The Brother Who Can Really Speak

Exodus 4:14 · Infinitive absolute + finite verb · 2026-08-19

וַ יִּֽחַר אַ֨ף יְהוָ֜ה בְּ מֹשֶׁ֗ה וַ יֹּ֨אמֶר֙ הֲ לֹ֨א אַהֲרֹ֤ן אָחִ֨יךָ֙ הַ לֵּוִ֔י יָדַ֕עְתִּי כִּֽי דַבֵּ֥ר יְדַבֵּ֖ר ה֑וּא וְ גַ֤ם הִנֵּה הוּא֙ יֹצֵ֣א לִ קְרָאתֶ֔ךָ וְ רָאֲךָ֖ וְ שָׂמַ֥ח בְּ לִבֹּֽו

And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses, and he said, Is not Aaron the Levite thy brother? I know that he can speak well. And also, behold, he cometh forth to meet thee: and when he seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart.

The KJV gives us a simple assurance: 'I know that he can speak well.' It reads like a passing compliment about Aaron's abilities.

The Hebrew doubles the verb for emphasis: dabber yedabber — literally 'speaking, he will speak.' Dabber is the infinitive absolute of the root d-b-r ('to speak'), and yedabber is the same verb in finite form (piel imperfect, third person singular). Hebrew often pairs a verb with its own infinitive to intensify it — not 'he can speak' as one skill among others, but 'speak, he will surely speak.' The word itself is doubled back on itself, as if God is underlining it twice.

This is the very moment Moses has just protested, 'I am not eloquent... I am slow of speech' (4:10). God's answer does not merely note that Aaron happens to have a talent Moses lacks. The intensified construction answers intensity with intensity: Moses said he cannot speak at all; God says of Aaron, he will surely, certainly, definitely speak. The grammar itself is God overruling Moses' fear with emphatic certainty, not casual reassurance.

This is what it looks like when God meets a stammering excuse with unshakable resolve. Moses offers his weakness as a wall; God answers with a doubled verb, as if to say, 'I have already accounted for this.' The Lord does not merely tolerate our inadequacy — he answers it with provision so certain that even the grammar strains to say it twice. This is the character of the God who calls: he does not wait for us to become sufficient before he acts; he supplies what is lacking, emphatically, before we've finished naming our fear.

Today

Name one task you have avoided by saying 'I can't,' and ask God specifically what — or who — he has already provided to answer that excuse.