Exodus 4:5
in Exodus 4“This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
that they may believe that Jehovah, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
KJV
That they may believe that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThat they may believe,.... The elders and people of Israel; for this miracle was wrought not for the confirmation of Moses's faith; for, as Aben Ezra observes, the sign of the burning bush was given to him to confirm his faith, that it was God that appeared to him, and called him to this work; but this was wrought to confirm the faith of the Israelites in his divine mission: that the Lord God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee; See Gill on Exo 3:6.
This site's exposition
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac
The sign has a stated purpose, and it is belief in a person. God names himself by three men four centuries dead, which ties the deliverance to the promise of Genesis 15:13 and 15:14.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Miracles were for signs to those that believed not, 1 Cor. xiv. His hand itself is next made the subject of a miracle. He puts it once into his bosom, and takes it out leprous; he puts it again into the same place, and takes it out well,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
That they may believe - This is an example of what is called an imperfect or unfinished speech, several of which occur in the sacred writings. It may be thus supplied: Do this before them, that they may believe that the Lord hath appeared unto thee.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| לְמַ֣עַן | lemaan | so that | H4616 → | 272 times |
| יַאֲמִ֔ינוּ | yaaminu | they may believe | H539 → | 106 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִרְאָ֥ה | nirah | he appeared | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֵלֶ֛יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲבֹתָ֑ם | ʾavotam | ancestors their | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֧י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אַבְרָהָ֛ם | ʾavraham | Abraham | H85 → | 175 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֥י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִצְחָ֖ק | yitzchak | Isaac | H3327 → | 108 times |
| וֵאלֹהֵ֥י | velohei | and [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יַעֲקֹֽב׃ | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
לְמַ֣עַןso that
lemaanH4616 →272 times
יַאֲמִ֔ינוּthey may believe
yaaminuH539 →106 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
נִרְאָ֥הhe appeared
nirahH7200 →1300 times
אֵלֶ֛יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אֲבֹתָ֑םancestors their
ʾavotamH1 →1212 times
אֱלֹהֵ֧י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
אַבְרָהָ֛םAbraham
ʾavrahamH85 →175 times
אֱלֹהֵ֥י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִצְחָ֖קIsaac
yitzchakH3327 →108 times
וֵאלֹהֵ֥יand [the] God of
veloheiH430 →2601 times
יַעֲקֹֽב׃Jacob
yaakoH3290 →350 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
Exodus 3:15God also told Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My…
it leads to
- Genesis 17:7–8
I will establish My covenant as an everlasting covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.
- Hebrews 13:8
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.
- Malachi 3:6
“Because I, the LORD, do not change, you descendants of Jacob have not been destroyed.
- Hosea 12:5
the LORD is the God of Hosts— the LORD is His name of renown.
- Genesis 17:7–8
Through
Genesis 12:7Then the LORD appeared to Abram and said, “I will give this land to your offspring.” So Abram built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
it leads to
- Genesis 17:1
When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty. Walk before Me and be blameless.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Genesis 17:8
And to you and your descendants I will give the land where you are residing—all the land of Canaan—as an eternal possession; and I will be their God.”
- Genesis 13:15
for all the land that you see, I will give to you and your offspring forever.
- Galatians 3:16
The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
- Genesis 17:1
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
On this verse
On this chapter
About Exodus

Who and where
3 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsAbrahamCalled out of Ur, the father of all who believe, justified by faith, and the friend of God through whose seed all nations are bles…
- PersonPatriarchsIsaacThe son of promise and of laughter — bound on Moriah, the quiet inheritor of the covenant.
- PersonPatriarchsJacobThe heel-grasping supplanter reshaped at Peniel into 'Israel, he who strives with God' — father of the twelve tribes.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the 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.
