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Exodus chapter 6

English Standard Version

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

What does Exodus chapter 6 mean?

Moses followed God's instructions and passed along a message to Egypt's king (Exodus 5:1–3). Rather than listen, Pharaoh was dismissive (Exodus 5:4–5). In fact, he retaliated against the Hebrew slaves (Exodus 5:6–9). When they complained, he made it clear that they were being spitefully punished for listening to people like Moses (Exodus 5:15–19). This has turned Israelite opinion against Moses and Aaron (Exodus 5:20–21) and inspired new doubts in Moses (Exodus 5:22–23).

The Lord responds with reassurance. This was exactly what He had already said would happen (Exodus 3:19–20). Israel's freedom was only going to come through conflict and struggle. Pharaoh's stubbornness is not a defeat; it only sets the stage for the Lord's victory (Exodus 6:1).

Next, God offers a summary of His history with the people of Israel. This begins with the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In that phase, the Lord was referred to by many names. But the one He most connected to was "God Almighty." Now, He will use the word Yahweh, or YHWH, usually translated as "the Lord," as His main identifier. God made promises to Abraham's descendants and has not forgotten them. The Lord offers a series of seven "I will" claims regarding His plan to free Israel and develop His special relationship with them (Exodus 6:2–8).

Moses passes these assurances to the Hebrews. But they are so beaten down with brutal enslavement and bitterness that they ignore him. Moses also doubts. When God tells him to approach Pharaoh once again, he protests that he is unsuited. Moses uses an expression regarding uncircumcised lips; he either means his speech is physically affected, or that he is unworthy, or both. This does not change the Lord's will, nor does it remove His commands to Moses and Aaron (Exodus 6:9–13).

After this comes a genealogy showing that Moses and Aaron are descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through the tribe of Levi. Not every detail is provided, but some names are highlighted, and many of these people will factor in notable accounts later. Among these are Aaron's sons, two of whom will die for disobeying God's commands about worship (Leviticus 10:1–4). It includes Korah, who is destroyed after a rebellion (Numbers 16). The text also makes a note of Phinehas (Numbers 25), later famous for his passionate, violent commitment to the Lord's will (Exodus 6:14–25).

After the genealogy, the text summarizes that it was Moses and Aaron whom God appointed to lead Israel out of slavery. This was despite Moses' deep selfdoubt (Exodus 6:26–30).

The summary and repeat of God's plans will continue into the early verses of the next chapter (Exodus 7:1–5). This serves as a marker in the book of Exodus. Starting then, the text records an escalating cycle of divine signs and stubbornness. These ten devastating plagues will end with the death of Egypt's firstborn (Exodus 12:29–30) and the liberation of Israel (Exodus 12:31, 41).
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Book Summary
The book of Exodus establishes God's covenant relationship with the full-fledged nation of Israel. The descendants of Abraham prosper after settling in Egypt, only to be enslaved by a fearful, hateful Egyptian Pharaoh. God appoints Moses to lead the people out of this bondage. Moses serves as God's spokesman, as the Lord brings plagues and judgments on Egypt, leading to the release of Israel.
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Chapter Context
After centuries of enslavement (Exodus 1:11–14), God commissions Moses to be His representative in freeing Israel (Exodus 3:4–10). But when Moses delivers the Lord's message (Exodus 5:1–3), Pharaoh retaliates (Exodus 5:6–9). This leads to infighting (Exodus 5:20–21) and causes Moses to doubt (Exodus 5:22–23). After the Lord offers reassurances in this chapter, He will repeat an account of how the story will play out. Then God begins to bring plagues of judgment against Egypt (Exodus 7).
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