Exodus 4:13

But Moses said, ¹  “O ²  my Lord, please send anyone else whom you wish to send!” ³ 

Ge 24:7; Ge 48:16; Ex 4:1; Ex 23:20; Jud 2:1; 1Ki 19:4; Jer 1:6; Jer 20:9; Eze 3:14,15; Jon 1:3,6; Mt 13:41; Joh 6:29

¹ tn Heb “And he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

² tn The word בִּי (bi) is a particle of entreaty; it seeks permission to speak and is always followed by “Lord” or “my Lord.”

³ tn The text has simply שְׁלַח־נָא בְּיַד־תִּשְׁלָח (shÿlakh-na’ bÿyad tishlakh, “send by the hand you will send”). This is not Moses’ resignation to doing God’s will – it is his final attempt to avoid the call. It carries the force of asking God to send someone else. This is an example of an independent relative clause governed by the genitive: “by the hand of – whomever you will send” (see GKC 488-89 §155.n).