Bible Study Exodus 6
‹ Exodus

Exodus 6 · WEB

God Renews His Promise; The Genealogy of Moses and Aaron

Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.

Tap a verse to copy it, open the Hebrew, or write a note.

Yahweh said to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he will let them go, and by a strong hand he will drive them out of his land."
2God spoke to Moses, and said to him, "I am Yahweh.
3I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Yahweh I was not known to them.
4I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their travels, in which they lived as aliens.
5Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
6"Therefore tell the children of Israel, 'I am Yahweh, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched-out arm, and with great judgments.
7I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am Yahweh your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8I will bring you into the land which I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it to you for a heritage: I am Yahweh.'"
9Moses spoke so to the children of Israel, but they didn't listen to Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage.
10Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,
11"Go in, and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land."
12Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, "Behold, the children of Israel haven't listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, since I am of uncircumcised lips?"
13Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a command to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children 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, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
15The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanite woman; these are the families of Simeon.
16These 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 one hundred thirty-seven years.
17The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
18The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izhar, and Hebron, and Uzziel; and the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred thirty-three years.
19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
20Amram took Jochebed his father's sister as his wife; and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the years of the life of Amram were one hundred thirty-seven years.
21The sons of Izhar: Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
22The sons of Uzziel: Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24The sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
25Eleazar Aaron's son took one of the daughters of Putiel as his wife; and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites according to their families.
26These are that Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, "Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies."
27These are those who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt. These are that Moses and Aaron.
28On the day when Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
29Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, "I am Yahweh. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you."
30Moses said before Yahweh, "Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh listen to me?"
✶

Summary

In response to Moses' lament, God reaffirms his covenant promises with a series of seven "I will" statements: he will bring Israel out, free them, redeem them, take them as his people, be their God, bring them to the promised land, and give it as their heritage. The people are too broken by bondage to listen. A genealogy anchors Moses and Aaron in the Levitical line, tracing their family to Amram and Jochebed. The chapter ends with Moses again expressing his inadequacy — "I am of uncircumcised lips" — yet God repeats the commission regardless.

Themes

  • The seven "I will" promises — the fullness of God's covenantal commitment
  • Redemption as God's sovereign action, not human achievement
  • The weight of suffering that can deafen people to good news
  • The covenant name Yahweh as the guarantee of all God's promises

Key verses

  • Ex 6:6-7 — “I will bring you out… I will rid you of their bondage… I will redeem you… I will take you to myself for a people, and I will be to you a God.”
  • Ex 6:8 — “I will bring you into the land… I am Yahweh.”
  • Ex 6:9 — “They didn't listen to Moses for anguish of spirit and for cruel bondage.”

Context & background

The statement in verse 3 — that God was not known to the patriarchs "by the name Yahweh" — is much debated. Genesis clearly uses the name Yahweh, yet here God seems to say it was not revealed until Moses. The resolution likely is that the full significance of the name — Yahweh as covenant-keeping God of redemption — was not yet experienced; the patriarchs knew the name but not its fullest meaning. The genealogy in verses 14-25 is selective, tracing only Reuben, Simeon, and Levi to arrive at Levi's descendants, and specifically Aaron and Moses. Canaan (the promised land) corresponds to modern Israel, the Palestinian territories, and parts of Lebanon and Jordan.

Cross-references

  • Galatians 4:4-5 — God sending his Son "to redeem" uses the same redemption language as Exodus 6:6.
  • Genesis 17:1 — God appeared to Abraham as "God Almighty" (El Shaddai), the name referenced in Exodus 6:3.
  • Revelation 21:3 — "They will be his people, and God himself will be with them" — the ultimate fulfillment of "I will be to you a God."
  • Romans 8:28-30 — Paul's "golden chain" of redemption — called, justified, glorified — parallels the "I will" structure of God's promises here.

Check your reading

Log in to take the quiz and save your progress.

  1. Observe

    By what name does God say he was NOT known to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (v. 3)?

  2. Observe

    Why did the children of Israel not listen to Moses in verse 9?

  3. Interpret

    What is the significance of God bracketing his promises in verses 6-8 with the phrase "I am Yahweh"?

  4. Interpret

    What does Moses' phrase "I am of uncircumcised lips" (v. 12, 30) most likely mean?

  5. Apply

    The seven "I will" promises are entirely God's action — what does this reveal about salvation that applies to believers today?

  6. Apply

    What pastoral lesson can we draw from Israel being unable to receive good news in their suffering (v. 9)?

Your journal

Write your own answers — they save automatically, and only you can see them.

Log in to write and save journal answers.

Apply (How does it apply to me?)

Personal notes (anything else about this chapter)