Exodus 6:8-18

8 I will bring you into ¹the land that I ²swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. ³I am the LORD.'"

9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they ⁴did not listen to Moses, because of their broken spirit and harsh slavery.

10 So the LORD said to Moses,

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

12 But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, the people of Israel have ⁵not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for ⁶I am of uncircumcised lips?"

13 But the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge about the people of Israel and about Pharaoh king of Egypt: to bring the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the ⁷sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.

15 The ⁸sons of Simeon: Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the clans of Simeon.

16 These are the names of the ⁹sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.

17 The ¹⁰sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.

18 The ¹¹sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 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.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 32:13; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:3; Genesis 28:13; Genesis 35:12; Ezekiel 20:6, 42
• 2. [Genesis 14:22; Deuteronomy 32:40; Ezekiel 20:5, 6; Ezekiel 47:14]
• 3. [See ver. 6 above]
• 4. Exodus 5:21; [Acts 7:25]
• 5. [See ver. 9 above]
• 6. ver. 30; Exodus 4:10; Jeremiah 1:6; [Jeremiah 6:10; Ezekiel 44:7]
• 7. Genesis 46:9; 1 Chronicles 5:3
• 8. Genesis 46:10; 1 Chronicles 4:24
• 9. Genesis 46:11; Numbers 3:17; 1 Chronicles 6:1, 16
• 10. Numbers 3:18; 1 Chronicles 6:17; 1 Chronicles 23:7
• 11. Numbers 3:19; Numbers 26:57; 1 Chronicles 6:2, 18