Exodus 4:3
in Exodus 4“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
KJV
And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
8 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
A serpent - This miracle had a meaning which Moses could not mistake. The serpent was probably the basilisk or Uraeus, the Cobra. This was the symbol of royal and divine power on the diadem of every Pharaoh. The conversion of the rod was not merely a portent, it was a sign, at once a pledge and representation of victory over the king and gods of Egypt!
This site's exposition
Throw it on the ground
on Exodus 4:3-4
Moses runs from the snake, then is told to grab it by the tail, a hold no snake handler uses. Egypt's kings wore the rearing cobra on the crown, so the first sign puts the emblem of Pharaoh's house in Moses's hand.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
That staff, dearly beloved, prefigured the mystery of the cross. Just as through the staff Egypt was struck by ten plagues, so also the whole world was humiliated and conquered by the cross. Just as Pharaoh and his people were afflicted by the power of …
Let me try to explain, as far as the Lord enables me to, what these signs mean. The rod stands for the kingdom, the snake for mortality; it was by the snake that man was given death to drink. The Lord was prepared to take this death to himself. So when the rod came down to earth it had the form of a snake, because the kingdom of God, which is Jesus Christ, came down to earth. He put on mortality, which he also nailed to the cross. Your holinesses know that when that proud and stiff-necked people grumbled against God in the desert, they began to be bitten by serpents and to die of the bites. In his mercy God provided a remedy, a remedy that restored health at the time but also foretold the wisdom that was to come in the future.
But we know that prophecy expressed itself by things no less than by words. By words and also by deeds is the resurrection foretold.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And he said, cast it on the ground,....
(2.) Here was an honour put upon Moses, that this change was wrought upon his throwing it down and taking it up, without any spell, or charm, or incantation: his being empowered thus to act under God, out of the common course of nature and providence, was a demonstration of his authority, under God, to settle a new dispensation of the kingdom of grace.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A serpent - Of what sort we know not, as the word נחש nachash is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Gen 3:1: but it was either of a kind that he had not seen before, or one that he knew to be dangerous; for it is said, he fled from before it. Some suppose the staff was changed into a crocodile; see Clarke on Exo 7:10 (note).
The words behind it
10 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙ | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַשְׁלִיכֵ֣הוּ | hashlikhehu | throw it | H7993 → | 125 times |
| אַ֔רְצָה | ʾartzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥הוּ | vaiyashlikhehu | and he threw it | H7993 → | 125 times |
| אַ֖רְצָה | ʾartzah | [the] ground towards | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וַיְהִ֣י | vayhi | and it became | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְנָחָ֑שׁ | lenachash | <into> a snake | H5175 → | |
| וַיָּ֥נָס | vaiyanos | and he fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֖ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| מִפָּנָֽיו׃ | mipanav | from before it | H6440 → | 2123 times |
וַיֹּ֙אמֶר֙and he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
הַשְׁלִיכֵ֣הוּthrow it
hashlikhehuH7993 →125 times
אַ֔רְצָה[the] ground towards
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
וַיַּשְׁלִיכֵ֥הוּand he threw it
vaiyashlikhehuH7993 →125 times
אַ֖רְצָה[the] ground towards
ʾartzahH776 →2504 times
וַיְהִ֣יand it became
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
לְנָחָ֑שׁ<into> a snake
lenachashH5175 →
וַיָּ֥נָסand he fled
vaiyanosH5127 →159 times
מֹשֶׁ֖הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
מִפָּנָֽיו׃from before it
mipanavH6440 →2123 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
Amos 5:19It will be like a man who flees from a lion, only to encounter a bear, or who enters his house and rests his hand against the wall, only to be bitten by a…
it leads to
- Isaiah 24:17–18
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of the earth.
- Jeremiah 15:2–3
If they ask you, ‘Where shall we go?’ you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘Those destined for death, to death; those destined for the sword, to the sword;…
- Jeremiah 48:43–44
Terror and pit and snare await you, O dweller of Moab,” declares the LORD.
- Acts 28:4
When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to…
- Amos 9:1–2
I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will…
- Isaiah 24:17–18
Through
Exodus 4:17But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.”
it leads to
- Exodus 4:2
And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
- 1 Corinthians 1:27
But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.
- Exodus 7:9–20
“When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.”
- Exodus 4:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this chapter
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; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 6.7; Caesarius of Arles, SERMON 95.5; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Tertullian, ON THE RESURRECTION OF THE FLESH 28.1-2.