The video version is available at: https://youtu.be/laUUhS0PWzc
Reading
– Exodus 6:2-7:13
By
Dan & Brenda Cathcart
The
book of Genesis revolves around the accounts of two brothers—Cain and Abel,
Abraham and Haran, Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Judah and Joseph,
Manasseh and Ephraim. Up until Manasseh and Ephraim the relationship between
the brothers was adversarial. With the birth of Manasseh and Ephraim, the
relationship was cooperative and supportive. This role of cooperative brothers
continues into the book of Exodus. In fact, these two brothers, Aaron and Moses,
are the central human characters in the book of Exodus. We tend to focus on
Moses as the agent of God’s deliverance of the children of Israel from Egypt,
but what role does his brother Aaron play? What is their joint role and what is
the underlying message God is communicating through this continuance of the
accounts of two brothers?
As
the book of Exodus opens, the children of Israel are afflicted and in bondage
in Egypt. In spite of their suffering, they were fruitful, their numbers
multiplying so quickly that Pharaoh was frightened at the potential strength of
those numbers. As the suffering of the children of Israel grew worse, two sons
were born to Jochebed and Amram of the tribe of Levi.
Exodus 6:20 NKJV 20 Now Amram took for
himself Jochebed, his father's sister, as wife; and she bore him Aaron and
Moses. And the years of the life of Amram were one hundred and thirty-seven.
As
is often the case, there is a message in the names Levi, Amram, Jochebed, Aaron
and Moses. The name Levi, number 3878 in Strong’s Concordance, means attached
or joined. When Leah gave birth to Levi, she declared that at last her husband
would become emotionally attached to her.
Genesis 29:34 NKJV 34 She conceived
again and bore a son, and said, "Now this time my husband will become
attached to me, because I have borne him three sons." Therefore his name
was called Levi.
Aaron
and Moses’ parents were Amram and Jochebed, both of the tribe of Levi. The name
Amram, number 6019, means a high people. The name Jochebed, number 3115, means
Jehovah glorified. The name Aaron is not defined in Strong’s Lexicon. However,
the Brown Driver Briggs Lexicon defines the meaning of Aaron as
“light-bringer.” Easton’s Bible Names and other lexicons define Aaron as
meaning “teacher, mountain of strength, or illuminator.” As a teacher, Aaron
would bring the light of Torah to his people. Moses’ name was given to him by
Pharaoh’s daughter when she pulled him out of the Nile River. His name, number
4872, means drawing out or rescued. However, the name his mother gave him at
birth was probably “Tovia,” from the declaration Jochebed made at his birth
that the child was goodly, or in Hebrew, tov.
Exodus 2:2 KJV 2 And the woman
conceived, and bare a son: and when she saw him that he was a goodly child, she
hid him three months.
Amram
and Jochebed had an older child, a daughter named Miriam. Her name, number
4813, means rebelliously. Jochebed rebelled against Pharaoh’s edict and saved
the life of her son Moses. Miriam was the older sister Jochebed instructed to
watch over Moses as he floated in the basket in the Nile River. An alternate
definition of Miriam’s name is “bitter” from the Hebrew word “mar,” number 4751,
meaning bitter. Chabad.org follows this origin of the name Miriam explaining
that she was named Miriam because she was born during the period of bitter
bondage in Egypt.[i]
So,
what do all these names tell us about these two brothers? The bitterness of
bondage is relieved when a high people are attached to the glory of God. A
light-bringer or teacher comes who is good and will bring about the rescue of
his people.
What
do we know about Aaron and Moses’ joint role? A literary structure often found
in the Bible is that of a chiasm. A chiasm is a symmetric writing pattern that expresses
an idea in a reverse order around a central theme. A chiasm located right after
the genealogy of Aaron and Moses reveals their purpose.
Exodus 6:26-27 NKJV 26 These are the
same Aaron and Moses to whom the LORD said, "Bring out the children of
Israel from the land of Egypt according to their armies." 27 These are the
ones who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring out the children of Israel
from Egypt. These are the same Moses and Aaron.
This
chiasm contains three layers. The outer layer is a declaration of their names,
first given in birth order with Aaron listed first, and ending with a
restatement of their names given in preeminence of their role with Moses listed
first. The second layer is the parallel statements that they are the ones God
commanded to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. Right in the middle is
the statement that “these are the one who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt. This
is the center of the chiasm. Aaron and Moses, Moses and Aaron were selected to
bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. They will go together to speak to
Pharaoh. How wonderful it is to have a brother at one’s side! As we continue,
we will see that this chiasm is actually included within a larger chiasm.
We’re
familiar with Moses’ story. He was taken in by Pharaoh’s daughter and educated
in Pharaoh’s household. When he was forty years old, he fled Egypt after
killing an Egyptian taskmaster who was abusing two Hebrew slaves. He went to
Midian where he spent forty years tending the sheep of his father-in-law,
Jethro. While tending sheep, God appeared to him in the burning bush and
declared that He had selected him to deliver the children of Israel.
Exodus 3:10-11 NKJV 10 "Come now,
therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring My people, the
children of Israel, out of Egypt." 11 But Moses said to God, "Who am
I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel
out of Egypt?"
Moses
objected that he wasn’t worthy or perhaps capable of such an honor. Moses had
not been able to relieve the suffering of his people while he was in Egypt. He
killed one harsh taskmaster, but instead of embracing him, the two Hebrews he
saved from the taskmaster rejected him. God persisted stating that He would be
with Moses, and, further, that God would give him signs to perform to prove
that God had sent him. Moses persisted in his objections on the grounds that he
wouldn’t know what to say and how to say the words.
Exodus 4:10-13 NKJV 10 Then Moses said
to the LORD, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You
have spoken to Your servant; but I am slow of speech and slow of tongue."
11 So the LORD said to him, "Who has made man's mouth? Or who makes the
mute, the deaf, the seeing, or the blind? Have not I, the LORD? 12 "Now
therefore, go, and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall
say." 13 But he said, "O my Lord, please send by the hand of whomever
else You may send."
Even
though the LORD reassured Moses that God would give him the words to say, Moses
begged God for the third time to send someone else. This angered God. God
declared that Moses’ brother Aaron would speak for Moses.
Exodus 4:14-16 NKJV 14 So the anger of
the LORD was kindled against Moses, and He said: "Is not Aaron the Levite
your brother? I know that he can speak well. And look, he is also coming out to
meet you. When he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 "Now you
shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth. And I will be with your
mouth and with his mouth, and I will teach you what you shall do. 16 "So
he shall be your spokesman to the people. And he himself shall be as a mouth
for you, and you shall be to him as God.
God
revealed to Moses that, even as they were speaking on the mountain, Aaron was
already on his way to meet him! In fact, Aaron was anticipating their meeting
with gladness in his heart. We also know that Aaron was gifted in his speech
and had probably already been used by God to speak to their people. So, how did
God communicate his anger against Moses? The Stone Edition Chumash relates
the Jewish sage Rashi’s opinion that Moses would have been the high priest, but
because of his rejection of the role to speak to Pharaoh, Aaron became the high
priest instead.
“Aaron was born a Levite and was
intended to remain one, while Moses was elevated to be a Kohen. Now, because of
Moses’ constant attempts to evade the mission, their positions would be
reversed, with Moses remaining a Levite and Aaron becoming the Kohen.”[ii]
Instead
of Moses hearing directly from God and relaying the message to Pharaoh, Moses
would relay it to Aaron who would speak to Pharaoh. God explained that Aaron
would be the mouth and Moses would be as God telling him what to say.
So,
Moses went to his father-in-law to seek permission to return to Egypt. After
receiving the permission and blessing of Jethro, Moses returned to Mt. Sinai to
await the arrival of Aaron whom God had sent to meet him.
Exodus 4:27-29 NKJV 27 And the LORD
said to Aaron, "Go into the wilderness to meet Moses." So he went and
met him on the mountain of God, and kissed him. 28 So Moses told Aaron all the
words of the LORD who had sent him, and all the signs which He had commanded
him. 29 Then Moses and Aaron went and gathered together all the elders of the
children of Israel.
The
two brothers, united in purpose, returned to Egypt. Their first act was to
gather the leaders of the children of Israel. With Aaron as the spokesman,
Moses performed the signs that God had given to Moses to use to prove that God
had sent them.
Exodus 4:30-31 NKJV 30 And Aaron spoke
all the words which the LORD had spoken to Moses. Then he did the signs in the
sight of the people. 31 So the people believed; and when they heard that the
LORD had visited the children of Israel and that He had looked on their
affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.
Moses
and Aaron, then, gained an audience with Pharaoh. Their demands to Pharaoh that
he should let the children of Israel leave Egypt to hold a feast to the LORD
resulted in even greater hardship being placed on the Hebrews. This enraged the
elders and they blamed Moses and Aaron for the increased suffering of the
people.
Exodus 5:20-21 NKJV 20 Then, as they
came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.
21 And they said to them, "Let the LORD look on you and judge, because you
have made us abhorrent in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his
servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."
Although
God had warned Moses that Pharaoh would not let them go and that He would
strengthen Pharaoh’s heart so Pharaoh would not back down, Moses did not
foresee that things would get worse for the Hebrews before God brought
deliverance.
Exodus 5:22-23 NKJV 22 So Moses
returned to the LORD and said, "Lord, why have You brought trouble on this
people? Why is it You have sent me? 23 "For since I came to Pharaoh to
speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered
Your people at all."
God
assured Moses that everything was going according to His plan. Pharaoh’s
rejection of their demand allowed God to act and bring about deliverance on His
terms.
Exodus 6:1 NKJV 1 Then the LORD said
to Moses, "Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh. For with a strong
hand he will let them go, and with a strong hand he will drive them out of his
land."
This
introduces the broader chiasm that includes the chiasm mentioned earlier with
the central theme that Aaron and Moses would go together to speak to Pharaoh. Although
everything was now set up just the way God wanted it to bring deliverance,
Moses doubted his ability to lead. As a result of Pharaoh making their
servitude harder, the elders were no longer listening to Moses. How could he
expect that Pharaoh would listen to him?
Exodus 6:12 NKJV 12 And Moses spoke
before the LORD, saying, "The children of Israel have not heeded me. How
then shall Pharaoh heed me, for I am of uncircumcised lips?"
The
outer layer of the chiasm is Moses’ declaration that he has uncircumcised lips
and Pharaoh will not pay attention to his words. However, God didn’t accept
Moses’ doubt bringing us to the next level in the chiasm. God issued a command
to both Moses and Aaron to bring His people out of Egypt.
Exodus 6:13 NKJV 13 Then the LORD
spoke to Moses and Aaron, and gave them a command for the children of Israel
and for Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the children of Israel out of the land
of Egypt.
Now
we come to the center of the chiasm which consists of two parts. The first part
is the genealogy of Levi revealing that Aaron and Moses are sons of Levi. The
second part of the central theme is actually the earlier chiasm revealing Aaron
and Moses’ mission to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.
We
now reverse out of the chiasm with the LORD telling Moses to command Pharaoh to
let the people go. The chiasm concludes with Moses once more stating that he
has uncircumcised lips, and that Pharaoh will not listen to him. Moses, again,
expresses that he did not have confidence that Pharaoh would listen to Moses.
Exodus 6:28-30 NKJV 28 And it came to
pass, on the day the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt, 29 that the LORD
spoke to Moses, saying, "I am the LORD. Speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all
that I say to you." 30 But Moses said before the LORD, "Behold, I am
of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh heed me?"
In
summary, the form of this chiasm consists of the outer layer, found in verses
12 and 30 that Moses states that he has uncircumcised lips and Pharaoh won’t
listen to him. The next layer, found in verses 13 and 29, is God’s command to
speak to Pharaoh to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. The center of
the chiasm is the revelation of Aaron and Moses as the sons of Levi and the
ones God chose to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. In spite of Moses’
lack of eloquence, in spite of Pharaoh’s refusal to hear, God chose Aaron and
Moses to act together to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. This is the
central theme of both chiasms, one nested inside the other!
God
responds to Moses’ claim that Pharaoh won’t listen to him by agreeing with
Moses that Pharaoh won’t listen. However, that sets up the opportunity for God
to bring judgment against Pharaoh and his gods.
Exodus 7:4-5 NKJV 4 "But Pharaoh
will not heed you, so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My armies and
My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5 "And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My
hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them."
Together,
Aaron and Moses obey the word of the LORD. From now on, they will express no
doubt as to the mission that God had called them to do.
Exodus 7:6-7 NKJV 6 Then Moses and
Aaron did so; just as the LORD commanded them, so they did. 7 And Moses was
eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
And,
thus, begins the battle between the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and the
gods of Egypt! Moses and Aaron will go into Pharaoh together. Moses will speak
the words to Aaron, and Aaron will relay them to Pharaoh. It will seem to
Pharaoh as if Moses is God, and Aaron is his prophet.
Exodus 7:1-2 NKJV 1 So the LORD said
to Moses: "See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother
shall be your prophet. 2 "You shall speak all that I command you. And
Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh to send the children of Israel out of
his land.
The
first sign they were to give to Pharaoh is to turn Aaron’s staff into a
crocodile.
Exodus 7:9 YLT 9 `When Pharaoh
speaketh unto you, saying, Give for yourselves a wonder; then thou hast said
unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast before Pharaoh--it becometh a monster.'
The
Hebrew word translated as “monster” in the Young’s Literal Translation is the
word “tan-neen,” number 8577 meaning a marine or land monster. In modern
Hebrew, “tan-neen” means crocodile! Most of the English translations translate
the word as snake or serpent which seemingly connects this back to the sign
Moses was to perform for the children of Israel turning his staff into a
serpent and then picking it up by the tail as it turns back into a staff.
However, the Hebrew word for serpent is “naw-khawsh” not “tan-neen.”
Aaron
threw down his staff and it became a crocodile, the monster of the Nile River. Somehow,
Pharaoh’s magicians are able to replicate this miracle. So, there are
crocodiles crawling all around. However, Aaron’s crocodile consumes the other
crocodiles.
Exodus 7:11-12 YLT 11 And Pharaoh also
calleth for wise men, and for sorcerers; and the scribes of Egypt, they also,
with their flashings, do so, 12 and they cast down each his rod, and they
become monsters, and the rod of Aaron swalloweth their rods;
In
ancient Egypt, the crocodile was the god Sobek which is associated with the
power of Pharaoh, fertility, and military prowess.[iii]
Aaron and Moses challenged Pharaoh’s power and military might! This sets up the
judgments on Egypt that will follow with the ten plagues. These plagues
culminate in the death of the firstborn including Pharaoh’s firstborn.
God
gave the two brothers, Aaron and Moses the task of working together to bring
the children of Israel out of Egypt. As God’s chosen men, they would bring
God’s judgment on Pharaoh and deliver the children of Israel out of Egypt.
David
wrote a psalm, preserved for us as Psalm 133, proclaiming that it is good when
brothers dwell together in unity. He compares it to the image of Moses
anointing Aaron’s head as he inaugurates him as the first high priest of
Israel. Aaron, as the high priest would act as mediator between God and the people
and teach them how to live. Together, priest and king, they would lead the
children of Israel to the Promised Land.
These
are the same Aaron and Moses!
Study
Questions:
2. There is a partial listing of the generations of Jacob starting with Reuben and ending with the Aaron and Moses, the grandsons of Levi. Why do you think this partial genealogy of Leah’s first three sons is given?
3. We examined a nested set of chiasms in this portion. What do these chiasms reveal?
General
Portion Questions
4. God told Moses to have Aaron throw down his staff and it became a crocodile. What is the significance of this sign? How does it differ from the signs God told Moses to show to the children of Israel?
5. Exodus 6:6-7 are probably two of the most quoted verses in Exodus. They communicate God’s promise to the children of Israel. Yet, when Moses spoke those words, the children of Israel didn’t listen to Moses (Exodus 6:9). Why didn’t they believe Moses? How is their unbelief turned around?
6. What other insights did you gain from this teaching? What indicators are there in this Torah Portion that point to Messiah Yeshua?
W
©
2023 Moed Ministries International. All rights Reserved.
[i] https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3847875/jewish/Popular-Jewish-Hebrew-Girl-Names.htm
[ii] The
Stone Edition Chumash. General Editiors Rabbi Nosson Scherman and Rabbi
Meir Zlotositz. Mesorah Pulbications, ltd. ©1998, 2000 Mesorah
Publications, ltd. Page 309.
[iii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sobek
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