Exo 6:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
With a strong hand - yad chazakah, the same verb which we translate to harden. The strong hand here means sovereign power, suddenly and forcibly applied. God purposed to manifest his sovereign power in the sight of Pharaoh and the Egyptians; in consequence of which Pharaoh would manifest his power and authority as sovereign of
Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh - For the fact that the first visit paid by Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh was simply intended to bring out the attitude of Pharaoh towards the purposes of Jehovah, and to show the necessity for the great judgments of God, is distinctly expressed in the words, “Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh.”
Exo 6:2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
There appears to have been an interval of some months between the preceding events and this renewal of the promise to Moses. The oppression in the meantime was not merely driving the people to desperation, but preparing them by severe labor, varied by hasty wanderings in search of stubble, for the exertions and privations of the wilderness. Hence, the formal and solemn character of the announcements in the whole chapter.
I am the Lord - It should be, I am Jehovah, and without this the reason of what is said in the 3d verse is not sufficiently obvious. Jehovah, the self-existent Being, the Being of beings, the everlasting I am, the unchangeable Jehovah, true, firm, and constant to his promises, ever to be believed, and always to be depended on.
l am Jehovah - The same with I am that I am, the fountain of being and blessedness, and infinite perfection. The patriarchs knew this name, but they did not know him in this matter by that which this name signifies. God would now be known by his name Jehovah, that is, A God performing what he had promised, and so giving being to his promises. A God perfecting what he had begun, and finishing his own work. In the history of the creation God is never called Jehovah, till the heavens and the earth were finished, Gen_2:4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens. When the salvation of the saints is completed in eternal life, then he will be known by his name Jehovah, Rev_22:13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, in the mean time they shall find him for their strength and support, El - shaddai, a God All - sufficient, a God that is enough.
And God spake unto Moses--For his further encouragement, there was made to him an emphatic repetition of the promise (Exo_3:20).
Exo 6:3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.
By the name of God Almighty - EL-Shaddal, God All-sufficient; God the dispenser or pourer-out of gifts.
But by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them - This passage has been a sort of crux criticorum, and has been variously explained. It is certain that the name Jehovah was in use long before the days of Abraham, Gen_2:4, where the words Jehovah Elohim occur, as they do frequently afterwards; and Gen_15:2, where Abraham expressly addresses him by the name Adonai Jehovah; and Gen_15:7, where God reveals himself to Abraham by this very name: And he said unto him, I am Jehovah, that brought thee out of Ur of the Chaldees. How then can it be said that by his name Jehovah he was not known unto them? The words may be considered as used comparatively: though God did appear to those patriarchs as Jehovah, and they acknowledged him by this name, yet it was but comparatively known unto them; they knew nothing of the power and goodness of God, in comparison of what the Israelites were now about to experience. The simple meaning is this, that though from the beginning the name Jehovah was known as one of the names of the Supreme Being, yet what it really implied they did not know. El-Shaddai, God All-sufficient, they knew well by the continual provision he made for them, and the constant protection he afforded them: but the name Jehovah is particularly to be referred to the accomplishment of promises already made; to the giving them a being, and thus bringing them into existence, which could not have been done in the order of his providence sooner than here specified: this name therefore in its power and significancy was not known unto them; nor fully known unto their descendants till the deliverance from Egypt and the settlement in the promised land. It is surely possible for a man to bear the name of a certain office or dignity before he fulfills any of its functions. King, mayor, alderman, magistrate, constable, may be borne by the several persons to whom they legally belong, before any of the acts peculiar to those offices are performed. The King, acknowledged as such on his coronation, is known to be such by his legislative acts; the civil magistrate, by his distribution of justice, and issuing warrants for the apprehending of culprits; and the constable, by executing those warrants. All these were known to have their respective names, but the exercise of their powers alone shows what is implied in being king, magistrate, and constable.
by my name Jehovah was I not known to them - which he had in the preceding verse called himself by. This is not to be understood absolutely; for it is certain that he had made himself known by this name, and this name was known unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Gen_15:6, and though the name Jehovah itself was known to the patriarchs, by which they were assured that God is eternal, immutable, and faithful to his promises; yet he was not known as to the efficacy of this name, or with respect to the actual performance of his promise, as he now would be by delivering the children of Israel out of Egypt, and bringing them into the land of Canaan; though perhaps, by reading the words with an interrogation, the clause will appear more plain, "and by my name Jehovah was I not known to them
by my name Jehovah was I not known to them - 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.
Exo 6:4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.
I have also established my covenant - With Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and with their posterity, so that it is sure and firm, and shall never be made null and void:
the land of their pilgrimage - not being in actual possession of any part of it, but lived as pilgrims and strangers in it, as their posterity now did in another land not theirs.
Exo 6:5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of
I have also heard the groaning of the children of
I have remembered my covenant - concerning bringing them out of Egypt into the land of Canaan, which he would quickly do, and thereby make it appear he was mindful of his covenant, which is indeed never forgotten by him, though it may seem to be.
Exo 6:6 Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments:
With a stretched out arm – In Isaiah 53:1, the arm of the Lord is Jesus. Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? The entire chapter of Isaiah 53 is a description of Jesus. Here the bible mentions that God will redeem
and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm - with an arm stretched out from heaven to earth; even by the exertion of his almighty power, openly and manifestly displayed in the lighting down of his arm upon the enemies of his people, and in delivering them out of their hands:
With a stretched out arm - With almighty power: A metaphor taken from a man that stretches out his arm, to put forth all his strength.
Exo 6:7 And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
I will be to you a God - This was precisely the covenant that he had made with Abraham. Genesis 17:7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your seed after you in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your seed after you.
And ye shall know that I am the Lord your God - by the promises fulfilled, the favors granted, and the deliverances wrought for them:
And I will take you to me for a people - Out of the hands of the Egyptians, and out of their country, to be in a political sense his kingdom and subjects; and in a religious sense a holy people to himself, to fear, serve, worship, and glorify him, by walking according to laws and rules given them by him; and this he did by setting up and establishing a civil and ecclesiastical polity among them:
and I will be to you a God - their King and their God to rule over them, protect and defend them, they being a theocracy; and their covenant God and Father, giving them various spiritual privileges, the adoption, the glory, the covenant, the law, service, and promises: The adoption of Israel as the nation of God took place at Sinai Exo_19:5 And now if you will obey My voice indeed, and keep My covenant, then you shall be a peculiar treasure to Me above all the nations; for all the earth is Mine.
Exo 6:8 And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD.
Which I did swear - I have lifted up my hand. The ancient and usual mode of appealing to God was by lifting up the right hand, and was considered as a form of swearing. Gen_14:22 And Abram said to the king of
And I will bring you in unto the land - The
and I will give it you for an heritage - to be possessed as an inheritance by them, so long as they were obedient to his will.
Exo 6:9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
They hearkened not - The contrast between the reception of this communication and that recorded in Exo_4:31 is accounted for by the change of circumstances. After their cruel disappointment, they were quite absorbed by their misery, unable and unwilling to attend to any fresh communication. Their bondage was become so extremely oppressive that they had lost all hope of ever being redeemed from it. 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
Anguish of spirit - shortness of spirit or breath. The words signify that their labor was so continual, and their bondage so cruel and oppressive, that they had scarcely time to breathe.
Exo 6:10 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
And the Lord spake unto Moses - At another time, and renewed his orders to him to go again to Pharaoh, and require their dismission:
Exo 6:11 Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of
Go out of his land - Moses is now bidden to demand not a permission for a three days’ journey (Exo_3:18 note), which might be within the boundaries of
that he let the children of
Exo 6:12 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 of uncircumcised lips?
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.
Uncircumcised lips - An uncircumcised ear is one that does not hear clearly; an uncircumcised heart one slow to receive and understand warnings; uncircumcised lips, such as cannot speak fluently. The recurrence of the hesitation of Moses is natural; great as was the former trial this was far more severe; yet his words always imply fear of failure, not of personal danger.
Uncircumcised lips - He had an impediment in his speech, could not speak freely and readily, but with difficulty; perhaps stammered, he was not eloquent, which was his old objection, and had been fully answered before: and by this it appears that there was no alteration in the speech of Moses since God spoke with him at Mount Horeb. Some think Moses expected to have had this impediment removed, and tacitly hints at it here, not being so well satisfied with Aaron's being joined with him as his mouth and spokesman, which seemed to carry in it some reflection upon him.
Exo 6:13 And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
gave them a charge - The final and formal charge to the two brothers is given, as might be expected, before the plagues are denounced. God's authority is sufficient to answer all objections, and binds us to obedience without murmuring or disputing. With this verse begins a new section of the history forming a concluding summary, and preparing the way for the genealogy that follows, the heading of which is given in Exo_6:14.
Exo 6:14 These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben.
These be the heads of their fathers' 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
These be the heads - rashey, the chiefs or captains. The following genealogy was simply intended to show that Moses and Aaron came in a direct line from Abraham, and to ascertain the time of
These be the heads of their father's houses - Not all are of the families of Moses and Aaron; but the two first seem to be taken notice of for the sake of the third, and that order might be observed, and that it might plainly appear that the deliverers of Israel were Israelites: This genealogy ends in those two great patriots, Moses and Aaron; and comes in here to show that they were Israelites, bone of their bone, and flesh of their flesh, whom they were sent to deliver, raised up unto them of their brethren, as Christ also should be, who was to be the prophet and priest, the Redeemer and law - giver of the house of Israel, and whose genealogy also like this was to be carefully preserved. The heads of the houses of three of the tribes are here named, agreeing with the accounts we had, Gen. 46:8-27. Reuben and Simeon seem to be mentioned only for the sake of Levi, from whom Moses and Aaron descended, and all the priests of the Jewish church.
the sons of Reuben - whose names, and the order in which they are put, are the same as in Gen_46:9 these be the families of Reuben; the heads of them, or from whence they sprung.
Exo 6:15 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.
Exo 6:16 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 an hundred thirty and seven years.
Exo 6:17 The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.
And the sons of Gershom - He had only two sons, from whom came the families of the Libnites and Shimites; Num_3:21.
Exo 6:18 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.
And the sons of Kohath, Amram, and Izhar, and
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And the sons of Merari, Mahali, and Mushi - From whence sprung the families of the Mahalites, and Mushites, Num_3:33.
according to their generations - the families that descended from him and his sons, according to the order of their birth.
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she bore him Aaron and Moses - We may observe here how the Divine promise, Gen_15:16, of delivering the Israelites out of Egypt in the fourth generation was verified; for Moses was the son of Amram, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi, the son of Jacob.
Bare him Aaron and Moses - The Septuagint adds “And Miriam their sister”.
Amram – One commentator says that this can scarcely be the same person who is mentioned in Exo_6:18; but his descendant and representative in the generation immediately preceding that of Moses. The intervening links are omitted, as is the rule where they are not needed for some special purpose, and do not bear upon the history. Other commentators do not see any problem with understanding this as a direct relationship without intervening generations.
Jochebed - The name means “the glory of Jehovah (Yahweh),” one clear instance of the use of the sacred name before the Exodus.
Father’s sister - This was within the prohibited degrees after the law was given Lev_18:12 but not previously.
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife - This Amram was the first son of Kohath, and the father of Moses, as after related, and so must be the same with the man of the house of Levi, and his wife the daughter of Levi, as in Exo_2:1 and though such a marriage was afterwards prohibited, Moses does not conceal it, though it may seem to reflect some dishonor on him and his family; he writing not for his own glory, but for the sake of truth, and the good of mankind, and especially the people of God. The true meaning of this word dodatho is uncertain. The word dod signifies an uncle in 1Sa_10:14; Lev_10:4, and frequently elsewhere. It signifies also an uncle’s son, a cousin: compare Jer_32:8 with Exo_6:12, where it is rendered my paternal cousin; and in Amo_6:10, his near relation. Indeed the Vulgate Latin version, and the Septuagint, make her to be his first cousin, the daughter of his father's brother, his uncle's daughter; but in Num_26:59 And the name of Amram's wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom one bore to Levi in Egypt. And she bore to Amram Aaron and Moses, and Miriam their sister, she is expressly said to be a daughter of Levi, born to him in
Exo 6:21 And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
Korah - Though he became a rebel against God and Moses, (see Num_16), yet Moses, in his great impartiality, inserts his name among those of his other progenitors.
Nepheg, and Zichri - These seem to be mentioned for the sake of Korah, concerning whom is a remarkable history in the following book; for they are nowhere else spoken of.
Exo 6:22 And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.
And the sons of Uzziel, Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zichri - The two first of these sons were the men that were ordered by Moses to carry out of the camp the two sons of Aaron, who were killed by lightning for offering strange fire in Lev_10:4. Uzziel is called Aaron’s uncle, Lev_10:4 And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel, the uncle of Aaron, and said to them, Come near, carry your brothers from before the sanctuary out of the camp.
Exo 6:23 And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Elisheba - The oath of the Lord. She was of the royal tribe of
Eleazar - He succeeded to the high priesthood on the death of his father Aaron,
the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Naashon - a prince of the tribe of Judah, Num_7:12 And he that offered his offering the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, of the tribe of Judah, her he took to wife; or married; for though intermarriages with the several tribes were not allowed, nor used in after times, that they might be kept distinct, and the inheritances also, yet the tribe of Levi often took wives of other tribes, because they had no inheritance, and were to have none in the land of Canaan, so that confusion in tribes and inheritance was not made hereby; and it is observable, that these marriages were frequently with the tribe of Judah, as signifying the union of the kingly and priestly offices in Christ, who sprung from the tribe of Judah:
Nadab, and Abihu - they died by fire from heaven in their father's lifetime, for offering strange fire to the Lord, Lev_10:1 And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it, and put incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which He had not commanded them.
Eleazar, and Ithamar - Eleazar succeeded his father in the priesthood, Num_20:26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people , and shall die there, and of the sons of Ithamar executing the priest's office, 1Ch_24:2 But Nadab and Abihu died before their father and had no sons. And Eleazar and Ithamar were priests.
Aminadab - A prince of the tribe of
The genealogies of two of Amram's brothers, Izhar and Uzziel (Exo_6:21, Exo_6:22), and also Phinehas, the son of Aaron's son Eleazar (Exo_6:25) are mentioned; as the genealogy was intended to trace the descent of the principal priestly families, among which again special prominence is given to Aaron and Eleazar by the introduction of their wives. On the other hand, none of the sons of Moses are mentioned, because his dignity was limited to his own person, and his descendants fell behind those of Aaron, and were simply reckoned among the non-priestly families of Levi. The Korahites and Uzzielites are mentioned, but a superior rank was assigned to them in the subsequent history to that of other Levitical families (Num 16-17; Num_26:11, and Num_3:30 with Lev_10:4). The reversal of the order of the names is also to be noticed. In the genealogy itself Aaron stands first, as the elder of the two; in the conclusion, which leads over to the historical narrative that follows, Moses takes precedence of his elder brother, as being the divinely appointed redeemer of
Exo 6:24 And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.
And the sons of Korah - The eldest son of Izhar, who, though he proved a bad man, yet many of his posterity were good men, and are often mentioned in general in the titles of some of the psalms of David.
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Phinehas - Of the celebrated act of this person, and the most honorable grant made to him and his posterity, Num_25:7-13, especially Numbers 25:12-13 Therefore say, Behold! I give him My covenant of peace. And he shall have it, and his seed after him, the covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made an atonement for the sons of
these are the heads of the Levites - according to their families; from whence the Levites sprung, and their several families. It may be observed, that Moses says nothing of his own offspring, only of his brother Aaron's, partly out of modesty and humility, and partly because the priesthood was successive in the family of Aaron, but not the civil government in the family of Moses; and that he proceeds no further to give the genealogy of the remaining tribes, his chief view being to show the descent of Aaron and himself, that it might be with certainty known in after times who they were that were instruments of Israel's deliverance out of Egypt.
Exo 6:26 These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of
This emphatic repetition shows the reason for inserting the genealogy. The names of Moses and Aaron are given twice and in a different order; used in Exo_6:26 probably to mark Aaron as the older in the genealogy, and used in Exo_6:27 to denote the leadership of Moses.
according to their armies - denoting their numbers, and the order in which they were to march out of
According to their armies - tsibotham, their battalions, regularly arranged troops. As God had these particularly under his care and direction, he had the name of Yehovah tsebaoth, Lord of hosts or armies.
to whom the Lord said – the charge He gave them to bring out the children of
Exo 6:27 These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of
Exo 6:28 And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,
And it came to pass - This and the following verses belong to the next chapter. They mark distinctly the beginning of a subdivision of the narrative. Here the seventh chapter should commence, as there is a complete ending of the sixth with Exo_6:27, and the Exo_6:30 of this chapter is intimately connected with the 1st verse of the succeeding.
Exo 6:29 That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of
Speak all that I say unto thee - As a faithful ambassador. Those that go on God's errand must not shun to declare the whole counsel of God.
Exo 6:30 And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
And Moses said before the Lord - As he had done, Exo_6:13, and this is only a repetition of what is there said, in order to lead on to what is related in the following chapter:
