Exodus 6:7
in Exodus 6I will take you as My own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and ye shall know that I am Jehovah your God, who bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
KJV
And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
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This verse in Exodus 6
Commentary
4 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
I will take you to me for a people
This is the covenant formula, and it recurs at Leviticus 26:12, Jeremiah 31:33, 2 Corinthians 6:16 and Revelation 21:3, where it is the last thing said about the new city. Alfred Edersheim records the Jewish tradition that ties the four cups of the passover meal to the four verbs of promise in verses 6 and 7, bring out, rid, redeem and take. The Jerusalem Talmud states it at Pesahim 10:1, compiled around the fifth century, and it is reception history rather than something the Exodus text says.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And I will take you to me for a people,....
(1.) He intended their happiness: I will take you to me for a people, a peculiar people, and I will be to you a God; more than this we need not ask, we cannot have, to make us happy. (2.) He intended his own glory: You shall know that I am the Lord.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will take you to me for a people, etc. - This was precisely the covenant that he had made with Abraham. See Gen 17:7, and see Clarke’s note on Gen 17:7. And ye shall know that I am the Lord your God - By thus fulfilling my promises ye shall know what is implied in my name. See Clarke’s note on Exo 6:3. But why should God take such a most stupid, refractory, and totally worthless people for his people?
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י | velakachti | and I will take | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֥ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| לִי֙ | li | for <the> myself | ||
| לְעָ֔ם | leam | to a people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְהָיִ֥יתִי | vehayiti | and I will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָכֶ֖ם | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים | lelohim | <into> God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗ם | vida'tem | and you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֤י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔ם | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הַמּוֹצִ֣יא | hamotzi' | who brought out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| אֶתְכֶ֔ם | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִתַּ֖חַת | mitachat | from under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| סִבְל֥וֹת | sivlot | [the] forced labor of | H5450 → | 6 times |
| מִצְרָֽיִם׃ | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
וְלָקַחְתִּ֨יand I will take
velakachtiH3947 →966 times
אֶתְכֶ֥ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
לִי֙for <the> myself
li
לְעָ֔םto a people
leamH5971 →1873 times
וְהָיִ֥יתִיand I will become
vehayitiH1961 →3559 times
לָכֶ֖םfor <the> you
lakhem
לֵֽאלֹהִ֑ים<into> God
lelohimH430 →2601 times
וִֽידַעְתֶּ֗םand you will know
vida'temH3045 →945 times
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֤יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָה֙[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹ֣הֵיכֶ֔םGod your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
הַמּוֹצִ֣יאwho brought out
hamotzi'H3318 →1067 times
אֶתְכֶ֔ם<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
מִתַּ֖חַתfrom under
mitachatH8478 →505 times
סִבְל֥וֹת[the] forced labor of
sivlotH5450 →6 times
מִצְרָֽיִם׃Egypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 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
Deuteronomy 7:6For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of…
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 14:2
for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 19:5–6
Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- 1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Malachi 3:17
“They will be Mine,” says the LORD of Hosts, “on the day when I prepare My treasured possession. And I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.
- Deuteronomy 14:2
Through
Revelation 21:7The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 6:18
And: “I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
- Hebrews 8:10
For this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put My laws in their minds and inscribe them on their hearts. And…
- Revelation 21:3
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will…
- Revelation 2:11
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who overcomes will not be harmed by the second death.
- 2 Corinthians 6:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
About Exodus

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Alfred Edersheim, The Temple: Its Ministry and Services; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
