Exodus 6:13

6:10-13 The faith of Moses was so feeble that he could scarcely be kept to his work. Ready obedience is always according to the strength of our faith. Though our weaknesses ought to humble us, yet they ought not to discourage us from doing our best in any service we have to do for God. When Moses repeats his baffled arguments, he is argued with no longer, but God gives him and Aaron a charge, both to the children of Israel, and to Pharaoh. God's authority is sufficient to answer all objections, and binds all to obey, without murmuring or disputing, Php 2:14.

And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron,.... No notice is taken of the objection of Moses, having been sufficiently answered before, and Aaron is joined with him in the following charge: and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt; that is, to go to the children of Israel and comfort them, and direct them what they should do, and how they should behave under their present circumstances; assuring them of deliverance, and to go to Pharaoh, and to make a fresh demand upon him to let Israel go; and in this work they had a solemn charge from God to continue, and not to desist from it, until they had finished it: to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; which they were to be the instruments of: and that it might be known clearly from whom they descended, who had such a charge given them, and such honour put upon them, the following genealogy is recorded.

(13) The Lord . . . gave them a charge. —The reluctance and opposition of Moses led to an express “charge” being laid upon himself and Aaron, the details of which are given in Exodus 7:1-9 . Exodus 6:1 of Exodus 7 probably followed originally on Exodus 6:12 of this chapter. When the genealogy was inserted at this point, the present verse, which summarises Exodus 7:1-9 , was added, as also Exodus 6:28-30 at the end of the chapter.

Verses 13-27. - At this point the narrative is interrupted The author, or (it may be) the final compiler - perhaps Joshua - thought it desirable to insert here a genealogical section, taking up the fatuity history of Israel from the point at which it was left in Exodus 1:5 , where the sons of Jacob were enumerated. The whole political system of Israel was based upon the tribal relation; and it was of the last importance, politically, to hand down the divisions and subdivisions of families. The lists here given, probably prepared by Moses in a separate document, had to be inserted somewhere. The present seemed a fitting place. The narrative had reached a turning-point. All the preliminaries were over - the action of the Exodus itself was about to begin. A dramatist would have made Acts 1 . end and Acts 2 commence. A poet would have begun a new canto. In the imperfect bibliography of the time, it was thought best to make a division by a parenthetic insertion. Verse 13 seems to belong to what follows rather than to what precedes. There is no emphasis on the words and to Aaron , as if God, having found Moses singly to be irre-sponsive, had now given a charge to both the brothers conjointly (Rashi). Rather the verse is a concise summary of chs. 3-5, prefixed to the genealogy when it was a separate document, and preserved when the compiler placed the document in the text Exodus 6:13

13 . A summary statement, unconnected with v. 12, of the commission given to Moses and Aaron in vv. 2–6. The verse comes in abruptly; for Aaron has not in this connexion been mentioned before. No doubt, it is an addition of the compiler who inserted the genealogy, vv. 14–27 (the main object of which is to explain who Moses and Aaron were), and who intended this verse to introduce it.

12. how then shall … who am of uncircumcised lips?—A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory. He seems to have fallen into the same deep despondency as his brethren, and to be shrinking with nervous timidity from a difficult, if not desperate, cause. If he had succeeded so ill with the people, whose dearest interests were all involved, what better hope could he entertain of his making more impression on the heart of a king elated with pride and strong in the possession of absolute power? How strikingly was the indulgent forbearance of God displayed towards His people amid all their backwardness to hail His announcement of approaching deliverance! No perverse complaints or careless indifference on their part retarded the development of His gracious purposes. On the contrary, here, as generally, the course of His providence is slow in the infliction of judgments, while it moves more quickly, as it were, when misery is to be relieved or benefits conferred.

Exodus 6:13 forms a concluding summary, and prepares the way for the genealogy that follows, the heading of which is given in Exodus 6:14 . (Note: The organic connection of this genealogy with the entire narrative has been so conclusively demonstrated by Ranke, in his Unterss. ub. d. Pent. i. p. 68ff. and ii. 19ff., that even Knobel has admitted it, and thrown away the fragmentary hypothesis.)

The directions as to the seven days' feast of unleavened bread ( Exodus 12:15-20 ) were made known by Moses to the people on the day of the exodus, at the first station, namely, Succoth; but in the account of this, only the most important points are repeated, and the yearly commemoration is enjoined. In Exodus 13:3 , Egypt is called a "slave-house," inasmuch as Israel was employed in slave-labour there, and treated as a slave population (cf. Exodus 20:2 ; Deuteronomy 5:6 ; Deuteronomy 6:12 , etc.). יד הזק "strength of hand," in Exodus 13:3 , Exodus 13:14 , and Exodus 13:16 , is more emphatic than the more usual חזקה יד ( Exodus 3:19 , etc.). - On Exodus 13:5 , see Exodus 3:8 , and Exodus 12:25 . In Exodus 13:6 , the term "feast to Jehovah" points to the keeping of the seventh day by a holy convocation and the suspension of work ( Exodus 12:16 ). It is only of the seventh day that this is expressly stated, because it was understood as a matter of course, that the first was a feast of Jehovah.