We are in chapter ten of Exodus with our word for today, used for the first time in the Bible. מוֹקֵשׁ snare, bait, lure, noose, trigger, cause of injury. It is used 27 times in the Old Testament. Most of the time our word is used in God warning his people against worshiping false gods and idols. Exodus 23:33 Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ snare to you. Deuteronomy 7:16 You must destroy all the peoples the Lord your God gives over to you. Do not look on them with pity and do not serve their gods, for that will be a מוֹקֵ֥שׁ snare to you. Psalm 106:36 They worshiped their idols, which became a לְמוֹקֵֽשׁ snare to them. We also see our word used in the sense of someone setting a trap against another. 1 Samuel 18:21 “I will give her to him,” he thought, “so that she may be a לְמוֹקֵ֔שׁ snare to him and so that the hand of the Philistines may be against him.” So Saul said to David, “Now you have a second opportunity to become my son-in-law.”
God and his people are also referred to in this way. Isaiah 8:13-14 The Lord Almighty is the one you are to regard as holy, he is the one you are to fear, he is the one you are to dread. He will be a holy place; for both Israel and Judah he will be a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a וּלְמוֹקֵ֔שׁ snare. This is the sense our word is used in our chapter.
Exodus 10:7 Then Pharaoh's servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a לְמוֹקֵ֔שׁ snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?”
Even though God is holy, just and right he has been identified as one who snares or sets traps. The context is always to trip up, disrupt or trap evil doers in their consequences. God does this out of love wanting us to recognize the error of our way and turn away from sin and to him and his holiness. Jesus himself was identified in this way. 1 Peter 2:7-8 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and, “A stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they disobey the message. God takes or allows these drastic measures because the consequences of sin is that dangerous. The seriousness of our word is seen in its association with death. 2 Samuel 22:6 The cords of the grave coiled around me; the מֹֽקְשֵׁי snares of death confronted me. Proverbs 13:14 The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life, turning a person from the מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי snares of death. Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the מִמֹּ֥קְשֵׁי snares of death. This is why God warns us throughout the Bible not to trust people but rather instead to trust him. I’ll close with this great reminder. Proverbs 29:25 Fear of man will prove to be a מוֹקֵ֑שׁ snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
