Yahweh said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, Yahweh?
Parallel Translations
-
Yahweh said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, Yahweh?
-
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?
-
And the LORD said unto him: 'Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh a man dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? is it not I the LORD?
Examined in Scripture Analysis
Science (1)
Historical claims about the natural world, weighed against the scientific record.
Contradictions (1)
Questions where the Bible appears to say two different things, with the passages on each side set together.
Cross-references (13)
Passages linked to Exodus 4:11 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Psalms 146:8 Yahweh opens the eyes of the blind. Yahweh raises up those who are bowed down. Yahweh loves the righteous.
- Ezekiel 3:26-27 I will make your tongue stick to the roof of your mouth, that you will be mute, and will not be able to correct them; for they are a rebellious house. But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall tell them, ‘This is what the Lord Yahweh says.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house.”
- Amos 3:6 Does the trumpet alarm sound in a city, without the people being afraid? Does evil happen to a city, and Yahweh hasn’t done it?
- Psalms 94:9 He who implanted the ear, won’t he hear? He who formed the eye, won’t he see?
- Isaiah 6:7 He touched my mouth with it, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips; and your iniquity is taken away, and your sin forgiven.”
- Psalms 51:15 Lord, open my lips. My mouth will declare your praise.
- Jeremiah 1:6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord Yahweh! Behold, I don’t know how to speak; for I am a child.”
- Jeremiah 1:9 Then Yahweh stretched out his hand, and touched my mouth. Then Yahweh said to me, “Behold, I have put my words in your mouth.
- Genesis 18:14 Is anything too hard for Yahweh? At the set time I will return to you, when the season comes round, and Sarah will have a son.”
- Ezekiel 33:22 Now Yahweh’s hand had been on me in the evening, before he who had escaped came; and he had opened my mouth, until he came to me in the morning; and my mouth was opened, and I was no longer mute.
- Isaiah 42:7 to open the blind eyes, to bring the prisoners out of the dungeon, and those who sit in darkness out of the prison.
- Isaiah 35:5-6 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened, and the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. Then the lame man will leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute will sing; for waters will break out in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.
- Matthew 11:5 the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (7 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 4:11 And the LORD said unto him, Who…
Exo 4:11 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?
Ver. 11. Who hath made man’s mouth?] There is no mouth into which God cannot put fit words. Balaam’s ass was enabled by God to convince his master. Whereas by a man, never so full and fluent, he cannot bring forth his conceptions, without the obstetrication of God’s assistance. {Pro 16:1}
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto him, who hath made…
And the Lord said unto him, who hath made man's mouth?.... Made that itself, and put in it the power and faculty of speech, even into the mouth of the first man, Adam, as the Targum of Jonathan; and so of every other man, did not the Lord do it? none else could, and therefore he that made it, and made it capable of speaking, could remove any impediments in it, and cause it to speak freely and fluently:
or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I, the Lord? as all the senses, and the perfection of them, are from him, so all the imperfections in them are according to his good pleasure; what he suffers to be, and can remedy when he thinks fit: it is he that gives the seeing eye and hearing ear, can and does make blind and deaf, that gives also the speaking mouth, and makes that dumb, and can open it again as he pleases! and what is it that he cannot do?
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 11. Who hath made man's mouth? &c.] Cannot…
Verse 11. Who hath made man's mouth? &c.] Cannot he who formed the mouth, the whole organs of speech, and hath given the gift of speech also, cannot he give utterance? God can take away those gifts and restore them again. Do not provoke him: he who created the eye, the ear, and the mouth, hath also made the blind, the deaf, and the dumb.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 11. God gives man all his faculties; and therefore,…
11. God gives man all his faculties; and therefore, it is implied, can give Moses fluency. The words are spoken in a tone of reproof.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (11) Who maketh.—Rather, hath made.
(11) Who maketh.—Rather, hath made.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain Vers. 11-13. Who hath made man"s mouth! God could…
Vers. 11-13. Who hath made man"s mouth! God could and would have cured the defect in Moses" speech, whatever it was; could and would have added eloquence to his other gifts, if he had even at this point yielded himself up unreservedly to his guidance and heartily accepted his mission. Nothing is too hard for the Lord. He gives all powers sight, and hearing, and speech included to whom he will. He would have been "with Moses" mouth," removing all hesitation or indistinctness, and have "taught him what to say supplied the thought and the language by which to express it if Moses would have let him. But the reply in ver. 13 shut up the Divine bounty, prevented its outpour, and left Moses the ineffective speaker which he was content to be. The words, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send, are curt and ungracious; much curter in the original than in our version. They contain a grudging acquiescence. But for the deprecatory particle with which they commence the same as in ver. 10, they would be almost rude. And we see the result in the next verse.
God the Giver of our faculties.
Read full note →
See
1. His power in the creation of them. "Who hath made," etc. Wisdom also.Eyes, ears, organs of speech miracles of contrivance.
2. His goodness in the bestowal of them. A reason for thankfulness.
3. His providence in the deprivation of them. "Who maketh the dumb, ordeaf," etc. A reason for not murmuring.
4. His perfection as mirrored in their functions. "He that planted the ear,shall he not hear? he that formed the eye, shall he not see?". (Psa_94:9) An answer to the objection against positive revelation. He that formed the mouth, shall he not speak? And he that formed the ear, can he not address to it his own message?
5. Lesson His ability to aid us in using them for his glory (ver. 12). J.O.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 4:11 God created the organs of speech and has…
4:11 God created the organs of speech and has ordained every person’s particular abilities in this area. He is able to use what he has made and ordained.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.