Exodus 6

Listen to Exodus 6

God Promises Deliverance

1 But the LORD said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them out, and with 1a strong hand he will 2drive them out of his land."
2 God spoke to Moses and said to him, 3"I am the LORD.
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as 4God Almighty,[a] but by my name the 5LORD I did not make myself known to them.
4 6I also established my covenant with them 7to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
5 Moreover, 8I have heard the groaning of the people of Israel whom the Egyptians hold as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Say therefore to the people of Israel, 9'I am the LORD, and 10I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from slavery to them, and 11I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
7 I 12will take you to be my people, and 13I will be your God, and you shall know that 14I am the LORD your God, who has brought you out 15from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 I will bring you into 16the land that I 17swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. I will give it to you for a possession. 18I am the LORD.'"
9 Moses spoke thus to the people of Israel, but they 19did 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 20not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, for 21I 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 22sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the clans of Reuben.
15 The 23sons 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 24sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari, the years of the life of Levi being 137 years.
17 The 25sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, by their clans.
18 The 26sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, the years of the life of Kohath being 133 years.
19 The 27sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the clans of the Levites according to their generations.
20 28Amram took as his wife Jochebed his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses, the years of the life of Amram being 137 years.
21 29The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
22 The 30sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of 31Amminadab and the sister of 32Nahshon, and she bore him 33Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
24 The 34sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the clans of the Korahites.
25 Eleazar, Aaron's son, took as his wife one of the daughters of Putiel, and 35she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites by their clans.
26 These are the Aaron and Moses 36to whom the LORD said: "Bring out the people of Israel from the land of Egypt 37by their hosts."
27 It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing out the people of Israel from Egypt, this Moses and this Aaron.
28 On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29 the LORD said to Moses, 38"I am the LORD; 39tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you."
30 But Moses said to the LORD, "Behold, 40I am of uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?"

Exodus 6 Commentary

Chapter 6

God renews his promise. (1-9) Moses and Aaron again sent to Pharaoh. (10-13) The parentage of Moses and Aaron. (14-30)

Verses 1-9 We are most likely to prosper in attempts to glorify God, and to be useful to men, when we learn by experience that we can do nothing of ourselves; when our whole dependence is placed on him, and our only expectation is from him. Moses had been expecting what God would do; but now he shall see what he will do. God would now be known by his name Jehovah, that is, a God performing what he had promised, and finishing his own work. God intended their happiness: I will take you to me for a people, a peculiar people, and I will be to you a God. More than this we need not ask, we cannot have, to make us happy. He intended his own glory: Ye shall know that I am the Lord. These good words, and comfortable words, should have revived the drooping Israelites, and have made them forget their misery; but they were so taken up with their troubles, that they did not heed God's promises. By indulging discontent and fretfulness, we deprive ourselves of the comfort we might have, both from God's word and from his providence, and go comfortless.

Verses 10-13 The faith of Moses was so feeble that he could scarcely be kept to his work. Ready obedience is always according to the strength of our faith. Though our weaknesses ought to humble us, yet they ought not to discourage us from doing our best in any service we have to do for God. When Moses repeats his baffled arguments, he is argued with no longer, but God gives him and Aaron a charge, both to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh. God's authority is sufficient to answer all objections, and binds all to obey, without murmuring or disputing, ( Philippians 2:14 ) .

Verses 14-30 Moses and Aaron were Israelites; raised up unto them of their brethren, as Christ also should be, who was to be the Prophet and Priest, the Redeemer and Lawgiver of the people of Israel. Moses returns to his narrative, and repeats the charge God had given him to deliver his message to Pharaoh, and his objection against it. Those who have spoken unadvisedly with their lips ought to reflect upon it with regret, as Moses seems to do here."Uncircumcised," is used in Scripture to note the unsuitableness there may be in any thing to answer its proper purpose; as the carnal heart and depraved nature of fallen man are wholly unsuited to the services of God, and to the purposes of his glory. It is profitable to place no confidence in ourselves, all our sufficiency must be in the Lord. We never can trust ourselves too little, or our God too much. I can do nothing by myself, said the apostle, but I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Cross References 40

  • 1. Exodus 3:19; Exodus 13:3
  • 2. Exodus 11:1; Exodus 12:33, 39
  • 3. [Isaiah 42:8; Malachi 3:6]
  • 4. Genesis 17:1
  • 5. Psalms 68:4; Psalms 83:18; [John 8:58; Revelation 1:4, 8]
  • 6. Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:4, 7
  • 7. Genesis 17:8; Genesis 28:4
  • 8. Exodus 2:24
  • 9. [Isaiah 42:8; Malachi 3:6]
  • 10. Exodus 7:4; Deuteronomy 26:8; Psalms 136:11, 12; [Exodus 3:17]
  • 11. Exodus 15:13; Deuteronomy 7:8; 2 Kings 17:36; 1 Chronicles 17:21; Nehemiah 1:10
  • 12. Deuteronomy 4:20; Deuteronomy 7:6; Deuteronomy 14:2; Deuteronomy 26:18; 2 Samuel 7:24; [1 Peter 2:9]
  • 13. Exodus 29:45, 46; Genesis 17:8; Leviticus 22:33; Deuteronomy 29:13; [Revelation 21:7]
  • 14. [See ver. 6 above]
  • 15. [See ver. 6 above]
  • 16. Exodus 32:13; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:3; Genesis 28:13; Genesis 35:12; Ezekiel 20:6, 42
  • 17. [Genesis 14:22; Deuteronomy 32:40; Ezekiel 20:5, 6; Ezekiel 47:14]
  • 18. [See ver. 6 above]
  • 19. Exodus 5:21; [Acts 7:25]
  • 20. [See ver. 9 above]
  • 21. ver. 30; Exodus 4:10; Jeremiah 1:6; [Jeremiah 6:10; Ezekiel 44:7]
  • 22. Genesis 46:9; 1 Chronicles 5:3
  • 23. Genesis 46:10; 1 Chronicles 4:24
  • 24. Genesis 46:11; Numbers 3:17; 1 Chronicles 6:1, 16
  • 25. Numbers 3:18; 1 Chronicles 6:17; 1 Chronicles 23:7
  • 26. Numbers 3:19; Numbers 26:57; 1 Chronicles 6:2, 18
  • 27. Numbers 3:20; 1 Chronicles 6:19; 1 Chronicles 23:21
  • 28. See Exodus 2:1
  • 29. Numbers 16:1; 1 Chronicles 6:37, 38
  • 30. Leviticus 10:4; Numbers 3:30
  • 31. Ruth 4:19, 20; 1 Chronicles 2:10; Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:33
  • 32. Numbers 1:7; Numbers 2:3; Numbers 7:12, 17; Numbers 10:14; Matthew 1:4; Luke 3:32
  • 33. Leviticus 10:1; Numbers 3:2; Numbers 26:60; 1 Chronicles 6:3; 1 Chronicles 24:1
  • 34. 1 Chr. 6:22, 23, 37
  • 35. Numbers 25:7, 11; Joshua 24:33; Psalms 106:30
  • 36. ver. 13
  • 37. Exodus 7:4; Exodus 12:17, 51; Numbers 33:1
  • 38. See ver. 2
  • 39. ver. 11; [Exodus 7:2]
  • 40. [Isaiah 6:5]; See ver. 12

Footnotes 1

Chapter Summary

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.

Exodus 6 Commentaries

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.