Exodus 4:17
And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Exodus 4:17
And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
This ordinary shepherd's staff wasn't just a tool for Moses; it was the very instrument God designated for performing the signs, highlighting how God often uses the familiar and humble to display His extraordinary power.
Following Moses's repeated objections and God's patient responses, the Lord finally appoints Aaron to assist Moses as his spokesman. God then instructs Moses to take his shepherd's staff, a simple tool from his former life, and use it as the instrument for performing the miraculous signs to convince the Israelites and Pharaoh. This command sets the stage for the initial supernatural events that will authenticate Moses's divine commission.
Moses was called to lead God's people, a task that sounds grand and requires authority. But what was the 'tool' God gave him?
God often uses ordinary, even humble, objects to display His extraordinary power. Moses was a shepherd, and his shepherd's staff was to become the instrument of divine signs.
This wasn't a king's scepter or a magician's wand, but a simple tool for tending sheep. This imagery speaks volumes:
Moses was hesitant, feeling inadequate for the task God had set before him. God’s response wasn't to change Moses's personality, but to equip him with a powerful symbol.
This rod wasn't just a symbol; it was the very instrument through which God would perform His mighty acts in Egypt. The 'signs' (or 'the signs,' as some suggest) were the plagues and miracles that would demonstrate God's power over creation and over the gods of Egypt.
Understand the original words
matteh · Hebrew Noun
A long, slender rod used for support while walking, as a shepherd’s tool, or as a symbol of authority, power, or divine intervention. In Scripture, it often represents the instrument through which God performs miraculous signs.
oth · Hebrew Noun
In this context, it refers to the miraculous wonders or authenticating acts performed by God through His servants to demonstrate His authority, validate His message, and reveal His power to both believers and unbelievers.
The shepherd's staff, a symbol of Moses's humble past, becomes the instrument of God's power, demonstrating that God uses the ordinary to accomplish the extraordinary and confound human pride.
c. 1446 BC
Moses called by God
God appears to Moses in the burning bush at Mount Sinai, commissioning him to lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Moses's initial reluctance
Moses expresses his inadequacy and fear, citing his lack of eloquence. God appoints Aaron to speak for him and provides Moses with miraculous signs.
c. 1446 BC
Staff transformed into a serpent
Moses's shepherd's staff is transformed into a serpent before him, demonstrating God's power and setting the stage for future signs.
c. 1446 BC
Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh
Moses and Aaron, empowered by God, present their demands to Pharaoh, who hardens his heart.
c. 1446 BC
This passage directly echoes Exodus 4:17, showing Aaron (acting for Moses) using the same rod to perform a sign before Pharaoh, demonstrating the rod's continued miraculous power.
Numbers 20:8-11Here, Moses is commanded to speak to the rock to bring forth water, but in his frustration, he strikes it twice with his rod. This shows the rod as an instrument of God's power and judgment, though Moses's disobedience in this instance led to consequences.
1 Samuel 17:40David also takes a staff when he goes to fight Goliath. While not explicitly miraculous, the staff represents his humble background as a shepherd, much like Moses's rod, and becomes a symbol of God's power working through an unlikely champion.
Zechariah 11:10-11This prophetic passage speaks of shepherds (representing leaders) and their staffs, one named 'Favor' and the other 'Union.' It suggests that staffs can symbolize authority, covenant, and the relationship between God and His people, paralleling the significance of Moses's rod.
gillExodus 4:17: "And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs."
And thou shall take this rod in thine hand,.... Which he then had in his hand, and was no other than his shepherd's staff: wherewith thou shall do signs: wondrous things, meaning the ten plagues inflicted on Egypt.
clarkeExodus 4:17: "And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs."
Thou shalt take this rod - From the story of Moses's rod the heathens have invented the fables of the thyrsus of Bacchus, and the caduceus of Mercury. Cicero reckons five Bacchuses, one of which, according to Orpheus, was born of the river Nile; but, according to the common opinion, he was born on the banks of that river. Bacchus is expressly said to have been exposed on the river Nile, hence he is called…
This ordinary shepherd's staff wasn't just a tool for Moses; it was the very instrument God designated for performing the signs, highlighting how God often uses the familiar and humble to display His extraordinary power.
Following Moses's repeated objections and God's patient responses, the Lord finally appoints Aaron to assist Moses as his spokesman. God then instructs Moses to take his shepherd's staff, a simple tool from his former life, and use it as the instrument for performing the miraculous signs to convince the Israelites and Pharaoh. This command sets the stage for the initial supernatural events that will authenticate Moses's divine commission.
Following Moses's repeated objections and God's patient responses, the Lord finally appoints Aaron to assist Moses as his spokesman. God then instructs Moses to take his shepherd's staff, a simple tool from his former life, and use it as the instrument for performing the miraculous signs to convince the Israelites and Pharaoh. This command sets the stage for the initial supernatural events that will authenticate Moses's divine commission.
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The Ten Plagues begin
God unleashes a series of devastating plagues upon Egypt to force Pharaoh to release the Israelites.
c. 1446 BC
The Exodus from Egypt
After the final plague, Pharaoh relents, and the Israelites depart from Egypt, marking the beginning of their journey to the Promised Land.
"And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.”" — This ordinary shepherd's staff wasn't just a tool for Moses; it was the very instrument God designated for performing the signs, highlighting how God often uses the familiar and humble to display H…