H. P. Mansfield Bible notes — checked and arranged in verse-by-verse Expositor style
Source: HPB 02-Gen42-Lev11.pdf, principally Exodus 6 photographed pages in the HPB source
CHAPTER OVERVIEW
Exodus 6 is Yahweh’s answer to Moses’ despair. Circumstances have worsened, but the covenant has not changed. The chapter repeatedly says “I will,” grounding deliverance in Divine initiative rather than Israel’s morale or Moses’ confidence.
The genealogy then pauses the action to identify the historical Levitical family through which the deliverance is being carried out.
THE NAME AND THE COVENANT — EXODUS 6:1–5
Exodus 6:1–2 — “Now shalt thou see”
Yahweh answers Moses: under a strong hand Pharaoh will not merely release Israel but drive them out. The ruler who said “I will not let Israel go” will be compelled by events to urge their departure.
The answer is anchored in “I am Yahweh,” not in a forecast of easy circumstances.
Exodus 6:3 — El Shaddai and experiential knowledge of Yahweh
Genesis repeatedly uses the Name YHWH before Moses, so Exodus 6:3 cannot sensibly mean the patriarchs had never encountered the Name in any form. The point is better read as experiential manifestation: the patriarchs knew God’s promises; the Exodus generation will know the covenant Name through public fulfilment in redemption and judgment.
El Shaddai is traditionally “God Almighty.” Mansfield’s more elaborate etymological explanations remain debated.
Exodus 6:4–5 — covenant and groaning
God recalls the covenant to give Canaan to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, hears Israel’s groaning, and “remembers” the covenant. As in Exodus 2:24, covenant remembering means bringing the pledged purpose into active fulfilment, not recovering forgotten information.
THE SEVENFOLD “I WILL” — EXODUS 6:6–8
Exodus 6:6–8 — Divine initiative from bondage to inheritance
The sequence is deliberately cumulative: I will bring you out; rid/deliver you from bondage; redeem you with an outstretched arm and judgments; take you as My people; be your God; bring you into the promised land; and give it as a possession.
The verb ga’al in “redeem” carries kinsman-redeemer/reclaiming language. The goal is not merely emancipation but covenant relationship: “I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God.”
Mansfield counts seven “I will” statements and develops covenant numerology from that total. The count is textually observable; the symbolic numerical application remains interpretative.
ISRAEL CANNOT HEAR; MOSES OBJECTS AGAIN — EXODUS 6:9–13
Exodus 6:9 — anguish of spirit
Israel does not listen “for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.” The expression qotser ruach is literally shortness of spirit/breath: crushed morale and severe labour make even good news hard to receive. Their inability to hear does not cancel Yahweh’s promise.
Exodus 6:10–13 — “uncircumcised lips”
Moses argues that if Israel has not listened, Pharaoh will not listen to him. He calls himself “uncircumcised of lips,” an idiom of impediment or unfitness rather than a medical diagnosis.
Yahweh nevertheless charges Moses and Aaron regarding both Israel and Pharaoh. The mission stands despite discouraged hearers and reluctant messengers.
THE GENEALOGY OF MOSES AND AARON — EXODUS 6:14–27
Exodus 6:14–19 — Reuben, Simeon, then Levi
The genealogy starts with Jacob’s first sons but narrows quickly to Levi. This is not a random interruption: it situates Moses and Aaron within Israel’s actual covenant family before the public contest resumes.
Exodus 6:20 — Amram and Jochebed
Amram marries Jochebed and fathers Aaron and Moses. The genealogy is selective in ancient style; “son” and “daughter” terminology can cover descendants, and chronological arithmetic should not assume every named link is the only biological generation.
This matters because a literal four-generation-only calculation can create chronological tensions with the stated sojourn. Mansfield’s detailed arithmetic should therefore be treated cautiously.
Exodus 6:23–25 — Aaron’s priestly line
Aaron’s sons Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar are named; Phinehas, son of Eleazar, is also introduced. These names prepare for later priestly history in Leviticus and Numbers.
Exodus 6:26–27 — “these are that Aaron and Moses”
The narrator explicitly identifies the men of the genealogy with the Aaron and Moses who confront Pharaoh. The family list authenticates the historical agents of the deliverance.
THE COMMISSION RESTATED — EXODUS 6:28–30
Exodus 6:28–30 — reluctance carried into chapter 7
Yahweh again says “I am Yahweh” and commands Moses to speak all that He says. Moses again objects that he is of uncircumcised lips. Chapter 7 answers by defining Moses’ and Aaron’s representative roles.
PRINCIPAL THEMES
• “I am Yahweh” answers apparent delay and worsening conditions.
• The Name is known through historical fulfilment of covenant purpose.
• Redemption is a sequence of Divine actions from bondage to inheritance.
• The goal of redemption is relationship with God.
• Crushing suffering can hinder hearing without defeating the promise.
• Moses’ inadequacy does not cancel the commission.
• The genealogy anchors deliverance in real covenant history.
EDITORIAL VERIFICATION AND RECOVERED READINGS
| Location | Checked / corrected reading | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Ex. 6:1 | strong hand | Pharaoh will ultimately be compelled to drive Israel out. |
| Ex. 6:3 | known by Yahweh | Best read experientially; Genesis already contains the Name. |
| Ex. 6:3 | El Shaddai | God Almighty secure; expanded etymologies qualified. |
| Ex. 6:5 | remembered covenant | Active covenant fulfilment, not recovery from forgetfulness. |
| Ex. 6:6 | ga’al | Redeem/reclaim in kinsman-redeemer language. |
| Ex. 6:6–8 | seven “I will” statements | Observable sequence; numerical theology remains interpretative. |
| Ex. 6:9 | qotser ruach | Shortness/crushing of spirit; deep discouragement. |
| Ex. 6:12 | uncircumcised lips | Idiom of impeded/unfit speech, not precise medical diagnosis. |
| Ex. 6:14–20 | genealogy selective | Ancient genealogies can omit intermediate generations. |
| Ex. 6:26–27 | historical identification | Narrator explicitly identifies the commissioned Aaron and Moses. |
RESIDUAL UNCERTAINTIES
Mansfield’s exact chronology from Levi through Kohath and Amram to Moses depends on treating the genealogy as exhaustive, which ancient biblical genealogies need not be. His Name theology is central to the chapter, but exact claims about pronunciation history and the derivation “He who will become” should be kept distinguishable from the secure narrative point: Yahweh’s covenant identity is now manifested in action.