Exodus 6:1-13

God Promises Action

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for ¹under compulsion * he will let them go, and under compulsion * he will drive them out of his land."

2 God spoke further to Moses and said to him, "I am ²the LORD;

3 and I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as ³God Almighty, but by ⁴My name, LORD, I did not make Myself known to them.

4 "I also established ⁵My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they sojourned.

5 "Furthermore I have ⁶heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, because the Egyptians are holding them in bondage, and I have remembered My covenant.

6 "Say, therefore, to the sons of Israel, '⁷I am the LORD, and ⁸I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage. I will also ⁹redeem you with ¹⁰an outstretched arm and with great judgments.

7 'Then I will take you ¹¹for My people, and ¹²I will be your God; and ¹³you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.

8 'I will bring you to the land which ¹⁴I swore * to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and ¹⁵I will give it to you for a possession; ¹⁶I am the LORD.' "

9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on ¹⁷account of their despondency * and cruel bondage.

10 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

11 "¹⁸Go, tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the sons of Israel go out of his land."

12 But Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, "Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me; ¹⁹how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am ²⁰unskilled in speech?"

13 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a charge to the sons of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

Exodus 6:1-13 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.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 3:19, 20; Exodus 7:4, 5; Exodus 11:1; Exodus 12:31, 33, 39; Exodus 13:3
• 2. Exodus 3:14, 15
• 3. Genesis 17:1; Genesis 35:11; Genesis 48:3
• 4. Psalms 68:4; Psalms 83:18; Isaiah 52:6; Jeremiah 16:21; Ezekiel 37:6, 13
• 5. Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:4, 7; Genesis 26:3, 4; Genesis 28:4, 13
• 6. Exodus 2:24
• 7. Exodus 13:3, 14; Exodus 20:2; Deuteronomy 6:12
• 8. Exodus 3:17; Exodus 7:4; Exodus 12:51; Exodus 16:6; Exodus 18:1; Deuteronomy 26:8; Psalms 136:11
• 9. Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 7:8; 1 Chronicles 17:21; Nehemiah 1:10
• 10. Deuteronomy 4:34; Deuteronomy 5:15; Deuteronomy 26:8; Psalms 136:11
• 11. Exodus 19:5; Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; 2 Samuel 7:24
• 12. Genesis 17:7; Exodus 29:45; Leviticus 11:45; Leviticus 26:12, 13, 45; Deuteronomy 29:13
• 13. Exodus 16:12; Isaiah 41:20; Isaiah 49:23, 26; Isaiah 60:16
• 14. Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:3; Numbers 14:30; Nehemiah 9:15; Ezekiel 20:5, 6
• 15. Joshua 24:13; Psalms 136:21, 22
• 16. Exodus 6:6
• 17. Exodus 2:23
• 18. Exodus 4:22, 23
• 19. Exodus 4:1, 10; Exodus 6:30
• 20. Jeremiah 1:6

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "by a strong hand"
• [b]. Lit "by a strong hand"
• [c]. Heb "El Shaddai"
• [d]. Heb "YHWH," usually rendered LORD
• [e]. Lit "land of their sojournings in which..."
• [f]. Lit "to Me for a people"
• [g]. Lit "to you for a God"
• [h]. Lit "lifted up My hand"
• [i]. Lit "shortness of spirit"
• [j]. Lit "speak to"
• [k]. Lit "that he let"
• [l]. Lit "uncircumcised of lips"