1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh; for by a strong hand shall he let them go, and by a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
2 And God spoke to Moses, and said to him, I am Jehovah.
3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as the Almighty ùGod; but by my name Jehovah I was not made known to them.
4 And I established also my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, in which they were sojourners.
5 And I have heard also the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians have forced to serve, and I have remembered my covenant.
6 Therefore say unto the children of Israel, I am Jehovah, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their service, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments.
7 And I will take you to me for a people, and will be your God; and ye shall know that I, Jehovah your God, am he who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you into the land concerning which I swore to give it unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; and I will give it you for a possession: I am Jehovah.
9 And Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses from anguish of spirit, and from hard service.
10 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying,
11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
12 And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Lo, the children of Israel do not hearken to me: how then should Pharaoh hearken to me, to me of uncircumcised lips?
13 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a commandment to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 These are the heads of their fathers' houses: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Enoch and Phallu, Hezron and Carmi: these are the families of Reuben.
15 -- And the sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.
16 And these are the names of the sons of Levi, according to their generations: Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari. And the years of the life of Levi were a hundred and thirty-seven years.
17 The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
18 And the sons of Kohath: Amram, and Jizhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred and thirty-three years.
19 And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.
20 And Amram took Jochebed his aunt as wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty-seven years.
21 And the sons of Jizhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zicri.
22 And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 And Aaron took Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 And the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korahites.
25 And Eleazar Aaron's son took [one] of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.
26 This is that Aaron and Moses, to whom Jehovah said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.
27 These are they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: this is that Moses and Aaron.
28 And it came to pass on the day when Jehovah spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29 that Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, I am Jehovah: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.
30 And Moses said before Jehovah, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh hearken unto me?
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 6
Commentary on Exodus 6 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 6
Ex 6:1-13. Renewal of the Promise.
1. the Lord said unto Moses—The Lord, who is long-suffering and indulgent to the errors and infirmities of His people, made allowance for the mortification of Moses as the result of this first interview and cheered him with the assurance of a speedy and successful termination to his embassy.
2. And God spake unto Moses—For his further encouragement, there was made to him an emphatic repetition of the promise (Ex 3:20).
3. I … God Almighty—All enemies must fall, all difficulties must vanish before My omnipotent power, and the patriarchs had abundant proofs of this.
but by my name, &c.—rather, interrogatively, by My name Jehovah was I not known to them? Am not I, the Almighty God, who pledged My honor for the fulfilment of the covenant, also the self-existent God who lives to accomplish it? Rest assured, therefore, that I shall bring it to pass. This passage has occasioned much discussion; and it has been thought by many to intimate that as the name Jehovah was not known to the patriarchs, at least in the full bearing or practical experience of it, the honor of the disclosure was reserved to Moses, who was the first sent with a message in the name of Jehovah, and enabled to attest it by a series of public miracles.
9-11. Moses spake so unto the children of Israel—The increased severities inflicted on the Israelites seem to have so entirely crushed their spirits, as well as irritated them, that they refused to listen to any more communications (Ex 14:12). Even the faith of Moses himself was faltering; and he would have abandoned the enterprise in despair had he not received a positive command from God to revisit the people without delay, and at the same time renew their demand on the king in a more decisive and peremptory tone.
12. how then shall … who am of uncircumcised lips?—A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory. He seems to have fallen into the same deep despondency as his brethren, and to be shrinking with nervous timidity from a difficult, if not desperate, cause. If he had succeeded so ill with the people, whose dearest interests were all involved, what better hope could he entertain of his making more impression on the heart of a king elated with pride and strong in the possession of absolute power? How strikingly was the indulgent forbearance of God displayed towards His people amid all their backwardness to hail His announcement of approaching deliverance! No perverse complaints or careless indifference on their part retarded the development of His gracious purposes. On the contrary, here, as generally, the course of His providence is slow in the infliction of judgments, while it moves more quickly, as it were, when misery is to be relieved or benefits conferred.
Ex 6:14-30. The Genealogy of Moses.
14, 15. These be the heads of their fathers' houses—chiefs or governors of their houses. The insertion of this genealogical table in this part of the narrative was intended to authenticate the descent of Moses and Aaron. Both of them were commissioned to act so important a part in the events transacted in the court of Egypt and afterwards elevated to so high offices in the government and Church of God, that it was of the utmost importance that their lineage should be accurately traced. Reuben and Simeon being the oldest of Jacob's sons, a passing notice is taken of them, and then the historian advances to the enumeration of the principal persons in the house of Levi [Ex 6:16-19].
20. Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife—The Septuagint and Syriac versions render it "his cousin."
23. Elisheba—that is, Elizabethan. These minute particulars recorded of the family of Aaron, while he has passed over his own, indicate the real modesty of Moses. An ambitious man or an impostor would have acted in a different manner.