Exodus 6 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Exodus 6

God Promises Deliverance

6:1 But the LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his land.”

2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, “I am the LORD. 3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty,¹ but by my name the LORD I did not make myself known to them. 4 I also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners. 5 Moreover, I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment. 7 I will take you to be my people, and I will be your God, and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. I am the LORD.’” 9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

10 So the LORD said to Moses, 11 “Go in, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the people of Israel go out of his land.” 12 But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, the people of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?” 13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

14 These are the heads of their fathers’ houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon. 16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years. 17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans. 18 The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years. 19 The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations. 20 Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father’s sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years. 21 The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri. 23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24 The sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites. 25 Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites by their clans.

26 These are the Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said: “Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt by their hosts.” 27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.

28 On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 the LORD said to Moses, “I am the LORD; tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you.” 30 But Moses said to the LORD, “Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Footnotes

[1] 6:3 Hebrew El Shaddai

Commentary

v1: The Lord allowed the initial disappointment, so that His power would be seen (see Psalms 77;78).

v2-3: The revelation of the name LORD, or Yahweh (Jehovah), bringing the idea of the covenant of God's grace and faithfulness; in 20.2, "I am the Lord your God".

v4-5: God established His covenant with His people, not being dependent on anything in them; it was also not dependent on the initial discouragement. He remembered His people, seeing their suffering, and would deliver them out of Egypt, and into Canaan, the promised land.

v6-8: Gods' promises are dependent solely on Him; "I am the Lord; then you will know that I am the Lord your God; I am the Lord". Here is security for the people of God, suffering great trials.

The depth of the salvation of God; deliverance from bondage by the might power of God;

I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians;
I will free you from being slaves to them;
I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.

The reality of the relationship with God;

I will take you as my own people;
I will be your God;

The promises of a dwelling place with God;

I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand;
I will give it to you as a possession.

The Christian sees here a wonderful picture of salvation in Jesus Christ;

He has delivered us from the bondage of death and sin.

He has brought us into relationship with Himself and with the Father.

He has promised us an eternity in His presence.

v9: The worsening circumstances of the children of Israel led them to disbelieve Moses; they endured "discouragement and cruel bondage". Things had grown worse, and they struggled to see the truth of God's promises delivered through Moses.

v10-12: Moses was then sent back to Pharaoh. But he was worried that Pharaoh would not listen to him, since the children of Israel had not listened. The narrative continues in v28.

v13: A summary of the Lord's dealings with Aaron and Moses; He commanded them to bring His people out of Egypt. His power would ensure that this would be fulfilled.

v14-25: The writer refers to the sons of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi. The reason is that he is establishing the genealogy of Moses and Aaron, that they had a right to lead the people of God. It may have been that the sons of the older sons of Jacob, Reuben and Simeon, had not come forward to lead the people, and thus the responsibility fell to the sons of Levi. We are reminded too that Jacob overlooked the first two sons when blessing his family, because of their sins.

Attention is drawn to Levi (v16), to Kohath (v18), and to Amram (v20), by mentioning their ages; thus the line to Aaron and Moses is noted, and their genealogy established. This was important in Jewish culture. See Ezra 2.62, where such a genealogy could not be found.

v26-27: The same Aaron and Moses are those in the narrative.

v28-30: see v10-12. The narrative continues. In particular, Moses expressed his fears.