Exodus 6:23 records the marriage of Aaron and the family line that produced the first priests of Israel. It tells you who Aaron’s wife was and which sons she bore him, and those sons become the names that stand at the start of the priesthood. The verse is part of a genealogy given in the book of Exodus, which the narrator uses to place Moses and Aaron within the family of Levi before God sends them to Pharaoh.
Aaron took Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon, as his wife; and she bore him Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Exodus 6:23 (WEB)
What Exodus 6:23 Means
The verse begins by naming Aaron as the one who took a wife, which tells you he is the head of his own household and the link between the older generations and the next. The wife is named Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, and her brother Nahshon is identified as well, so the reader can place her among the known leaders of the tribe of Judah. Her name and family are given with care because this genealogy is meant to show that the priestly line is rooted in real people with real ancestry.
The second half of the verse lists four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. Two of them, Nadab and Abihu, die later in Leviticus 10 after offering unauthorized fire before the LORD, while Eleazar and Ithamar go on to serve as priests. The verse does not promise that a faithful family will be free of hardship or loss. It shows that God works through ordinary households, and that the line of service continues through sons whose futures are not all the same.
The Context of Exodus 6:23
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses, and it tells the story of Israel’s deliverance from slavery in Egypt and their formation as a people at Sinai. Chapter 6 sits just before the plagues begin, and it pauses the narrative with a family record. Verses 20 through 22 name Amram and Jochebed, the parents of Aaron and Moses, along with other Levite families. Verse 23 then moves to Aaron’s household, and verses 24 through 25 continue the line of Korah and Eleazar.
The audience is the people of Israel, who would have known these names and cared about lineage, since their identity and claims to leadership depended on family records. Reading verse 23 in this setting, you see why the list matters: it grounds Aaron and Moses as true Levites before the story turns to their mission. The genealogy assures the original hearers that the leaders God chose were not strangers but the sons of a known and recorded house.
Key Phrases in Exodus 6:23
Leviticus 10:1-3
1 Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer, and put fire in it, and laid incense on it, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them. 2 Fire came out from before the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 3 Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the LORD spoke of, saying, ‘I will show myself holy to those who come near me, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” Aaron held his peace.
(WEB)
This passage describes the death of Nadab and Abihu after they offered unauthorized fire, and it shows the holiness that the priestly family was called to honor. Reading it alongside Exodus 6:23 helps you see that the names in the genealogy belong to real people whose choices carried weight before God.
Numbers 3:1-4
1 Now this is the history of the generations of Aaron and Moses in the day that the LORD spoke with Moses in Mount Sinai. 2 These are the names of the sons of Aaron: Nadab the firstborn, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 3 These are the names of the sons of Aaron, the priests who were anointed, whom he consecrated to minister in the priest’s office. 4 Nadab and Abihu died before the LORD, when they offered strange fire before the LORD, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. Eleazar and Ithamar ministered in the priest’s office in the presence of Aaron their father.
(WEB)
Here the text returns to the sons of Aaron, naming Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar and explaining their roles in ministry. It connects the family list of Exodus 6 to the working priesthood, showing how that lineage was set apart for service before the LORD.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 6:23
Lord, you know every name written in the record of the families you have called. Thank you for keeping track of ordinary households and for working through people who were not perfect. Help me to trust you with the family members I love, especially the ones I cannot change. Teach me to honor you in my own house and to leave the outcome in your hands. Amen.
