Bible Strands
Exodus 4:19
Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Moses in Midian after Moses secures Jethro’s permission but before Moses departs with his family and the staff.
The words — The Hebrew imperative pair לֵךְ (lekh) and שׁוּב (shuv) functions as a single command meaning "go back," specifying both departure and destination.
The thread — The pattern of returning after a pursuer’s death connects to Matthew 2:20 and mirrors the death of the Egyptian king in Exodus 2:23, which follows Moses’ flight in Exodus 2:15.
Why it lands — The text requires accepting the reported deaths as a factual premise for obedience, treating divine instruction as the sole driver of the mission rather than human certainty.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And the Lord said unto Moses in Midian, Go, return into Egypt: for all the men are dead which sought thy life.
Cross-references
- Matthew 2:20 “Get up!” he said. “Take the Child and His mother and go to the land of Israel, for those seeking the Child’s life are now dead.”
- Exodus 2:15 When Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, where he sat down beside a well.
- Exodus 2:23 After a long time, the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned and cried out under their burden of slavery, and their cry for deliverance from bondage ascended to God.