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Exodus 6

1Yahweh said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh. Under a strong hand he will let them go; under 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 also established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land where they lived as resident foreigners. 5I have also heard the groaning of the sons of Israel, whom the Egyptians are making serve as slaves, and I have remembered my covenant. 6Therefore say to the sons of Israel: I am Yahweh. I will bring you out from under Egypt's burdens, rescue you from their slavery, and redeem you with an outstretched arm and great acts of judgment. 7I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am Yahweh your God, who brings you out from under Egypt's burdens. 8I will bring you into the land that I raised my hand to give to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am Yahweh.” 9Moses spoke this way to the sons of Israel, but they did not listen to Moses because of shortness of spirit and hard slavery.

10Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, 11“Go, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, so that he lets the sons of Israel go out of his land.” 12Moses spoke before Yahweh, saying, “Look, the sons of Israel have not listened to me. How then will Pharaoh listen to me, when I have uncircumcised lips?” 13Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them a charge concerning the sons of Israel and Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt.

14These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Reuben, Israel's firstborn: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These are Reuben's clans. 15The sons of Simeon: Jemuel and Jamin, Ohad and Jachin, Zohar and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These are Simeon's clans. 16These are the names of Levi's sons according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years. 17The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their clans. 18The sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar, Hebron and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years. 19The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are Levi's clans according to their generations. 20Amram married his aunt Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years. 21The sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. 22The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri. 23Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 24The sons of Korah: Assir and Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the Korahites' clans. 25Eleazar son of Aaron married one of Putiel's daughters, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the Levites' fathers' houses according to their clans.

26It was this Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, “Bring the sons of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their companies.” 27They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt—this Moses and Aaron. 28On the day Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “I am Yahweh. Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything I tell you.” 30But Moses said before Yahweh, “Look, I have uncircumcised lips. How will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Translation notes 7

6:1 — Under a strong hand. The Hebrew repeats “by a strong hand.” Here this is understood as the pressure of God's action that will force Pharaoh to release Israel, rather than Pharaoh's own power.

6:3 — God Almighty; not known. “God Almighty” is the traditional rendering of El Shaddai; the title's precise derivation is uncertain. The sentence says that God was not known to the ancestors by his name Yahweh. Genesis also uses that name in ancestral stories. Interpretations include a distinction between knowing the name and experiencing its significance, and differing traditions about its disclosure; the draft does not add a harmonizing qualification.

6:8 — Raised my hand. Raising the hand expresses an oath. The promise is to give the land, not an assertion that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob already possessed it.

6:9 — Shortness of spirit. The Hebrew can evoke constricted breath or a crushed, impatient spirit under oppression. “Discouragement” is a smoother alternative, but the bodily expression is retained.

6:12, 30 — Uncircumcised lips. The image describes lips unfit or unable for the task, recalling Moses' speech difficulty. It does not describe a literal operation on his mouth.

6:20 — His aunt. The Hebrew identifies Jochebed as Amram's aunt. The relationship is retained without adjustment to later marriage prohibitions.

6:26 — Companies. The word can mean military forces or organized hosts. Israel is being described as a people brought out in ordered groups, not necessarily as trained soldiers.