Moses and Aaron Sent to Pharaoh

Study notes

Moses repeats his protest about uncircumcised lips, and the LORD answers by placing Moses in the position of God before Pharaoh while Aaron carries the words forward. The instructions then declare that Pharaoh's heart will be hardened, signs and wonders will multiply, and Israel will depart through great judgments. These same acts are presented as the means by which the Egyptians will come to know the LORD. Moses and Aaron respond by doing exactly what was commanded, their ages noted at the time they speak to the king. The section therefore fixes the chain of speech and the purpose of the coming refusal before any public sign occurs.

What is Moses and Aaron Sent to Pharaoh about?

The verses place the reader at the moment when the LORD resumes speaking to Moses in Egypt. The instruction is straightforward: Moses is to deliver every word the LORD gives him directly to Pharaoh. Moses answers by repeating his earlier protest, drawing attention to his own lips as an obstacle that will prevent Pharaoh from paying attention.

The LORD meets this objection by redefining the relationship. Moses is positioned as God in Pharaoh's presence, with Aaron acting as the one who will carry Moses' words to the king. Further directions spell out what will follow: Pharaoh's refusal, the multiplication of signs and wonders throughout Egypt, and the LORD's hand bringing Israel out by means of great judgments. Through these acts the Egyptians will learn who the LORD is.

Moses and Aaron respond by doing exactly what was commanded. The notice of their ages at the time they address Pharaoh closes the section. These lines pick up the thread of the LORD's commission right after the genealogy of Moses and Aaron has been supplied. They show how the divine word overrides Moses' sense of inadequacy and sets the terms for the conflict that is about to unfold in Pharaoh's court.

Where does this passage sit in Exodus?

The genealogy of Moses and Aaron in 6:13-27 breaks into the exchange that began at 6:10-12. Verses 6:28-30 pick up the thread by returning to the same day the LORD addressed Moses in Egypt and by repeating the exact terms of the earlier charge: speak every word the LORD gives directly to Pharaoh. Moses answers with the identical protest about his uncircumcised lips that he voiced before the list of ancestors appeared. The repetition makes clear that the family record has not altered the human obstacle Moses still sees.

The LORD’s reply in 7:1-5 therefore advances the earlier promise of deliverance by assigning concrete roles. Moses is placed as God before Pharaoh while Aaron functions as the one who will carry the words. The same verses then spell out the sequence that will follow: Pharaoh’s refusal, the multiplication of signs and wonders, and the LORD’s hand bringing Israel out through great judgments. This outline stands immediately before the first public sign in 7:8-13, so the reader meets the coming confrontation already told what its purpose will be.

The notice that Moses and Aaron carried out the command and the record of their ages at the time they spoke to Pharaoh close the block. These details link the renewed commission to the actual departure from Egypt that the book will soon narrate, showing that the dialogue in 6:28-7:7 functions as the final preparation before the signs begin.

How is the passage structured?

The section opens with a precise temporal marker that restarts the divine address after the genealogy. On that day the LORD speaks directly, first identifying himself and then issuing the command that Moses repeat every word to Pharaoh. Moses answers at once with the same protest he voiced earlier, pointing to his own lips as the barrier that will keep Pharaoh from listening. The reply that follows shifts the frame of the exchange. Instead of removing the obstacle, the LORD assigns new roles: Moses stands as God before Pharaoh while Aaron functions as the one who will carry the words forward. The instructions continue without pause, spelling out the sequence that will unfold. Pharaoh’s refusal is stated in advance, followed by the multiplication of signs and wonders, the laying of the LORD’s hand on Egypt, and the departure of the sons of Israel through great judgments. A further clause adds that the Egyptians themselves will recognize the LORD through these events. The narrative then records the immediate compliance of both Moses and Aaron, closing with the notice of their ages at the moment they address the king. The movement therefore moves from renewed command, through renewed objection, to an expanded assignment that incorporates the coming refusal and its consequences, and ends with the simple report that the two men carried out what had been told them.

What is the historical background?

In the world of the late Bronze Age, a king’s authority was often exercised through designated spokesmen who carried his exact words. The arrangement in which one figure stands in the place of the deity and another carries the message mirrors this established pattern of royal representation. Pharaoh himself was understood in Egyptian society as the visible embodiment of divine power, so the direct confrontation between two such figures carried political weight beyond ordinary diplomacy.

Speech difficulties were described in several ancient languages with phrases that linked the mouth or lips to ritual or physical hindrance. The expression “uncircumcised of lips” belongs to this family of idioms; it signals an obstacle to clear or acceptable speech rather than a literal reference to the covenant sign of circumcision. Egyptian records show that officials sometimes excused themselves from audiences on similar grounds of impeded speech.

The announcement that signs and wonders would multiply in the land of Egypt assumes a shared ancient assumption that the gods demonstrated superiority through public acts affecting nature or human affairs. Such displays were expected to compel recognition from both the ruler and the wider population. The notice that Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when they addressed Pharaoh follows the ancient scribal habit of recording the age of leaders at decisive public moments, anchoring the events to the lifespan of known individuals rather than to an abstract timeline.

What does this passage teach about God?

The LORD's self-declaration "I am the LORD" anchors every instruction in this exchange. It precedes the command that Moses speak all that the LORD is speaking to him, and it reappears as the outcome the LORD intends for the Egyptians. The declaration therefore functions less as a title and more as the reality that will be demonstrated through the coming events.

Moses' objection about his uncircumcised lips receives an answer that reorders relationships rather than removing the difficulty. The LORD places Moses in the position of God before Pharaoh while Aaron serves as the one who will speak the words. This arrangement keeps the source of the message unchanged even while it accommodates human limitation. The words themselves remain those the LORD commands, now carried through the appointed channel.

The hardening of Pharaoh's heart is presented as an action the LORD himself performs. That hardening does not stand as an end in itself; it creates the setting in which signs and wonders multiply in the land of Egypt. The text states that Pharaoh will not listen, after which the LORD will lay his hand on Egypt and bring the sons of Israel out by great judgments. The refusal therefore becomes the occasion for the display of power that accomplishes the departure.

The explicit purpose given is that the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when the hand stretches out against Egypt and the sons of Israel are brought out from among them. Knowledge of the LORD arises here from the concrete sequence of refusal, judgment, and deliverance rather than from any prior acknowledgment. Moses and Aaron respond by doing just as the LORD had commanded them, their ages noted at the point they address Pharaoh. The obedience recorded is precise and unadorned, matching the instructions given without addition or omission.

What are the interpretive difficulties?

The opening notice that events took place on the day when the LORD spoke to Moses in the land of Egypt sits immediately after the genealogy of Moses and Aaron. Readers must decide whether this phrase simply resumes the interrupted conversation from 6:12 or marks a distinct occasion after the family list has been supplied. The text itself gives no further marker to settle the point.

Moses repeats his protest that he is uncircumcised of lips and asks how Pharaoh will listen. Nothing in the verses indicates whether this objection arises from fresh reluctance or from a desire to have the earlier answer confirmed. The LORD responds by restating the roles already assigned, yet the exchange leaves the precise force of the protest unresolved.

The claim that the LORD has made Moses God to Pharaoh stands without elaboration on what authority or appearance this entails. Aaron is then named to function as prophet, but the passage does not clarify how Pharaoh would perceive or respond to such a representation. The subsequent statement that the LORD will harden Pharaoh's heart occurs alongside the prediction that Pharaoh will not listen, without indicating whether the hardening precedes, accompanies, or follows the king's own refusal.

Moses and Aaron are reported to have done just as the LORD had commanded them. The notice supplies no additional detail about their inner response or any difficulty they encountered in carrying out the task. Their ages at the time they spoke to Pharaoh are recorded without comment on whether those years bear on their fitness for the mission or on the length of the coming struggle.

These verses therefore record both the divine plan and the human compliance without closing the questions they raise about timing, motive, and the interplay between divine action and royal decision.

Notes accompany the Anselm Project Bible, an AI translation from the original languages. Tap any verse above for the committee's word-level decisions.