上帝應許拯救以色列人

耶和華對摩西說:「你就要看見我怎樣用大能的手對付法老,那時他會讓以色列人走,甚至把他們趕出埃及!」 上帝又對摩西說:「我是耶和華, 我曾以全能上帝的身份向亞伯拉罕、以撒和雅各顯現,但沒有讓他們知道我的名字是耶和華。 我向他們堅守所立的約,要把他們寄居的迦南賜給他們。 我已聽見以色列人因受埃及人的奴役而發出的呼求,也想起了我的約。 所以,你要轉告以色列人說,『我是耶和華。我要伸出臂膀重重地懲罰埃及,救贖你們脫離埃及人的轄制,脫離他們的奴役。 我要接納你們做我的子民,我要做你們的上帝。這樣,你們就知道我是你們的上帝耶和華,曾救你們脫離埃及人的轄制。 我必帶領你們進入我舉手起誓要給亞伯拉罕、以撒和雅各的那片土地,把它賜給你們作產業。我是耶和華。』」

摩西把這番話轉告百姓,可是他們因為殘酷的勞役無比沮喪,不肯聽他的話。 10 耶和華對摩西說: 11 「你再去見法老,要他讓以色列人離開他的土地。」 12 摩西卻說:「以色列人都不聽我的話,法老又怎麼肯聽我這拙口笨舌的人呢?」 13 耶和華吩咐摩西和亞倫回到以色列人和法老那裡,要他們領以色列人離開埃及。

摩西和亞倫的族譜

14 以下是以色列各宗族族長的名字:

以色列長子呂便的兒子是哈諾、法路、希斯崙和迦米。這些是呂便的宗族。

15 西緬的兒子是耶姆利、雅憫、阿轄、雅斤、瑣轄和掃羅,掃羅的母親是迦南人。這些是西緬的各宗族。

16 利未的兒子依次是革順、哥轄和米拉利,利未享年一百三十七歲。 17 革順的兒子是立尼和示每,二人各成宗族。 18 哥轄的兒子是暗蘭、以斯哈、希伯崙和烏薛,哥轄享年一百三十三歲。 19 米拉利的兒子是抹利和姆示。這些是利未的各宗族。 20 暗蘭娶了他父親的妹妹約基別,生了亞倫和摩西,暗蘭享年一百三十七歲。 21 哥轄另一個兒子以斯哈生了可拉、尼斐和細基利。 22 烏薛的兒子是米沙利、以利撒反和西提利。 23 亞倫與亞米拿達的女兒、拿順的妹妹以利沙巴結婚,生了拿答、亞比戶、以利亞撒和以他瑪。 24 可拉的兒子是亞惜、以利加拿和亞比亞撒,這些是可拉的各宗族。 25 亞倫的兒子以利亞撒與普鐵的一個女兒結婚,生了非尼哈。以上是利未各宗族的族長。

26 正是亞倫和摩西受耶和華之命,要按以色列人的宗族支派把他們帶出埃及。 27 也是這二人要求埃及王法老讓他們把以色列人帶出埃及。 28 那時,耶和華曾經在埃及對摩西說: 29 「我是耶和華,你要把我吩咐你的一切話告訴埃及王法老。」 30 摩西卻對耶和華說:「你看,我拙口笨舌,法老怎肯聽我的話?」

Then the Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I will do to ·the king of Egypt [L Pharaoh]. ·I will use my great power against him, and [L By a mighty hand] he will let my people go. ·Because of my power, [L By a mighty hand] he will force them out of his country.”

Then God said to Moses, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the name ·God Almighty [El Shaddai], but they did not know me by my name, ·the Lord [Yahweh]. I also ·made [established] my ·agreement [covenant; treaty; C the covenant with Abraham; Gen. 12:1–3] with them to give them the land of Canaan. They ·lived in that land, but it was not their own [L sojourned; wandered as aliens]. Now I have heard the ·cries [groans; moans] of the ·Israelites [L sons of Israel], whom the Egyptians are treating as slaves, and I remember my ·agreement [covenant]. So tell the ·people [L sons; children] of Israel that I say to them, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. I will rescue you, so you will not be slaves to the Egyptians. I will ·free [redeem] you by my ·great power [L outstretched arm], and ·I will punish the Egyptians terribly [L with great/mighty judgments]. I will make you my own people, and I will be your God [C the heart or essence of the covenant]. You will know that I am the Lord your God, the One who ·saves you [L brought you out] from the hard work the Egyptians force you to do. I will ·lead [bring] you to the land that I ·promised [swore; L lifted my hand to give; C to take an oath] to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and I will give you that land to own. I am the Lord.’”

So Moses told this to the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel], but they would not listen to him. ·They were discouraged [Their spirits were broken], and their slavery was ·hard [cruel].

10 Then the Lord said to Moses, 11 “Go tell Pharaoh the king of Egypt that he must let the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] leave his land.”

12 But Moses answered, “[L If] The Israelites will not listen to me, so surely ·the king [L Pharaoh] will not listen to me either. I am ·not a good speaker [L uncircumcised of lips].”

13 But the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders about the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] and [L Pharaoh] the king of Egypt. He commanded them to ·lead [bring] the ·Israelites [L sons/T children of Israel] out of Egypt.

Families of Israel

14 These are the ·leaders [heads] of the ·families of Israel [L their father’s/ancestors’ household]:

Israel’s first son, Reuben, had four sons: Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the ·family groups [clans] of Reuben.

15 Simeon’s sons were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These are the ·family groups [clans] of Simeon.

16 Levi lived one hundred thirty-seven years. These are the names of his sons according to their family history: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.

17 Gershon had two sons, Libni and Shimei, with their ·families [clans].

18 Kohath lived one hundred thirty-three years. The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi.

These are the ·family groups [clans] of Levi, according to their family history.

20 Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, who gave birth to Aaron and Moses. Amram lived one hundred thirty-seven years.

21 Izhar’s sons were Korah, Nepheg, and Zicri.

22 Uzziel’s sons were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon. Elisheba gave birth to Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the ·family groups [clans] of the Korahites.

25 Eleazar son of Aaron married a daughter of Putiel, and she gave birth to Phinehas.

These are the ·leaders [heads] of the ·family groups [clans] of the Levites.

26 This was the Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “·Lead [Bring] the people of Israel out of Egypt by their ·divisions [hosts; companies; C a military term].” 27 Aaron and Moses are the ones who talked to Pharaoh the king of Egypt and told him to let the Israelites leave Egypt.

God Repeats His Call to Moses

28 The Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt 29 and said, “I am the Lord. Tell Pharaoh the king of Egypt everything I tell you.”

30 But Moses answered, “I am ·not a good speaker [L uncircumcised of lips]. ·The king [L Pharaoh] will not listen to me.”

Chapter 6

The Lord said to Moses, “Now you will see what I am about to do to Pharaoh. With a mighty hand he will let them go. With a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.”

Another Account of Moses’ Call.[a] God spoke to Moses and told him, “I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God the all-powerful, but I did not reveal my name, the Lord, to them. I established a covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, that land where they dwelt as aliens.

“And now I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel in their bondage to the Egyptians and I have remembered my covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, ‘I am the Lord. I will bring you out from your forced labor to the Egyptians. I will free you from their slavery and liberate you with an outstretched arm[b] and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my people, and I will be your God. You will know that I am the Lord, your God, who will bring you out from your forced labor to the Egyptians. I will bring you into the land that I swore with an oath I would give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as an inheritance, for I am the Lord.’ ”

Moses said these things to the children of Israel, but they did not listen to him, for they were at the limits of their endurance because of their harsh slavery.[c]

10 The Lord said to Moses: 11 “Go to speak with Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, so that he will let the children of Israel leave his land.” 12 But Moses said these things in God’s presence, “Behold, the children of Israel have not listened to me; how could Pharaoh listen to me, for I am a man of unskilled speech?”

13 The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them orders for the children of Israel and for Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel leave the land of Egypt.

14 Genealogy of Moses and Aaron. These are the heads of their families. The sons of Reuben, the firstborn of Israel, were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. These are the families of Reuben. 15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of the Canaanite woman. These are the families of Simeon.

16 These are the names of the sons of Levi according to their generations: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived to be one hundred and thirty-seven years old.

17 The sons of Gershon, by their clans, were Libni and Shimei.

18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived to be one hundred and thirty-three years old.

19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These are the families of Levi according to their generations.

20 Amram took Jochebed as his wife. She was his father’s sister. She bore Aaron and Moses and Miriam. Amram lived to be one hundred and thirty-seven years old.

21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.

23 Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and the sister of Nahshon, as his wife. She bore Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These are the families of the Korahites.

25 Eleazar, the son of Aaron, took a daughter of Putiel, as a wife. She bore him Phinehas. These are the heads of the ancestral clans of Levi.

26 These are the Aaron and the Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the children of Israel out from the land of Egypt according to their hosts.”

27 They told Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel leave Egypt. They are Moses and Aaron.

28 Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh. This is what happened when the Lord spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt. 29 The Lord said to Moses, “I am the Lord! Tell Pharaoh, king of Egypt, what I say to you.” 30 Moses spoke in the presence of the Lord, “Behold, I am a poor speaker, how will Pharaoh listen to me?”

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 6:2 The passage is from a Priestly tradition and dwells on the point that Moses and Aaron belong to the priestly family. After the doubt expressed in Ex 5:22, the redactor of the Book of Exodus seeks to reaffirm that Moses remains the chosen one of God to save his people.
  2. Exodus 6:6 Outstretched arm: this expression, like “mighty hand” in verse 1, suggests the power with which God intervenes.
  3. Exodus 6:9 Moses’ words of encouragement fell on deaf ears. As the conditions of the children of Israel worsened, their spirits were crushed.