And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
The Lord said unto Moses. He is here encouraged to wait again on the king-not, however, as formerly in the attitude of a humble suppliant, but now armed with credentials as God's ambassador, and to make his demand in a tone and manner which no earthly monarch or court ever witnessed.
I have made thee a god - made, i:e., set, appointed; "a god" - i:e., he was to act in this business as God's representative, to act and speak in his name, and to perform things beyond the ordinary course of nature. х 'ªlohiym (H430) gods, is evidently used only in a figurative sense; and nothing more is meant than that Moses should appear to Pharaoh as possessed of powers more than human-conferring blessings and inflicting plagues, both supernatural, at his own pleasure.]
And Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet, х nªbiy'ekaa (H5030)] - thy interpreter or spokesman. For this Hebrew word, besides denoting one who, under divine influence, predicted future events, was also used to express the idea of one who spoke not his own thoughts, but what he received of God. [It is properly rendered in the Septuagint by profeetees (G4396), which primarily means a speaker, especially an authoritative speaker, who speaks in the name of another. This is its classic use, as explained by Ernesti ('Graecum Lex. Manuale'), profeetees, vates; proprie ille, qui consultantium interrogationes ad Deum, hujusque responsa oraculo edita ad consultantes referebat, et loco hominum eorumque nomine cum Deo oracula reddente et rursus loco atque nomine Dei cum hominibus agebat. Ho faskoon pro toon anthroopoon kai pro tou Theou.] This is its meaning in the passage before us. Moses was to be the ambassador or representative of God, and Aaron must be considered the speaker throughout all the ensuing scenes, even though his name is not expressly mentioned.