Exodus 4:1

The Source of Sufficiency

4:1 1 Moses answered again,2 “And if3 they do not believe me or pay attention to me,4 but say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’?”

1	sn In chap. 3, the first part of this extensive call, Yahweh promises to deliver his people. At the hesitancy of Moses, God guarantees his presence will be with him, and that assures the success of the mission. But with chap. 4, the second half of the call, the tone changes sharply. Now Moses protests his inadequacies in view of the nature of the task. In many ways, these verses address the question, “Who is sufficient for these things?” There are three basic movements in the passage. The first nine verses tell how God gave Moses signs in case Israel did not believe him (4:1–9). The second section records how God dealt with the speech problem of Moses (4:10–12). And finally, the last section records God’s provision of a helper, someone who could talk well (4:13–17). See also J. E. Hamlin, “The Liberator’s Ordeal: A Study of Exodus 4:1–9,” Rhetorical Criticism [PTMS], 33–42.
2	tn Heb “and Moses answered and said.”
3	tn Or “What if.” The use of הֵן (hen) is unusual here, introducing a conditional idea in the question without a following consequence clause (see Exod 8:22 HT [8:26 ET]; Jer 2:10; 2 Chr 7:13). The Greek has “if not” but adds the clause “what shall I say to them?”
4	tn Heb “listen to my voice,” so as to respond positively.