Exodus 6:20
in Exodus 6And Amram married his father’s sister Jochebed, and she bore him Aaron and Moses. Amram lived 137 years.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Exodus 6
Commentary
7 notes on this verseHis father’s sister - דדתו dodatho. The true meaning of this word is uncertain. Parkhurst observes that דוד dod signifies an uncle in 1Sa 10:14; Lev 10:4, and frequently elsewhere. It signifies also an uncle’s son, a cousin-german: compare Jer 32:8 with Exo 6:12, where the Vulgate renders דדי dodi by patruelis mei, my paternal cousin; and in Amo 6:10, for דודו dodo, the Targum has קריביה karibiah, his near relation. So the Vulgate, propinquus ejus, his relative, and the Septuagint, οἱ οικειοι αυτων, those of their household.
This site's exposition
And Amram took him Jochebed
Levi at verse 16, Kohath at verse 18, Amram here and Moses in this same verse make exactly four generations, which is what Genesis 15:16 said would pass before Abraham's seed came back to Canaan. The text calls Jochebed the sister of Amram's father, a marriage that Leviticus 18:12 later forbids. John Wesley and Adam Clarke read the Hebrew dodah broadly as kinswoman, while others take the word at face value and observe that the law had not yet been given. Numbers 26:59 says plainly that Jochebed was born to Levi in Egypt.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
12 ), which might be looked upon as a blot upon his family, though before that law; yet Moses does not conceal it, for he sought not his own praise, but wrote with a sincere regard to truth, whether it smiled or frowned upon him. He concludes it with a particular mark of honour on the persons he is writing of, though he himself was one of them,
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-citation-number+unbalanced-parens
4 And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers. 5 And I have also heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered my covenant.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
His father's sister - That is, kins-woman. So the Hebrew word is frequently used.
And Amram took him Jochebed his father's sister to wife,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Amram - This can scarcely be the same person who is mentioned in Exo 6:18; but his descendant and representative in the generation immediately preceding that of Moses. The intervening links are omitted, as is the rule where they are not needed for some special purpose, and do not bear upon the history. Jochebed - The name means “the glory of Jehovah (Yahweh),” one clear instance of the use of the sacred name before the Exodus. Father’s sister - This was within the prohibited degrees after the law was given Lev 18:12 but not previously.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| עַמְרָ֜ם | ʾamram | Amram | H6019 → | 14 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יוֹכֶ֤בֶד | yokheved | Jochebed | H3115 → | |
| דֹּֽדָתוֹ֙ | dodato | father's sister his | H1733 → | |
| ל֣וֹ | lo | for <the> himself | ||
| לְאִשָּׁ֔ה | leishah | to a wife | H802 → | 781 times |
| וַתֵּ֣לֶד | vateled | and she bore | H3205 → | 496 times |
| ל֔וֹ | lo | to <the> him | ||
| אֶֽת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אַהֲרֹ֖ן | ʾaharon | Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֑ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וּשְׁנֵי֙ | ushenei | and [the] years of | H8141 → | 877 times |
| חַיֵּ֣י | chaiyei | [the] life of | H2416 → | 498 times |
| עַמְרָ֔ם | ʾamram | Amram | H6019 → | 14 times |
| שֶׁ֧בַע | sheva' | [were] seven | H7651 → | 394 times |
| וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֛ים | usheloshim | and thirty | H7970 → | 172 times |
| וּמְאַ֖ת | umeat | and one hundred | H3967 → | 581 times |
| שָׁנָֽה׃ | shanah | year[s] | H8141 → | 877 times |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
עַמְרָ֜םAmram
ʾamramH6019 →14 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יוֹכֶ֤בֶדJochebed
yokhevedH3115 →
דֹּֽדָתוֹ֙father's sister his
dodatoH1733 →
ל֣וֹfor <the> himself
lo
לְאִשָּׁ֔הto a wife
leishahH802 →781 times
וַתֵּ֣לֶדand she bore
vateledH3205 →496 times
ל֔וֹto <the> him
lo
אֶֽת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
אַהֲרֹ֖ןAaron
ʾaharonH175 →347 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
מֹשֶׁ֑הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וּשְׁנֵי֙and [the] years of
usheneiH8141 →877 times
חַיֵּ֣י[the] life of
chaiyeiH2416 →498 times
עַמְרָ֔םAmram
ʾamramH6019 →14 times
שֶׁ֧בַע[were] seven
sheva'H7651 →394 times
וּשְׁלֹשִׁ֛יםand thirty
usheloshimH7970 →172 times
וּמְאַ֖תand one hundred
umeatH3967 →581 times
שָׁנָֽה׃year[s]
shanahH8141 →877 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 6:18The sons of Kohath were Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel. Kohath lived 133 years.
it leads to
- Numbers 26:57
Now these were the Levites numbered by their clans: The Gershonite clan from Gershon, the Kohathite clan from Kohath, and the Merarite clan from Merari.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Chronicles 6:18
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
- 1 Chronicles 6:2
The sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.
- Numbers 26:57
Through
Exodus 6:16These were the names of the sons of Levi according to their records: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. Levi lived 137 years.
it leads to
- Numbers 3:17
These were the sons of Levi by name: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
- Genesis 46:11
The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
- 1 Chronicles 6:16
The sons of Levi: Gershom, Kohath, and Merari.
- 1 Chronicles 6:1
The sons of Levi: Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
- Numbers 3:17
Through
Numbers 26:59and Amram’s wife was named Jochebed. She was also a daughter of Levi, born to Levi in Egypt. To Amram she bore Aaron, Moses, and their sister Miriam.
it leads to
- Exodus 2:1–2
Now a man of the house of Levi married a daughter of Levi,
- Exodus 2:1–2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Exodus
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.