Exodus 6:20

Exo 6:20 And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife; and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram [were] an hundred and thirty and seven years.

Ver. 20. Jochebed his father’s sister.] See Exo 2:1.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 6:20-23. His father’s sister — That is, kinswoman, as the Hebrew word frequently means. Amminadab — A prince of the tribe of Judah. The Levites might marry into any tribe, there being no danger of confusion or loss of inheritance thereby.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

6:20-25 The descendants of Kohath’s sons now become the focus of the genealogy. The families of Aaron son of Amram and Korah son of Izhar are given a more detailed listing (6:23-24), followed by one of Aaron’s sons, Eleazar (6:25). The focus is clearly on Aaron’s line through Eleazar, who received the high priesthood. The fact that Aaron and Korah were cousins makes it easier to see why Aaron’s elevation to high priesthood was so galling to Korah (see Num 16:1-3); family rivalry is nothing new. The later rebellion might explain why Korah and his sons are given particular mention in this genealogy.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Which kind of marriage was after in the law forbidden, Lev. 18:12.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife--The Septuagint and Syriac versions render it "his cousin."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 20. His father's sister] דדתו dodatho. The true meaning of this word is uncertain. Parkhurst observes that דוד dod signifies an uncle in 1Sa 10:14; Le 10:4, and frequently elsewhere. It signifies also an uncle's son, a cousin-german: compare Jer 32:8 with Ex 6:12, where the Vulgate renders דדי dodi by patruelis mei, my paternal cousin; and in Am 6:10, for דודו dodo, the Targum has קריביה karibiah, his near relation. So the Vulgate, propinquus ejus, his relative, and the Septuagint, οι οικειοι αυτων, those of their household. The best critics suppose that Jochebed was the cousin-german of Amram, and not his aunt. See Clarke on Ex 2:1.

Bare him Aaron and Moses] The Samaritan, Septuagint, Syriac, and one Hebrew MS. add, And Miriam their sister. Some of the best critics suppose these words to have been originally in the Hebrew text.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(20) Amram took him Jocheoed his father’s sister to wife.—Marriages with aunts and nieces were not unlawful before the giving of the Law. They were common throughout the East, and at Sparta (Herod. vi. 71, 7:239).

The years of the life of Amram.—The long lives of Levi, Kohath, and Amram, the father of Moses, are not recorded for any chronological purpose, but to show that the blessing of God rested in an especial way on the house of Levi, even before it became the priestly tribe. Life in Egypt at the time not unfrequently reached 120 years; but the 137 of Levi, the 133 of Kohath, and the 137 of Amram, the father of Moses, would, even in Egypt, have been abnormal.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

20. The family of Kohath’s first son, Amram (v. 18), viz. Aaron and Moses.

Jochebed] Mentioned besides only Num_26:59 (P). The name means probably ‘Yahweh is glory’ [viz. to us or to our people] (cf. the Phoen. Kabd-melḳart, ‘Melḳart is glory’),—‘Yahweh’ being contracted (through Yahw, Yĕhaw, Yaw), as in many other proper names (e.g. Jo‘çzer, ‘Yahweh is help’), to Yô (Jo).

his father’s sister] and so the ‘daughter of Levi,’ Exo_2:1, cf. Num_26:59. Marriage with a father’s sister was afterwards forbidden, Lev_18:12; cf. another deviation from the later law in Gen_20:12. P must here preserve a genuine ancient tradition.

Aaron and Moses] Sam. LXX. Pesh. add, and Miriam; cf. Num_26:59. Aaron, according to P (Exo_7:7) was three years older than Moses (cf. Num_33:39 with Deu_34:7). Miriam’s age is nowhere stated: it may be inferred from Exo_2:8 (presuming her to be there referred to) that she was some years older than either of her brothers.

20–25. The descendants of Kohath’s sons.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And Aaron took him Elisheba,.... The same name we pronounce Elizabeth; and of this name was the wife of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, Luk 1:5, this woman Aaron took was

the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Naashon; a prince of the tribe of Judah, Num 7:12, her he took to wife; or married; for though intermarriages with the several tribes were not allowed, nor used in after times, that they might be kept distinct, and the inheritances also, yet the tribe of Levi often took wives of other tribes, because they had no inheritance, and were to have none in the land of Canaan, so that confusion in tribes and inheritance was not made hereby; and it is observable, that these marriages were frequently with the tribe of Judah, as signifying the union of the kingly and priestly offices in Christ, who sprung from the tribe of Judah:

and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar; the two first of these died by fire from heaven in their father's lifetime, for offering strange fire to the Lord, Lev 10:1. Eleazar succeeded his father in the priesthood, Num 20:26 and of the sons of Ithamar executing the priest's office, see Ch1 24:2.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Amram - This can scarcely be the same person who is mentioned in Exo 6:18; but his descendant and representative in the generation immediately preceding that of Moses. The intervening links are omitted, as is the rule where they are not needed for some special purpose, and do not bear upon the history.

Jochebed - The name means “the glory of Jehovah (Yahweh),” one clear instance of the use of the sacred name before the Exodus.

Father’s sister - This was within the prohibited degrees after the law was given Lev 18:12 but not previously.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Aunt: Hebrew Doda is applied to various degrees of kindred. The Chaldean says, Jochabed was daughter of Amram’s sister, the Septuagint assert of his brother, and consequently his own cousin. But she might be his aunt, chap. ii. 1. (Calmet)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

His father’s sister or rather, kinswoman, or cousin, or niece; for so this Hebrew word is sometimes used, as appears from Jer 32:8,9,12.

Object. She is called the daughter of Levi, Exo 2:1.

Answ. Even nieces are oft called daughters, as we have showed. See Luk 1:5, and See Poole "Exo 2:1".

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

20. And Amram took him Jochebed his father’s sister to wife — דודה, here rendered father’s sister, we render daughter of father’s brother, or cousin, in this following the Septuagint, Syriac, Vulgate, and Targum Pal., thus understanding the text to declare that Amram married Jochebed his cousin. This is a much disputed text, furnishing a most important chronological item. Our Authorized Version and most modern commentators make Jochebed to have been Amram’s aunt and Levi’s daughter, so that Moses was thus Levi’s grandson. This view certainly is favoured by Num_26:59, “And the name of Amram’s wife was Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her mother bare to Levi in Egypt;” as if Levi had a daughter born to him after the descent into Egypt, in addition to the three sons who went down with him from Canaan. But,

(1,) It is not probable that Moses’ own father and mother violated a law of nature which was in the next generation so expressly incorporated into the Mosaic ordinances, though it is, of course, possible. (2,) If Jochebed were Amram’s aunt, then Levi must have begotten, and Jochebed have borne, children at such an extreme age that the birth of Jochebed, Miriam, and Aaron, as well as of Moses, must all be set down as miraculous, while the record here gives no hint of a miracle. This may be seen thus: Take the shortest period of the sojourn, two hundred and fifteen years, which will make the difficulties least, and as Moses was eighty at the Exode, we have 215-80, or 135 years, as the time from Jacob’s descent into Egypt to the birth of Moses. Levi was about forty-five when the sojourn began, and as Jochebed was (on this supposition) his daughter, there were then one hundred and thirty-five years from Levi’s forty-fifth year to the birth of his grandson, Moses. Now wherever we divide this period of one hundred and thirty-five years we shall make Levi to have become a father, and Jochebed a mother, in extreme age. Thus, if Jochebed were born when Levi was one hundred, then it would have been fifty-five years after the arrival in Egypt, since 100-45=55. In that case Jochebed must have borne Moses at eighty, since 135-55=80; Aaron, therefore, at seventy-seven, and Miriam when past sixty. If we suppose Jochebed to have been herself born ten or twenty years later, we then make Levi one hundred and ten or one hundred and twenty at her birth, and make her so many years younger at the birth of her children, but we do not relieve the difficulties. If we take the long period of sojourn, four hundred and thirty years, it will be seen at once that all the difficulties are vastly increased. But all are completely obviated by considering Jochebed Amram’s cousin, for this inserts another generation into the one hundred and thirty-five years.

(3.) The Hebrew word דודה, here rendered father’s sister, is, as noted above, rendered daughter of the father’s brother by the Septuagint, followed by the Syriac, Vulgate, and Palestine Targum. The corresponding masculine, דוד, uncle, also means son of the uncle in Jer_32:12. It seems certain that if dodh may mean uncle’s son, dodha may mean uncle’s daughter. Accordingly it is here rendered cousin by Lyra, Estius, La Haye, and Adam Clarke.

(4.) The difficulty of the common translation may be relieved thus:

Num_26:59 states that her mother, not mentioning who, bore Jochebed to Levi in Egypt. Is it not a likely supposition that Levi in his old age adopted this granddaughter as his daughter? If so, she might have been considered as the sister of his three famous sons, and this fact was deemed worthy of special mention, since she was the mother of the line of the high priests. Thus she might have been considered Amram’s aunt, although really his cousin.

It is the opinion of Kurtz, Keil, Canon Cook, and others, that two Amrams are here referred to, and that several genealogical links are dropped between Amram the son of Kohath and Amram the father of Moses. But, (1,) The impression is certainly very strongly made, in reading Exo_6:18-20, that the same Amram is referred to throughout. (2,) It is a fact not noted by these scholars that in Lev_10:4, Uzziel, Amram’s brother, is called Aaron’s uncle; and though, as seen above, the word rendered uncle has much latitude, yet it would be necessary to suppose a second Uzziel also contemporary with the second Amram. As to the dropping of genealogical links, there is an undoubted example in Matthew i, where the names of three well known kings are omitted in the genealogy of our Lord; and a probable instance, yet more remarkable, in Ezr_7:1, where, if the parallel list in 1 Chronicles vi is correct, six names have been dropped out between Meraioth and Azariah. It is likewise certain that son often means simply descendant, as Christ is called “son of David.” If the sojourn in Egypt were four hundred and thirty years several generations must have been omitted here, but all the events can be brought within two hundred and fifteen years. See note on Exo_12:40.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Amram. That this Amram is the "man of the house of Levi" mentioned in Exo_2:1, cannot be doubted; but it is scarcely possible that he should be the Amram of ver. 18, the actual son of Kohath and contemporary of Joseph. He is probably a descendant of the sixth or seventh generation, who bore the same name, and was the head of the Amramite house. That house, at the time of the Exodus, numbered above two thousand males. (Num_3:27, Num_3:28) See the excellent remarks of Keil and Delitzsch, "Biblical Commentary," vol. 1. p. 470, E. T.; and compare Kurtz, "History of Old Covenant," vol. 2. p. 144, and Cook, in "Speaker"s Commentary," vol. 1. p. 274. Jochebed his father"s sister. Marriages with aunts and nieces have been common in many countries, and are not forbidden by any natural instinct. They first became unlawful by the positive command recorded in Lev_18:12. The name Jochebed is the earliest known compounded with Jah, or Jehovah. It means "the glory of Jehovah." She bare him Aaron and Moses. Aaron is placed first, as being older than Moses. (Exo_7:7) Miriam is omitted, since the object of the writer is confined to tracing descent in the male line.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

His father's sister - That is, kins-woman. So the Hebrew word is frequently used.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

137 years

"one hundred and thirty-seven years" (See: Numbers)

Izhar ... Korah ... Zichri

These are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)

Uzziel ... Mishael ... Sithri

These are the names of men. (See: How to Translate Names)

translationWords

die

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

יוכבד דדתו JOCHEBED HIS AUNT — The Targum has: his father’s sister; she was daughter of Levi (cf. Exodus 2:1) and sister of Kohath.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.