18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.
19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21 And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
22 And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, LORD, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
18 Go H3212 therefore now, and work; H5647 for there shall no straw H8401 be given H5414 you, yet shall ye deliver H5414 the tale H8506 of bricks. H3843
19 And the officers H7860 of the children H1121 of Israel H3478 did see H7200 that they were in evil H7451 case, after it was said, H559 Ye shall not minish H1639 ought from your bricks H3843 of your daily H3117 H3117 task. H1697
20 And they met H6293 Moses H4872 and Aaron, H175 who stood H5324 in the way, H7125 as they came forth H3318 from Pharaoh: H6547
21 And they said H559 unto them, The LORD H3068 look H7200 upon you, and judge; H8199 because ye have made our savour H7381 to be abhorred H887 in the eyes H5869 of Pharaoh, H6547 and in the eyes H5869 of his servants, H5650 to put H5414 a sword H2719 in their hand H3027 to slay H2026 us.
22 And Moses H4872 returned H7725 unto the LORD, H3068 and said, H559 Lord, H136 wherefore hast thou so evil entreated H7489 this people? H5971 why is it that thou hast sent H7971 me?
23 For since I came H935 to Pharaoh H6547 to speak H1696 in thy name, H8034 he hath done evil H7489 to this people; H5971 neither hast thou delivered H5337 thy people H5971 at all. H5337
18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the number of bricks.
19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, when it was said, Ye shall not diminish aught from your bricks, `your' daily tasks.
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21 and they said unto them, Jehovah look upon you, and judge: because ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
22 And Moses returned unto Jehovah, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou dealt ill with this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath dealt ill with this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.
18 and now, go, serve; and straw is not given to you, and the measure of bricks ye do give.'
19 And the authorities of the sons of Israel see them in affliction, saying, `Ye do not diminish from your bricks; the matter of a day in its day.'
20 And they meet Moses and Aaron standing to meet them, in their coming out from Pharaoh,
21 and say unto them, `Jehovah look upon you, and judge, because ye have caused our fragrance to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants -- to give a sword into their hand to slay us.'
22 And Moses turneth back unto Jehovah, and saith, `Lord, why hast Thou done evil to this people? why `is' this? -- Thou hast sent me!
23 and since I have come unto Pharaoh, to speak in Thy name, he hath done evil to this people, and Thou hast not at all delivered Thy people.'
18 And now go -- work! and straw shall not be given you, and ye shall deliver the measure of bricks.
19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw [that] it stood ill with them, because it was said, Ye shall not diminish anything from your bricks, the daily work.
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood there to meet them, as they came out from Pharaoh.
21 And they said to them, Jehovah look upon you and judge, that ye have made our odour to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his bondmen, putting a sword into their hand to kill us!
22 And Moses returned to Jehovah, and said, Lord, why hast thou done evil to this people? why now hast thou sent me?
23 For ever since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all!
18 Go therefore now, and work, for no straw shall be given to you, yet shall you deliver the same number of bricks!"
19 The officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble, when it was said, "You shall not diminish anything from your daily quota of bricks!"
20 They met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:
21 and they said to them, "May Yahweh look at you, and judge, because you have made us a stench to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill us."
22 Moses returned to Yahweh, and said, "Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Why is it that you have sent me?
23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people; neither have you delivered your people at all."
18 Go now, get back to your work; no dry stems will be given to you, but you are to make the full number of bricks.
19 Then the responsible men of the children of Israel saw that they were purposing evil when they said, The number of bricks which you have to make every day will be no less than before.
20 And they came face to face with Moses and Aaron, who were in their way when they came out from Pharaoh:
21 And they said to them, May the Lord take note of you and be your judge; for you have given Pharaoh and his servants a bad opinion of us, putting a sword in their hands for our destruction.
22 And Moses went back to the Lord and said, Lord, why have you done evil to this people? why have you sent me?
23 For from the time when I came to Pharaoh to put your words before him, he has done evil to this people, and you have given them no help.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 5
Commentary on Exodus 5 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 5
Ex 5:1-23. First Interview with Pharaoh.
1. Moses and Aaron went in—As representatives of the Hebrews, they were entitled to ask an audience of the king, and their thorough Egyptian training taught them how and when to seek it.
and told Pharaoh—When introduced, they delivered a message in the name of the God of Israel. This is the first time He is mentioned by that national appellation in Scripture. It seems to have been used by divine direction (Ex 4:2) and designed to put honor on the Hebrews in their depressed condition (Heb 11:16).
2. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord—rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of worship; but Jehovah was a name he had never heard of. Pharaoh estimated the character and power of this God by the abject and miserable condition of the worshippers and concluded that He held as low a rank among the gods as His people did in the nation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the true God over all the gods of Egypt, was the design of the plagues.
I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go—As his honor and interest were both involved he determined to crush this attempt, and in a tone of insolence, or perhaps profanity, rejected the request for the release of the Hebrew slaves.
3. The God of the Hebrews hath met with us—Instead of being provoked into reproaches or threats, they mildly assured him that it was not a proposal originating among themselves, but a duty enjoined on them by their God. They had for a long series of years been debarred from the privilege of religious worship, and as there was reason to fear that a continued neglect of divine ordinances would draw down upon them the judgments of offended heaven, they begged permission to go three days' journey into the desert—a place of seclusion—where their sacrificial observances would neither suffer interruption nor give umbrage to the Egyptians. In saying this, they concealed their ultimate design of abandoning the kingdom, and by making this partial request at first, they probably wished to try the king's temper before they disclosed their intentions any farther. But they said only what God had put in their mouths (Ex 3:12, 18), and this "legalizes the specific act, while it gives no sanction to the general habit of dissimulation" [Chalmers].
4. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? &c.—Without taking any notice of what they had said, he treated them as ambitious demagogues, who were appealing to the superstitious feelings of the people, to stir up sedition and diffuse a spirit of discontent, which spreading through so vast a body of slaves, might endanger the peace of the country.
6. Pharaoh commanded—It was a natural consequence of the high displeasure created by this interview that he should put additional burdens on the oppressed Israelites.
taskmasters—Egyptian overseers, appointed to exact labor of the Israelites.
officers—Hebrews placed over their brethren, under the taskmasters, precisely analogous to the Arab officers set over the Arab Fellahs, the poor laborers in modern Egypt.
7. Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick—The making of bricks appears to have been a government monopoly as the ancient bricks are nearly all stamped with the name of a king, and they were formed, as they are still in Lower Egypt, of clay mixed with chopped straw and dried or hardened in the sun. The Israelites were employed in this drudgery; and though they still dwelt in Goshen and held property in flocks and herds, they were compelled in rotation to serve in the brick quarries, pressed in alternating groups, just as the fellaheen, or peasants, are marched by press gangs in the same country still.
let them go and gather straw for themselves—The enraged despot did not issue orders to do an impracticable thing. The Egyptian reapers in the corn harvest were accustomed merely to cut off the ears and leave the stalk standing.
8. tale—an appointed number of bricks. The materials of their labor were to be no longer supplied, and yet, as the same amount of produce was exacted daily, it is impossible to imagine more aggravated cruelty—a perfect specimen of Oriental despotism.
12. So the people were scattered—It was an immense grievance to the laborers individually, but there would be no hindrance from the husbandmen whose fields they entered, as almost all the lands of Egypt were in the possession of the crown (Ge 47:20).
13-19. And the taskmasters hasted them … officers … beaten—As the nearest fields were bared and the people had to go farther for stubble, it was impossible for them to meet the demand by the usual tale of bricks. "The beating of the officers is just what might have been expected from an Eastern tyrant, especially in the valley of the Nile, as it appears from the monuments, that ancient Egypt, like modern China, was principally governed by the stick" [Taylor]. "The mode of beating was by the offender being laid flat on the ground and generally held by the hands and feet while the chastisement was administered" [Wilkinson]. (De 25:2). A picture representing the Hebrews on a brick field, exactly as described in this chapter, was found in an Egyptian tomb at Thebes.
20, 21. they met Moses … The Lord look upon you, and judge—Thus the deliverer of Israel found that this patriotic interference did, in the first instance, only aggravate the evil he wished to remove, and that instead of receiving the gratitude, he was loaded with the reproaches of his countrymen. But as the greatest darkness is immediately before the dawn, so the people of God are often plunged into the deepest affliction when on the eve of their deliverance; and so it was in this case.