Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 4:13
And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.
13. Send, I pray thee, him whom thou wilt send, whoever it may be (for the idiom, see on Exo 33:19). Moses assents, but unwillingly and ambiguously (cf. W. R. Smith [p. 40 n. ], p. 163).
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And he said – The reluctance of Moses is in accordance with the inner law of mans spiritual development, and specially with his own character; but, under the circumstances, it indicated a weakness of faith.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 4:13
Send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send.
An evasion of spiritual work
I. Moses recognized the necessity that the work should be accomplished.
II. He manifested a disposition to shrink from achieving the work himself.
III. He expressed a desire that some other person should be called to, and entrusted with, the work.
IV. He was in danger of losing the honour of the work to which he was called. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
The joy of being used by God
I have a letter from a dear Christian lady in this city who refused to speak to an inquirer when I asked her to, on the ground that she could not talk to an inquirer. The next day she was deeply humiliated to think that she had refused to speak to an anxious soul; and the question even of her own acceptance with God came up for discussion in her own mind. Can I be a child of God, if I am not willing to speak to an anxious soul about Jesus? She was led by this to cast herself down in consecration to God to be used of Him in any way, and especially in speaking to the anxious. Here is an extract from a letter just received. I am constrained to tell you that He allowed me on Sunday Night, for the first time, the intense joy of helping to lead a dear soul to Himself. Oh, the rest, and joy, and peace to my own heart, is more than tongue can tell! To think that after being His child for seventeen years, and being cold and useless all that wasted time, He should then be so loving and gracious as to use me, such a worthless cumberer. Oh, it is wonderful! Praise His dear name. Dear friend, would you not like to have a similar experience? (G. F. Pentecost, D. D.)
The inventiveness of reluctance
Man excusing himself from duty is a familiar picture. It is not a picture indeed; it is a personal experience. How inventive we are in finding excuses for not doing the will of God! How falsely modest we can become! depreciating ourselves, and putting ourselves before God in a light in which we could never consent to be put before society by the criticism of others. Is not this a revelation of the human heart to itself? We only want to walk in paths that are made beautiful with flowers, and to wander by streams that lull us by their own tranquillity. Nerve, and pluck, and force we seem to have lost. In place of the inventiveness of love we have the inventiveness of reluctance or distaste. It should be our supreme delight to find reasons for co-operating with God, and to fortify ourselves by such interpretations of circumstances as will plainly show us that we are in the right battle, fighting on the right side, and wielding the right weapon. The possibility of self-deception is one of the most solemn of all subjects. I cannot question the sincerity of Moses in enumerating and massing all the difficulties of his side of the case. He meant every word that he said. It is not enough to be sincere; we must have intelligence and conscience enlightened and enlarged. Mistakes are made about this matter of sincerity; the thing forgotten being that sincerity is nothing in itself, everything depending upon the motive by which it is actuated and the object towards which it is directed. The Church is to-day afflicted with the spirit of self-excusing:–it cannot give, because of the depression of the times; it cannot go upon its mighty errands, because of its dainty delicateness; it cannot engage in active beneficence, because its charity should begin at home; it cannot enter into ardent controversy, because it prefers the comfort of inaction. Churches should not tell lies to themselves. The first great thing to be done is for a man to be faithful to his own heart, to look himself boldly in the face, and speak the clear truth emphatically to his own consciousness. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 13. Send – by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.] Many commentators, both ancient and modern, have thought that Moses prays here for the immediate mission of the Messiah; as if he had said: “Lord, thou hast purposed to send this glorious person at some time or other, I beseech thee send him now, for who can be sufficient to deliver and rule this people but himself alone?” The Hebrew shelach na beyad tishlach literally translated is, Send now (or, I beseech thee) by the hand thou wilt send; which seems to intimate, Send a person more fit for the work than I am. So the Septuagint: , Elect another powerful person, whom thou wilt send. It is right to find out the Messiah wherever he is mentioned in the Old Testament; but to press scriptures into this service which have not an obvious tendency that way, is both improper and dangerous. I am firmly of opinion that Moses had no reference to the Messiah when he spoke these words.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
By one who is fitter for the work than I am. Heb. Send by the hand of him whom
thou wilt send, i.e. should send; for the future tense oft signifies what one should do. See Gen 20:9; 34:7; Mal 1:6; 2:7. Thou usest according to thy wisdom to choose fit instruments, and to use none but whom thou dost either find or make fit for their employment, which I am not. Others, Send by the hand of Messias, whom thou wilt certainly send, and canst not send at a fitter time, nor for better work. Moses and the prophets knew that Christ would come, but the particular time of his coming was unknown to them. See 1Pe 1:11.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he said, O my Lord,…. Acknowledging his dominion, his sovereignty, his power to do the above things: or “on me, O Lord” u, be the blame for making such objections; or on me let this work be devolved, since it is thy pleasure:
send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send. Many of the ancient Christian fathers understand it of the Messiah that was to be sent, and as if Moses thought this was a fit time for the sending of him: and so Cocceius is of opinion, that nothing better can be understood, than that Moses desired that God would rather send him, whom Israel expected to be sent, even the Angel that should go before them; of whose mission see Ex 23:20, but no particular person is intended, unless himself; and the common interpretation is, that God would send a more fit and proper person than he was; and that he would rather send anyone but him, and entreats to be excused; but I see not why this may not be understood of Moses assenting to his mission, and acquiescing in the will of God; as if he should say, since it must be so, the will of the Lord be done, let him send by whom he will, and since it is his pleasure to send by me, I submit; what may seem to contradict this is, the Lord’s anger and resentment expressed in the following words; but that might be notwithstanding, since Moses had been so backward and reluctant, and made so many objections before he consented.
u “in me”, Oleaster.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
13. Send, I pray thee, by the hand. Those who interpret this passage as alluding to Christ, (53) as though Moses said, that His power was needed to accomplish so mighty a task, introduce a forced and far-fetched sense, which is contradicted by the context, for God would not have been so aroused to anger by such a prayer. I see not why others should suppose it to be spoken of Aaron; (54) for there is no weight in their conjecture, that Moses preferred his brother to himself. The third sense is more probable, viz., that God should stretch forth his hand to direct whomsoever he destined for the work. In that case, the relative must be in the masculine gender; but in order to avoid all ambiguity, I prefer the feminine, as I have translated it. ( Mitte per manum per quam.) For there is no doubt but that Moses desires the task, too weighty and difficult for himself, to be transferred to some one else; just as if he had said — Since there are multitudes at hand whom thou mayest employ, choose whomsoever thou wilt of them, provided only it be some other, and that I be excused. There is an implied antithesis between Moses and others, in which he hints at his own natural disqualification, and says that others are endued with dexterity, industry, and activity; and thence he argues that it will be absurd that God should reject the hands which are adapted and ready for the work.
(53) Cornelius a Lapide in loc. “Multi patres, ut S. Justinus, Tertll., Cyprian., Euseb., scribentes contra Judaeos, et Rupert. putant Mosen hic petiisse adventum Messiae; hujus enim nomen erat missus vel mittendus, etc. Hic sensus valde probabilis, et accommodatus est, quicquid objiciat Absolen. et audacter nimis tantis patribus obstrepat Eugubinus: ita enim olim alii patriarchae in gravibus causis semper ad Christum promissum respiciebant, et ad eum suspirabant, ut patet de Jacob. Gen 49:10.” The gloss in the Geneva Bible is, “i.e., (by the hand or ministerie) of the Messias, or some other that is more meete than I.”
(54) “Quia frater Aaron suus erat eo senior, et eloquentior, eum desiderabat habere socium sibi a Domino assignandum,” — Nic, de Lyra Com. in loco. So also R. Sal. Jarchi.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(13) Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.Rather, pray send by whom thou wilt. A curt, impatient, and scarcely reverent speech. Moses means that he will undertake the task if God insists; but that God would do far better to send another. Hence the anger of the Lord against him (Exo. 4:14), which led to Aarons association with him as joint leader of the people.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
13. Send, I pray thee, by the hand (of whomsoever else) thou wilt send All his objections had been removed, yet still he hesitated and shrank. The unreasonableness of unbelief is here most naturally depicted, but with what unworldly fidelity! What an infallible touch of genuineness, when we consider the laws of man’s spiritual development, and note the progress of the faith of Moses! Yet what later scribe of the followers of the great lawgiver would ever, by the invention of such an incident, have blurred the glory of that venerated name? Only Moses himself and only the inspired Moses could ever have detailed this humiliating weakness. This is not the style of unrenewed and uninspired man.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 4:13. Send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send The word shelach, being very similar to shilah, Gen 49:10 which is universally agreed, as we have observed, to mean the Messiah; very many Christian interpreters have thought, that Moses here entreats of GOD to commit this office of delivering his people to that future Messenger and Deliverer, whom he had promised and determined to send. Houbigant is strongly of this opinion; and renders the passage, after the Vulgate, mitte per eam manum quem tu missurus es; send by that hand whom thou art about to send: i.e. says he, by the Saviour of the world, who Moses knew was to come; and who, he thought, might properly come at this time, to deliver his people; “and, for this reason,” continues Houbigant, “God was angry at Moses; as it was not for him to appoint the time of human redemption; and says, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? implying, that the Levitical priesthood ought to precede that priesthood; which was to be according to the order of Melchisedec: and he thinks this the only method of accounting for God’s so particularly denominating Aaron the Levite.” This, perhaps, will by many be thought too refined: and we may add also, that Moses must have known, if he had had such clear discoveries of the mission of the Messiah, that this Divine Person was not yet incarnate: and, therefore, the sense which is given to the passage by the LXX and Chaldee, seems the most rational: “Send by some other person who is able:” “Send by the hand of one who is worthy to be sent.” From false humility, or fear, Moses wished to decline an office, which, he foresaw, would be attended with great difficulties: for, that his desire to decline it, arose not from proper principles, is very evident from the anger of the Lord, kindled against him, Exo 4:14. When human parts, or human passions, are attributed to GOD, it is always to be understood more humano, (after the manner of men,) for the purpose of speaking analogously to our comprehension: a remark, which it will be necessary to retain, though not to repeat.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Some have thought that Moses meant by this expression the Messiah, the sent. And if so, it is a lively proof of his belief in Jesus; though not of his obedience or duty, in presuming to prescribe to infinite wisdom.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 4:13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou wilt send.
Ver. 13. By the hand of him whom thou wilt. ] Or, shouldst send: by that excellent speaker the Messiah, cuius dicere est facere. Thus when God had answered all Moses’s objections, he frowardly denies to go notwithstanding, and bids him send by his son, as one that was better fitted for the service. That which made Moses so unwilling, was, whatever he pretended, the fear of his life: which rub when God had once removed, he went on his journey. Exo 4:19-20
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
send: Exo 4:1, Exo 23:20, Gen 24:7, Gen 48:16, Jdg 2:1, 1Ki 19:4, Jer 1:6, Jer 20:9, Eze 3:14, Eze 3:15, Jon 1:3, Jon 1:6, Mat 13:41, Joh 6:29
wilt send: or, shouldest
Reciprocal: Gen 41:35 – hand Num 11:26 – went not out Jos 5:14 – my lord Jos 24:5 – sent 1Ch 6:15 – by the hand Jer 37:2 – the prophet Dan 10:16 – my Lord Hag 1:1 – by Haggai Act 9:13 – Lord Act 26:19 – I was not 1Co 9:17 – against
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 4:13-14. Send by whom thou wilt send By any but me. The anger of the Lord was kindled Even self-diffidence, when it grows into an extreme, when it either hinders us from duty, or clogs us in duty, is very displeasing to him. I know that he can speak well Moses excelled in wisdom and conduct, Aaron in eloquence. Such is the wise order of Providence. As in the human body each member has its different use and function, and all ministering to the good of the whole; so in the mystical body of Christ, God has dispensed different gifts to different members, and very seldom, if ever, gives all accomplishments to one; but to preserve a mutual dependance and relation, he distributes some to one and some to others, Rom 12:4.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
4:13 And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand [of him whom] thou {d} wilt send.
(d) That is, the Messiah: or some other, that is more suitable than I.