Exodus 4:3

Exo 4:3 And he said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and Moses fled from before it.

Ver. 3. And it became a serpent.] So doth the word to those that cast away the care of it; it stings them with unquestionable conviction and horror. With this rod Moses should guide the Israelites, sting the Egyptians. {Isa 14:29 Jer 8:17}

And Moses fled from before it,] First fly from sin as from a serpent, saith one. But if thou hast taken this serpent into thy hand, rest not, till, like Moses’s serpent, it be turned into a rod again to scourge thy soul. Be either innocent or penitent.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 4:3-4. It became a serpent — Was really changed into a serpent. There was a significancy in this sign: it intimated what and how pernicious his rod would be to the Egyptians. It became a rod in his hand — When stretched forth by the hand of Moses or Aaron, it became a token to Israel of guidance, encouragement, and protection; but to Egypt, like the bite of the most poisonous serpent, it betokened desolating judgments.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

4:3 Across the ancient Near East, the snake was a symbol of both death and healing. The person who demonstrated power in these areas was powerful indeed.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 3. A serpent] Of what sort we know not, as the word נחש nachash is a general name for serpents, and also means several other things, see Ge 3:1: but it was either of a kind that he had not seen before, or one that he knew to be dangerous; for it is said, he fled from before it. Some suppose the staff was changed into a crocodile; See Clarke on Ex 7:10.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(3) A serpent.—The word here used (nakhash) is a generic one for a snake of any kind, and tells us nothing as to the species. A different word (tannin) is used in Exo_7:10, while nakhash recurs in Exo_7:15. Tannin is, like nakhash, a generic term.

And Moses fled from before it—It was natural for Moses to remember his alarm, and record it. Any-later writer would have passed over so small a circumstance. (See the Introduction, p. 3.)

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

3. a serpent] The marg. ‘Heb. nâḥâsh’ is added for the purpose of shewing that the Heb. word used here is different from the one used in Exo_7:10-12 (P); see the marg. there.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And he said, cast it on the ground,.... That is, the rod or staff:

and he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; not in appearance only, but in reality, it was changed into a real living serpent; for God, who is the author of nature, can change the nature of things as he pleases; nor is it to be supposed that he would only make it look to the sight as if it was one, by working upon the fancy and imagination to think it was one, when it was not; no doubt but it was as really turned into a true serpent, as the water was turned really and truly into wine by our Lord; this was the first miracle that ever was wrought, that we know of. Dr. Lightfoot (h) observes, that as a serpent was the fittest emblem of the devil, Gen 3:1 so was it a sign that Moses did not these miracles by the power of the devil, but had a power over and beyond him, when he could thus deal with the serpent at his pleasure, as to make his rod a serpent, and the serpent a rod, as he saw good:

and Moses fled from before it; the Jews say (i) it was a fiery serpent, but for this they have no warrant: however, without supposing that it might be terrible and frightful, inasmuch as a common serpent is very disagreeable to men, and such an uncommon and extraordinary one must be very surprising, to see a staff become a serpent, a living one, crawling and leaping about, and perhaps turning itself towards Moses, whose staff it had been. Philo the Jew (k) says, it was a dragon, an exceeding large one.

(h) Works, vol. 1. p. 702. (i) Pirke Eliezer, c. 40. (k) De Vita Mosls, l. 1. 614.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

A serpent - This miracle had a meaning which Moses could not mistake. The serpent was probably the basilisk or Uraeus, the Cobra. This was the symbol of royal and divine power on the diadem of every Pharaoh. The conversion of the rod was not merely a portent, it was a sign, at once a pledge and representation of victory over the king and gods of Egypt!

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It became a serpent, i.e. was really changed into a serpent; whereby it was intimated what and how pernicious his rod should be to the Egyptians.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It became a serpent. The word here used for "serpent," nakhash, is a generic word applicable to any species of snake. We cannot assume that the cobra is the serpent meant, though no doubt Moses, when he fled from before it, believed it to be a venomous serpent. Various reasons for God"s choice of this particular sign have been given. Perhaps the best is, that a trick of the kind was known to the Egyptian conjurors, who would be tempted to exhibit it in order to discredit Moses, and would then be discredited themselves by his stick swallowing theirs. (see Exo_7:10-12) It is fanciful to suppose a reference either to the serpent of Ge 3. (Keil and Delitzsch) or to the uraeus (cobra), which the Egyptian kings bore in their headdress as a mark of sovereignty (Canon Cook).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

ויהי לנחש AND IT BECAME A SERPENT — This was an indication to him, that he had slandered the Israelites by saying (v. 1) “But, behold they will not believe me etc.”, and that he had made the serpent’s occupation (slander) his own (cf. Genesis 3:5) (Exodus Rabbah 3:12).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.

AND HE SAID: CAST IT ON THE GROUND. AND HE CAST IT ON THE GROUND. I do not understand why G-d performed the signs before Moses. Moses believed that it is the Holy One, blessed be He, Who speaks with him, and it would have been fitting for Him to say, “The staff that is in your hand you shall cast on the ground before them, and it shall become a serpent,” and the same also with respect to the second sign, [i.e., his hand becoming leprous], just as He said at the third sign, and thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land, etc. It is for this reason that the words of our Rabbis can be relied upon, namely, that the first sign, [i.e., the staff turning into a serpent], was a hint to Moses that he had slandered the Israelites [when he said that they would not believe him],. Thus it suggested to her that it was not because it may bring about her death that G-d forbade it, but out of a sense of jealousy. As Rashi puts it: “Every artisan detests his fellow-artisans.” and the second sign was for the purpose of punishing him. And this is the sense of the expression, and Moses fled from before it [the serpent]. He feared lest he would be punished and the serpent would bite him, since every person naturally avoids danger, even though Moses knew that if it was indeed G-d’s desire [to punish him], there was no one that could deliver him out of His hand. Perhaps even though He informed Moses of the Great Name with which the world was created and everything came into existence, He wished to show him that with this Name signs and wonders would be done, changing the natural order of things, so that the matter would be firmly established in Moses’ heart and that he should in truth know that with the Great Name he will perform new things in the world. The first two signs were sufficient for Moses, and therefore the third miracle of the water [turning into blood] was not done here. Instead, G-d commanded him to do the third sign in the sight of the people.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.