Bring 'Em Home

Exodus 6: 13-27

Ahhh, geneologies- my favorite.

This section starts off with an odd change of tone. God commands Moses and Aaron to bring the Israleites out of Egypt. This isn't new news- we already know about their mission- but the phrasing here has a much different feel than I'll be with and tell you what to say. The responsibility for results seems to have shifted. Nothing has changed- God is in control and He's calling the shots, but clearly the tone is different.

Is Moses taking a characteristically inflated view of himself as he looks back on his epic tale?

Is God tiring of his whining and saying- you WILL follow through, so deal with it?

Is it simply an awkward translation?


other thoughts:

It's interesting to me that some people in this list have ages listed with them and others do not.

Were the records incomplete?

Did these people live to odd ages making them noteworthy? This seems unlikely- for while they would've made Willard Scott's list, they're far from Methusaleh status.

Also of note- Aaron and Moses are pointed out as children of incest. Their mother is also their great aunt. It doesn't seem to be taboo yet, but is it significant that these men rise to greatness from auspicious beginnings?

I hadn't remembered (or maybe never realized) that Nadab and Abihu (of strange fire fame) were actually Aaron's children. It's interesting how quickly fates can change for a family.

Narratively this structure seems really odd. Moses has been telling his story and plunks this geneology here in the middle of it all. And at the end he sees fit to remind us that the Moses and Aaron mentioned are the ones who lead the Israelites out of captivity. Ummm- thanks Moses...we've been reading, we get it.

Just some odds and ends- but what do you want? It's a geneology.