Yahweh's Charge to Moses and Aaron and Details of Aaron's Background (Exodus 6:10-30).
Here we have a further chiasmus based around genealogical information to do with Aaron as the head of Moses' family demonstrating their credentials. Yahweh has just previously made known His own credentials, now Aaron's credentials are to be laid out. Such a background confirms his worthiness for the task that lies ahead.
a Yahweh commands Moses to speak to Pharaoh to let the children of Israel leave and Moses says that Pharaoh will not listen to him because he is of uncircumcised lips (Exodus 6:10-12).
b Yahweh gives Moses and Aaron a charge to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 6:13).
c Genealogical information concerning the ancestors of Aaron (Exodus 6:14-15).
d The years of the life of Levi were 137 years (Exodus 6:16).
e The years of the life of Kohath were 133 years (Exodus 6:17-18).
d The years of the life of Amram were 137 years (Exodus 6:19).
c Genealogical information concerning the family of Aaron (Exodus 6:20-25).
b These are that Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, ‘Bring the children of Israel out of Egypt'. These are those who spoke to Pharaoh in order to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 6:26-27).
a In response to Yahweh commanding him to speak to Pharaoh Moses says that he is of uncircumcised lips and that Pharaoh will therefore not hear him (Exodus 6:28-30).
Note in ‘a' the emphasis on Moses' ‘uncircumcised lips' in both cases. In ‘b' the charge is given to Moses and Aaron to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt, and in the parallel Aaron and Moses (note the reversal because it is in the context of Aaron being the head of the family) are twice said to have to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. In ‘c' genealogical information about Aaron is given in both cases. In ‘d' both achieve the age of 137 years.
We must now consider it in more detail.
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying, “Go in. Speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of this land.” And Moses spoke before Yahweh saying, “Look, the children of Israel have not listened to me, how then will Pharaoh listen to me who am of uncircumcised lips?” '
Having sought to bolster Moses' faith with a reminder and revelation of Who He is, God now commanded that Moses go again to Pharaoh to request leave to go out of the land. But Moses' reply was, if the children of Israel who believe in Yahweh will not listen, why should Pharaoh? He remembers vividly the scathing words of Pharaoh, ‘I do not know Yahweh'.
Yahweh tells him what he was to say, ‘Let the children of Israel go out of this land.' The purpose of the ‘going' is not mentioned here, but at this stage the idea is still that they go for the purpose of worshipping and serving Yahweh in the wilderness (compare Exodus 7:16; Exodus 8:1). That is how Pharaoh also continued to see it (Exodus 8:8). But it would be the first reminder that as a people they did not belong in this land.
“Who am of uncircumcised lips.” The idea of ‘uncircumcised' is of unresponsiveness, of a function which is not working properly. It does not suggest that Moses was uncircumcised. Compare Jeremiah 6:10; Leviticus 26:41. It means rather that he had a ‘covering' on his lips which he could not remove (as with the foreskin). It is saying that his words are not powerful enough to be effective, or that his lips have not been sufficiently trained. He is not properly qualified. The thought may also include that Pharaoh will not see him as a man dedicated to a god, but as one whose lips are unsanctified.
The Genealogies of Moses and Aaron Are Outlined (Exodus 6:13-27)
The writer saw it as important that now in preparation for the deliverance the credentials of Aaron, and therefore of Moses, should be given.
‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a charge to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Egypt out of the land of Egypt.'
This is one of the summary verses which occur so often in the Scriptures, summarising what was to come. That Yahweh was working to finally bring the children of Israel out of Egypt and into the promised land was unquestioned, and had been clearly stated. That thought may be included here as a note of final intent. But we can equally argue that this must be read in the light of the context. The purpose stated is continually that they be allowed to go and serve Yahweh in the wilderness, and that can be read in here.
The charge having been given it is now considered necessary to outline the genealogical background to these two great men. In those days a man's genealogy and family connections were seen as of prime importance and were often found at the beginning of a written record. Furthermore the preliminaries being over the main battle was about to begin. It was thus important to identify the background of the main participants who were not yet identified, and it was done in a wider context. Moses and Aaron's place in the scheme of things had to be pinpointed.
‘These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel and Jamin, and Ohad and Jachin, and Zohar and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon.'
These genealogies of Reuben and Simeon are introductory to the genealogy of Levi. Reuben is mentioned as the firstborn of Israel, and Simeon probably because he is Levi's twin (see on Genesis 49:5). These both add their status to that of Levi. (All these details may well have been included in the submissions for a hearing before Pharaoh). Note the mention of the Canaanite woman. This was looked on as a blot against Simeon's name. Marriage with Canaanite women was frowned on. The Simeonites would later bring a similar blot on themselves in Numbers 25.
So Reuben and his sons are mentioned because he was the head of the whole of Israel, the ‘firstborn'. Then Simeon is mentioned because he was Levi's twin, and therefore closely associated. These make clear who Levi himself was.
“Their fathers” houses.' This refers to the family clans. These became leaders of the clans.
‘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 a hundred and thirty seven years. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei, according to their families. And the sons of Kohath: Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were a hundred and thirty three years. And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.'
Note that the part of the family of especial concern are highlighted by a statement of the length of their lives. Their long lives were an indication of Yahweh's blessing on that part of the family. A number ending in seven indicated divine connection. A number ending in three indicated completeness. We note that Levi's lifespan is given as being the same as Amram's, both ending in seven. Then are outlined their wider family connections, the brothers of Kohath and their sons, and the brothers of Amram and their sons (Exodus 6:21-22). Note that the term ‘the sons of Levi' is the equivalent of ‘the Levites' (Exodus 6:16 with Exodus 6:19).
‘And Amram took for himself Yochebed, his father's sister, as his wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were a hundred and thirty seven years.'
The fact that Amram married his father's sister, later forbidden (Leviticus 18:12), might demonstrate that Amram preceded Moses by some considerable time. The name ‘Yochebed' probably means ‘Yahweh is glory'. This serves to demonstrate how early the name of Yahweh was incorporated in Hebrew names and confirms that the name of Yahweh was known to the children of Israel well before the time of Moses.
“She bore him Aaron and Moses”. We are probably to see in this the ancient custom whereby descendants could be described as born to their ancestors. Amram is the grandson of Levi and by this time had become a largish clan (Numbers 3:27). Yochebed was possibly the direct daughter of Levi (Numbers 26:59). Aaron is mentioned first as the firstborn.
Alternately there may have been two Amrams, the one descended from the other, and the jump from one to the other being assumed, because he had been in his ancestor's loins. We find a similar case in the genealogy of Ezra in Ezra 7:3, which passes over from Azariah the son of Meraioth to Azariah the son of Johanan, and omits five links between the two, as we may see from 1 Chronicles 6:7-11. This may well have been a regular practise. The first Amram could not be Moses' father because by the time of Moses he would, by a conservative estimate, have had over a thousand male descendants (Numbers 3:28). But if such a jump did occur and there were two Amrams, and Yochebed was Moses' mother, then the marrying of Amram by his sister would come very close in time to its prohibition by Moses.
(The lengths of life are interesting. These surely again indicate the ancient use of numbers. The basic building block is one hundred and thirty, indicating long life (one hundred) brought to completeness (thirty). As the first patriarch Levi then has seven added on, the number of divine perfection. Kohath has three added on indicating his completeness compared with his brothers, who are depicted as inferior to Kohath. Amram, however, as the ‘father' of Aaron and Moses has seven added on, returning to the sphere of divine perfection as the house of Moses and Aaron. We can compare how in Genesis apart from the almost universally rounded numbers of nought and five, seven was the next most common number, and was linked with Lamech, Sarah, Ishmael and Jacob. With Lamech in order to make the ultra-perfect 777, Sarah possibly because she was a woman, although the bearer of the promised seed, and Ishmael and Jacob possibly because they died outside the land, or possibly because they were the fathers of nations in accordance with the covenants.
‘And the sons of Izhar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sithri.
These are ‘the sons of' (descendants of) Amram's brothers. Probably Hebron had no children. He may have died young. Overall they represent the leaders of the clans (Exodus 6:25).
‘And Aaron took for himself Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon for his wife, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
The family of Aaron is now given. Nahshon, the brother of Aaron's wife, was the son of Amminadab and an important leader of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 1:7), thus Elisheba his sister came from a leading family. We have already been given details of Moses' wife and firstborn son (Exodus 2:21-22) which satisfactorily explains their absence here. This omission demonstrates the unity of the whole narrative. They had been mentioned elsewhere in the narrative.
‘And the sons of Korah: Assir, and Elkanah and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.'
These details are given, (exceptionally), probably because Korah himself was ‘swallowed up by the earth' or slain by fire from heaven and therefore his sons carried on the line (Numbers 26:10-11). His name was blotted out of Israel.
‘And Eleazar, Aaron's son, took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel for a wife, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers' houses of the Levites according to their families.'
Phinehas was a popular Egyptian name. He later proved his loyalty to Yahweh in a rather grim fashion when he slew an Israelite who was brazenly consorting with a pagan Midianite woman (probably in the course of adulterous rites) after many in Israel had taken to the worship of pagan gods (Numbers 25:11). Putiel is also probably an Egyptian name. Phinehas later became ‘the Priest' (the leading priest) after Eleazar.
‘These are that Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, “Bring the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.” These are they who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. These are that Moses and Aaron.'
The writer now connects Moses and Aaron as the deliverers from Egypt with the Aaron and Moses mentioned in the genealogy. Notice the switch from ‘Aaron and Moses' (Exodus 6:26) to ‘Moses and Aaron' (Exodus 6:27). In the genealogy Aaron is the eldest son, but in importance Moses is primary. These phrases may indicate a reference back to a previous tablet or scroll. There is no real reason why Moses should not be thought of as referring to himself in the third person. It was often done. But it is possible that this is the record of a transcriber.
The description of Aaron and Moses (in Exodus 6:13 Moses and Aaron) as intended to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt parallels Exodus 6:13.
Yahweh Outlines the Next Phase In the Plan (Exodus 6:28-30).
‘And it happened on the day when Yahweh spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, that Yahweh spoke to Moses saying, “I am Yahweh. You, speak to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, all that I say to you.” And Moses said before Yahweh, “Look, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how will Pharaoh listen to me?” '
This final statement parallels Exodus 6:11-12. Having intervened with a genealogy the writer has to bring his hearers back to where they were before the diversion, thus we have a partial repetition in reverse order of what was written in Exodus 6:10-13.
Indeed the constant partial repetitions are intended to build up the hearers anticipation. It was important that the facts were firmly rooted in the mind, and it builds them up to a state of anticipation. It was drawing out the drama. (We, who read from easy to read books, often do not appreciate the difficulties of the ancient writer who knew he was writing for those who would not get a chance to look back over the pages).
“I am Yahweh.” Moses of course knew that He was Yahweh, but what God wanted to impress on him more and more was that He was there as ‘the One Who is about to act'. He wanted them to know that He was Yahweh, that is, to recognise the power with which He would act. He then stressed that Moses must pass on His words to Pharaoh (compare Exodus 6:11).
“I am of uncircumcised lips.” See on Exodus 6:12. Moses was still full of doubt because of his lack of oratory. He did not feel adequate to present the message before Pharaoh and his court.
Note for Christians.
In this chapter we have seen that through the experiences which Israel were enduring God revealed Himself to them in a new way. Often the purpose for our experiences is that we might come to know God better. There are so many distractions that take possession of our lives. And God has sometimes to put us in positions where we turn our eyes from our distractions and fix our thoughts on Him. And it is then that He will make Himself known to us as He never has before. Then, depending on our response, will be the blessing that we receive from it.
Here we have the genealogy of Aaron. What meaning has that for us today? The truth is that the detailing of a genealogy is a reminder that God knows exactly who we are, even if we do not know ourselves. It is a reminder that God knew all about Aaron, and that He knows all about us. Thus will He direct our lives in the way that is best for us, if only we will let Him.
End of note.