Or HaChaim on Exodus 4:1/אור החיים על שמות ד׳:א׳

1 ויען משה ויאמר והן לא יאמינו לי, Moses replied saying: "But they will not believe me, etc." What could have prompted Moses to claim that the Jewish people would not believe him when G'd Himself had told him "they will listen to your voice?" Furthermore, why did Moses even add the almost unbelievable: "and they will not listen to my voice?" One might be tempted to say that inasmuch as a person is free to do what he wants to do and to believe what he wants to believe in, G'd's assurance on that score could not be absolute seeing He is not in control of our feelings. This is why Moses did not believe in the righteousness of their faith. He said: "and they will not listen to my voice," as if to say "they will not even want to listen to my voice." However, such an explanation would not do justice to Moses who certainly did not want to question G'd's attributes, nor to slander Israel by uttering such a gross suspicion. Besides, we must consider that Moses did not even say "suppose they will not believe me," but he made a flat statement והן לא יאמינו לי, "they will definitely not believe me."

2The correct answer to our problem is that outlined by Maimonides in chapter seven of his treatise Yesodey Ha-Torah where he writes that the gift of prophecy is given only to people of outstanding intellectual capacity, people who are whole in body and spirit. The author of כסף משנה, a major commentator on Maimonides' works, comments as follows: "We must analyse why Maimonides did not add some more qualifications such as that the prophet has to be wealthy, humble, of physical prowess, etc." He concludes that Maimonides certainly feels that the prophet must possess these attributes as well. However, inasmuch as someone who practices prophecy on a regular basis must possess these attributes as a matter of course, Maimonides did not bother to mention this in that paragraph. In the chapter mentioned, Maimonides was concerned only with people who prophesy only on occasion. Even if we were to consider Moses as someone who practiced prophecy only on occasion-something we cannot accept,- he argued what he did as a result of his extreme humility, out of a conviction that he personally lacked the qualities needed for someone to be accepted as such by the Israelites. When Moses said והן לא יאמינו לי, he meant that "as the result of my many shortcomings they will have no reason to believe me, etc." This was all the more true, Moses said, since I have not been accredited as a regular prophet, but am only making an occasional appearance as a prophet. When a person who has not yet established his credentials as a prophet appears and claims to be a prophet he has to be able to demonstrate all the attributes the people expect of a prophet; these attributes include wealth, physical prowess, a body without blemish, etc. If the people needed proof that Moses lacked the attribute of personal wealth, all they had to find out was that he Moses, had been a mere shepherd in the employ of his father-in-law Yitro. (He had attained personal wealth only by being allowed to pocket the splinters of the tablets of the Covennant as per a comment in Nedarim 38). In view of all this, as soon as the Israelites would consult with their elders if Moses was believable, the elders would tell the people, quite correctly, that Moses had failed to legitimise himself adequately.

3When Moses had added ולא ישמעו בקולי he alluded to yet another argument, namely his stutter. His voice would give him away as someone who was not fit to be a prophet. Later on he indeed spelled out his concern on that score. At any rate, the absence of a speech impediment is an absolute necessity even for prophets who appear as such only on occasion. If someone suffered from such an impediment it is equivalent to a physical blemish. When Moses said the Israelites would argue that G'd had never communicated with him, they would be quite justified in their assumption as they would base their rejection of his claim on his physical blemish, saying G'd would not appear to such a person even on a temporary basis. The reason Moses had not advanced this argument at once but had asked G'd what he should say when the Israelites would ask him in what capacity G'd had appeared to him- something which appears to show that he was not concerned about the people rejecting him personally- was because G'd had interrupted him by saying: "this is My name, etc."

4It is also possible that Moses wanted G'd to reveal more of the mystical aspects of His name, and that in order for G'd to do so he made what sounded like a provocative statement. Moses hoped, that if successful, G'd would equip him with all the visible and invisible attributes that he felt he lacked in order to qualify as a regular prophet. We find this concept in Psalms 91,14 אשגבהו כי ידע שמי, "I will raise it (the Jewish people) high since it has become aware of My name." Moreover, if they would appreciate the qualities G'd had equipped Moses with their regard for G'd Himself would be appreciably enhanced.

5Still another reason why Moses was not perturbed at saying what he did, i.e. that the Jewish people would not believe him, was that G'd Himself had told him after He had said that the Jewish people would hearken to his voice (3,18) that He knew that Pharaoh would not respond to Moses' entreaties and would not let the Israelites depart (3,19). Moses reasoned that if Pharaoh would not take his mission seriously then the Israelites would surely lose faith in his leadership in short order. If Moses would have repeated audiences with Pharaoh all of which did not produce results, the people would eventually even stop listening to him altogether. They would claim that the reason he failed was that לא נראה אליך השם, "G'd never appeared to you in the first place." They would argue that if indeed Moses' mission had been authorised by G'd, who would have the effrontery to refuse to carry out G'd's orders? Do we not know from Kings I 14,10 that if someone contravenes G'd's commands deliberately he will be utterly destroyed by G'd?