God answers Moses's complaint with a covenant-reaffirmation speech built on four 'I will' declarations, reveals that the patriarchs knew Him as El Shaddai but not yet by the full significance of YHWH, and provides the Levitical genealogy establishing Moses and Aaron's lineage.
What Makes This Chapter Remarkable
The four 'I will' verbs of v6-8 — bring out, deliver, redeem, take — form the theological backbone of the exodus and traditionally correspond to the four cups of the Passover Seder. The climactic verb ga'al ('redeem') is kinsman-redeemer language: God acts not as a distant benefactor but as covenant kin. The phrase qotser ruach ('crushed spirit,' v9) — literally 'shortness of breath' — is one of Scripture's most psychologically accurate descriptions of sustained trauma: even good news cannot penetrate.
Translation Friction
The statement that God was not 'known' (noda) to the patriarchs by the name YHWH (v3) created tension with Genesis passages where the name appears. We rendered it 'I did not make Myself fully known to them,' following the interpretation that yada here means experiential knowledge of the name's redemptive significance, not mere awareness of the word. The metaphor aral sefatayim ('uncircumcised lips,' v12) we rendered as 'unskilled in speech' for readability, noting the striking covenant metaphor in our translator notes.
Connections
The four 'I will' declarations are echoed in the Passover Haggadah's four cups. The covenant formula of v7 ('I will take you as My people, I will be your God') recurs at Sinai (19:5-6), in Jeremiah 31:33, and Revelation 21:3. The genealogy connects to Numbers 3 and 1 Chronicles 6.
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. By a mighty hand he will let them go, and by a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land."
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God's response to Moses's complaint (5:22-23) begins with a promise of force: 'by a mighty hand' (beyad chazaqah). The phrase will echo throughout Exodus as a signature description of divine power. God does not explain the delay; He announces decisive action.
God spoke to Moses and said to him, "I am the LORD.
KJV And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'I am the LORD' (ani YHWH) opens a formal covenant-reaffirmation speech (vv.2-8) that is among the most theologically dense passages in the Pentateuch. God speaks His own name as the ground of everything that follows.
I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as God Almighty, but by My name the LORD I did not make Myself fully known to them.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
אֵל שַׁדַּיEl Shaddai
"God Almighty"—God Almighty, the all-sufficient God, the overpowering God
The patriarchal divine title emphasizing power sufficient to fulfill impossible promises. Now superseded in revelatory depth by YHWH, which reveals God's character through redemptive action.
Translator Notes
The statement about El Shaddai and YHWH has generated centuries of debate. It does not mean the patriarchs never heard the name YHWH (cf. Genesis 15:7), but that they did not experience its full significance — the God who acts in redemptive power to fulfill covenant promises. The name's meaning is now being revealed through action, not merely speech.
I also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land in which they lived as sojourners.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'Established My covenant' (haqimoti et-beriti) — the verb qum ('establish, set up') treats the covenant as a standing structure, erected and maintained by God. The land of Canaan is specifically named as the covenant's territorial content.
Furthermore, I have heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians hold in slavery, and I have remembered My covenant.
KJV And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Divine 'hearing' and 'remembering' reprise the language of 2:24-25. God heard, remembered, saw, knew — and now He declares what He will do. The groaning of the enslaved has become the engine of salvation history.
Therefore say to the sons of Israel: 'I am the LORD. I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will deliver you from their bondage. I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great acts of judgment.
KJV 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:
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
גָּאַלga'al
"redeem"—redeem, reclaim, act as kinsman-redeemer, ransom
Kinsman-redeemer language: God claims Israel as His own family and pays the cost of their liberation. This is not rescue by a stranger but reclamation by covenant kin.
Translator Notes
The four 'I will' declarations form the theological backbone of the exodus: (1) I will bring you out, (2) I will deliver you, (3) I will redeem you, (4) I will take you. Each verb carries distinct weight. The climactic 'redeem' (ga'al) is kinsman-redeemer language — God acts not as a distant benefactor but as covenant kin who pays the price of liberation.
I will take you as My people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
KJV 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 take you as My people, and I will be your God"—covenant formula of mutual belonging
The foundational covenant formula that defines the God-Israel relationship. It will be restated at Sinai, through the prophets, and into the New Testament. The exodus exists to establish this relationship.
Translator Notes
'I will take you as My people, and I will be your God' — this is the covenant formula (formula of mutual belonging) that defines the God-Israel relationship throughout Scripture. It will be restated at Sinai (Exodus 19:5-6), in the prophets (Jeremiah 31:33), and in Revelation (21:3). Relationship, not merely rescue, is the goal of the exodus.
I will bring you into the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.'"
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The speech closes as it opened: 'I am the LORD.' The entire declaration is bracketed by divine self-identification (vv.2, 8). The promises are as certain as the identity of the one who speaks them. The land sworn (nasa yadi, 'I lifted My hand') to the patriarchs is now the destination of the exodus.
Moses spoke this to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to him because of their crushed spirit and harsh bondage.
KJV And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'Crushed spirit' (qotser ruach) — literally 'shortness of breath/spirit.' Oppression has compressed the people's inner capacity to the point where even good news cannot penetrate. This is one of the most psychologically accurate descriptions of sustained trauma in Scripture.
Exodus 6:10
וַיְדַבֵּ֥ר יְהֹוָ֖ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֥ה לֵּאמֹֽר׃
Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
KJV And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God does not wait for Israel to recover before issuing the next command. The mission moves forward regardless of the people's readiness.
But Moses said before the LORD, "If the sons of Israel have not listened to me, how will Pharaoh listen to me? I am unskilled in speech."
KJV 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?
Notes & Key Terms
1 term
Key Terms
עֲרַל שְׂפָתָיִםaral sefatayim
"unskilled in speech"—uncircumcised of lips, impeded in speech, unfit to speak
Literally 'uncircumcised lips' — a striking metaphor that links speech inadequacy to covenant incompleteness. The word arel ('uncircumcised') carries deep theological weight in the covenant tradition.
Translator Notes
Moses repeats his speech objection from 4:10, now using the phrase 'uncircumcised lips' (aral sefatayim) — an unusual metaphor linking speech inadequacy to covenant incompleteness. The word arel ('uncircumcised') will gain enormous significance at Sinai and beyond.
The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a charge regarding the sons of Israel and regarding Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
God responds to Moses's objection not with argument but with commissioning. He gives a 'charge' (tsav) to both Moses and Aaron — a formal military/legal command that overrides personal hesitation.
These 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.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The genealogy begins with Reuben and Simeon (Jacob's first two sons) but quickly narrows to Levi — Moses and Aaron's tribe. The list legitimizes their authority by anchoring it in Israel's tribal structure.
The sons of Simeon — Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the clans of Simeon.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Simeon's genealogy is brief, setting up the extended treatment of Levi that follows. The note about Shaul's Canaanite mother preserves the historical record without commentary.
These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. The years of Levi's life were 137 years.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Levite genealogy becomes the chapter's center. Three sons of Levi — Gershon, Kohath, Merari — establish the branches from which all priestly and Levitical service will descend.
The sons of Kohath — Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. The years of Kohath's life were 133 years.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Kohathite line is expanded because it leads to Amram, Moses and Aaron's father. The genealogical focus narrows with each generation toward the commissioned deliverers.
Amram married Jochebed, his father's sister, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. The years of Amram's life were 137 years.
KJV And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Amram and Jochebed are named for the first time — Moses's parents, identified in the genealogical record. Jochebed is Amram's father's sister (dodah), a marriage later prohibited by Levitical law (Leviticus 18:12-13). The narrative records without judging.
Exodus 6:21
וּבְנֵ֖י יִצְהָ֑ר קֹ֥רַח וָנֶ֖פֶג וְזִכְרִֽי׃
The sons of Izhar — Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.
KJV And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Izhar's son Korah will later lead a rebellion against Moses (Numbers 16). The genealogy quietly positions future conflicts within the family tree.
Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
KJV And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Aaron's wife Elisheba connects the priestly line to the tribe of Judah through Nahshon (cf. Ruth 4:20, 1 Chronicles 2:10). The marriage links the priestly and royal tribes at the genealogical level.
The sons of Korah — Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the clans of the Korahites.
KJV And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The Korahite clans will become significant in later Israelite worship — the 'sons of Korah' are credited with multiple psalms (Psalms 42, 44-49, 84-85, 87-88).
Eleazar the son of Aaron married 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.
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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Phinehas will become the great zealot for covenant faithfulness (Numbers 25:7-13). His genealogy here connects future zeal to the Aaronic priestly line.
It was this Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their hosts."
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The narrator breaks the genealogy to reidentify Moses and Aaron as the ones God commissioned. The genealogy serves the narrative, not the other way around — it exists to legitimize the mission.
It was they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt about bringing the sons of Israel out of Egypt — this Moses and Aaron.
KJV 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.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The emphasis falls on 'this Moses and Aaron' (hu Mosheh ve'Aharon) — lest anyone mistake identities. The commissioned deliverers are specific, named individuals within a documented lineage.
On the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt,
KJV And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
The narrative returns to the commission scene, resuming from v13 after the genealogical interlude. The phrase 'on the day when' (beyom dibber) reconnects to the direct speech of God.
the LORD said to Moses, "I am the LORD. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say to you."
KJV That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
'I am the LORD' again — the speech restarts with the same self-identification that opened the covenant declaration in v2. Repetition is not redundancy but rhetorical anchoring.
But Moses said before the LORD, "I am unskilled in speech. How will Pharaoh listen to me?"
KJV And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
Notes & Key Terms
Translator Notes
Moses's final objection returns verbatim — 'uncircumcised lips.' The repetition creates a literary frame (vv.12, 30) that brackets the genealogy, showing that Moses's inadequacy is not resolved by pedigree but by divine commission.