Глава 6

1–8. God's approval of Moses means liberation is inevitable. 14–30. Genealogy of Moses and Aaron. Ex.6:1. And the Lord said to Moses: Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh; by the working of a mighty hand he will let them go; by the action of a mighty hand he will even drive them out of his land. Under the influence of a “strong hand”, i.e. executions (see explanation above, v. 19–23, ch. 3), Pharaoh will not only release, but even “drive out” the Jews from his land (Ex. 12:33). Ex.6:2. And God spoke to Moses and said to him: I am the Lord. Ex.6:3. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the name “God Almighty,” but with My name [“Lord”] ​​I did not reveal myself to them; 6 Ex.6:4. and I established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojourning, in which they sojourned. Ex.6:5. And I heard the groaning of the children of Israel because the Egyptians kept them in bondage, and I remembered My covenant. Ex.6:6. Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians, and will deliver you from their slavery, and will save you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments; Ex.6:7. And I will take you to be My people, and will be your God, and you will know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of Egypt; Ex.6:8. And I will bring you into the land which I lifted up My hand and swore to give it to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance. I am the Lord. The inevitability of liberation is based on the immutability of promises. The Lord who appeared to Moses is the same God Almighty (El-Schaddai), Who revealed himself to the patriarchs (Gen. 17:1, 35:11) and if Jehovah is always equal and unchangeable to Himself, then He will fulfill the promises given by El-Schaddai. The latter “made a covenant with the patriarchs to give them the land of Canaan” (Ex. 6:4, Gen. 17:8, 26:3, 35:11–12), and Jehovah, identical with him, will bring it to fulfillment. Jehovah's identity with El-Schaddá guarantees the fulfillment of three promises: deliverance from Egyptian slavery (Ex. 6:6, Gen. 15:14), election of the Jews to be the people of God (Ex. 6:7, Gen. 17:7–8, Deut. 4:20, 7:6) and the granting of the Promised Land to them (Exod. 6:8, Gen. 17:8, 26:3, 28:13, 35:12). In view of all this, Moses and the people should not lose heart. If, as a result of deliverance, they learn through experience that the Lord is their God, then even now, when predicting the upcoming liberation, they must maintain faith in Him. “I appeared to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob with the name “God Almighty,” but with My name “Lord,” I did not reveal myself to them” (v. 3). In His promises to the patriarchs, God primarily pointed to His omnipotence (El-Schaddai), which served as their guarantee for the fulfillment of His promises. From the time of Moses these latter things begin to be fulfilled. The descendants of the patriarchs became a great people, ready to begin an independent political life under the direct leadership of God. And now the Lord demonstrates His other property, expressed in the name Jehovah - immutability, faithfulness in the fulfillment of His promises. “I will save you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments” (v. 6; Deut. 4:34, 5:15, 7:19), i.e. executions, since they, crushing the kingdom of Pharaoh, also serve as punishment for him (“judgment”). “Raising your hand” is an action used in swearing promises, indicating its immutability (Gen. 14:22, Deut. 32:40, Ezek. 20:23). Exodus 6:9. Moses told this to the children of Israel; but they did not listen to Moses due to cowardice and the severity of the work. Ex.6:10. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: Exodus 6:11. Go in and tell Pharaoh king of Egypt to let the children of Israel go out of his land. Exodus 6:12. And Moses spake before the Lord, saying, Behold, the children of Israel hearken not unto me; How will Pharaoh listen to me? and I am not verbal. The comforting promise did not produce a corresponding impact on the people due to their cowardice - lack of patience (Num. 24:4, Job 21:4), supported by hard work. This circumstance, in connection with the inevitability of a new refusal on the part of Pharaoh, who is difficult to convince an unspoken man, forces Moses to decisively refuse to fulfill the assignment entrusted to him. Exodus 6:13. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them commandments to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. Despite the disobedience of the people at this time and Moses’ refusal to go to Pharaoh, “the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them commands to the children of Israel and to Pharaoh.” These new theophany strengthened, one might think, the spirit of Moses, since subsequently there was no hesitation or doubt in him (see below Ex. 7:1–6). Exodus 6:14. These are the leaders of their generations: the sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel: Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Charmi: these are the families of Reuben. Ex.6:15. The sons of Simeon: Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Saul the son of the Canaanite woman: these are the families of Simeon. Exodus 6:16. These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their families: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And the years of Levi's life were one hundred and thirty-seven. Exodus 6:17. The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimei with their families. Exodus 6:18. The sons of Kohath: Amram, and Izgar, and Hebron, and Uzziel. And the years of the life of Kohath were one hundred and thirty-three years. Exodus 6:19. Sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations. Ex.6:20. Amram took his aunt Jochebed as his wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses [and their sister Miriam]. And the years of Amram's life were one hundred and thirty-seven. Exodus 6:21. The sons of Izgar: Korah and Nepheg and Zichri. Exodus 6:22. The sons of Uzziel: Mishael and Elzaphan and Sifri. Exodus 6:23. Aaron took Elizabeth, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Exodus 6:24. The sons of Korah: Asher, Elkanah and Abiasaph: these are the families of Korah. Exodus 6:25. Eleazar, the son of Aaron, took one of the daughters of Futhiel as his wife, and she bore him Phinehas. These are the leaders of the generations of the Levites, according to their families. Since the liberation of the Jews took place through the mediation of Moses and Aaron, who are the main figures in subsequent events, then, in view of the complete relevance of saying who they were, the new section begins with their genealogy. It is not without intention that his presentation is preceded by the genealogy of the sons Reuben and Simeon. The divine election of Moses and Aaron as leaders of the Jewish people takes place, the author wants to say, regardless of the seniority of the clan. Levi was the third son of Jacob, and yet his descendants were worthy of this election; Kohath, the ancestor of Moses and Aaron, was also not the first, but the second son of Levi (Ex. 6:16). A hint of God's special favor towards the descendants of Levi is also contained in the indication of the longevity of his representatives (Ex. 6:18, 20). According to Art. 20, the father of Moses and Aaron was Amram. Judging by the context, this Amram is none other than the son of Kohath (Ex. 6:18). But Numbers does not lead to such a conclusion. 3:27–28. As can be seen from this place, according to the calculation that was made in the second year after the exodus from Egypt, there were 8,600 people in the generation of Kohath, divided into 4 generations. How many persons each clan included is not indicated here. But if you divide 8600 by four, you get 2150, i.e. the approximate average number of adult males per gender. If we add women and children to this number of men, then 2150 will have to be raised to 6450. This number of persons should have included the clan of Amram. But besides Moses, the Bible knows only Aaron and Miriam from the children of Amram (Ex. 6:20). In view of this, the identification of Amram, the father of Moses, with Amram, the son of Kohath, leads to the incredible conclusion that from four representatives (Amram, Moses, Aaron, Miriam) 6450 people descended into one clan. The only way out of this difficulty is the completely reliable assumption that Amram, the father of Moses, is not the same person as Amram, the son of Kohath, but a later descendant of Levi of the same name. The mother of Moses, Jochebed, is called the aunt of her husband Amram, and in accordance with this in Num. 26:59 – “the daughter of Levi, whom his wife bore him in Egypt.” But as for the term “aunt” (Heb. “doda”), it can be understood differently, which is proved by the translation of the LXX: “θυγατέρα τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ” - cousin with paternal side, “the daughter of her father’s brother.” As Amram's aunt, Jochebed is the daughter of Levi (from Levi Kohath and his sister Jochebed, from Kohath Amram, Jochebed's nephew). But since Jochebed, Amram’s wife, is his cousin, then she can no longer be the daughter of Levi. And that indeed the Greek translators did not consider it as such, this is clear from their reading (Num. 26:59). Instead of the Hebrew: “Jochebed the daughter of Levi, whom the wife of Levi gave birth to in Egypt,” they put: “θυγάτηρ Λευι, ἡ ἔτεκεν τούτους τῷ Λευι ἐν Αἰγύπτῳ ", - “daughters of Levi, who gave birth to these 7 Levi in Egypt." Consequently, on his mother’s side, Moses was not the closest descendant of Levi. Exodus 6:26. Aaron and Moses are those to whom the Lord said: Bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt according to their armies. Exodus 6:27. They spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt; these are Moses and Aaron. Exodus 6:28. So at the time when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, Exodus 6:29. The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh king of Egypt everything that I tell you. Exodus 6:30. Moses said before the Lord: Behold, I am without words: how will Pharaoh listen to me? Having outlined the genealogy of Moses and Aaron and noting their position as God's chosen leaders of the Jewish people (Exodus 6:26–27), the sacred writer returns to where his need to introduce the genealogy of Moses and Aaron interrupted him, namely, to the former's response to the command to go to Pharaoh (Exodus 6:12). That is, Moses, Aaron and Miriam. You might be interested in: