He will be your spokesman to the people; and it will happen, that he will be to you a mouth, and you will be to him as God.
Parallel translations
- KJV And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.
- BSB He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.
- NKJV So he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth for you, and you shall be to him as God.
- NASB He shall speak for you to the people; and he will be as a mouth for you and you will be as God to him.
- NLT Aaron will be your spokesman to the people. He will be your mouthpiece, and you will stand in the place of God for him, telling him what to say.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Aaron will be Moses' mouth to the people, and Moses will be 'as God' to Aaron. Moses receives God's word and Aaron declares it, a picture of prophetic mediation.
Overview
The relationship is defined: Aaron speaks for Moses as a mouth, while Moses stands to Aaron as God, the source of the message. The language does not deify Moses but marks him as the one who receives revelation to pass on. This pattern of a God-appointed mediator and his spokesman foreshadows the prophetic office and ultimately Christ, the true Word from God to His people.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Exod 7:1–2Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
- John 10:34–35Jesus answered them, “Isn’t it written in your law, ‘I said, you are gods?’
- Ps 82:6I said, “You are gods, all of you are sons of the Most High.
- Exod 18:19Listen now to my voice. I will give you counsel, and God be with you. You represent the people before God, and bring the causes to God.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 4:16 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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