Exodus 6:12

6:12 But Moses replied to ¹  the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then ²  how will Pharaoh listen to me, since ³  I speak with difficulty?” ⁴ 

Jeremiah 1:6

1:6 I answered, “Oh, Lord God, ⁵  I really ⁶  do not know how to speak well enough for that, ⁷  for I am too young.” ⁸ 

Acts 7:22

7:22 So Moses was trained ⁹  in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful ¹⁰  in his words and deeds.

[6:12]  ¹ tn Heb “And Moses spoke before.”

[6:12]  ² sn This analogy is an example of a qal wahomer comparison. It is an argument by inference from the light (qal) to the heavy (homer), from the simple to the more difficult. If the Israelites, who are Yahwists, would not listen to him, it is highly unlikely Pharaoh would.

[6:12]  ³ tn The final clause begins with a disjunctive vav (ו), a vav on a nonverb form – here a pronoun. It introduces a circumstantial causal clause.

[6:12]  ⁴ tn Heb “and [since] I am of uncircumcised lips.” The “lips” represent his speech (metonymy of cause). The term “uncircumcised” makes a comparison between his speech and that which Israel perceived as unacceptable, unprepared, foreign, and of no use to God. The heart is described this way when it is impervious to good impressions (Lev 26:41; Jer 9:26) and the ear when it hears imperfectly (Jer 6:10). Moses has here returned to his earlier claim – he does not speak well enough to be doing this.

[1:6]  ⁵ tn Heb “Lord Yahweh.”

[1:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “Behold, I do not know how to speak.” The particle הִנֵּה (hinneh, commonly rendered “behold”) often introduces a speech and calls special attention to a specific word or the statement as a whole (see IBHS 675-78 §40.2.1).

[1:6]  ⁷ tn The words “well enough for that” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarity. Jeremiah is not claiming an absolute inability to speak.

[1:6]  ⁸ tn Heb “I am a boy/youth.” The Hebrew word can refer to an infant (Exod 2:6), a young boy (1 Sam 2:11), a teenager (Gen 21:12), or a young man (2 Sam 18:5). The translation is deliberately ambiguous since it is unclear how old Jeremiah was when he was called to begin prophesying.

[7:22]  ⁹ tn Or “instructed.”

[7:22]  ¹⁰ tn Or “was able” (BDAG 264 s.v. δυνατός 1.b.α).