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Exodus 4

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The Book of Exodus

/ Exodus 4

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KJV

King James Version

NRSV

New Revised Standard Version

NIV

New International Version

LEB

Lexham English Bible

HEB

Hebrew Bible

NET

New English Translation

ASV

American Standard Version

Summary

Moses questions the Lord, and the Lord shows him signs. He instructs Moses to show the signs to the children of Israel. The Lord selects Aaron as Moses’s spokesman, and Moses’s first son is circumcised.

Joseph Smith Translation Variants
KJV JST
(21) And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go.(21) And the Lord said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand. And I will prosper thee. But Pharaoh will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go.
(24) And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that the Lord met him, and sought to kill him.(24) And it came to pass that the Lord appeared unto him as he was in the way in the inn. The Lord was angry with Moses, and his hand was about to fall upon him to kill him, for he had not circumcised his son.
(25) Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me.(25) Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and circumcised her son, and cast the stone at his feet, and said, Surely thou art a bloody husband unto me.
(26) So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.(26) And the Lord spared Moses and let him go because Zipporah his wife circumcised the child. And she said, “Thou art a bloody husband.” And Moses was ashamed and hid his face from the Lord and said, “I have sinned before the Lord.”
(27) And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, and kissed him.(27) And the Lord said to Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses. And he went, and met him in the mount of God, in the mount where God appeared unto him. And Aaron kissed him.

Commentary

Bible Central Commentary

These free resources were developed for use in the free ScripturePlus app. Many of the contributors are professors of religion and ancient scripture at Brigham Young University.

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Cover of the Old Testament Minute: Exodus by Wally Breitenstein.

Exodus 1-6

Wally Breitenstein, “Exodus 1–6,” in Exodus, Old Testament Minute Commentary Series, ed. Taylor Halverson (Springville, UT: Book of Mormon Central, 2021).

Historical Commentaries

Many of the commentaries below are in the public domain and were authored over 100 years ago. In many cases, they do not reflect the findings of modern scholarship, but they may be helpful for understanding the history of biblical scholarship.

Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible

Matthew Henry (1706)

Commentary on the Bible

Adam Clarke (1831)

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable

Thomas Constable

Rashi’s Commentary

Rashi (Shlomo Yitzchaki)

Notes on the Bible

Albert Barnes (1834)

Exposition of the Entire Bible

John Gill (1746–63)

Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch (1857–78)

Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible

John Wesley (1754–65)

Videos

Watch selected videos on this chapter of the Bible to enhance your study. Note: Not all videos included come from a Latter-day Saint perspective. Inclusion on this list should not imply endorsement for all content.

Moses Learns to Trust God (Exodus 4)

Book of Mormon Central

Overview: Exodus 1-18

BibleProject

The Book of Exodus - Part 1

BibleProject

Exodus Rediscovered: Documentary

InspiringPhilosophy

Historical Settings

People

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Jan van 't Hoff, "The Covenant Renewal," Gospel Images.

Moses

LORD

Aaron

Place Holder

Levites

Place Holder

Jethro

Place Holder

Pharaoh

Place Holder

Israel

Place Holder

Gershom

Place Holder

Israel, Israelites, or Children of Israel

Places

Read about places mentioned in this chapter.

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Midian

The pyramids of Egypt. Photo by TheDigitalArtist via Pixabay.

Egypt

Time

*All Dates Are Approximate, according to the narrative of the Bible. These dates may reflect literary significance as opposed to the precise dates of history.

See Biblical Chronology
  • 1446 BC*

Further Reading

Nathan J. Arp, “Joseph Knew First: Moses, The Egyptian Son,” Interpreter: A Journal of Latter-Day Saint Faith and Scholarship 32 (2019): 187–198.

Edward J. Brandt, “Aaron, Brother of Moses,” in Encyclopedia of Mormonism, ed. Daniel H. Ludlow,  4 vols. (New York: MacMillan Publishing, 1992), 1:1.

S. Kent Brown, “The Exodus Pattern in the Book of Mormon,” BYU Studies 30, no. 3 (1990): 111–126.

S. Kent Brown, “Trust in the Lord: Exodus and Faith,” in Sperry Symposium Classics: The Old Testament ed. Paul Y. Hoskisson (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company; Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2005), 154–163.

Amy B. Hardison, “Theophany on Sinai,” In Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament (2013 Sperry Symposium), ed. Jeffrey R. Chadwick, Matthew J. Grey, and David Rolph Seely, 218–31. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company; Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University 2013.

George A. Horton Jr., “Insights into Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy,” in The Joseph Smith Translation: The Restoration of Plain and Precious Things, ed. Monte S. Nyman and Robert L. Millet (Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 1985), 71–88.

John S. Thompson, “The Context of Old Testament Temple Worship: Early Ancient Egyptian Rites,” in Ascending the Mountain of the Lord: Temple, Praise, and Worship in the Old Testament, ed. Jeffery R. Chadwick, Matthew J. Grey, and David Rolph Seely (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company; Provo, UT: Religious Studies Center, Brigham Young University, 2013), 156–83.

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