Comments on Exodus 6 v1 This verse should have been the last verse of ch. 5. It frames the Lord's response to Moses' complaint in 5:22-23. He replies to Moses saying "You will soon see what I will do, and when I do, Pharaoh will expel you from the land". So the Lord is telling him to relax and be patient because He is at work and big things are in store. "with a strong hand", The Lord has thus far not exhibited His might to the Israelite or the Egyptians. Sure, Moses showed them some neat miracles which were impressive at the time in 4:30. But that is not what the Lord had in mind. The Lord is planning on major manifestations of His power to all of the people. So, the Lord is reminding Moses that some big things have yet to happen and not until they come to pass will Israel be leaving Egypt. Thus, the Lord is gently reminding Moses about their previous conversations in 3:16-22, and saying "I haven't don't what I told you I was going to do yet, so why are you telling me to hurry up?" v2-9 is a separate conversation between Moses and the Lord from that documented in the previous chapter and the fist verse of this chapter. This conversation emphasizes the covenant made with Abraham et al. and the Lord's willingness to fulfil the covenant. Note the people are less than thrilled about it, and pay Moses little heed. This is an important point. The covenant made with Abraham et al. is unconditional, the Lord simply does it because He promised to. It is not until Sinai that Israel is brought into a quid pro quo covenant relationship with the Lord. v3 The JST on this verse changes the meaning significantly, allowing to conform to the statement in PofGP Abraham 2:8 which indicates the Lord did in fact reveal His name to Abraham. v10-7:7 should be separated out as a separate section. It deals with Aharon's position, his genealogical connection to Israel, and role in the Exodus. v10-13 Moses is once again not thrilled about his calling, as was the case in 4:10-17. So, the Lord again speaks to both him and Aharon and has them both convey the message to Pharaoh. v14-25 presents genealogy which definitively ties Moses and Aharon into Israel, thereby substantiating to a degree their claim to represent Israel. v26-7:7 explain how it came about that Aharon was Moses' spokesman. Copyright © 2002 by S. Kurt Neumiller . All rights reserved. No part of this text may be reproduced in any form or by any means for commercial gain without the express written consent of the author. Digital or printed copies may be freely made and distributed for personal and public non-commercial use.