A friend submitted the following information about Moses' speech,
which is to be found in The Book of Exodus. Using the King James
"Revised Standard" version, she relates, " The relevant parts begin
when God appears to him as a burning bush. Moses tried to reject
God's commission to become leader of the Israelites. Aaron, Moses'
brother, was a kind of priest, called a Levite.
But Moses said to the Lord, "Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent,
either heretofore or since thou hast spoken to thy servant; but I am
slow of speech and of tongue. Then the Lord said to him, "Who has
made man's mouth? Who makes him dumb, or deaf, or seeing, or
blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now therefore go, and I will be with
your mouth and teach you what you shall speak." But he said, "Oh,
my Lord, send, I pray, some other person." Then the anger of the
Lord was kindled against Moses and he said, "Is there not Aaron,
your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well, and behold,
he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you he will be glad
in his heart. And you shall speak to him and put the words in his
mouth; and I will be with your mouth and with his mouth and will
teach you what you shall do. He shall speak for you to the people
and he shall be a mouth for you and you shall be to him as God..."
[The people accepted Moses and Aaron as their leaders, but efforts
to get the Israelites released meet with failure. The Egyptians laid
heavier and heavier burdens on the Israelites, who became very
angry at Moses. Moses returned to the desert to confer with God, who
instructed him to go to the Pharaoh again and ask for the Israelites'
release.]
But Moses said to the Lord, "Behold, the people of Israel have
not listened to me; how then shall the Pharaoh listen to me, who am a
man of uncircumcised lips?... On the day when the Lord spoke to Moses
in the land of Egypt, the Lord said to Moses, "I am the Lord; tell
Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you." But Moses said to the
Lord, " Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips; how then shall the Pharaoh
listen to me?" And the Lord said to Moses, "See, I make you as God to
the Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet. You shall
speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh
to let the people of Israel go out of his land."
entered March 28, 1996