28.  MOSES AND THE SERPENT

But Moses spoke up and said, "What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me, but say: The LORD did not appear to you?" The LORD said to him, "What is that in your hand?"  And he replied, "A rod." The Lord said to him, "What is that in your hand?" And he replied, "A rod." He said, "Cast it on the ground." He cast it on the ground, and it became a snake; and Moses recoiled from it. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Put out your hand and grasp it by the tail"--he put out his hand and seized it, and it became a rod in his hand--"That they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, did appear to you." Exodus, IV 1-5

"Moses' marvel of the rod transformed into a snake provides Chagall with the opportunity to depict another crowd scene full of anecdotal detail. While Pharaoh calmly looks on, his courtiers express their amazement in exaggerated gestures and poses.  The deployment of these small figures across the middleground lends a Breughelian animation to this scene."  (Chagall and the Bible, Rosensaft, 1987, pg. 135)