Moses — "O Lord, I have not spoken to the people since I was a baby."
O Lord, I have not spoken to the people since I was a baby.
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More from Moses
"You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor."
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Details
This is a popular humorous paraphrase of Moses's reluctance and speech impediment, not a direct biblical quote.
Date: N/A
Self-DeprecatingVerification
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Understanding this quote
What it means
The speaker admits a profound lack of public speaking experience, claiming they have been essentially silent their entire life. It expresses deep self-doubt about one's ability to communicate or lead, framed as an honest confession of inadequacy when faced with a daunting task requiring eloquence and persuasion before an audience.
Relevance to Moses
Moses famously protested his calling at the burning bush, telling God he was 'slow of speech and slow of tongue.' He asked God to send someone else, prompting Aaron to serve as his spokesman. This reluctance defined his early prophethood, showing a leader who doubted his own voice yet became the lawgiver who delivered the Ten Commandments.
The era
In the ancient Near East around the 13th century BCE, oratory was central to leadership; pharaohs, priests, and tribal elders commanded through spoken decree. Moses confronted Pharaoh's Egypt, a civilization where rhetorical power reinforced divine kingship. For a Hebrew shepherd raised in Pharaoh's court but exiled to Midian, challenging that order demanded the very verbal authority he claimed to lack.
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