Matthew Henry on Exodus 4:10-17
Moses still continues backward to the service for which God had designed him, even to a fault; for now we can no longer impute it to his humility and modesty, but must own that here was too much of cowardice, slothfulness, and unbelief in it. Observe here,
I. How Moses endeavours to excuse himself from the work.
1. He pleads that he was no good spokesman: O my Lord! I am not eloquent, Exo 4:10. He was a great philosopher, statesman, and divine, and yet no orator; a man of a clear head, great thought, and solid judgment, but had not a voluble tongue, or ready utterance, and therefore he thought himself unfit to speak before great men about great affairs, and in danger of being run down by the…
Read the whole note in the consoleJamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 4:10
I am not eloquent--It is supposed that Moses labored under a natural defect of utterance or had a difficulty in the free and fluent expression of his ideas in the Egyptian language, which he had long disused. This new objection was also overruled, but still Moses, who foresaw the manifold difficulties of the undertaking, was anxious to be freed from the responsibility.
Adam Clarke on Exodus 4:12
I will be with thy mouth - The Chaldee translates, My Word, meimeri, shall be with thy mouth. And Jonathan ben Uzziel paraphrases, I and my Word will be with the speech of thy mouth. See Clarke on Gen 15:1 (note), and Lev 25:10 (note).
John Gill on Exodus 4:12
Now therefore go, and I will be with thy mouth,.... And put words into it, and cause it to speak readily and powerfully; and so it appears that he was mighty in words, as well as in deeds, Acts 7:22,
and teach thee what thou shalt say; to Pharaoh, to the Israelites, and to Aaron, that was to speak for him, as is hereafter observed.
John Calvin on Exodus 4:10-17
Exodus 4:10-17
10. And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant; but I am slow of speech, and of a slow tongue.
10. Tunc dixit Moses ad Jehovam, Obsecro Domine, ego non sum vir disertus, neque a die hesterno, neque nudius tertius, neque ex quo locutus es servo tuo: quoniam ore lento, et lingua lenta ego sum.
11. And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? Or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the Lord?
11. Respondit autem illi Jehova, Quis posuit os in homine? aut quis statuit mutum, vel surdum, aut videntem, vel caecum? annon ego Jehova?
12. Now therefore go, and…
