If you are looking for Exodus 6 Bible study questions, this guide gives you a ready-to-use set of observation, interpretation and application questions for a small group, a Sunday class or personal study. Exodus 6 records God’s renewed promise to deliver Israel, his self-revelation as the LORD, and Moses’ hesitation, followed by a family record that places Moses and Aaron within the tribe of Levi. Each section below includes leader notes so you can move straight into discussion.
Exodus 6 at a Glance
The chapter opens with God answering Moses’ discouragement after Pharaoh made the labor harsher. God repeats his name, reminds Moses of his covenant with the patriarchs, and promises four specific acts of deliverance: bringing Israel out, freeing them from bondage, redeeming them with power, and taking them as his people. He then sends Moses back to Pharaoh, but the people are too burdened to listen, and Moses objects again that he speaks poorly.
The second half of the chapter pauses the narrative to list the heads of families from Reuben, Simeon and Levi, tracing the lineage of Moses and Aaron. The chapter closes by restating their commission. Groups often find it helpful to read verses 1 through 13 together first, then take the genealogy as a separate conversation.
Observation Questions
Use these questions first to establish what the text actually says before anyone offers an interpretation. Ask participants to point to specific words and verse numbers, and resist the urge to explain yet. Short answers work best here.
Exodus 6:1
The LORD said to Moses, “Now you shall see what I will do to Pharaoh, for by a strong hand he shall let them go, and by a strong hand he shall drive them out of his land.”
(WEB)
Read this opening verse first to set the scene. It shows God speaking directly to Moses after the setback with Pharaoh, reminding the group that the story is one of divine initiative rather than human planning.
Exodus 6:2-3
2 God spoke to Moses, and said to him, “I am the LORD; 3 and I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name the LORD I was not known to them.
(WEB)
These verses introduce God’s self-declaration and the distinction between how he was known to the patriarchs and how he now reveals his name. Reading them aloud helps the group hear the weight of the name LORD at the heart of the chapter.
Exodus 6:5
Moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage, and I have remembered my covenant.
(WEB)
Reading this verse slowly lets the group hear God’s attentiveness to the groaning of his people. It is a good moment to pause and let participants reflect on how God’s hearing and remembering shape their own prayers.
Exodus 6:6-7
6 Therefore tell the children of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments: 7 and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
(WEB)
This passage contains the core promises of deliverance and relationship. Reading it aloud lets the group hear the sequence of promises, which moves from rescue to adoption and knowing God.
Exodus 6:12
Moses spoke before the LORD, saying, “Behold, the children of Israel haven’t listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh listen to me, who am of uncircumcised lips?”
(WEB)
Moses’ honest objection makes a strong point for discussion. Reading it aloud helps the group feel the tension between the call and the caller’s own sense of inadequacy, a tension many participants will recognize.
Memory Verse for Exodus 6
Exodus 6:7
And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am the LORD your God, who brings you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
(WEB)
This verse captures the heart of the chapter in one sentence: God will be a God to his people, and they will know that he is the LORD who delivers them. It is a short, rich line that the group can carry through the week as a reminder of God’s faithful relationship with his people.
A Closing Prayer for the Group
Father, we come to you as people who often feel weighed down by the burdens around us, much like Israel in Egypt. Thank you for hearing our groaning and for remembering your covenant with us. Help us to trust your name, the LORD, and to take seriously the promises you make to your people. Where we, like Moses, feel unfit for the work you give us, meet us with your steady reassurance and send us out in your strength. Teach us to listen when you speak, even when the noise of our circumstances is loud. We ask this in the name of Jesus, who leads us out of every bondage. Amen.
