Keluaran 3:11

3:11 Moses said ¹  to God, ²  “Who am I, that I should go ³  to Pharaoh, or that I should bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

Matius 2:6

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ⁴ 

Matius 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ⁵  in Judea, in the time ⁶  of King Herod, ⁷  wise men ⁸  from the East came to Jerusalem ⁹ 

1 Korintus 15:9

15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

[3:11]  ¹ tn Heb “And Moses said.”

[3:11]  ² sn When he was younger, Moses was confident and impulsive, but now that he is older the greatness of the task makes him unsure. The remainder of this chapter and the next chapter record the four difficulties of Moses and how the Lord answers them (11-12, 13-22; then 4:1-9; and finally 4:10-17).

[3:11]  ³ tn The imperfect tense אֵלֵךְ (’elekh) carries the modal nuance of obligatory imperfect, i.e., “that I should go.” Moses at this point is overwhelmed with the task of representing God, and with his personal insufficiency, and so in honest humility questions the choice.

[2:6]  ⁴ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

[2:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ⁷ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ⁸ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.