Exodus 6:20

Exodus 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.

a. NLT: Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she gave birth to his sons, Aaron and Moses. (Amram lived to be 137 years old.) [Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.]

b. ASV: 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 a hundred and thirty and seven years. [Thomas Nelson & Sons first published the American Standard Version in 1901. This translation of the Bible is in the public domain.]

c. YLT: And Amram taketh Jochebed his aunt to himself for a wife, and she beareth to him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram are a hundred and thirty and seven years. [The Young's Literal Translation was translated by Robert Young, who believed in a strictly literal translation of God's word. This version of the Bible is in the public domain.]

d. Classic Amplified: Amram took Jochebed his father’s sister as wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; and Amram lived 137 years. [Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation]

e. Septuagint: And Ambram took to wife Jochabed the daughter of his father’s brother, and she bore to him both Aaron and Moses, and Mariam their sister: and the years of the life of Ambram were a hundred and thirty-two years.

f. Stone Edition Torah/Prophets/ Writings: And Amram took his aunt Jochebed as a wife, and she bore him Aaron and Moses; the years of Amram’s life were a hundred and thirty-seven years. [The Artscroll Series/Stone Edition, THE TANACH--STUDENT SIZE EDITION Copyright 1996, 1998 by Mesorah Publications, Ldt.]

1. “And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife…”

a. [And] Amram [Strong: 6019 `Amram am-rawm' probably from 5971 and 7311; high people; Amram, the name of two Israelites:--Amram.]

b. [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

c. took [him] [Strong: 3947 laqach law-kakh' a primitive root; to take (in the widest variety of applications):--accept, bring, buy, carry away, drawn, fetch, get, infold, X many, mingle, place, receive(-ing), reserve, seize, send for, take (away, -ing, up), use, win.]

d. Jochebed [Strong: 3115 Yowkebed yo-keh'-bed from 3068 contracted and 3513; Jehovah-gloried; Jokebed, the mother of Moses:--Jochebed.]

e. [his father’s] sister [Strong: 1733 dowdah do-daw' feminine of 1730; an aunt:--aunt, father's sister, uncle's wife.]

f. [to] wife [Strong: 802 'ishshah ish-shaw' feminine of 376 or 582; irregular plural, nashiym {naw-sheem'}; a woman (used in the same wide sense as 582):--(adulter)ess, each, every, female, X many, + none, one, + together, wife, woman. Often unexpressed in English.]

1). Moses’ father married his aunt. This kind of union would be later forbidden under the law.

). Leviticus 18:12 Thou shalt not uncover the nakedness of thy father’s sister: she is thy father’s near kinswoman.

2). The marriage of Abraham and Sarah would also be forbidden by the law.

a). Genesis 20:12 And yet she indeed is my sister; she is the daughter of my father, but she is not the daughter of my mother; and she became my wife.

b). Leviticus 18:9 The nakedness of thy sister, the daughter of thy father, or daughter of thy mother, whether she be born at home, or born abroad, even their nakedness thou shalt not uncover.

3). From the time of Adam up to the time of Moses, approximately 2500 years, mankind practiced incest in one form or another. In fact it was necessary after the Creation and the flood in Noah’s day to insure the propagation of humanity. The marriages mentioned above would have been forbidden after the legislation of Leviticus 18:6-18. The new divine legislation was implemented because as the generations continued to be born and die, the effects of sin multiplied the generational defects within men and women also increased. Just as the spiritual effects of sin produced more wickedness in the next generations, the physical defects from sin also multiplied to the point that intermarriage between close relatives made birth defects inevitable, and to prevent that, God in his wisdom gave the commandments forbidding these marriages.

2. “...and she bare him Aaron and Moses: and the years of the life of Amram were an hundred and thirty and seven years.”

a. [and] she bare [him] [Strong: 3205 yalad yaw-lad' a primitive root; to bear young; causatively, to beget; medically, to act as midwife; specifically, to show lineage:--bear, beget, birth((-day)), born, (make to) bring forth (children, young), bring up, calve, child, come, be delivered (of a child), time of delivery, gender, hatch, labour, (do the office of a) midwife, declare pedigrees, be the son of, (woman in, woman that) travail(-eth, -ing woman).]

b. Aaron [Strong: 175 'Aharown a-har-one' of uncertain derivation; Aharon, the brother of Moses:--Aaron.]

c. and [Strong: 853 'eth ayth apparent contracted from 226 in the demonstrative sense of entity; properly, self (but generally used to point out more definitely the object of a verb or preposition, even or namely):--(as such unrepresented in English).]

d. Moses [Strong: 4872 Mosheh mo-sheh' from 4871; drawing out (of the water), i.e. rescued; Mosheh, the Israelite lawgiver:--Moses.]

e. [and the] years [Strong: 8141 shaneh shaw-neh' (in plura or (feminine) shanah {shaw-naw'}; from 8138; a year (as a revolution of time):--+ whole age, X long, + old, year(X -ly).]

f. [of the] life [Strong: 2416 chay khah'-ee from 2421; alive; hence, raw (flesh); fresh (plant, water, year), strong; also (as noun, especially in the feminine singular and masculine plural) life (or living thing), whether literally or figuratively:--+ age, alive, appetite, (wild) beast, company, congregation, life(-time), live(-ly), living (creature, thing), maintenance, + merry, multitude, + (be) old, quick, raw, running, springing, troop.]

g. [were an] hundred [Strong: 3967 me'ah may-aw' or metyah {may-yaw'}; properly, a primitive numeral; a hundred; also as a multiplicative and a fraction:--hundred((-fold), -th), + sixscore.]

h. [and] thirty [Strong: 7970 shlowshiym shel-o-sheem' or shloshiym {shel-o-sheem'}; multiple of 7969; thirty; or (ordinal) thirtieth:--thirty, thirtieth.]

i. [and] seven [Strong: 7651 sheba` sheh'-bah or (masculine) shibrah {shib-aw'}; from 7650; a primitive cardinal number; seven (as the sacred full one); also (adverbially) seven times; by implication, a week; by extension, an indefinite number:--(+ by) seven(-fold),-s, (-teen, -teenth), -th, times).]

j. years [Strong: 8141 shaneh shaw-neh' (in plura or (feminine) shanah {shaw-naw'}; from 8138; a year (as a revolution of time):--+ whole age, X long, + old, year(X -ly).]