Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”
Parallel Translations
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Yahweh said to Moses in Midian, “Go, return into Egypt; for all the men who sought your life are dead.”
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And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
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And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian: 'Go, return into Egypt; for all the men are dead that sought thy life.'
Cross-references (3)
Passages linked to Exodus 4:19 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Matthew 2:20 “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”
- Exodus 2:15 Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh, and lived in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well.
- Exodus 2:23 In the course of those many days, the king of Egypt died, and the children of Israel sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (15 sources)
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Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain Hebrew, sought thy soul.
Hebrew, sought thy soul.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain Exo 4:19 And the LORD said unto Moses in…
Exo 4:19 And the LORD said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
Ver. 19. For all the men are dead.] Here the Lord lays his finger upon the sore. This was that pad in the straw, the thing that made Moses hang off as he did; however he pretended the people’s incredulity, his own inability, and this and that, neither did he altogether dissemble: but self-love needs not be taught to tell her tale.
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.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain This seems to have been a second vision, whereby…
This seems to have been a second vision, whereby God calls him forth to the present and speedy execution of that command which before was more generally delivered.
Which sought thy life, to wit, to take it away. See the like expression, 1Sa 22:23; 1Ki 19:14; Mat 2:20. God knew very well that one great cause of Moses’s unwillingness to this undertaking was his carnal fear, though he was ashamed to profess it, and therefore gives him this cordial.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian,.... After…
And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian,.... After he had obtained leave of his father-in-law to quit Midian, but before he left it:
go, return into Egypt: that is, directly, immediately; before he had only given him a commission at large to go thither, but had not fixed the time when he should go; but now he orders him to set forward at once:
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for all the men are dead which sought thy life; to take it away, the king of Egypt, and his ministers, and the friends of the Egyptian Moses had slain; and this is said to encourage him to go; and though Moses had never expressed his fear on this account, or made it an objection, yet it might lie secretly in his heart, and be one reason of his backwardness to go into Egypt, and which was now removed.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain The Lord said unto Moses - This seems to…
The Lord said unto Moses - This seems to have been a second vision, whereby God calls him to the present execution of the command given before.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 19. In Midian] This was a new revelation,…
Verse 19. In Midian] This was a new revelation, and appears to have taken place after Moses returned to his father-in-law previous to his departure for Egypt.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain Exo 4:19-20. The Lord said unto Moses — This…
Exo 4:19-20. The Lord said unto Moses — This seems to have been a second vision, whereby God calls him to the present execution of the command given before. The rod of God — His shepherd’s crook, so called, as it was God’s instrument in so many glorious works.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain Life. "After those many days were elapsed, the king…
Life. "After those many days were elapsed, the king of Egypt died," who had obliged Moses to flee, as the Septuagint, Josephus, and Philo add at the end of ver. 18. Upon which God, who had already commissioned him to go, and saw him willing, gives him this further assurance that he has nothing to fear for his own person. (Haydock)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain all the men are dead which sought thy life--The…
all the men are dead which sought thy life--The death of the Egyptian monarch took place in the four hundred and twenty-ninth year of the Hebrew sojourn in that land, and that event, according to the law of Egypt, took off his proscription of Moses, if it had been publicly issued.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 19. All the men are dead — See Exo_2:23,…
19. All the men are dead — See Exo_2:23, where the death of the king is related immediately before Moses’ call. This event seems in several ways to have been critical for the fortunes of Israel.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 19. That Moses should now be commanded by God…
19. That Moses should now be commanded by God to do what he has already both determined to do, and obtained Jethro’s permission to do, is remarkable; and, as Dillm. remarks, can only be explained by the fact that the verse is by a different narrator from v. 18 (viz. J)1[107].
[107] ‘Said’ cannot, consistently with Hebrew grammar, be interpreted to mean ‘had said.’
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which sought thy life] the Pharaoh and his servants (Exo_2:15; Exodus cf.23).
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 (19) In Midian.—Moses appears to have delayed his departure…
(19) In Midian.—Moses appears to have delayed his departure after he obtained permission to go from Jethro. Hence the address “Go, return,” which is peremptory.
All the men which sought thy life.—Not only the Pharaoh (Exo_2:23), but the kindred of the murdered man, and the officials empowered by the Pharaoh to arrest Moses. As forty years had elapsed since the homicide, this is readily conceivable.
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 And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go,…
And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return. It would seem that Moses was still reluctant, and was delaying his departure, even after he had obtained Jethro"s leave to go. Perhaps he was making it an excuse to himself for not setting out that if he returned he might still suffer death on account of the offence which had driven him into exile. To remove this last impediment, God assured him that "all the men were dead who had sought his life.
Ver. 19. The fact of having a mission does not release a man from social obligations.
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Direct communications with Jehovah, appointment to a great and glorious mission, with the power of working miracles, might have rendered many a man neglectful of ordinary obligations, might have seemed to place him above the necessity of asking anyone"s permission to do as he pleased. But Moses read his duty differently. He had been received among the Midianites with great kindness, had been given a home and a wife, and probably enrolled formally as an adopted member of the tribe or nation. Though Reuel, the head of the tribe at the time of his coming, had ceased to hold that position, having probably died, the tribe had a new head, to whom he was bound, if not by all the obligations which had attached him to Reuel, yet by several very definite and tangible bonds. Jethro was his near relative and his tribal chief; he had perhaps sworn allegiance to him; he had certainly received from him protection, employment, sustenance (ch. 3:1). To have quitted his service without permission, to have left his flock in the Sinaitic valleys, and proceeded straight to Egypt would have been easy, but would have been unkind, ungrateful, and contrary to the accepted standard of tribal morality at the time. Moses therefore went back to Midian from Sinai before proceeding to Egypt-made, that is, a considerable journey in the opposite direction to that which he was about to take in order to obtain Jethro"s consent to his going, thus acting the part of a faithful servant and a good subject. It would be well if all who believe themselves to have Divine missions, and to be highly gifted, would follow Moses" example, and not make their mission and high gifts an excuse for neglect of ordinary duties and obligations. Moses" example, and the words of One higher than Moses, should teach them that it becomes all men to "fulfil all righteousness". (Mat_3:15) If those with high missions neglect even small social duties, they "give an occasion to the adversary to blaspheme.
Reticence sometimes a duty. We are not bound in all cases to tell even those in authority over us the reasons, much less all the reasons, which actuate us. Moses wanted Jethro"s permission to quit his adopted tribe, and return to his native country and his people. He gave a reason which was not untrue, but which was far from being his sole, or even his main, reason. If he had said more, if he had revealed his mission, he would probably have raised a storm of opposition to his departure. He would have been called a fanatic, a visionary, a madman; and everything would have been said that was possible to deter him from carrying out his projects. If Moses felt, as he may have felt, that he was too weak to encounter such a storm of opposition, he was wise to be silent and so not arouse it.
The reasonable wishes of a subordinate should be granted cheerfully.
Jethro"s answer, "Go in peace," may well be taken as a pattern by those in authority. It is kindly, gracious, and ungrudging. The chieftain of a tribe might naturally have demurred to the withdrawal of a family of subjects, the master to the loss of a valuable servant, the head of a household to parting with near kinsfolk. But Jethro, deeming Moses" plea a sufficient one, is careful not to mar the grace of his concession by a single word of objection, reproach, or querulousness. Nor is "Go in peace" even a bare consent, but a consent embodying a blessing. It is equivalent to "Go, and the Lord go with thee!" Note also the absence of inquisitiveness. Jethro does not pester Moses with questions does not ask, "Is the reason thou hast assigned thy true reason," or "thy sole reason?" or, "When wilt thou return?" or, "Why take thy wife and children?" or, "How wilt thou live in Egypt?" or, "Art thou not afraid to return thither?" He will not pain his near connection by doubt or distrust, or even undue curiosity. He will not travel beyond the record. His consent has been asked. He gives it freely, fully cheerfully.
Vers. 19-23. Obedience brings a blessing.
There must have been something in the hesitation of Moses which caused it not to be wholly displeasing to God. Once he was "angered", (Exo_3:14) but even then not greatly offended content to show his anger by inflicting a slight penalty. Now, when Moses still delayed in Midian, how gentle the rebuke that is administered return;" and to the rebuke moreover is appended an encouragement the men are dead who sought thy life." Observe also that no sooner does Moses obey, than his reluctance seems wholly forgiven; the Lord appears afresh to him, and rewards his obedience by fresh revelations. "Israel is my son, even my firstborn." This tender relationship, never before acknowledged, is breathed into the prophet"s ear as he enters on the Path of obedience. What may he not expect, if he continues in it! Surely blessings upon blessings. Deliverance, triumph, continued, never-ending protection are assured to them whom God declares to be his children. Moses, as their leader, will have the glory of their success. Even the might of Pharaoh will be. impotent if used against them. Should Pharaoh refuse to liberate God"s "firstborn," he will lose his own.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG Ver. 19. The unsolicited removal of a source of great anxiety.
God assures Moses that he has no longer any cause to fear on account of the Egyptian slain forty years before. This last piece of information casts a flood of light on all the hesitation, reluctance, and perplexity which Moses has hitherto shown in his intercourse with Jehovah. It might have made a great deal of difference, if he had only known at the beginning that the men were dead who sought his life. Not but that Moses was honest enough in all the pleas he had started in order to escape from this mission and responsibility; but, deep under all other considerations, and very potent, even though he had been ashamed to confess it, lay his fear because of the slain Egyptian. He might even have got as far as the expressing of the fear, if God had not brought him sharply up by the kindling of his anger, and made him feel that of two perils it was wise to choose the lesser. Better run the risk from some Egyptian breathing vengeance than from the visitations of an angry God; and yet, though checked from speaking, he would be saying very earnestly in his heart, "Oh that I only knew myself to be safe in this matter." Remember the terror with which, after so long a time, Jacob approached his injured brother Esau. Certainly Jacob had the bitter consciousness of wrong-doing to heighten his fears, but Moses would have equally the consciousness of danger. Nor can it be too often impressed upon us, in considering this opening stage of Moses" acquaintance with God, that while he had a profound impression as to the real and awful Being with whom he had come in contact, the extent of his knowledge was not correspondent to the depth of his feeling. He had come into a real acquaintance with God; but it was at first, of necessity, a very imperfect and blundering one. The defective notions of Moses, with respect to God, find their New Testament parallel in the earth-born and earth-limited questions which the disciples so often addressed to Jesus. Hence, even though Moses has seen so much of God"s power and promptitude in dealing with every difficulty he has raised, he still remains uncertain whether God has taken into account this peril from the slain Egyptian. It is no easy thing to get to a real and operative conviction that God knows even the smallest transaction in the past life of every one of us. Y.
HOMILIES BY G.A. GOODHART Vers. 19-29. My times are in Thy hand.
Moses thought himself fit for his work at forty-eager to undertake it before the years increased; God waits until his self-confidence has abated, and then, at eighty, gives him his commission.
I THE GREAT COMMISSION. His errand is to Pharaoh, as an ambassador from the King of heaven to the king of Egypt. Notice
1. His credentials. As coming in a king"s name he must be accredited by the king who sends him. God gives him signs, very simple but very significant.
(1) The shepherd"s rod, emblem of his office, turned into a serpent, emblem of his new dignity.
(2) A hand made leprous and cleansed, emblem of a people degraded but to be redeemed.
(3) A libation of water turned to blood, emblem of life smitten by judgment. The signs are simple a rod, a hand, a cup of water; so are most of God"s signs; yet by the way in which he uses them they accredit the messenger, and attest the authenticity of his message.
2. His message corresponds with the last two signs:
(1) A command. Israel in slavery is to be released. God will have his son free, the leprous cleansed.
(2) A threat. If Pharaoh refuse, his son shall be slain; the joy of his life turned to blood. Such the commission given to Moses, and to fulfil which he starts for Egypt.
II THE GREAT TRIAL: vers. 24-26. Illustration: A man about to enter into battle carefully selects his best weapon. Is it, however, really trustworthy? has it no weak points? He must prove it that he may know. Proving looks like seeking to break; it is seeking to discover if breakage is possible. God having selected Moses, must prove him before he uses him; so if the proof brings out weak points they may at any rate be remedied. "The Lord met him and sought to kill him." Two weak points were immediately discovered:
1. A broken covenant. He who is selected to represent the covenant people, is himself shown to be a covenant-breaker! His son uncircumcised If judgment must fall on Egypt it must begin at the house of God. Moses must himself be purified before he can be allowed to denounce Pharaoh.
2. A refractory wife. The secret of the broken covenant was clearly the wilful obstinacy of Zipporah. She is compelled to do through fear what she would not yield from love. A man"s wife is meant for a help-meet; if not that, she may be his greatest hindrance. Let Zipporah return to Midian for the time, (Exo_18:2) and at least leave her husband unencumbered. So out of the trial God makes a way of escape; proves and reproves his servant that he may improve and approve him.
III THE GREAT CONSOLATION: vers. 27, 28. God does not do, what kings and rulers too often do, treat his envoys as mere machines, forgetting their human needs and cravings. If Zipporah is no help-meet for Moses, he shall have a help-meet who will more than satisfy him. In Aaron he finds sympathy, ver. 27; to Aaron he can give his confidence, ver. 28. His own strength is doubled in the friendship of one who thus shares his burdens.
Application:
1. God gives us commissions, but they are always accompanied by credentials. You say God calls you to do this? Show then the signs of your calling.
2. God"s envoys are not free from trials; rather, they are the more tried thatthey may be the more trustworthy. The Captain was perfected through suffering.
3. Whatever the commission, whatever the trial, God will empower us tofulfil the one and strengthen us to endure the other. One may well do without Zipporah when God sends him Aaron. G.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain All the men are dead which sought thy life.
Exo_4:19
All the men are dead which sought thy life.
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The death of enemies
1. In a world like this, the greater the man the more enemies he will have.
2. Death in this world is constantly sweeping away our enemies as well as friends.
I. The death of our enemies should restrain resentment. Were it not wrong to return evil for evil, to revile those who revile us, it would scarcely be wise. While we are preparing our retaliating machinery, death is doing his work with them. Our blows will scarcely reach them before they fall, and then, when they are gone, they can do us no harm. But if we have retaliated, the memory of the retaliation will give us pain.
II. The death of our enemies should stimulate us to overcome evil by good. The sublimest conquest is not that which will crush the body or wound the feelings, but that which will subdue the enmity and win the hostile soul to friendship and love. (Homilist.)
The Divine precaution for the safety of Christian workers
I. It is sometimes manifested by removing good men and great workers from dangerous associations.
1. Christian workers are sometimes removed from the pride of high society.
2. Christian workers are sometimes removed from the contamination of great sin.
3. Christian workers are sometimes removed from the pedantry of great learning.
4. Christian workers are sometimes removed from physical evil.
II. It is sometimes manifested by informing good men and great workers of the removal of danger. Time aids the enterprises of heaven. Death subdues the hatred and passion of men.
III. The divine precaution does not allow an abandonment of the work committed to the good. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Death of enemies
Hearing a whole choir of birds chirping merrily together, my curiosity was excited to inquire into the occasion of their convocation and merriment, when I quickly perceived a dead hawk in the bush, about which they made such a noise, seeming to triumph at the death of an enemy. I could not blame them for singing the knell of one who, like a cannibal, was wont to feed upon their living bodies, tearing them limb from limb, and scaring them with his frightful appearance. Over this bird, which was so formidable when alive, the most timid wren or titmouse did not now fear to chirp and hop. This occurrence brought to my mind the case of tyrants and oppressors. When living, they are the terror of mankind; but when dead, they are the objects of general contempt and scorn. When the wicked perish, there is shouting (Pro_11:10).
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_4:19
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.—Exo_4:19
THE DIVINE PRECAUTION FOR THE SAFETY OF CHRISTIAN WORKERS
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I. It is sometimes manifested by removing good men and great workers from dangerous associations. The Divine Being uses every precaution for the safety of those employed in the great moral enterprises of humanity. He does not achieve their safety by miracles, but by prudence, even though it may involve delay in the completion of His plan. Sometimes we hear Christian workers say that they can go fearlessly into danger, because they are assured of the protection of heaven; they are not warranted in talking or acting thus, for, as a rule, God gives the truest safety to those who keep the furthest from peril. It is the Divine plan to take Moses away from Egypt until those who would will him are dead, rather than expose him to their continued rage.
1. Christian workers are sometimes removed from the pride of high society. Moses was providentially removed from the pride and splendour of the Egyptian palace, in order that he might retain the simplicity of a true servant of God. Gaiety is a great temptation to a Christian worker. It has ruined many men of early promise. How many workers in the world and in the Church to-day owe their utility and success to the fact that God removed them from the social allurements of their youth. True, the change from the palace of Pharaoh to the solitude of the desert may not have been welcome at first, but now it is the gladdest recollection of your life.
2. Christian workers are sometimes removed from the contamination of great sin. The palace of Pharaoh was most unfavourable to the cultivation of a pure life. It was the seat of despotism, and despotism is generally allied to almost every other sin. In this royal court Moses was in danger of contamination, and that at the most susceptible period of his life. Hence God removed him from this school of vice, and brought him into the primitive simplicity of a desert family. Many a youthful worker for God has been ruined by a bad example.
3. Christian workers are sometimes removed from the pedantry of great learning. In the Egyptian palace Moses had every facility for acquiring knowledge, and there was a possibility that he might become mentally proud, and think the claims of religious service beneath his talent and education. Multitudes have been turned aside from moral service by the conceit of imagined Wisdom
4. Christian workers are sometimes removed from physical peril.
II. It is sometimes manifested by informing good men and great workers of the removal of danger. God informs Moses that the men who sought his life are dead. See the folly of men who oppose themselves to the plans of heaven; they will soon die, and their death will be the signal of victory to the servant whose moral fitness has been enhanced by the solitude rendered necessary by their rage. Time aids the enterprises of heaven. Death subdues the hatred and passion of men. God is interested in the mission of His servants, so that He aids them in its fulfilment.
III. That the Divine Precaution does not allow an abandonment of the work committed to the good. Moses was to go to his work again. Temporary perils and hindrances are not to entirely set aside Christian toil. Israel must be emancipated. The servant of God must fulfil his calling, even though he has to wait years in the desert before he can commence it.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Exo_4:18-19.
(17)—Parental Dealing!—On one occasion a minister of God was counselling a little girl to evince gratitude always for the kind father whom God had graciously given her, when she looked up in his face with her soft, blue eyes, and exclaimed, “He never speaks kind to me.” Can we wonder if that child grows up undutiful—disobedient—void of all confiding tenderness towards her parent?
Exo_4:18-19.
(18)—Presumptuous Christian!—That sailor is a fool who wilfully runs his vessel among the foaming breakers because his ship is stout—bears a lifeboat on her deck, and can be rescued by watchers on the shore. Trench relates the visit of a gentleman to the scene of a colliery explosion. The mine was full of chokedamp; and yet his guide persisted in entering it with his Davy-lamp. That light was invented to protect miners, and not to make them presume. Christians presume on the providence of God when they rush recklessly and uncalled into danger.
“Whate’er our thoughts or purpose be,
They cannot reach their destined end,
Unless, oh God. they go with Thee,
And with Thy thoughts and purpose blend.
Exo_4:18-19.
(19)—Confidence!—Luther, when making his way into the presence of Cardinal Cajetan, who had summoned him to answer for his heretical opinions at Augsburg, was asked by one of the cardinal’s minions where he would find a shelter if his patron the Elector of Saxony deserted him. His immediate reply was, “Under the shield of heaven.” Under that shield Moses was to enter Pharaoh’s presence.
“A strong tower is the Lord our God,
To shelter and defend us;
Our shield His arm, our sword His rod.
Against our foes befriend us.”
—Luther.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.