Exodus 6:12

12 Moshe spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the children of Yisra'el haven't listened to me. How then shall Par`oh listen to me, who am of uncircumcised lips?"

Exodus 6:12 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 6:12

And Moses spake before the Lord
Who appeared in a visible form, and had spoke to him with an articulate voice, and before whom Moses stood, and made the following reply:

saying, behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me;
even though he brought a comfortable message to them from the Lord, and delivered many gracious promises of his to them, assuring them of deliverance out of Egypt, and of their possession of the land of Canaan:

how then shall Pharaoh hear me?
making a demand upon him to part with a people, from whose labour he receives so much advantage, and has such an addition to his revenues, and who is a mighty king, and haughty monarch. And this is further enforced from his own weakness and unfitness to speak to Pharaoh:

who [am] of uncircumcised lips?
had an impediment in his speech, could not speak freely and readily, but with difficulty; perhaps stammered, and so uttered superfluous syllables, repeated them before he could fully pronounce what he aimed at; or in other words, he was not eloquent, which was his old objection, and had been fully answered before: and by this it appears that there was no alteration in the speech of Moses since God spoke with him at Mount Horeb. Some think Moses expected to have had this impediment removed, and tacitly hints at it here, not being so well satisfied with Aaron's being joined with him as his mouth and spokesman, which seemed to carry in it some reflection upon him.

Exodus 6:12 In-Context

10 The LORD spoke to Moshe, saying,
11 "Go in, speak to Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, that he let the children of Yisra'el go out of his land."
12 Moshe spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the children of Yisra'el haven't listened to me. How then shall Par`oh listen to me, who am of uncircumcised lips?"
13 The LORD spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, and gave them a charge to the children of Yisra'el, and to Par`oh king of Mitzrayim, to bring the children of Yisra'el out of the land of Mitzrayim.
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Re'uven the firstborn of Yisra'el: Hanokh, and Pallu, Hetzron, and Karmi; these are the families of Re'uven.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.