Tree of Life Version
Exodus 4:22
22You are to say to Pharaoh, “This is what Adonai says: ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn.
Exodus 4:22 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my firstborn:
- New International Version (NIV)Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,
- New King James Version (NKJV)Then you shall say to Pharaoh, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Israel is My son, My firstborn.
Context of Exodus 4:22
20So Moses took his wife and his sons, set them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand. 21Adonai said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do all the wonders before Pharaoh that I have put in your hand. Still, I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. You are to say to Pharaoh, “This is what Adonai says: ‘Israel is My son, My firstborn. 23So I have said to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me, but you have refused to let him go. Behold, I will slay your son, your firstborn.’” 24It happened along the way, at a lodging place, that Adonai met him and sought to kill him!
Read all of Exodus 4Exodus 4:22 word by word
וְאָמַרְתָּ֖ אֶל־פַּרְעֹ֑ה כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה בְּנִ֥י בְכֹרִ֖י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 4:22
- Exodus 19:5Now then, if you listen closely to My voice, and keep My covenant, then you will be My own treasure from among all people, for all the earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 14:1“You are the children of Adonai your God. You are not to cut yourselves or shave your forehead for the dead.
- Jeremiah 31:9Hear the word of Adonai, O nations, and declare it in the distant islands, and say: ‘He who scattered Israel will gather and watch over him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
- Hosea 11:1“When Israel was a youth I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son.
- Romans 9:4who are Israelites. To them belong the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Torah and the Temple service and the promises.
- 2 Corinthians 6:18I will be a father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says Adonai-Tzva’ot.”
- Hebrews 12:23and to the assembly of the firstborn who are written in a scroll in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous ones made perfect,
- James 1:18By His will, He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all He created.
Commentaries on Exodus 4:22
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 22Israel is my son, even my firstborn - That is, The Hebrew people are unutterably dear to me.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 22My firstborn - The expression would be perfectly intelligible to Pharaoh, whose official designation was “son of Ra.” In numberless inscriptions the Pharaohs are styled “own sons” or “beloved sons” of the deity. It is here applied for the first time to Israel; and as we learn from Exodus 4:23, emphatically in antithesis to Pharaoh‘s own firstborn.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 18-23Verses 18-23 After God had appeared in the bush, he often spake to Moses. Pharaoh had hardened his own heart against the groans and cries of the oppressed Israelites; and now God, in the way of righteous judgment, hardens his heart against the teaching of the miracles, and the terror of the plagues. But whether Pharaoh will hear, or whether he will forbear, Moses must tell him, Thus saith the Lord. He must demand a discharge for Israel, Let my son go; not…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-23These verses summarize the upcoming chapters. They start with the request to let the people go to worship God and end with the final plague, the death of the firstborn (5:3; 11:4–6). God was preparing the rescuer for the challenging task ahead (see 11:9).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311. But, behold--Hebrew, "If," "perhaps," "they will not believe me."--What evidence can I produce of my divine mission? There was still a want of full confidence, not in the character and divine power of his employer, but in His presence and power always accompanying him. He insinuated that his communication might be rejected and he himself treated as an impostor.Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 4:22
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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