Exodus 6:8-18

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

9 So Moses spoke thus to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses on ⁴account of their despondency * and cruel bondage.

10 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,

11 "⁵Go, 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; ⁶how then will Pharaoh listen to me, for I am ⁷unskilled 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.

The Heads of Israel

14 These are the heads of their fathers' households. ⁸The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.

15 The ⁹sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin and Ohad and Jachin and Zohar and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.

16 These are the names of ¹⁰the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the length of Levi's life was one hundred and thirty-seven * years.

17 ¹¹The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.

18 ¹²The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the length of Kohath's life was one hundred and thirty-three * 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. Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:3; Numbers 14:30; Nehemiah 9:15; Ezekiel 20:5, 6
• 2. Joshua 24:13; Psalms 136:21, 22
• 3. Exodus 6:6
• 4. Exodus 2:23
• 5. Exodus 4:22, 23
• 6. Exodus 4:1, 10; Exodus 6:30
• 7. Jeremiah 1:6
• 8. Genesis 46:9; Numbers 26:5-11; 1 Chronicles 5:3
• 9. Genesis 46:10; 1 Chronicles 4:24
• 10. Genesis 46:11; Numbers 3:17; Numbers 26:57; 1 Chr 6:1, 16-19
• 11. Numbers 3:18-20; 1 Chronicles 6:17-19
• 12. Numbers 3:19; 1 Chronicles 6:2, 18

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "lifted up My hand"
• [b]. Lit "shortness of spirit"
• [c]. Lit "speak to"
• [d]. Lit "that he let"
• [e]. Lit "uncircumcised of lips"
• [f]. Lit "years"
• [g]. In 1 Chr 23:7, "Ladan"
• [h]. Lit "years"