۞ وَأَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَىٰ مُوسَىٰٓ أَنْ أَلْقِ عَصَاكَ ۖ فَإِذَا هِىَ تَلْقَفُ مَا يَأْفِكُونَ
20:70; 26:46.
Important Words:
تلقف (it swallowed up) is derived from لقف. They say لقف الشیء i.e. he took or seized the thing quickly; or he took or seized the thing quickly when it was thrown to him. لقف الطعام or تلقف الطعام means, he swallowed up the food (Aqrab).
Commentary:
It was certainly not the "serpent" made out of the rod, but the rod itself which undid the magic of the magicians. The rod of Moses, wielded with the spiritual force of a great Prophet and thrown at the command of God, exposed the deception they had wrought on the spectators by breaking to pieces the things which, by their magic, they had made the people take for real serpents. The words تلقف مایافکون literally meaning "it swallowed up whatever they feigned" really signify that the rod quickly exposed the deception wrought by the magicians.
20:70; 26:46.
It was not the "serpent" made out of the rod, but the rod itself which undid the magic of the magicians. The rod of Moses wielded with the spiritual force of a great Prophet and thrown at the command of God exposed the deception they had wrought on the spectators and broke to pieces the things which, by their magic, they had made them take for real serpents. The words, "it swallowed up whatever they feigned" signify that the rod quickly exposed the deception wrought by the magicians, "swallowed up" signifying "destroyed the effect of, or the impression created by."