John Gill Commentary Exodus 4:6

"And Jehovah said furthermore unto him, Put now thy hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous, as [white as] snow." — Exodus 4:6 (ASV)

And the Lord said furthermore to him: Continued his discourse, and gave him another sign: put now your hand into your bosom. And he put his hand into your bosom;

within his coat, under that part of the garment next to your breast: and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as snow; that is, white as snow, as the Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan, through the leprosy that was upon it; it was a leprosy of the white sort, and which is reckoned the worst and most difficult to be cured, see (Leviticus 13:3Leviticus 13:4) (Numbers 12:10) .

It is highly probable that this gave rise to the story told by several Heathen writers, as Manetho ^F13 , Lysimachus {n}, Trogus ^F15 , and Tacitus ^F16 , that Moses and the Israelites were drove out of Egypt by the advice of an oracle, because they had the leprosy, itch, and other impure diseases upon them.

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FOOTNOTES:

• F13: Apud Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 26.
• F14: Apud. ib. c. 34.
• F15: Justin e Trogo, l. 36. c. 2.
• F16: Hist. l. 5. c. 3.