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

New Living Translation
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and headed back to the land of Egypt. In his hand he carried the staff of God.

English Standard Version
So Moses took his wife and his sons and had them ride on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

Berean Standard Bible
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.

King James Bible
And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

New King James Version
Then Moses took his wife and his sons and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

New American Standard Bible
So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

NASB 1995
So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

NASB 1977
So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

Legacy Standard Bible
So Moses took his wife and his sons and mounted them on a donkey and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

Amplified Bible
So Moses took his wife [Zipporah] and his sons [Gershom and Eliezer] and seated them on donkeys, and returned to the land of Egypt. Moses also took the staff of God in his hand.

Christian Standard Bible
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff in his hand.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took God’s staff in his hand.

American Standard Version
And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Moshe took his wife and his children and mounted them on donkeys, and returned to go to Egypt, and Moshe took the staff of God in his hand.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And Moses took his wife and his children, and mounted them on the beasts, and returned to Egypt; and Moses took the rod which he had from God in his hand.

Contemporary English Version
So Moses put his wife and sons on donkeys and headed for Egypt, holding the walking stick that had the power of God.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Moses therefore took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass: and returned into Egypt, carrying the rod of God in his hand.

English Revised Version
And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
So Moses took his wife and sons, put them on a donkey, and started out for Egypt. He also brought with him the staff God had told him to take.

Good News Translation
So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and set out with them for Egypt, carrying the walking stick that God had told him to take.

International Standard Version
So Moses took his wife and son, put them on donkeys, and headed back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

JPS Tanakh 1917
And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt; and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

Literal Standard Version
and Moses takes his wife, and his sons, and causes them to ride on the donkey, and turns back to the land of Egypt, and Moses takes the rod of God in his hand.

Majority Standard Bible
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.

New American Bible
So Moses took his wife and his sons, mounted them on the donkey, and started back to the land of Egypt. Moses took the staff of God with him.

NET Bible
Then Moses took his wife and sons and put them on a donkey and headed back to the land of Egypt, and Moses took the staff of God in his hand.

New Revised Standard Version
So Moses took his wife and his sons, put them on a donkey, and went back to the land of Egypt; and Moses carried the staff of God in his hand.

New Heart English Bible
Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God's rod in his hand.

Webster's Bible Translation
And Moses took his wife, and his sons, and set them upon an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt. And Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

World English Bible
Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on a donkey, and he returned to the land of Egypt. Moses took God’s rod in his hand.

Young's Literal Translation
and Moses taketh his wife, and his sons, and causeth them to ride on the ass, and turneth back to the land of Egypt, and Moses taketh the rod of God in his hand.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Moses Leaves for Egypt
19Now the LORD had said to Moses in Midian, “Go back to Egypt, for all the men who sought to kill you are dead.” 20So 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. 21The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.…

Cross References
Acts 7:29
At this remark, Moses fled to the land of Midian, where he lived as a foreigner and had two sons.

Exodus 2:22
And she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, saying, "I have become a foreigner in a foreign land."

Exodus 4:2
And the LORD asked him, "What is that in your hand?" "A staff," he replied.

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

Exodus 14:16
And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.

Exodus 17:9
So Moses said to Joshua, "Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand."

Exodus 18:3
along with her two sons. One son was named Gershom, for Moses had said, "I have been a foreigner in a foreign land."


Treasury of Scripture

And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on an ass, and he returned to the land of Egypt: and Moses took the rod of God in his hand.

the rod of God.

Exodus 4:2,17
And the LORD said unto him, What is that in thine hand? And he said, A rod…

Exodus 17:9
And Moses said unto Joshua, Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.

Numbers 20:8,9
Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink…

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Ass Causeth Donkey Egypt God's Hand Moses Mounted Ride Rod Staff Started Turneth Wife
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Ass Causeth Donkey Egypt God's Hand Moses Mounted Ride Rod Staff Started Turneth Wife
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.














(20) His sons.--Only one had been mentioned previously, viz., Gershom (Exodus 2:22), unless we accept the Vulgate addition to that place. But another had been recently born to him.

Set them upon an ass.--Heb., upon the ass, i.e., cither "upon his ass," or, according to some, "upon asses." The singular of a substantive with the article is sometimes used for the genus (Genesis 15:11).

He returned.--Rather, set out to return (??????????, LXX.).

The rod of God.--An emphatic phrase. God's endowment of the rod with miraculous power had made it "the rod of God." It was the instrument by means of which most of the plagues and the other miracles were wrought (Exodus 7:20; Exodus 8:6; Exodus 8:17; Exodus 9:23; Exodus 10:13; Exodus 14:16; Exodus 17:5; Numbers 20:9; &c). . . .

Verse 20. - His sons. Gershom, already mentioned (Exodus 2:22), and Eliezer (Exodus 18:4), who was probably an infant. Set them upon an ass. Literally, "the ass," i.e. the one ass that belonged to him. The word might best be translated "his ass." When Moses is said to have "set them upon" the animal, we need not understand "all of them." Probably Zipporah and her baby rode, while Gershom walked with his father. Though horses were known in Egypt before this, they could not be used in the Sinaitic peninsula, and the employment of an ass by Moses is thoroughly appropriate. Returned. I.e. "set out to return." Took the rod of God in his hand. This is of course the "rod" of ver. 2, which had become "the rod of God" by the miracle of vers. 3 and 4, and which God had commanded him to take to Egypt (ver. 17).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
So Moses
מֹשֶׁ֜ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

took
וַיִּקַּ֨ח (way·yiq·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

his wife
אִשְׁתּ֣וֹ (’iš·tōw)
Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

and sons,
בָּנָ֗יו (bā·nāw)
Noun - masculine plural construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1121: A son

put
וַיַּרְכִּבֵם֙ (way·yar·ki·ḇêm)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Hifil - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular | third person masculine plural
Strong's 7392: To ride, to place upon, to despatch

them on
עַֽל־ (‘al-)
Preposition
Strong's 5921: Above, over, upon, against

a donkey,
הַחֲמֹ֔ר (ha·ḥă·mōr)
Article | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2543: A male ass

and headed back
וַיָּ֖שָׁב (way·yā·šāḇ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7725: To turn back, in, to retreat, again

to Egypt.
מִצְרָ֑יִם (miṣ·rā·yim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa

And [he]
מֹשֶׁ֛ה (mō·šeh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 4872: Moses -- a great Israelite leader, prophet and lawgiver

took
וַיִּקַּ֥ח (way·yiq·qaḥ)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 3947: To take

the staff
מַטֵּ֥ה (maṭ·ṭêh)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 4294: A staff, rod, shaft, branch, a tribe

of God
הָאֱלֹהִ֖ים (hā·’ĕ·lō·hîm)
Article | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 430: gods -- the supreme God, magistrates, a superlative

in his hand.
בְּיָדֽוֹ׃ (bə·yā·ḏōw)
Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027: A hand


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OT Law: Exodus 4:20 Moses took his wife and his sons (Exo. Ex)
Exodus 4:19
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