Exodus 6:20

Amram. That this Amram is the “man of the house of Levi” mentioned in Exodus 2:1 cannot be doubted. He was a grandson of Levi. God had promised Abraham that the fourth generation of those who would go to the land of oppression should return to the Promised Land (Genesis 15:16). The four generations would thus be those of Levi, Kohath, Amram, and Moses.

Jochebed. Meaning “Jehovah is glorious.” Jochebed is the earliest known human name related to the divine name Jehovah, which appears here in its abbreviated form, “Jo.”

His father’s sister. Jochebed, who is spoken of merely in general terms as a daughter of Levi in Exodus 2:1, which could mean any female descendant of Levi, is here called the aunt (dodah, translated “father’s sister”) of Amram, and therefore a sister of Kohath. This is in harmony with the accepted rendering of Numbers 26:59. If that text, though uncertain, is complete, it indicates that Jochebed was a literal daughter of Levi. Though such a marriage was prohibited by the Mosaic law (Leviticus 18:12), it was apparently permitted in earlier times.

She bare. Amram’s sons are listed according to age. Being three years older than Moses (Exodus 7:7), Aaron was named first. Their sister Miriam was still older (see Exodus 2:4), but is not mentioned here, since the names of women appear in ancient genealogical lists only in exceptional cases. The insertion of her name in this text in the LXX, Vulgate, and one Hebrew manuscript seems to be the work of a later scribe.