Exodus 6:25 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Eleazar, 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.

NIV: Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These were the heads of the Levite families, clan by clan.

NASB: Now Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families.

CSB: Aaron’s son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the Levite families by their clans.

NLT: Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she gave birth to his son, Phinehas. These are the ancestors of the Levite families, listed according to their clans.

KJV: And Eleazar 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.

NKJV: Eleazar, Aaron’s son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ houses of the Levites according to their families.

After explaining more about Korah (Exodus 6:24), the genealogy (Exodus 6:14) switches back to Aaron's family (Exo-dus 6:23). Eleazar's wife is described as a child of Putiel. Putiel is only named here in Scripture. The emphasis here is on his son, Phinehas, who later served as priest. This Phinehas is most famous for killing a sinning couple with a spear to stop God's wrath on the people of Israel (Numbers 25).

The end of this verse also summarizes the purpose of this family list. The goal was to list the main branches of the tribe of Levi. This explains why only selected family mem-bers are noted and a full list of Jacob's sons is not provided. This selective family line shows the connections to the clans of the Levites. This was important to show which families qualified to have sons serve as priests in the tabernacle. That means these words would have been written after the exodus since it was in the wilderness that God revealed the Le-vitical priesthood, information regarding the tabernacle, and how people were to worship Him.

Exodus 6:14–30 records the genealogies of Moses and his brother, Aaron. This supports that this is part of God's continuous plan to arrive at this very point in history. It also clarifies their status as members of the tribe of Levi. Along the way, God reiterates and re-establishes Moses' commission as His messenger. Moses is still wracked with self-doubt.

God responds to Moses, who struggles to understand recent events (Exodus 5:22–23). Pharaoh has retaliated against the Lord's message about Israel's freedom (Exodus 5:1–9). Here, the Lord repeats His predic-tion that Israel will be freed (Exodus 3:14–22). God's specific identity and relationship to Israel are key to this response. The Lord will fulfill His promises and take the Hebrews from Egypt into the Promised Land. The passage then rec-ords the genealogies of Moses and Aaron. Moses' commission from God is also repeated.

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).

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.