Exodus 4:6 records a second sign God gave Moses to prove that he had really been sent by the LORD. Moses puts his hand inside his cloak, pulls it out, and finds it diseased, and this startling moment is meant to show that the God of Israel’s ancestors holds power over the human body and can reverse what he does. The LORD speaks these words directly to Moses at the burning bush, in the wilderness near Midian, while Moses is still hesitating about whether the Israelites will trust him at all.
The LORD said furthermore to him, “Now put your hand inside your cloak.” He put his hand inside his cloak, and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as white as snow.
Exodus 4:6 (WEB)
What Exodus 4:6 Means
The verse begins with God giving a second instruction, “Now put your hand inside your cloak,” which shows that the first sign with the staff was not the end of the matter. God is patient with Moses’s fear and keeps offering him evidence. The word “furthermore” signals that God is adding to what he has already said, not correcting Moses or rebuking him for doubting.
When Moses pulls out his hand and sees it “leprous, as white as snow,” the sign is shocking on purpose. Biblical leprosy covered a range of skin conditions, and in Israel it made a person ceremonially unclean and cut off from ordinary community life. The image tells Moses that the same hand he uses every day can be struck by something terrible, and that God alone decides what happens to it.
The verse does not promise Moses an easy path or guarantee that every hard task will go smoothly. It shows that God can both afflict and restore, and that he gives signs to people who are unsure of their calling. The sign points to God’s authority and character rather than to Moses’s own strength or eloquence.
The Context of Exodus 4:6
Exodus belongs to the Torah, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, and is traditionally attributed to Moses himself. It tells how the Israelites, descendants of Jacob, were enslaved in Egypt and how God raised up Moses to lead them out. The first audience would have been the Israelites in the wilderness, who needed to understand where their nation came from and why they could trust the God who had rescued them.
Just before this verse, in verses 3 and 4, God turns Moses’s staff into a snake and then back into a rod, and in verse 5 he explains that these signs are meant to make the people believe that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob has appeared to Moses. Verse 6 continues that pattern of signs, and verses 7 through 9 go on to give a third sign with the Nile water. Read in that sequence, the leprous hand is one part of a deliberate series showing that God is willing to prove himself patiently.
Key Phrases in Exodus 4:6
Exodus 4:11
The LORD said to him, “Who made man’s mouth? Or who makes one mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Isn’t it I, the LORD?
(WEB)
This verse follows directly after Moses’s objections about his speaking ability, and God answers by reminding him that he made the human mouth and decides who can see, hear and speak. Like the leprous hand, it shows that God is sovereign over human bodies and abilities, and that he is the one who equips the people he sends.
Exodus 3:12
He said, “Certainly I will be with you. This will be the token to you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
(WEB)
Here God promises Moses, “I will certainly be with you,” before Moses has done anything to prove himself. That promise frames the signs in chapter 4 as expressions of God’s presence rather than tests Moses must pass, and it helps explain why God keeps reassuring him.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 4:6
Lord, you are patient with those who doubt and you give signs to people who feel unsure of their calling. You hold power over every part of our lives, including the parts we keep hidden and the ones we rely on every day. Help me to trust that you can heal, restore and sustain what seems fragile in me. When I hesitate to step into what you ask, remind me that you have not forgotten me and that your presence goes with me. Amen.
