The first sign and the latter sign.
Tuesday night we started Shemos. The one thing that always stands out for me is the first sign and the latter sign. Anytime you see or hear of any rendition regarding Moses. Is that he was drawn from water, as he was placed in a basket and sent in the River. He saw the burning bush, which was on fire but was not consumed, and the he stretched forth his rod and it turned into a snake and he picked it up again and it because his rod or staff yet again.
But a closer look of Ex 4:1 – 9 shows that he was given 2 signs. The first sign, “YHVH said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’ and he said, ‘A staff.’ He said, ‘Cast it on the ground,’ and he cast it on the ground and it became a snak. Moses fled from it. YHVH tsaid to Moses, ‘Stretch out your hand and grasp its tail.’ He stretched out his hand and grasped it tightly, and it became a staff in his palm. ‘So that they shall believe that YHVH, the God of their forefathers, appeared to you, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
YHVH said further to him, ‘Bring your hand to your bosom,’ and he brought his hand to his bosom; then he withdrew it and behold, his had was leprous, like snow. He said, ‘Return your hand to your bosom,’ and he returned his hand to his bosom; then he removed it from his bosom and behold, it reverted to be like his flesh. ‘It shall be that if they do not believe you and do not heed the voice of the first sign, they will believe the voice of te latter sign. and it shall be that if they do not believe eve nthese two siggns and do not heed yoru voice, then you shall take from the water of the River and pour it out on the dry land, and the water that you shall take from the River will become blood when it is on the dry land.'”
So we know that Moses did indeed turn the River into blood, as the first and second signs were not heeded. But why have so many depictions and rendition of Moses forgotten this latter sign?
How significant is this second sign? YHVH has many more signs to come as we’ll see in the next portion Va’eira (And he Spoke).