Commentary for Exodus 6:26

הוא אהרן ומשה THESE ARE THAT AARON AND MOSES who are mentioned above where it states (v. 20) that Jochebed bore them to Amram. הוא אהרן ומשה There are some passages where Scripture mentions Aaron before Moses (as here) and other passages where it mentions Moses before Aaron; this is done in order to indicate that they were equal in all respects (more lit., that they weighed alike) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:1).

הוא אהרן ומשה, Aaron, the one born prior to Moses is described as הוא, i.e. a distinction, whereas the same distinction expressed by the same word הוא is also applied to Moses . Both were singled out as G’d’s messengers.

הוא אהרן ומשה, repeated, seeing these two were the most honoured of their families and it was therefore they who were fit to be entrusted by G’d with the command: הוציאו את בני ישראל, seeing that their voices would be heeded by their compatriots, of all the various tribes.

הוא אהרון ומשה, they are the same Aaron and Moses, etc. The ones whose genealogy has been traced in our paragraph are the ones whom G'd gave the authority to orchestrate the Exodus, etc.

This is [the lineage of] Aharon and Moshe. According to the simple meaning, [Aharon appears in the verse before Moshe because] the B’nei Yisrael had more respect for Aharon than Moshe, for they never knew the greatness of Moshe, who was raised in the royal palace and fled to Midian, but they knew of Aharon’s holiness.

הוא אהרן ומשה אשר אמר, “this was Aaron and Moses to whom He said, etc.” The point of this verse is that in respect to אמירה, verbal communication, the Torah mentioned Aaron ahead of Moses, as it was he who delivered Moses’ message to Pharaoh. He did the actual talking. On the other hand, whenever the Torah makes reference to the Exodus, Moses is invariably mentioned ahead of his older brother Aaron. Ibn Ezra explains the Torah mentioning Aaron first as something natural, seeing he was the senior of the two. Moreover, Aaron had displayed prophecy to the people before Moses had been appointed as the prophet. After this, whenever they were speaking to Pharaoh, Moses is mentioned first, seeing he had superior rank. This is why after this exception you will no longer find that the Torah mentions Aaron first when G’d addresses both of them, or when the Torah discusses something in which both brothers participated. One cannot bring a counter argument from the verse (Numbers 3,1) אלה תולדות אהרן ומשה, “these are the generations of Aaron and Moses,” (in this order) or from the verse ותלד את אהרן ואת משה, ”she (Yocheved) bore Aaron and Moses,” seeing that the Torah there merely records the order in which they were born

הוא אהרן ומשה, “the same Aaron and Moses, etc.” Aaron was mentioned here ahead of Moses seeing he was the older of the two brothers. In verse 27, the Torah lists Moses ahead of Aaron seeing that he was greater than his brother in stature as prophet. We find that the Torah sometimes mentions Joshua ahead of Calev (Numbers 14,38), whereas at other times it mentions Calev ahead of Joshua (Numbers 14,30). Joshua was greater than Calev seeing he was a prophet. Calev was greater than Joshua by genealogy, seeing he was from the tribe of Yehudah. We also find something similar when the Torah mentions heaven and earth. In Genesis 1,1 the Torah mentions heaven ahead of earth seeing that disembodied celestial beings are more distinguished than creatures who require a body in order to be functional. They also enjoy infinite life as distinct from creatures on earth. On the other hand, in Genesis 2,4 the Torah lists the earth ahead of the heaven. The reason is that the Holy Temple and the Shechinah are at home on earth rather than in the heaven. The reason the Torah repeats (verse 28) “it was on the day that G’d spoke to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,” is because earlier (verse 13) it sounded as if the command to release the Israelites from Egypt was addressed to both Moses and Aaron. The Torah wants to clarify that the verbal instructions for this were issued by G’d only to Moses. Moses relayed them to Aaron.

With their multitudes. . . [Rashi explains this] because על צבאותם literally implies that Aharon and Moshe brought out B’nei Yisrael in greater numbers than their multitudes. Alternatively, it implies that they brought out the multitudes first, [and only then, the B’nei Yisrael] — and this is not so.

הוא אהרן ומשה, whenever Moses and Aaron are mentioned in context of their respective ages, Aaron is mentioned first as he was the senior of the two. When these two brothers are mentioned in context of their respective status amongst the people, Moses is mentioned first, as in verse 27. After all, Moses took out the Israelites from slavery in Egypt.

על צבאתם — This is the same as בצבאותם with their hosts — all their hosts according to their tribes. Sometimes the word על is merely used in place of a single letter (ב as a prefix); e. g., (Genesis 27:40) “על חרבך shalt thou live” which is the same as בחרבך, by thy sword; (Ezekiel 33:26) “Ye stand על חרבכם” which is the same as בחרבכם, by your sword.

על צבאותם, the entire community including all their respective members, simultaneously.