7:1-7 God glorifies himself. He makes people know that he is Jehovah. Israel is made to know it by the performance of his promises to them, and the Egyptians by the pouring out of his wrath upon them. Moses, as the ambassador of Jehovah, speaking in his name, laid commands upon Pharaoh, denounced threatenings against him, and called for judgments upon him. Pharaoh, proud and great as he was, could not resist. Moses stood not in awe of Pharaoh, but made him tremble. This seems to be meant in the words, Thou shalt be a god unto Pharaoh. At length Moses is delivered from his fears. He makes no more objections, but, being strengthened in faith, goes about his work with courage, and proceeds in it with perseverance.

Verse 7. - Fourscore years old. This age is confirmed by the statement (in Deuteronomy 31:2; Deuteronomy 34:7) that Moses was a hundred and twenty at his death. It is also accepted as exact by St. Stephen (Acts 7:23, 30). Moderns are surprised that at such an age a man could undertake and carry through a difficult and dangerous enterprise; but in Egypt one hundred and ten years was not considered a very exceptionally long life, and men frequently retained their full vigour till seventy or eighty.

And Moses was eighty years old,.... At this time, which is observed partly to show how long Israel had been afflicted in Egypt; for their great troubles and miseries began about the time of the birth of Moses, or a little before, as appears from the above history; and partly to show the patience and forbearance of God with the Egyptians, and how just and righteous were his judgments on them; with this perfectly agrees Stephen's account of the age of Moses, Acts 7:23 and Aaron eighty three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh; so that they were men that had had a large experience of things, and had been long training up for the service designed to be done by them; they were men of wisdom and prudence, of sedate and composed countenances, and fit to appear before a king, whose age and venerable aspect might command attention to them. Aben Ezra observes, that"in all the Scripture there is no mention of any prophets that prophesied in their old age but these, because their excellency was greater than all the prophets.''By this it appears that Aaron was three years older than Moses. A Jewish chronologer says (n), that it is affirmed in an exposition of theirs, that Aaron prophesied to the Israelites in Egypt eighty years, which is making him to be a very young prophet when he first entered into the office. The Arabic writers (o) say, Miriam was at this time eighty seven, so was seven years older than Moses, and four years older than Aaron; see Exodus 2:4.

(n) Shalshalet Hakabala, fol. 7. 1.((o) Patricides, p. 26. apud Hottinger. p. 415.

7. Moses was fourscore years old—This advanced age was a pledge that they had not been readily betrayed into a rash or hazardous enterprise, and that under its attendant infirmities they could not have carried through the work on which they were entering had they not been supported by a divine hand.

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