Exodus Chapter 6

At a Glance

  • Exodus 6 returns Moses to the labor of leadership with a reframed sense of divine purpose.
  • Historically, the chapter situates the narrative as Moses is reengaged after initial resistance.
  • - Covenant faithfulness and divine initiative: God recalls the Abrahamic promise and asserts His commitment to deliver, highlighting that salvation begins in God’s faithfulness, not human readiness.
  • - God’s name and presence: I am the LORD emphasizes identity, authority, and relationship—God will act as their God and bring them into relationship through deliverance.
  • - Realism about human suffering: The chapter honestly acknowledges the people’s pain and disbelief, reminding readers that grace often meets stubborn contexts and need is genuine.

EXODUS CHAPTER 6

Chapter Overview

Exodus 6 returns Moses to the labor of leadership with a reframed sense of divine purpose. After the dramatic confrontation at the burning bush and the initial signs before Pharaoh, this chapter slows the pace to recalibrate both Moses and the people. God speaks a comforting, covenant-rich message: He is the Lord, the One who remembers the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and who will deliver the Israelites from bondage. The core promise is reiterated in personal, concrete terms—God will bring the people out, redeem them, and establish them as a people with Himself as their God, leading them into a land of inheritance. Yet the text notes a painful paradox: the people are distressed by their bondage and do not listen to Moses because of anguish of spirit. The tension of divine initiative and human receptivity is foregrounded; God’s plan stands, even as human faithfulness falters.

Historically, the chapter situates the narrative as Moses is reengaged after initial resistance. The “I am the LORD” refrain appears as a theological fulcrum: God’s self-identification grounds the deliverance. The chapter includes genealogical material—reference to the heads of the tribes—emphasizing the continuity of Israel’s identity and the seriousness of God’s promises. Theologically, Exodus 6 marks a pivot from demonstration to declaration: God will accomplish the exodus through a “stretched out arm” and “great judgments,” not by human cleverness alone. The verse 9 note about the people’s response (they did not listen because of anguish) underscores the human cost of oppression and the necessity of divine mercy shining through.

Key Themes

- Covenant faithfulness and divine initiative: God recalls the Abrahamic promise and asserts His commitment to deliver, highlighting that salvation begins in God’s faithfulness, not human readiness.

- God’s name and presence: I am the LORD emphasizes identity, authority, and relationship—God will act as their God and bring them into relationship through deliverance.

- Realism about human suffering: The chapter honestly acknowledges the people’s pain and disbelief, reminding readers that grace often meets stubborn contexts and need is genuine.

- Preparation for mission: Moses’s role is reaffirmed, but the emphasis shifts to God’s power working through him, signaling that leadership is a cooperative venture with divine empowerment.

- Continuity of identity: The mention of the patriarchs and the tribal heads anchors the deliverance within Israel’s ongoing story.

Modern Application

Exodus 6 invites readers to trust God’s promises in the face of present pain and delayed outcomes. For contemporary life, the chapter speaks to negotiating long seasons of hardship—whether in personal trials, communal oppression, or systemic injustice—while clinging to God’s covenant faithfulness. It encourages perseverance in prayer and mission, even if immediate results seem elusive or if responses from others are discouraging. The reminder that God sees suffering and remembers His promises can comfort individuals who feel overlooked or exhausted by their circumstances. In leadership terms, the chapter models patient steadiness: God commissions, equips, and sustains leaders, even when the people resist or fail to listen. It also underscores the importance of defining identity—who we are as God’s people—before outlining the path forward. Finally, the chapter invites readers to re-center on God’s sovereignty: salvation is God’s work, accomplished through His name and mighty acts, which gives believers courage to move forward in faith.

Cross-References: Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 5-6; Genesis 12-17; Isaiah 41:14-16; Psalm 77:11-15

Recommended Personas: Moses, Aaron, God (the LORD), Abrahamic forefathers (as theological backdrop)

Chapter Text

1

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.

2

And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:

3

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.

4

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.

5

And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.

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:

7

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.

8

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.

9

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

10

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

11

Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

12

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?

13

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.

14

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.

15

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.

16

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.

17

The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, according to their families.

18

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.

19

And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20

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.

21

And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri.

22

And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri.

23

And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24

And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites.

25

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.

26

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.

27

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.

28

And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt,

29

That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee.

30

And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?

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