When did Moses become ineloquent?

Ever wondered, about those early chapters of Exodus, just when it was that the Prince of Egypt became ineloquent?

I always read Moses' claim as more of an excuse than a genuine reason he was hesitant to obey the Lord's command. By inspiration of the Holy Ghost, Stephen told us "Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action" [Acts 7:22]. Would his years on the backside of the desert really have left him a stutterer?

When I look at the early chapters of Exodus, I notice something very interesting. Moses offers basically two reasons why he couldn't complete the mission God was giving him: 1) that the Israelites wouldn't believe him [4:1]; and 2) that he was "not eloquent," and "slow of speech" [4:10]. God answered both concerns, and then Moses still whined "Oh, my Lord, send, I pray, some other person" [4:13, RSV]. I think this is because these were just excuses. Moses didn't voice the real reason he was so recalcitrant, but God seemed to address it later. After Moses returned to his father-in-law's to ask permission to leave for Egypt, God appeared to him again, and declared "Go back to Egypt; for all the men who were seeking your life are dead" [4:19]. Fear of persecution for the murder of the Egyptian may have been the real reason Moses dreaded returning, and although he wouldn't openly admit it, the Discerner of men's hearts knew and addressed the situation!

This passage of scripture has ministered to me personally. I must admit that, like Moses, I used to find it difficult to be genuinely transparent in conversing with God. I had an inclination to try to hide the deepest, darkest feelings I had, even in my prayers. But reading this passage few years back, I was convicted to be thoroughly "transparent" before the Lord (after all, it wasn't like I could hide my inner turmoil from Him anyway!). Moses' experience has taught me to "fess up" to my fears, my doubts, even my fleshly emotions (anger, jealousy, lust, etc.)... I lay it all before the Lord, so that He will help me deal with them all the sooner.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Gill on December 15, 2011 at 7:48am

I was informed that the Talmud is responsible for the tradition that Moses was a stutterer. A story in the marginalia posited the origin of Moses' stutter: "while he was still an infant, the Pharaoh was advised to kill him, for one day, it was predicted, Moses would rise up against him. The Pharaoh at first shrugged, then decided to put Moses to the test. He placed two bowls before Moses, one filled with gold, the other, with hot coals. If Moses chose the gold, he would be slain. Of course Moses reached for the gleaming gold, but an angel intervened and struck hi hand. So he grabbed a hot coal and put it in his mouth. And thereafter stuttered." (http://www.mnsu.edu/comdis/kuster/history/bgoldberg.html)