Exodus 4:6-9·~1 min

Moses’ Hand

The LORD tells Moses to place his hand inside his cloak; it comes out diseased and then returns whole when he repeats the action. The sign carries both affliction and restoration in his own body.

F⁶urthermore, the LORD said to Moses, “Put your hand inside your cloak. ” So he put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, his hand was leprous, white as snow. ⁷“Put your hand back inside your cloak,” said the LORD.

The LORD explains that if the first sign is rejected, the second may be believed, and if both fail, water from the Nile will become blood on dry ground. The signs are arranged as successive witnesses against disbelief.

⁸And the LORD said, “If they refuse to believe you or heed the witness of the first sign, they may believe that of the second. ⁹But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”

Section summaryThe LORD adds two more signs: Moses’ hand becomes diseased and is restored, and Nile water can become blood on the ground. Each sign answers possible unbelief with another witness.

Role in the chapterThis section strengthens Moses’ commission with further signs. It widens the evidence God gives in case the first sign is refused.