And the sons of Merari, Mahali, and Mushi ,.... From whence sprung the families of the Mahalites, and Mushites, Numbers 3:33 , these are the families of Levi, according to their generations : the families that descended from him and his sons, according to the order of their birth. read more
Shaken faith, and an unshaken purpose. In these verses we have— I. A PAINFUL RESULT OF AFFLICTIVE PROVIDENCE . The children of Israel, hard-driven by their taskmasters, and sunk in misery, were so stupefied with sorrow, as to have no longer any heart for their cheering tidings brought to them by Moses. Their despair had its ground in unbelief. They judged Moses a deceiver. They had trusted him before, and they reflected that the only outcome of it had been this... read more
At this point the narrative is interrupted The author, or 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,... read more
The historical character of real revelation. Among the religions of the world which are based on the contents of a written volume, none has such an historical character as the religion of Christians. Most nations have evolved their religion out of their internal consciousness, and have then, after a certain lapse of time, thrown into a narrative form the supposed revelations made to this or that individual secretly, and by him committed to writing. These revelations—to give them the... read more
The sons of Merari . The same names occur in 1 Chronicles 6:19 and 1 Chronicles 23:21 , Mahali, by a difference of pointing, becoming Mahli. The Mahlites and Mushites were among the most important of the Levitical families ( Numbers 3:33 ; Numbers 26:58 ). read more
5:1-15:21 DELIVERANCE FROM EGYPTMoses’ first meeting with Pharaoh (5:1-6:27)In the eyes of the Israelites, Moses’ first meeting with Pharaoh was a disaster. Pharaoh had no fear of Yahweh and no concern for Yahweh’s people. In fact, when Moses asked to take his people into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to Yahweh, Pharaoh responded by accusing the Israelites of laziness and making their work harder (5:1-14). This not only increased the suffering of the Israelites but also caused them to turn... read more
GENEALOGY"These are the heads of their fathers' houses. The sons of Reuben the first-born of Israel: Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi, these are the families of Reuben. And the 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. 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 a hundred thirty and seven... read more
The selective genealogy (cf. Numbers 3:27-28) of Moses and Aaron accredits these men as God’s divinely appointed messengers (prophets) to the Israelites.Moses’ Family Tree (Exodus 6:14-27)Click image for full-size version read more
The Renewal of the Promise. Genealogies of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi1. The strong hand is the hand of Jehovah, not of Pharaoh. So RV renders, ’by a strong hand,’ i.e. under the compelling force of Jehovah’s judgments: see on Exodus 3:19.3. The name of God Almighty] Heb. El Shaddai, which occurs first in the revelation made to Abraham (Genesis 17:1 cp. also Genesis 28:3; Genesis 48:3). It is here said that God was not known in the patriarchal times by the name Jehovah. This constitutes a... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 6:14-30
I. We have here a genealogy, not an endless one, such as the apostle condemns (1 Tim. 1:4), for it ends in those two great patriots Moses and Aaron, and comes in here to show that they were Israelites, bone of their bone and flesh of their flesh whom they were sent to deliver, raised up unto them of their brethren, as Christ also should be, who was to be the prophet and priest, the Redeemer and lawgiver, of the people of Israel, and whose genealogy also, like this, was to be carefully... read more