Deuteronomy 6:21
in Deuteronomy 6then you are to tell him, “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt: and Jehovah brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand;
KJV
Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand:
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This verse in Deuteronomy 6
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
when your son asks
on Deuteronomy 6:20-21
The law is built to be questioned by a child, as the passover was at Exodus 12:26. The son asks what the testimonies mean and the answer he is given is a piece of history. It begins, we were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt.
This site's exposition
We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt
The father answers in the first person plural, placing himself and his son among the slaves God rescued. John Gill reads it as leading the child to the source of the laws in God's goodness, which laid Israel under obligation to keep them.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
In order to lead him into the spring and original of them, and to acquaint him with the goodness of God, which laid them under obligation to observe them: we were Pharaoh's bondmen in Egypt; were brought into bondage and slavery to Pharaoh king of Egypt, into whose country their ancestors came, and where they resided many years, and at length were reduced to the utmost servitude and misery: and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand; by the exertion of his mighty power, which the Egyptians and their king could not withstand, as a token of his care and kindness to us; by the ties of which we are bound in gratitude to observe his commands.
The children must be often told of the deplorable state their ancestors were in when they were bondmen in Egypt, the great salvation God wrought for them in fetching them out thence, and that God, in giving them these peculiar statutes, meant to perpetuate the memorial of that work of wonder, by which they were formed into a peculiar people.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לְבִנְךָ֔ | levinkha | to child your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| עֲבָדִ֛ים | ʾavadim | slaves | H5650 → | 799 times |
| הָיִ֥ינוּ | hayinu | we were | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְפַרְעֹ֖ה | lefaroh | of Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| בְּמִצְרָ֑יִם | bemitzrayim | in Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| וַיּוֹצִיאֵ֧נוּ | vaiyotzienu | and he brought out us | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| יְהוָ֛ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| מִמִּצְרַ֖יִם | mimitzrayim | from Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| בְּיָ֥ד | beyad | by a hand | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| חֲזָקָֽה׃ | chazakah | strong | H2389 → | 56 times |
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
לְבִנְךָ֔to child your
levinkhaH1121 →4930 times
עֲבָדִ֛יםslaves
ʾavadimH5650 →799 times
הָיִ֥ינוּwe were
hayinuH1961 →3559 times
לְפַרְעֹ֖הof Pharaoh
lefarohH6547 →274 times
בְּמִצְרָ֑יִםin Egypt
bemitzrayimH4714 →641 times
וַיּוֹצִיאֵ֧נוּand he brought out us
vaiyotzienuH3318 →1067 times
יְהוָ֛הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
מִמִּצְרַ֖יִםfrom Egypt
mimitzrayimH4714 →641 times
בְּיָ֥דby a hand
beyadH3027 →1618 times
חֲזָקָֽה׃strong
chazakahH2389 →56 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 20:2“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 5:6
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Hosea 13:4
Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.
- Leviticus 26:13
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and…
- Psalms 81:10
I am the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. Open wide your mouth, and I will fill it.
- Exodus 13:3
So Moses told the people, “Remember this day, the day you came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery; for the LORD brought you out of it by the strength of His…
- Deuteronomy 5:6
Through
Deuteronomy 5:6“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
it leads to
- Exodus 20:2–17
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Psalms 81:5–10
He ordained it as a testimony for Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt, where I heard an unfamiliar language:
- Exodus 20:2–17
Through
Deuteronomy 15:15Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 16:12
Remember that you were slaves in Egypt, and carefully follow these statutes.
- Deuteronomy 16:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies15
About Deuteronomy
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.