Exodus 4:2
New International Version
Then the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

New Living Translation
Then the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A shepherd’s staff,” Moses replied.

English Standard Version
The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”

Berean Standard Bible
And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

King James Bible
And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

New King James Version
So the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”

New American Standard Bible
The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.”

NASB 1995
The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.”

NASB 1977
And the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.”

Legacy Standard Bible
And Yahweh said to him, “What is this in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.”

Amplified Bible
And the LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he said, “A staff.”

Christian Standard Bible
The LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand? ” “A staff,” he replied.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
The LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?"” A staff,” he replied.

American Standard Version
And Jehovah said unto him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And LORD JEHOVAH said to him, “What is this that is in your hand?”, and he said, “A staff.”

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And the Lord said to him, What is this thing that is in thine hand? and he said, A rod.

Contemporary English Version
The LORD answered, "What's that in your hand?" "A walking stick," Moses replied.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Then he said to him: What is that thou holdest in thy hand? He answered: A rod.

English Revised Version
And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Then the LORD asked him, "What's that in your hand?" He answered, "A shepherd's staff."

Good News Translation
So the LORD asked him, "What are you holding?" "A walking stick," he answered.

International Standard Version
"What's that in your hand?" the LORD asked him. Moses answered, "A staff."

JPS Tanakh 1917
And the LORD said unto him: 'What is that in thy hand?' And he said: 'A rod.'

Literal Standard Version
And YHWH says to him, “What [is] this in your hand?” And he says, “A rod”;

Majority Standard Bible
And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.

New American Bible
The LORD said to him: What is in your hand? “A staff,” he answered.

NET Bible
The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A staff."

New Revised Standard Version
The LORD said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A staff.”

New Heart English Bible
The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?" He said, "A rod."

Webster's Bible Translation
And the LORD said to him, What is that in thy hand? And he said, A rod.

World English Bible
Yahweh said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.”

Young's Literal Translation
And Jehovah saith unto him, 'What is this in thy hand?' and he saith, 'A rod;'

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Moses' Staff
1Then Moses answered, “What if they do not believe me or listen to my voice? For they may say, ‘The LORD has not appeared to you.’ ” 2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. 3“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.…

Cross References
Exodus 4:17
But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it."

Exodus 4:20
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to Egypt. And he took the staff of God in his hand.

Exodus 7:9
"When Pharaoh tells you, 'Perform a miracle,' you are to say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,' and it will become a serpent."

Exodus 7:15
Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake.


Treasury of Scripture

And the LORD said to him, What is that in your hand? And he said, A rod.

a rod.

Exodus 4:17,20
And thou shalt take this rod in thine hand, wherewith thou shalt do signs…

Genesis 30:37
And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel and chesnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made the white appear which was in the rods.

Leviticus 27:32
And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.

Jump to Previous
Hand Rod Staff
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Hand Rod Staff
Exodus 4
1. Moses's rod is turned into a serpent.
6. His hand is leprous.
10. He loathes his calling.
13. Aaron is appointed to assist him.
18. Moses departs from Jethro.
21. God's message to Pharaoh.
24. Zipporah circumcises her son.
27. Aaron is sent to meet Moses.
29. The people believe them.














(2) A rod.--Most commentators regard the "rod" of Moses as his shepherd's crook, and this is certainly possible; but the etymology of the word employed seems rather to point to an ordinary staff, or walking-stick. Egyptians of rank usually carried long batons; and one suggestion is, that the rod of Moses was "that which he had been accustomed to carry as the son of Pharaoh's daughter." But even if this was still in his possession after forty years of exile, he is not likely to have taken it with him when he went a-shepherding. Probably the "rod" was a common staff, such as a shepherd of eighty years old might need for a support.

Verse 2. - A rod. Or "a staff." Some suppose the ordinary shepherd's staff, or crook, to be meant; but it is objected that this would have been an unfit object to have brought into the presence of Pharaoh (Kalisch), being unsuitable for a court, and emblematic of an occupation which the Egyptians loathed (Genesis 46:34); and the suggestion is therefore made, that it was the baton or long stick commonly carried by Egyptians of good position and especially by persons in authority. But Moses in Midian, forty years after he quitted Egypt, is not likely to have possessed such an article; nor, if he had possessed it, would he have taken it with him when shepherding. Probably a simple staff, the natural support of a man of advanced years, is meant.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
And the LORD
יְהוָ֖ה (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel

asked
וַיֹּ֧אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say

him,
אֵלָ֛יו (’ê·lāw)
Preposition | third person masculine singular
Strong's 413: Near, with, among, to

“What is that
זֶּ֣ה‪‬ (zeh)
Pronoun - masculine singular
Strong's 2088: This, that

in your hand?”
בְיָדֶ֑ךָ (ḇə·yā·ḏe·ḵā)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | second person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand

“A staff,”
מַטֶּֽה׃ (maṭ·ṭeh)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

he replied.
וַיֹּ֖אמֶר (way·yō·mer)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 559: To utter, say


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OT Law: Exodus 4:2 Yahweh said to him What is that (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 4:1
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