Exodus 6:12

And Moses spake before the LORD, saying, Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips?

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
Moses	מֹשֶׁ֔ה mo.Sheh	H4872	Mosheh · proper noun, a man's name
spake	וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר vay.da.Ber	H1696	perhaps properly · conjunction + verb, piel sequential imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
before	לִפְנֵ֥י lif.Nei	H6440	the face (as the part that turns) · preposition + noun, common masculine plural construct
LORD	יְהוָ֖ה Yah.weh	H3068	Jehovah · proper noun, a title
saying	לֵאמֹ֑ר le.Mor	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · preposition + verb, qal infinitive construct
children	בְּנֵֽי be.nei-	H1121	a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine plural construct
Israel	יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ Yis.ra.'El	H3478	Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
hearkened	שָׁמְע֣וּ sha.me.'U	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal perfect, 3rd person common plural
Pharaoh	פַרְעֹ֔ה far.'Oh	H6547	Paroh · noun, masculine singular absolute
hear	יִשְׁמָעֵ֣נִי yish.ma.'E.ni	H8085	to hear intelligently (often with implication of attent… · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular + pronominal suffix
me	וַאֲנִ֖י va.'a.Ni	H589	I · conjunction + personal pronoun
uncircumcised	עֲרַ֥ל 'a.Ral	H6189	uncircumcised (i.e. still having the prepuce uncurtaile… · adjective, masculine singular construct
lips	שְׂפָתָֽיִם se.fa.Ta.yim	H8193	the lip (as a natural boundary) · noun, common feminine dual absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Exodus 4:10 And Moses said unto the LORD, O my Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken unto thy servant: but I am slow o…
Exodus 6:30 And Moses said before the LORD, Behold, I am of uncircumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
Jeremiah 1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.
Jeremiah 6:10 To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word o…
Exodus 6:9 And Moses spake so unto the children of Israel: but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.
Leviticus 26:41 And that I also have walked contrary unto them, and have brought them into the land of their enemies; if then their uncircumcised hearts be…
Acts 7:51 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Exodus 3:13 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 6:10-13

Here, I. God sends Moses the second time to Pharaoh (Exo 6:11) upon the same errand as before, to command him, at his peril, that he let the children of Israel go. Note, God repeats his precepts before he begins his punishments. Those that have often been called in vain to leave their sins must yet be called again and again, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear, Eze 3:11. God is said to hew sinners by his prophets (Hos 6:5), which denotes the repetition of the strokes. How often would I have gathered you? II. Moses makes objections, as one discouraged, and willing to give up the cause, Exo 6:12. He pleads, 1. The unlikelihood of Pharaoh's hearing: "Behold the children of Israe…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 6:12

how then shall . . . who am of uncircumcised lips?--A metaphorical expression among the Hebrews, who, taught to look on the circumcision of any part as denoting perfection, signified its deficiency or unsuitableness by uncircumcision. The words here express how painfully Moses felt his want of utterance or persuasive oratory. He seems to have fallen into the same deep despondency as his brethren, and to be shrinking with nervous timidity from a difficult, if not desperate, cause. If he had succeeded so ill with the people, whose dearest interests were all involved, what better hope could he entertain of his making more impression on the heart of a king elated with pride and strong in the pos…

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Adam Clarke on Exodus 6:12

Uncircumcised lips? - The word ערל aral, which we translate uncircumcised, seems to signify any thing exuberant or superfluous. Had not Moses been remarkable for his excellent beauty, I should have thought the passage might be rendered protuberant lips; but as this sense cannot be admitted for the above reason, the word must refer to some natural impediment in his speech; and probably means a want of distinct and ready utterance, either occasioned by some defect in the organs of speech, or impaired knowledge of the Egyptian language after an absence of forty years. See Clarke's note on Exo 4:10.

Dictionary and topics

Circumcision — Cutting around. This rite, practised before, as some think, by divers races, was appointed by God to be the special badge of his chosen people, an abiding sign of their consecration to him. It was…
Jarib — An adversary. (1.) A son of Simeon (1 Chr. 4:24). (2.) One of the chiefs sent by Ezra to bring up the priests to Jerusalem (Ezra 8:16). (3.) Ezra 10:18.
Circumcision · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE
Despondency · When sent on his mission to the Israelites — When sent on his mission to the Israelites
Doubting · EXEMPLIFIED — EXEMPLIFIED
Offerings · .Ordinances concerning — .Ordinances concerning

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Exodus 6:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 6:10-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 6:12

Adam Clarke on Exodus 6:12

Dictionary and topics

Exodus 6:12

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Exodus 6:10-13

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 6:12

Adam Clarke on Exodus 6:12

Dictionary and topics

John Gill on Exodus 6:12

John Calvin on Exodus 6:9-13

Keil & Delitzsch on Exodus 6:9-12

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Exodus 6:10-13

Rashi on Exodus 6:12