Exodus 6:2-12

2 And God spoke to Moses, and he said to him, "I [am] Yahweh.
3 And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Shaddai, but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.
4 And I not only established my covenant with them to give to them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, in which they dwelt as aliens,
5 but also I myself heard the groaning of the {Israelites}, whom [the] Egyptians [are] making to work, and I remembered my covenant.
6 Therefore say to the {Israelites}, 'I [am] Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the {forced labor} of Egypt, and I will deliver you from their slavery, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great punishments.
7 And I will take you {as my people}, and I will be {your God}, and you will know that I [am] Yahweh your God, who brought you out from under the {forced labor} of Egypt.
8 And I will bring you to the land {that I swore} to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you [as] a possession. I [am] Yahweh."
9 And Moses spoke thus to the {Israelites}, but they did not listen to Moses, because of {discouragement} and because of hard work.
10 And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
11 "Go, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and let him release the {Israelites} from his land."
12 And Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, "Look, the {Israelites} do not listen to me, and how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I [am] {a poor speaker}?"

Exodus 6:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 6

The Lord encourages Moses to hope for success from his name Jehovah, and the covenant he had made with the fathers of his people, Ex 6:1-5, orders him to assure the children of Israel that he would deliver them from their bondage and burdens, and bring them into the land of Canaan; but through their distress and anguish they hearkened not to him, Ex 6:6-9 but Moses is sent again to Pharaoh to demand the dismission of Israel, to which he seems unwilling, and both he and Aaron are charged both to go to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh, Ex 6:10-13, next follows a genealogy of the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, which seems to be given for the sake of Moses and Aaron, and to show their descent, Ex 6:14-15, who were the persons appointed of God to be the instruments of bringing the children of Israel out of Egypt, Ex 6:26-30.

Footnotes 13

  • [a]. Often translated as "Almighty"
  • [b]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [c]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [d]. Literally "burdens" or "burdensome labor"
  • [e]. Literally "to/for me for a people"
  • [f]. Literally "to/for you for a God"
  • [g]. Literally "burdens" or "burdensome labor"
  • [h]. Literally "that I raised my hand"
  • [i]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [j]. Literally "a lack of spirit" or "shortness of spirit"
  • [k]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [l]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [m]. Literally "uncircumcised of lips"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.