Exo 6:12 | NETfull | STEP | But Moses replied to the Lord , “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then how will Pharaoh listen to me, since I speak with difficulty?”

Exodus 6:12

12 But Moses replied to ^{▼▼ Heb “And Moses spoke before.”} the Lord, “If the Israelites did not listen to me, then ^{▼▼ This analogy is an example of a qal wahomer comparison. It is an argument by inference from the light (qal) to the heavy (homer), from the simple to the more difficult. If the Israelites, who are Yahwists, would not listen to him, it is highly unlikely Pharaoh would.} how will Pharaoh listen to me, since ^{▼▼ The final clause begins with a disjunctive vav (ו), a vav on a nonverb form – here a pronoun. It introduces a circumstantial causal clause.} I speak with difficulty?” ^{▼▼ Heb “and [since] I am of uncircumcised lips.” The “lips” represent his speech (metonymy of cause). The term “uncircumcised” makes a comparison between his speech and that which Israel perceived as unacceptable, unprepared, foreign, and of no use to God. The heart is described this way when it is impervious to good impressions (Lev 26:41; Jer 9:26) and the ear when it hears imperfectly (Jer 6:10). Moses has here returned to his earlier claim – he does not speak well enough to be doing this.}