Forming dust, carving stones
The Hebrew phrase אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים (etsbah elohim)—“the finger of God”—is rare in Israel’s Scriptures. The first instance comes after Moses strikes the ground with his staff and lice appear throughout Egypt. When Pharaoh’s “magicians” (חַרְטֻמִּים; hartummim) are unable to replicate this plague, they exclaim, “It is the finger of God” (אֶצְבַּע אֱלֹהִים הִוא; etsbah elohim hi’).
Moses striking the “dust” (עָפָר; afar) conjures God forming the first human from “dust”. In Exodus, the sculpting “finger of God” once again shapes creatures from dust—this time, to punish Pharaoh rather than form humanity. Exodus reinforces this imagery of a sharp heavenly finger when it says that the engraved commandments on “tablets of stone [were] written with the finger of God”.
Casting out evil spirits
The Gospel of Luke reuses the language of Exodus when Jesus exorcises unclean spirits! Yeshua tells his onlookers, “If it is by the finger of God (δακτύλῳ θεοῦ, daktūlo theou) that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you”. Often in Luke, to “cast out” (ἐκβάλλω, ekbāllo) necessitates a physical pulling or pushing with one’s hands (and, by extension, fingers): some people in Jesus’ hometown “cast him out of the city” (4:29),
Yeshua teaches about “casting” (or pulling) the sliver and plank out of one’s eye (6:42), and he “casts out” the sellers in the temple (19:45). Thus, there is reason to conclude when Jesus exorcises demons, God’s incisive finger severs scrounging spirits from the human body!
God is close to you
Just as God had intervened to rescue the Israelites from Egypt and carve the letters of the Torah into stone, the Lord extends the divine finger in Jesus’ day to save people from demonic possession.
Due to the scriptural scarcity of the “finger of God,” readers can glide past the phrase without giving much thought to its implications. But a closer look at the Hebrew and Greek in their original contexts emphasizes the physicality of the ancient terminology. According to the Bible, God’s finger shapes dust, engraves stone, and removes unclean spirits with precision. It is a tool of action, cutting into human history to bring people closer to Him and lead them toward salvation. God’s very being bursts into human history and cuts into creation to liberate the world. Join our learning community, dive into the Jewish Context and Culture Program, and encounter the original text of Israel’s Scriptures (CLICK HERE).
