It’s not unusual, especially in the Old Testament, to stumble upon a random genealogy. Unfortunately, that’s usually the point where a lot of people take a sharp detour, scanning with their eyes past the Text until they come to a place where the narrative picks back up again.
You do it, I do it, we all do it.
But as we’ve noted before, skipping genealogies is a mistake. Nothing in the Bible is truly random; almost always, they’re used to support whatever point the Narrative is making.
Such is the case in Exodus 6:14-30. At first glance, it seems like yet another genealogy. Depending on how you determine what constitutes a “genealogy,” there have been at least five in the book of Genesis alone (Genesis 5:1-32; 10:1-32; 11:10-32; 25:11-18; 36:9-43).
None of them are unique though. The genealogy in Genesis 5 shows the line from Adam to Noah, whereas the the one Genesis 10 is strictly the lineage of Noah’s three children. Genesis 25 reveals Ishmael’s family, and Genesis 36 is about Esau.
But the genealogy of Moses in Exodus 6 is unique—not because of the names, but because of the timing.
In Exodus 6:10-13, Moses confesses to God that he thinks nobody will listen to him. He is “unskilled in speech,” and just as Israel rejected him, so will Pharaoh.
Immediately after the genealogy, almost the exact same conversation transpires (Exodus 6:28-30). There, Moses reiterates his belief that he is “unskilled in speech,” as if eloquence is the major qualification for a deliverer. He also argues that Pharaoh will not listen to him.
What’s going on here? Are these two distinct moments in time, or are they the same interaction? Moreover, why is there a genealogy jammed in the middle?
One hint as to this genealogy’s purpose is to actually look at the list of names. Exodus 6:14-15 lists the descendants of Reuben and Simon, Exodus 6:16-19 talks about the family of Levi, and Exodus 6:20-27 talks about Moses’ own legacy.
None of these families are noteworthy. In fact, if you haven’t read past Exodus 6, you could argue that this is literally the worst genealogy in history. Reuben slept with Bilhah, his father’s wife (Genesis 35:22), Levi and Simeon murdered an entire town of people (Genesis 34), and Moses’ father married his own aunt (Exodus 6:20).
There are a couple ways you can take this. The first is to argue that the Text is deliberately showing just how bad Moses’ lineage is to buttress his argument that he’s unfit for duty. The fact that Moses succeeds is a testament to the power of God, then, and not to anything unique to Moses.
That’s a fair point. The other interpretation is that this just a simple, harmless list that shows the genealogy of the tribe of Levi and Aaron. Since that’s where the priests came from, obviously future generations would need to know their origin.
To me, the first interpretation is more true given the context. Moses’ whole argument centers around that he’s the wrong person for the job. And guess what? He probably is.
But that doesn’t mean he’s off the hook. If God wants Moses to go speak to Pharaoh, obviously God believe he’s the best fit. Plus, the fact that Moses comes from such an unremarkable legacy makes him the perfect vehicle to demonstrate God’s power.