Shemot (Exodus): Va’eira > Ch 6

G-d tells Moses that He will take the children of Israel into the promised land

  • And the Lord said to Moses: "Now you will see what I will do to Pharaoh, for with a mighty hand he will send them out, and with a mighty hand he will drive them out of his land.
  • I am the Lord. I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob with [the name] Almighty G-d, but [with] My name YHWH, I did not become known to them.
  • And also, I established My covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings in which they sojourned. And also, I heard the moans of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians are holding in bondage, and I remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel, 'I am the Lord, and I will take you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will save you from their labor, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments. And I will take you to Me as a people, and I will be a G-d to you, and you will know that I am the Lord your G-d, Who has brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will bring you to the land, concerning which I raised My hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, and I will give it to you as a heritage; I am the Lord.' “


Moses delivers G-d’s message to the children of Israel, but they don’t believe him. G-d sends Moses & Aaron to talk to Pharaoh.

  • Moses spoke thus to the children of Israel, but they did not hearken to Moses because of [their] shortness of breath and because of [their] hard labor.
  • The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, "Come, speak to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, and he will let the children of Israel out of his land." But Moses spoke before the Lord, saying, "Behold, the children of Israel did not hearken to me. How then will Pharaoh hearken to me, seeing that I am of closed lips?" So the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and He commanded them concerning the children of Israel and concerning Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to let the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt.


Levi’s sons & generations

  • Levi lived 137 years. His son Kehath lived 133 years. His grandson Amram lived 137 years.


 
Rashi Commentary

  • and the years of Levi’s life Why were Levi’s years counted? To let us know how many were the years of bondage. For as long as one of the tribes was alive, there was no bondage, as it is said: “Now Joseph died, as well as all his brothers,” and afterwards, “A new king arose” (Exod. 1:6, 8), and Levi outlived them all.
  • Jochebed, his aunt Onkelos renders: his father’s sister, the daughter of Levi, the sister of Kehath.


Research & Analysis
  • The name YHWH is not to be pronounced. Other names of G-d are used for fear of using the real name in vain. In the King James Bible, the name of G-d is written as 'Jehovah'. This is why there is a church called Jehovah’s witnesses.