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| | 6:25 |
Aaron's son, Eleazar, married one of the daughters of Putiel, and she bore him Pinchas. The above are the heads of the Levite clans according to their families.
Ve'El'azar ben-Aharon lakach-lo mibenot Putiel lo le'ishah vateled lo et-Pinchas eleh rashey avot haLevi'im lemishpechotam. |
| 6:26 |
This then [is the lineage] of Moses and Aaron, to whom God said, 'Bring the Israelites out of Egypt en masse.'
Hu Aharon uMoshe asher amar Adonay lahem hotsi'u et-beney Yisra'el me'erets Mitsrayim al-tsiv'otam. |
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Commentary:
Putiel
Talmudic tradition identifies him with Jethro (Bava Bathra 109b; Sotah 43a; Mekhilta, Rashi, on Exodus 18:1). Possibly from the Egyptian Poti, 'the one belonging to' (see notes on Genesis 37:36, 41:45), and the Hebrew El, 'God' hence, 'One devoted to God.' Indeed, there are traditions that Jethro was an advisor to Pharaoh for a while. Some say that Putiel was an Israelite (Ibn Ezra).
| Pinchas
Or Phinehas. The name Pinchas may be from the Egyptian Pi-neches, meaning 'the dark one,' 'the one who aroused himself,' 'the incantator,' or 'the covered one.' (Others derive it from a semitic root; cf. Sekhel Tov). See Ezra 7:5, 8:2, 1 Chronicles 5:30, 6:35. Pinchas stood up to stop assimilation in Moab (Numbers 25:7), and was given eternal priesthood (Numbers 25:11). He was the priest of war (Numbers 31:6, Joshua 22:13), and later an important leader (Joshua 22:30-32, Judges 20:28, 1 Chronicles 9:20).
| en masse
Literally, 'by their armies.' Or, 'in organized groups.'
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