Exodus 6:8-18

8 I'll bring you into the land that I promised to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I'll give it to you as your possession. I am the LORD.'"

9 Moses told this to the Israelites. But they didn't listen to Moses, because of their complete exhaustion and their hard labor.

10 Then the LORD said to Moses,

11 "Go and tell Pharaoh, Egypt's king, to let the Israelites out of his land."

12 But Moses said to the LORD, "The Israelites haven't even listened to me. How can I expect Pharaoh to listen to me, especially since I'm not a very good speaker?"

13 Nevertheless, the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron about the Israelites and Pharaoh, Egypt's king, giving them orders to let the Israelites go from the land of Egypt.

Family line of Moses and Aaron

14 These were the leaders of their households. The descendants of Reuben, Israel's oldest son: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These were Reuben's clans.

15 The Simeonites: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, a Canaanite woman's son. These were Simeon's clans.

16 These were the Levites' names by their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.

17 The Gershonites: Libni and Shimei and their clans.

18 The Kohathites: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.

Exodus 6:8-18 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.