Exodus 6:14-27
New English Translation
The Ancestry of Moses and Aaron
14 [a] These were the heads of their fathers’ households:[b]
The sons[c] of Reuben, the firstborn son of Israel, were Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi. These were the clans[d] of Reuben.
15 The sons of Simeon were Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jakin, Zohar, and Shaul, the son of a Canaanite woman. These were the clans of Simeon.
16 Now these were the names of the sons of Levi, according to their records:[e] Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. (The length of Levi’s life was 137 years.)
17 The sons of Gershon, by their families, were Libni and Shimei.
18 The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. (The length of Kohath’s life was 133 years.)
19 The sons of Merari were Mahli and Mushi. These were the clans of Levi, according to their records.
20 Amram married[f] his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. (The length of Amram’s life was 137 years.)
21 The sons of Izhar were Korah, Nepheg, and Zikri.
22 The sons of Uzziel were Mishael, Elzaphan, and Sithri.
23 Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 The sons of Korah were Assir, Elkanah, and Abiasaph. These were the Korahite clans.
25 Now Eleazar son of Aaron married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas.
These were the heads of the fathers’ households[g] of Levi according to their clans.
26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom the Lord said, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt by their regiments.”[h] 27 They were the men who were speaking to Pharaoh king of Egypt, in order to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. It was the same Moses and Aaron.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 6:14 sn This list of names shows that Moses and Aaron are in the line of Levi that came to the priesthood. It helps to identify them and authenticate them as spokesmen for God within the larger history of Israel. As N. M. Sarna observes, “Because a genealogy inherently symbolizes vigor and continuity, its presence here also injects a reassuring note into the otherwise despondent mood” (Exodus [JPSTC], 33).
- Exodus 6:14 tn The expression is literally “the house of their fathers.” This expression means that the household or family descended from a single ancestor. It usually indicates a subdivision of a tribe, that is, a clan, or the subdivision of a clan, that is, a family. Here it refers to a clan (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 46).
- Exodus 6:14 tn Or “descendants.”
- Exodus 6:14 tn Or “families,” and so throughout the genealogy.
- Exodus 6:16 tn Or “generations.”
- Exodus 6:20 tn Heb “took for a wife” (also in vv. 23, 25).
- Exodus 6:25 tn Heb “heads of the fathers” is taken as an abbreviation for the description of “households” in v. 14.
- Exodus 6:26 tn Or “by their hosts” or “by their armies.” Often translated “hosts” (ASV, NASB) or “armies” (KJV), צְבָאוֹת (tsevaʾot) is a military term that portrays the people of God in battle array. In contemporary English, “regiment” is perhaps more easily understood as a force for battle than “company” (cf. NAB, NRSV) or “division” (NIV, NCV, NLT), both of which can have commercial associations. The term also implies an orderly departure.
Exodus 6:14-27
Legacy Standard Bible
The Heads of Israel’s Households
14 These are the heads of their fathers’ households.
(A)The sons of Reuben, Israel’s firstborn:
Hanoch and Pallu, Hezron and Carmi; these are the families of Reuben.
15 The (B)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.
16 These are the names of (C)the sons of Levi according to their generations:
Gershon and Kohath and Merari; and the years of Levi’s life were 137 years.
17 (D)The sons of Gershon:
[a]Libni and Shimei, according to their families.
18 (E)The sons of Kohath:
Amram and Izhar and Hebron and Uzziel; and the years of Kohath’s life were 133 years.
19 (F)The sons of Merari:
Mahli and Mushi.
These are the families of the Levites according to their generations.
20 (G)And Amram took his father’s sister Jochebed as a wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and the years of Amram’s life were 137 years.
21 (H)The sons of Izhar:
Korah and Nepheg and Zichri.
22 (I)The sons of Uzziel:
Mishael and [b]Elzaphan and Sithri.
23 And Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of (J)Amminadab, the sister of (K)Nahshon, as a wife, and she bore him (L)Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
24 The (M)sons of Korah:
Assir and Elkanah and [c]Abiasaph; these are the families of the Korahites.
25 And Aaron’s son (N)Eleazar took one of the daughters of Putiel as a wife, and she bore him (O)Phinehas. These are the heads of the fathers’ households of the Levites according to their families. 26 It was the same Aaron and Moses to whom Yahweh said, “(P)Bring out the sons of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their (Q)hosts.” 27 They were the ones (R)who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt to bring out the sons of Israel from Egypt; it was the same Moses and Aaron.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Exodus 6:17 In 1 Chr 23:7, Ladan
- Exodus 6:22 In Num 3:30, Elizaphan
- Exodus 6:24 In 1 Chr 6:23 and 9:19, Ebiasaph
NET Bible® copyright ©1996-2017 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com All rights reserved.
Legacy Standard Bible Copyright ©2021 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org For Permission to Quote Information visit https://www.LSBible.org.