The Law · Chapter 6 of 40

Exodus 6

God answers Moses's complaint by revealing Himself anew as the LORD who appeared to the patriarchs and now will act. He renews the covenant with a chain of promises: I will bring out, rid, redeem, take, and bring in. Moses relays this, but the people, crushed by bondage, do not listen. Moses protests his uncircumcised lips. A genealogy establishes the lineage of Moses and Aaron, God's appointed leaders.

What happens in Exodus 6

God responds to Moses's lament by promising that Pharaoh will soon drive Israel out by a strong hand. He declares I am the LORD, recalling that He appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty but was not known to them by His name JEHOVAH. Having heard Israel's groaning and remembered His covenant, God gives a series of promises: to bring them out from Egypt's burdens, to rid them of bondage, to redeem them with an outstretched arm, to take them as His people, to be their God, and to bring them into the promised land.

Moses reports this, but the people, worn down by cruel bondage and anguish of spirit, will not listen. God then commands Moses to go to Pharaoh, and Moses objects that he is of uncircumcised lips. The chapter inserts a genealogy of Reuben, Simeon, and especially Levi, tracing the line to Aaron and Moses, and confirms these are the two God charged to bring Israel out.

Exodus 6 in context

After the failure of the previous chapter, God recommissions Moses with one of Scripture's fullest covenant declarations. The revealing of the name, connected to God's self-disclosure at the burning bush, stresses that this deliverance flows from God's own character and faithfulness to the patriarchs.

The genealogy, though it interrupts the story, roots Moses and Aaron's authority in Levi's line and prepares for the confrontations with Pharaoh.

Main themes of Exodus 6

I am the LORDGod grounds the whole rescue in His name and character. Before any plague falls, He declares who He is. Deliverance rests not on Israel's strength or Moses's skill but on the covenant-keeping God who reveals Himself here as the LORD.

The chain of I willGod stacks promise upon promise: bring out, rid, redeem, take, be, bring in. The verbs are all His own action. Redemption is something God does for a people who cannot free themselves, carrying them from bondage to belonging to inheritance.

Too crushed to hearThe people cannot receive the promise for anguish of spirit and cruel bondage. Suffering can deafen even to good news. God's word is true whether or not the weary can yet believe it, and He moves to act on their behalf regardless.

This is part of the Law, the foundation of the whole story: creation, covenant, and a God who binds Himself to a people. As you read, watch for God's character and His promises, which all lead toward Christ.

Exodus 6 (KJV)

1Then 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. 2And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: 3And 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. 4And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant. 6Wherefore 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: 7And 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. 8And 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. 9And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. 10And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 11Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. 12And 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? 13And 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. 14These 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. 15And 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. 16And 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. 17The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families. 18And 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. 19And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. 20And 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. 21And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. 22And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. 23And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 24And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. 25And 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. 26These 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. 27These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron. 28And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, 29That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee. 30And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?

Verses to carry from Exodus 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:”Exodus 6:6

“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.”Exodus 6:7

“And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.”Exodus 6:9

Thematic connection

How Exodus 6 points to Jesus

God's cascade of promises, I will bring out, redeem, take you to me for a people, and be your God, sets the pattern of redemption that the New Testament sees completed in Jesus. Christ redeems a people not with an outstretched arm against Egypt but with His own blood, taking them to Himself and making them God's own possession. The covenant refrain, I will be to you a God and you shall be my people, echoes through Scripture to its fulfillment in the new covenant Jesus establishes.

The revealing of God's saving name here anticipates the name of Jesus, in which salvation is finally found. These are thematic connections rather than direct prophecies, yet the redemption God pledges to Israel foreshadows the greater redemption in Christ.

Questions about Exodus 6

What does it mean that God was not known to the patriarchs by His name JEHOVAH?

The patriarchs knew God and used the name, but they had not yet experienced the full meaning of it as the covenant-keeping deliverer. Now God is about to reveal Himself in mighty acts of redemption, making His name known in a new and deeper way. It speaks of experience and revelation, not mere ignorance of a word.

Why include a genealogy in the middle of the drama?

It establishes the credentials of Moses and Aaron, showing their descent through Levi at the very point where they must confront Pharaoh. By naming their lineage, the text answers who these men are that dare to speak for God, and it anchors the coming deliverance in real, traceable history rather than legend.

Reflection

God defined the rescue by a string of promises that were all His own doing: I will bring out, I will redeem, I will take you. When you feel too crushed to believe, remember that God's promises rest on His character, not your strength to grasp them. He acts even when the weary cannot yet hear.

A prayer from Exodus 6

I am the LORD, You said, and every promise rests on who You are. When bondage deafens me to good news, speak again. Redeem me with Your outstretched arm, take me as Your own, and be my God. I trust Your I will more than my weakness. Amen.

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