Exodus 6:2-12

2 Then God said to Moses, "I am the Lord.
3 I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name God Almighty, but they did not know me by my name, the Lord.
4 I also made my agreement with them to give them the land of Canaan. They lived in that land, but it was not their own.
5 Now I have heard the cries of the Israelites, whom the Egyptians are treating as slaves, and I remember my agreement.
6 So tell the people of Israel that I say to them, 'I am the Lord. I will save you from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. I will make you free, so you will not be slaves to the Egyptians. I will free you by my great power, and I will punish the Egyptians terribly.
7 I will make you my own people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord your God, the One who saves you from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do.
8 I will lead you to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give you that land to own. I am the Lord.'"
9 So Moses told this to the Israelites, but they would not listen to him. They were discouraged, and their slavery was hard.
10 Then the Lord said to Moses,
11 "Go tell the king of Egypt that he must let the Israelites leave his land."
12 But Moses answered, "The Israelites will not listen to me, so surely the king will not listen to me either. I am not a good 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.

Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.