Exodus 6 Study Notes

6:6 The references to forced labor in vv. 6 and 7 translate the same Hebrew word that was heard twice when Pharaoh complained that Moses and Aaron were stopping the Israelites “from their labor” (5:5) and told them to get back to their “labor” (5:4); it is also used at the start of the oppression (1:11; cp. 2:11). The Lord would oppose Pharaoh and his plans and would be successful where Moses was not, despite how it might appear at first.

The promise I will redeem you uses a legal term that pictures the Lord’s action as that of a close relative who protects a family member or recovers property that belongs to someone in the extended family (Lv 25; 27; Dt 19; Jr 32:6-15). Boaz did this for Naomi and Ruth (Ru 3:2,9-13; 4:1-17). Such things were a matter of special interest to the Lord, who gained the reputation as Redeemer supreme (Pr 23:10-11; Is 41:14; 44:6; Jr 31:9-11). For the Lord to speak of himself as redeeming the Israelites by means of his outstretched arm clarified the nature of the conflict with Pharaoh. In Egyptian art and literature, Pharaoh was pictured in battle gear with his arm stretched out as a way of showing how powerful he was. Along with the “strong hand” (v. 1), the “outstretched arm” was a frequently used figure in references to what the Lord did at the time of the exodus (Dt 4:34; 5:15; 7:19; 9:29; 11:2; 2Kg 17:36; Ps 136:12; Jr 32:21).

In a later prophecy about the future defeat of Egypt, Pharaoh’s arms are broken (Ezk 30:20-26), and in a terrible reversal of the exodus, the Lord’s hand and arm are turned against Judah (Jr 21:5); but when restoration is prophesied, the strong hand and outstretched arm of the Lord are again at work on behalf of his people (Ezk 20:33-34). The Lord’s great acts of judgment (cp. Ex 7:4) would include action taken against the gods of Egypt (12:12; Nm 33:4). Ezekiel 14:21 also uses this term and defines the judgments planned there as including losses in war (“the sword”), famine, dangerous animals, and plagues, all sent as Israel’s punishment for idolatry (cp. Ezk 5:17).

6:9 The people were discouraged and angry, which kept them from hearing the Lord’s word.

6:10-12 Regardless of the rejections Moses had received, the Lord instructed him to try again. Not even the Israelites had listened to him; why should Pharaoh? Moses’s self-deprecating I am such a poor speaker is (lit) “I am uncircumcised of lips.” The term uncircumcised is used elsewhere of ears that could not listen (Jr 6:10) as well as being a derogatory description of the enemies of Israel (Jdg 14:3; 15:18; 1Sm 14:6; Jr 9:26; Ezk 28:10).

6:13-7:6 This genealogy could theoretically have been placed in a different location that would have required less effort and repetition. Here it interrupts the conversation between the Lord and Moses and creates suspense by forcing readers to wait for the answer that Moses presumably received immediately. In answer to questions raised in chaps. 2-6 about the identity and abilities of Moses, it supplies a formal identification of Moses and Aaron that 6:13,26-27 and 7:6 make even more formal.

6:16-25 This family would be important to the institution of worship at the tabernacle in the wilderness, since Aaron and his sons and finally one line of his sons (Nm 25:1-18) would be designated as priests. Moses’s sons are not mentioned.

6:26 According to their military divisions uses a military term to speak of the Israelites leaving in an orderly fashion. The same word is used in 7:4, and it sometimes refers to “armies” (1Kg 2:5; 2Kg 5:1; Is 34:2).