜וֹto <the> him
lo
ע֗וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
הָֽבֵא־put
have'-H935 →2568 times
נָ֤אplease
na'H4994 →404 times
יָֽדְךָ֙hand your
yadekhaH3027 →1618 times
בְּחֵיקֶ֔ךָin bosom your
becheikechaH2436 →38 times
וַיָּבֵ֥אand he put
vaiyave'H935 →2568 times
יָד֖וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
בְּחֵיק֑וֹin bosom his
becheikoH2436 →38 times
וַיּ֣וֹצִאָ֔הּand he brought out it
vaiyotziahH3318 →1067 times
וְהִנֵּ֥הand there!
vehinehH2009 →843 times
יָד֖וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
מְצֹרַ֥עַת[was] leprous
metzoraatH6879 →
כַּשָּֽׁלֶג׃like <the> snow
kashalegH7950 →
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 12:10As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous,
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 24:9
Remember what the LORD your God did to Miriam on the journey after you came out of Egypt.
- 2 Kings 5:27
Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.
- 2 Kings 15:5
And the LORD afflicted the king with leprosy until the day he died, so that he lived in a separate house while his son Jotham had charge of the palace and governed the people…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 2 Chronicles 26:19–21
Uzziah, with a censer in his hand to offer incense, was enraged. But while he raged against the priests in their presence in the house of the LORD before the altar of incense, leprosy…
- Exodus 33:7–10
Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it at a distance outside the camp. He called it the Tent of Meeting, and anyone inquiring of the LORD would go to the Tent…
- Deuteronomy 24:9
Through
2 Kings 5:27Therefore, the leprosy of Naaman will cling to you and your descendants forever!” And as Gehazi left his presence, he was leprous—as white as snow.
it leads to
- Numbers 12:10
As the cloud lifted from above the Tent, suddenly Miriam became leprous, white as snow. Aaron turned toward her, saw that she was leprous,
- 2 Samuel 3:29
May it whirl over the heads of Joab and the entire house of his father, and may the house of Joab never be without one having a discharge or skin disease, or one who…
- Joshua 7:25
“Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
- Numbers 12:10
Where this verse is studied
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Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 3.15.95; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 73:11; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 32.268.