Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Exodus
Chapter 6: I Am the LORD
To Moses' despairing question at the end of chapter 5, God answers not with an explanation but with Himself: "I am the LORD." He reveals the covenant power of His name, remembers His promise to the fathers, and then pours out seven great "I will" promises of redemption: I will bring you out, I will rid you, I will redeem you, I will take you to Me, I will be your God, I will bring you in, I will give you the land. Salvation, from first to last, is God's own doing. Yet when Moses tells the people, they cannot hear it "for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage," and Moses again pleads his weakness. God simply renews His charge. Exodus 6 is a chapter about the unchanging LORD whose "I wills" carry His people all the way from bondage to the promised land, whether they can feel it yet or not.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Exodus chapter 6. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 6 is God's great answer to Moses' discouragement: the revelation of His name and the seven "I will" promises of redemption. It teaches that salvation is the work of God from beginning to end, grounded in His unchanging character. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
I Am the LORD
God answers discouragement with His name, revealing the covenant power of JEHOVAH and remembering His promise to the fathers.
Seven "I Wills"
God lays out redemption in seven "I will" statements, from bringing them out of bondage to bringing them into the land, all His own doing.
They Hearkened Not
The people are too crushed by bondage to hear the promise, and Moses again pleads his weakness, yet God renews His charge.
These Are Moses and Aaron
A genealogy roots the deliverers in the tribe of Levi, marking out the men God chose to bring Israel out of Egypt.
By My Name JEHOVAH (Exodus 6:1-5)
God answers Moses' complaint with the revelation of His name and the reminder that He has remembered His covenant.
I Am the LORD
"Then the LORD said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD: And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them. And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant."
Hebrew Study
"the LORD" and "JEHOVAH," YHWH (יהוה). Where the KJV prints "the LORD" in small capitals, or "JEHOVAH," it stands for God's personal covenant name, YHWH, tied to the "I AM" of Exodus 3. The patriarchs knew God as "God Almighty" (El Shaddai), the mighty provider; now He would be known by the full, experienced meaning of the name JEHOVAH, the covenant-keeping God who redeems.
"remembered," zakar. As in Genesis, God's "remembering" His covenant does not mean He had forgotten, but that the time had come to act upon it. God's memory is His faithfulness moving into action.
Explanation
Moses had just cried that God had not delivered His people at all. God's answer begins and ends with His name: "I am the LORD." He reminds Moses that He appeared to the patriarchs as "God Almighty," but that His name JEHOVAH, the covenant-keeping, redeeming LORD, was about to be known in a way the fathers never saw. The patriarchs had the promise; this generation would see it fulfilled. God recalls the covenant He established to give them Canaan, and He says plainly, "I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel ... and I have remembered my covenant." God's silence during the long bondage had never been forgetfulness. He had heard every groan, and now the time to act had come. Everything that follows flows from who God is: "I am the LORD."
Gospel Focus
When Moses was at his lowest, God did not first give him a plan; He gave him a name: "I am the LORD." Our hope in dark times rests not on understanding God's ways but on knowing God's character. And the great comfort of that name is that it never changes: "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed" (Malachi 3:6). The reason Israel was not destroyed in Egypt, and the reason we are not consumed in our failures, is that the LORD does not change. His covenant stands because He stands. Notice too that God was now going to make His name known by experience, not just by report. The patriarchs believed the promise; this generation would live through the redemption. So it is with us. We may know about God from others, but there comes a time when He makes Himself known to us personally, in His delivering power, so that we can say not only "I have heard of the LORD" but "I am the LORD's, and He is mine."
The Seven "I Wills" of Redemption (Exodus 6:6-8)
God spells out the whole of redemption in a chain of "I will" promises, from bringing His people out of bondage to bringing them into the land.
I Will Bring You Out, I Will Redeem You
"Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments: And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD."
Hebrew Study
The heart of the passage is a sevenfold promise, framed at both ends by the covenant Name, the I am the LORD that opens verse 6 and closes verse 8. Between those pillars God pledges: I will bring you out, I will rid you of bondage, I will redeem you (ga'al, the kinsman-redeemer who buys back his own), I will take you to me for a people, I will be to you a God, and I will bring you in to the land. The whole redemption rests not on Israel's strength but on the Name. From these very "I will" clauses the four cups of the Passover meal were later drawn.
Explanation
Here is one of the clearest outlines of salvation in the whole Bible, and every line begins with God: "I will." Count them: I will bring you out from under the burdens; I will rid you out of their bondage; I will redeem you with a stretched out arm; I will take you to me for a people; I will be to you a God; I will bring you in unto the land; I will give it you for an heritage. Seven "I will" promises, framed at both ends by "I am the LORD." Notice the progression: God does not merely rescue them from something, He brings them to Himself ("I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God") and then into something, the promised land as their inheritance. Redemption is not just escape from Egypt; it is being made God's own people and brought into His promise. And every step is God's work, not theirs. They could not free themselves; He would do it all.
Gospel Focus
These seven "I wills" are a picture of the salvation we have in Christ, and every one of them is God's doing. "I will redeem you with a stretched out arm" was fulfilled at the cross, for we were "not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ" (1 Peter 1:18-19). God stretched out His arm in Egypt; He stretched out His arms on the cross. And notice the heart of the promise: "I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God." This is the covenant bond God has always wanted, fulfilled in the gospel, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people" (2 Corinthians 6:16). God does not save us merely to relieve our suffering but to make us His own and to be our God. See how our salvation, like Israel's, rests entirely on God's "I will," not our "I might." We do not redeem ourselves; He redeems us. We do not make ourselves His people; He takes us to Himself. From the first "I will bring you out" to the last "I will give it you for an heritage," salvation is the work of the LORD from start to finish, and that is why it is sure.
They Hearkened Not for Anguish (Exodus 6:9-13)
The people are too crushed by their bondage to receive the promise, and Moses again pleads his weakness, but God renews His charge.
For Anguish of Spirit and Cruel Bondage
"And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage. And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Go in, speak unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land. And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips? And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, and gave them a charge unto the children of Israel, and unto Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. These be the heads of their fathers' houses: The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel; Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi: these be the families of Reuben. And the sons of Simeon; Jemuel, and Jamin, and Ohad, and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaanitish woman: these are the families of Simeon. 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 an hundred thirty and seven years. The sons of Gershon; Libni, and Shimi, 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 an hundred thirty and three years. And the sons of Merari; Mahali and Mushi: these are the families of Levi according to their generations. And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years. And the sons of Izhar; Korah, and Nepheg, and Zichri. And the sons of Uzziel; Mishael, and Elzaphan, and Zithri. And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. And the sons of Korah; Assir, and Elkanah, and Abiasaph: these are the families of the Korhites. And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife; and she bare him Phinehas: these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families."
Hebrew Study
God's magnificent promise lands on deaf ears — "they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit" — qotser ruach, literally "shortness of breath," a spirit so crushed by "cruel bondage" (avodah qashah) that it can no longer draw hope. It is one of Scripture's most human moments: sometimes despair is not unbelief but exhaustion, a heart too worn to receive good news. And Moses, hearing them refuse, doubts his own "uncircumcised lips" (aral sephatayim) all over again.
Explanation
Moses carries this glorious message of seven "I will" promises to the people, and yet "they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage." The greatest promise in the world fell on ears too crushed to hear it. Their suffering had grown so heavy under Pharaoh's new cruelty that they could not take in even the hope of deliverance. It was not that the promise was too small; it was that their pain was too great and their spirits too broken to believe. Then God tells Moses to go back to Pharaoh, and Moses objects again: if his own people will not listen to him, how will Pharaoh, "who am of uncircumcised lips?" He still feels unworthy and unable. But God does not accept the excuse; He simply gives Moses and Aaron a fresh charge to bring Israel out of Egypt. God's plan moves forward, carried by His command, not by the people's feelings or Moses' confidence.
Gospel Focus
There is deep tenderness and warning here. The people could not hear the promise "for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage." Sometimes the weight of suffering makes it hard to believe God's word, not because the word is untrue but because the heart is too crushed to receive it. If you have ever been so worn down that God's promises felt distant and unreal, you are in the company of enslaved Israel, and God did not cast them off for it. Here is the comfort: their inability to believe did not cancel God's promise. "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself" (2 Timothy 2:13). God went on to deliver them anyway. His "I will" did not depend on their "we believe." So when discouragement deafens you to God's word, remember that His faithfulness does not rest on your feelings. And notice that God kept working through Moses, "of uncircumcised lips," a weak and reluctant vessel. God delights to carry His treasure "in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). Neither the people's despair nor Moses' weakness could stop the LORD who had said, "I will."
These Are That Moses and Aaron (Exodus 6:14-30)
A genealogy roots the deliverers in the tribe of Levi, marking out by name the ordinary men God chose to bring Israel out of Egypt.
These Are They Which Spake to Pharaoh
"These are that Aaron and Moses, to whom the LORD said, Bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies. These are they which spake to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel from Egypt: these are that Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass on the day when the LORD spake unto Moses in the land of Egypt, That the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I say unto thee. And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?"
Hebrew Study
The narrative pauses for a genealogy, and it is not idle: it plants Moses and Aaron squarely in the tribe of Levi — "these are that Aaron and Moses" — anchoring the deliverers in real, traceable covenant history, not legend. The list runs only as far as Levi, the third son, then stops, because its purpose is not the whole nation but the priestly line God had chosen. Then the thread is picked up exactly where it dropped: "I am the LORD: speak thou unto Pharaoh... all that I say.
Explanation
At this pivotal moment, Scripture pauses to give a genealogy, tracing the families of Reuben, Simeon, and especially Levi, the tribe of Moses and Aaron. It records Aaron's marriage and sons, and the line that would become the priesthood. The point is not merely record-keeping; it is identification. The passage keeps repeating, "These are that Aaron and Moses," "these are that Moses and Aaron," fixing in the reader's mind exactly who these deliverers were: real men, from a real family, in the real tribe of Levi. They were not legends or demigods but ordinary Israelites whom God chose and charged to "bring out the children of Israel from the land of Egypt." The chapter then closes as it began, with God saying, "I am the LORD," and Moses once more pleading his uncircumcised lips, so that the whole weight rests again on God, not on the men He sends.
Gospel Focus
The genealogy, dry as it seems, carries a quiet truth: God works His great deliverances through real, named, ordinary people. "These are that Moses and Aaron," men with parents and families and flaws, one slow of speech, both fearful at times, yet these were the ones God used to shake an empire. God did not send angels to free Israel; He sent two brothers from the tribe of Levi. He still works this way, taking ordinary believers, with their weaknesses and their family histories, and using them for His purposes. And it is fitting that the chapter both opens and closes with "I am the LORD," with the frail Moses pleading his weakness in between. That is the shape of all God's work: His unchanging name and power on either side, and weak human vessels in the middle. The treasure is glorious; the vessels are earthen. So none of us is too ordinary, too flawed, or too weak for God to use. The One who said "I am the LORD" is the One who does the delivering; He simply chooses to do it through people like Moses, and like us.
Chapter 6 in Review
Exodus 6 is God's great answer to Moses' discouragement. To the cry "thou hast not delivered thy people at all," God responds with His name, "I am the LORD," revealing the covenant power of JEHOVAH and declaring that He has heard Israel's groaning and remembered His covenant. Then He gives the seven "I will" promises of redemption, from "I will bring you out" to "I will give it you for an heritage," framed by "I am the LORD." The people cannot receive it "for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage," and Moses again pleads his weakness, but God renews His charge and roots the deliverers in the tribe of Levi: "these are that Moses and Aaron."
For the Apostolic reader, this chapter grounds our salvation where it belongs, in God. Redemption is His work from first to last, a chain of "I wills" that culminates in the cross, where He redeemed us "with the precious blood of Christ" and took us to Himself to be our God. Our hope rests not on our strength or even our feelings, for the people could not hear and Moses could not speak, but on the unchanging LORD who says, "I change not," and "if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful." And He carries out His great work through ordinary, earthen vessels, so that all the glory is His. The God whose name is "I am the LORD" will surely bring His people all the way out of bondage and into the promised inheritance, because He has said, "I will."
- In dark times God gives us His name before His plan: "I am the LORD," who does not change (6:2; Malachi 3:6).
- Redemption is God's work, a chain of seven "I wills," fulfilled in the blood of Christ (6:6-8; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
- The heart of the covenant is "I will be your God, and you shall be my people" (6:7; 2 Corinthians 6:16).
- Suffering can deafen us to God's promise, but His faithfulness does not depend on our feelings (6:9; 2 Timothy 2:13).
- God works His great deliverances through ordinary, earthen vessels (6:26-27; 2 Corinthians 4:7).
Questions for Reflection
- God answered discouragement with His name. When you are low, do you rest on understanding God's ways or on knowing His character?
- Every promise here begins with God's "I will." Where are you trusting your own effort for what only God can do?
- Israel was too crushed to hear the promise. How does it comfort you that God stayed faithful even when they could not believe?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). "JEHOVAH" and "the LORD" (small capitals) both render God's covenant name YHWH, and "uncircumcised lips" is Moses' image for halting, unfit speech, as can be checked in any Bible reference. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- God reveals His name and remembers His covenant: Exodus 6:1-5; Malachi 3:6.
- The seven "I will" promises of redemption: Exodus 6:6-8; 1 Peter 1:18-19; 2 Corinthians 6:16.
- The people cannot hear for anguish: Exodus 6:9-13; 2 Timothy 2:13; 2 Corinthians 4:7.
- The line of Moses and Aaron: Exodus 6:14-30.