Old Testament Commentary - Exodus 6

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 6 The Lord identifies himself as Jehovah—Genealogy of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi set forth.
1 THEN the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for ^awith a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a s^btrong hand shall he ^cdrive them out of his land.		1^a OR consecrate or set apart. ^b Lev. 21:10 (10-15) ^c OR young bull (also vv. 3, 10-12, 14, 36).; Lev. 8:2; 1 Chr. 13:9 2^a Lev. 2:4 ^b HEB mingled OR smeared
2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: 3 And I ^aappeared unto ^bAbraham, unto Isaac, ^cand unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my ^dname JEHOVAH was I not known to them.		1^a OR consecrate or set apart. ^b Lev. 21:10 (10-15) ^c OR young bull (also vv. 3, 10-12, 14, 36).; Lev. 8:2; 1 Chr. 13:9 2^a Lev. 2:4 ^b HEB mingled OR smeared
4 And I have also established my ^acovenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their ^bpilgrimage, wherein they were ^cstrangers. 5 And I have also ^aheard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in ^bbondage; and I have remembered my covenant.		1^a OR consecrate or set apart. ^b Lev. 21:10 (10-15) ^c OR young bull (also vv. 3, 10-12, 14, 36).; Lev. 8:2; 1 Chr. 13:9 2^a Lev. 2:4 ^b HEB mingled OR smeared
6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will ^abring you out from under the ^bburdens of the Egyptians, and I will ^crid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: 7 And I will take you to me for a ^apeople, and I will be to you a ^bGod: and ye shall ^cknow that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did ^aswear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
9 ¶ And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for ^acruel bondage. 10 And the LORD spake unto 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 spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am ^aof uncircumcised lips? 13 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a ^acharge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
14 ¶ These be the ^aheads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben. 15 And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon.
16 ¶ And these are the names of the sons of ^aLevi according to their generations; Gershon, and Kohath, and Merari: and the years of the life of Levi were an hundred thirty and seven years. 17 The sons of ^aGershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. 18 And the sons of Kohath; Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel: and the years of the life of Kohath were an hundred thirty and three years. 19 And the sons of ^aMerari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the ^bfamilies of Levi according to their generations. 20 And ^aAmram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife^a; and she bare him ^bAaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.	20^aJochebed his father's sister to wife It has already been discussed and set forth that the Biblical term 'brother' as translated was more of the meaning of kinsman in many cases and not just an immediate brother. Laban called Jacob his 'brother' though they were but cousins. And Abraham stated truthfully that he Sarah his wife was his 'sister' though she was his cousin. Thus Jochebed need not be thought to be Amram's immediate 'Aunt' but some cousin down the line on his father's side of the family as was the case of Issac with Rebekah, and Jacob with Rachel and Leah.
21 ¶ And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. 22 And the sons of ^aUzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him ^aNadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and ^bIthamar. 24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. 25 And ^aEleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.
26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. 27 These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron.
28 ¶ And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee. 30 And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am ^aof uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?