In Exodus 4:10, we read another reason Moses gives to Yahweh for his reticence to serve as Yahweh's special envoy to Pharaoh.
When we were working with one language group in Cameroon, we came upon that verse in a checking session. Their draft translation had rendered the last part of this verse as "but I stutter [i.e., a physical disability, a speech impairment]."
Two discussion points with the translation team
1. Moses does make a claim about having speech difficulties, but this does not mean he actually did have a speech impediment. To translate the expression as such is too narrow an interpretation. The Hebrew adjective "heavy" here does not at all require meaning "speech impediment" or "stutter." Furthermore, Moses evidently did not have a debilitating and shameful speech problem, despite what he says in Exod 4:10a; he articulated himself just fine in his interactions with the people of Israel and with Yahweh in Exodus 2-4. And his later proficiency with words is well-documented in his interactions with Pharaoh and in his sermons (Deuteronomy). Moses received a good education in Egypt during his first 40 years, and no doubt this education included both reading and speaking.
2. Many scholars (e.g., see Douglas Stuart's Exodus commentary) are convinced - based on analogous statements in the OT - that this verse may actually record Moses making an excuse based on humble deference (not a statement aligning with reality). Moses could actually articulate with his mouth just fine, but in keeping with common practice of the day, he offered his superior (Yahweh) an excuse that was not actually true of himself: speech difficulties.
Conclusion
Whether or not Moses actually had speech difficulties, the text records that Moses claimed he did. To be more faithful to the Hebrew expression, the team decided to change their translation to a more general expression for speech difficulties rather than narrowly restricting the meaning to a physical handicap. The team also debated whether or not to put a footnote on the bottom of the page to explain that it is plausible that Moses did not actually have a physical impairment (e.g., a stuttering problem), but that he may simply be giving Yahweh a self-deprecating reason to explain his reticence to speak to Pharaoh (in English, we might say "false humility").
But Moses said to the LORD, 'Oh, my Lord, I am not eloquent, either in the past or since you have spoken to your servant, but I am slow of speech and of tongue.'The ESV's wording "slow of speech and of tongue" interprets the Hebrew expression which literally reads, "heavy mouth/lip and heavy tongue."
When we were working with one language group in Cameroon, we came upon that verse in a checking session. Their draft translation had rendered the last part of this verse as "but I stutter [i.e., a physical disability, a speech impairment]."
Two discussion points with the translation team
1. Moses does make a claim about having speech difficulties, but this does not mean he actually did have a speech impediment. To translate the expression as such is too narrow an interpretation. The Hebrew adjective "heavy" here does not at all require meaning "speech impediment" or "stutter." Furthermore, Moses evidently did not have a debilitating and shameful speech problem, despite what he says in Exod 4:10a; he articulated himself just fine in his interactions with the people of Israel and with Yahweh in Exodus 2-4. And his later proficiency with words is well-documented in his interactions with Pharaoh and in his sermons (Deuteronomy). Moses received a good education in Egypt during his first 40 years, and no doubt this education included both reading and speaking.
2. Many scholars (e.g., see Douglas Stuart's Exodus commentary) are convinced - based on analogous statements in the OT - that this verse may actually record Moses making an excuse based on humble deference (not a statement aligning with reality). Moses could actually articulate with his mouth just fine, but in keeping with common practice of the day, he offered his superior (Yahweh) an excuse that was not actually true of himself: speech difficulties.
Conclusion
Whether or not Moses actually had speech difficulties, the text records that Moses claimed he did. To be more faithful to the Hebrew expression, the team decided to change their translation to a more general expression for speech difficulties rather than narrowly restricting the meaning to a physical handicap. The team also debated whether or not to put a footnote on the bottom of the page to explain that it is plausible that Moses did not actually have a physical impairment (e.g., a stuttering problem), but that he may simply be giving Yahweh a self-deprecating reason to explain his reticence to speak to Pharaoh (in English, we might say "false humility").
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