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| 1 And afterwards Moses and Aaron went in, and said to Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let my people go that they may celebrate a feast to me in the wilderness. |
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| 2 And Pharaoh said, Who is Jehovah, to whose voice I am to hearken to let Israel go? I do not know Jehovah, neither will I let Israel go. |
And Pharaoh – Supposed to have been Menephtah. R3994:2
Type of Satan. R5273:2, R5419:5; F458
I know not the LORD – Moses was met with derision. It was a time of testing to the faith, not only of Moses and Aaron, but of all Israelites. R5263:6
He considered the sun god of the Egyptians the powerful one. R5271:5
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| 3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews has met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Jehovah our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence or with sword. |
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| 4 And the king of Egypt said to them, Why do ye, Moses and Aaron, wish to have the people go off from their works? Away, to your burdens! |
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| 5 And Pharaoh said, Behold the people of the land are now many, and ye wish to make them rest from their burdens. |
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| 6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, |
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| 7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. |
Straw for themselves – One of the cities built by the Hebrews that has been discovered is the Egyptian city of Pithom, discovered in 1883. It corroborates the Biblical narrative with increasingly inferior bricks being used on upper courses. R3983:3
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| 8 And the number of the bricks they have made heretofore shall ye lay upon them: ye shall not diminish any of it, for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. |
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| 9 Let them put heavier labour on the men, that they may be taken up with it, and not regard vain words. |
More work – Thus their tasks were practically doubled. But by these very bitter experiences the people were all the more prepared to welcome liberty. Similarly, we should appreciate the privilege of being set free from the power of sin and death and of being inducted into God's family. R5263:6
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| 10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw: |
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| 11 go ye, get yourselves straw where ye may find it; but none of your work shall be diminished. |
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| 12 And the people were scattered abroad throughout the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. |
The land of Egypt – Satan's dominion of sin and death. R5643:1, R5273:1; F458
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| 13 And the taskmasters urged them, saying, Fulfil your labours, the daily work, as when there was straw. |
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| 14 And the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and it was said, Why have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick, both yesterday and to-day, as heretofore? |
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| 15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, Why dost thou deal thus with thy bondmen? |
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| 16 There is no straw given to thy bondmen, and they say to us, Make brick; and behold, thy bondmen are beaten, but it is the fault of thy people. |
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| 17 And he said, Ye are idle, idle! therefore ye say, Let us go and sacrifice to Jehovah. |
He said, Ye are idle – As some of the hard-hearted will doubtless say to the poor in the coming time of trouble. A336
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| 18 And now go--work! and straw shall not be given you, and ye shall deliver the measure of bricks. |
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| 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. |
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| 20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood there to meet them, as they came out from Pharaoh. |
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| 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! |
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| 22 And Moses returned to Jehovah, and said, Lord, why hast thou done evil to this people? why now hast thou sent me? |
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| 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! |
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