1 Samuel 12:6

6 Samuel continued, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors out of Egypt. 1

1 Samuel 12:6 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 12:6

And Samuel said unto the people
Having cleared and established his own character, he proceeds to lay before the people some of the great things God had done for them formerly, and quite down to the present time, the more to aggravate their ingratitude in rejecting God as their King:

[it is] the Lord that advanced Moses and Aaron;
raised them from a low estate, the one in a foreign country in Midian, the other in bondage in Egypt, to be deliverers, guides, and governors of his people Israel. Kimchi thinks this refers to what goes before, and that the sense is, that God, that raised Moses and Aaron to great honour and dignity, was a witness between him and the people; in which he is followed by some Christian interpreters. Ben Gersom makes mention of the same, but rather approves of the connection of the words with what follows, as does Abarbinel, and is doubtless most correct; the Targum is,

``who hath done mighty things by the hands of Moses and Aaron:''

and that brought your fathers up out of the land of Egypt;
when they were in bondage there, and that by the means of Moses and Aaron, by whose hands he wrought signs and wonders and inflicted plagues on the Egyptians, which made them willing at last to let Israel go.

1 Samuel 12:6 In-Context

4 The people answered, "No, you have not cheated us or oppressed us; you have not taken anything from anyone."
5 Samuel replied, "The Lord and the king he has chosen are witnesses today that you have found me to be completely innocent." "Yes, the Lord is our witness," they answered.
6 Samuel continued, "The Lord is the one who chose Moses and Aaron and who brought your ancestors out of Egypt.
7 Now stand where you are, and I will accuse you before the Lord by reminding you of all the mighty actions the Lord did to save you and your ancestors.
8 When Jacob and his family went to Egypt and the Egyptians oppressed them, your ancestors cried to the Lord for help, and he sent Moses and Aaron, who brought them out of Egypt and settled them in this land.

Cross References 1

  • 1. 12.6Exodus 6.26.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.