Chapter Five

1–4. Moses’ and Aaron’s first approach to Pharaoh. 5–20. The burdening of the Hebrews with additional work. 21–23. The people’s grumbling at Moses and his doubts.

Exodus 5:1. After this, Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh and said [to him]: ‘Thus says the Lord, God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may celebrate a feast for Me in the wilderness. The absence of the elders (Exod 3:18) is difficult to explain. The opinion that it was caused by the fact that from the time of Aaron’s appointment as Moses’ helper (Exod 4:15-16) to him passed the rights of the latter to participate in explaining the purpose of the mission (“you shall say,” Exod 3:18) has no basis in Scripture. The elders are not appointed to be “the mouth of Moses” (Exod 4:16). Jewish tradition explains the non-mention of the elders by the fact that on the way to Pharaoh, they one by one abandoned Moses and Aaron. The request to let the people go to serve the Supreme One, the national God of the Hebrews, should appear entirely natural to Pharaoh (see explanation of verse 18, chapter 3 above) and entirely customary from the perspective of the customs of that time. According to Herodotus, confirmed by the research of Egyptologists, it was the custom in Egypt to go at certain times to a certain city to celebrate a feast in honor of the god revered there.

Exodus 5:2. But Pharaoh said: “Who is the Lord, that I should listen to His voice and let [the Israelites] go? I do not know the Lord, and I will not let Israel go. If Pharaoh refuses to fulfill such a legitimate request, then, among other reasons, it is because it is presented on behalf of the Almighty, “Whom he does not know.” Sharing the common pagan view that the power of a certain god is determined by the strength and prosperity of the people who worship him (Isa 45:6), Pharaoh considers the Almighty powerless in comparison with the Egyptian gods: the Egyptians are masters, but the Hebrews are slaves. Therefore, the demands of a powerless God are not binding upon him.

Exodus 5:3. They said [to him]: ‘The God of the Hebrews has called upon us; let us go, we pray, a three days’ journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice to the Lord our God, that He may not strike us with a plague or with the sword. Repeating the former demand, Aaron and Moses modify it, first, in that they directly point out its obligatory character for themselves: “The God of the Hebrews has called upon us; let us go, that He may not strike us with a plague or with the sword.” Just as the will of their gods is binding upon Pharaoh and his subjects, so the demands of the Lord are binding upon them, Moses and Aaron. In case of non-compliance they will be subjected to His wrath, as those among the pagans who do not wish to appease their gods by performing feasts are subjected to their wrath. Second, instead of the former general reference to journeying into the wilderness, they now specify the amount of time required for it (“a three days’ journey”), wishing thereby to say that the withdrawal of the Hebrews for such a short time (six to seven days, round trip) will not cause significant harm to the work.

Exodus 5:4. The king of Egypt said to them: ‘Why do you, Moses and Aaron, draw [my] people away from their work? Go, each of you, to your own work. Exodus 5:5. Pharaoh said: ‘Behold, the people of the land are many, and you are drawing them away from their work. Such a harmful thought, generally speaking, becomes extraordinarily dangerous when spread among the numerous “people of the land,” that is, among the lower working class (Jer 6:25, Ezek 7:27). It prepares the ground for discontent and the rebellion arising from it.

Exodus 5:6. And that very day Pharaoh commanded the overseers of the people and the taskmasters, saying: Exodus 5:7. ‘You shall no longer give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves. Straw, the giving of which Pharaoh forbade, was used as a material to bind clay: finely chopped, it was mixed with clay, and brick made from such a mixture was supposed to be of particular strength. The truthfulness of the biblical account is confirmed by excavations carried out in Egypt, which have shown that some of the bricks of ancient Goshen contain a mixture of chopped straw.

Exodus 5:8. ‘But the number of bricks you shall require of them, the same number as before, and do not diminish it; they are idle, therefore they cry out, saying: let us go and sacrifice to our God. Exodus 5:9. ‘Give them more work to do, so that they will be occupied and have no attention for idle talk. Exodus 5:10. The overseers of the people and the taskmasters went out and said to the people: ‘Thus says Pharaoh: I will not give you straw. Exodus 5:11. ‘Go yourselves and get straw wherever you can find it, but nothing shall be diminished from your work. Exodus 5:12. So the people scattered throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble for straw. Exodus 5:13. The overseers urged them, saying: ‘Fulfill your daily work, as when you had straw. The work was slowed down by the fact that instead of stalks the Hebrews gathered stubble.

Exodus 5:14. The overseers of the Israelites, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had appointed, were beaten, and they said to them: ‘Why have you not fulfilled your assigned number of bricks yesterday and today, as before? To oversee the work and keep accounts, Pharaoh’s taskmasters chose from among the Israelites themselves such men as knew how to write. Hence their name ‘shotrim,’ scribes, overseers, writers (1 Chr 23:4). By their position they belonged to people of higher standing. This is clearly seen from the fact that in some places of the Bible they are listed alongside with elders and judges (Num 11:16; Deut 29:10).

Exodus 5:15. The overseers of the Israelites came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying: ‘Why do you deal this way with your servants? Exodus 5:16. ‘Straw is not given to your servants, but we are told to make bricks. And behold, your servants are beaten; you have sinned against your people. Exodus 5:17. But he said [to them]: ‘You are idle, you are idle, therefore you say: let us go and sacrifice to the Lord. Exodus 5:18. ‘Go now and work; straw shall not be given to you, but you shall still deliver the quota of bricks. Pharaoh’s assumption was justified. The people, burdened with overwhelming work, think not of a festival, but of relief from their plight, and with such a request they turn to Pharaoh through their overseers.

Exodus 5:19. The overseers of the Israelites saw the trouble they were in when they were told: ‘You shall not diminish the number of bricks from each day’s quota. Exodus 5:20. When they left Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron, who were standing to meet them. Exodus 5:21. And they said to them: ‘May the Lord look upon you and judge you, because you have made us odious in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants, and have put a sword in their hand to slay us. Having received a negative reply, realizing that they cannot expect help from Moses and Aaron either, the overseers reproach the latter and threaten them with God’s judgment for the greater oppression that has come upon the people (Gen 16:5; 1 Sam 24:12-13; 1 Sam 8:32).

Exodus 5:22. Moses turned to the Lord and said: ‘Lord! Why have You brought such misery upon this people, and why have You sent me? Exodus 5:23. ‘For since I came to Pharaoh and spoke in Your name, he has treated this people worse; and yet You have not delivered Your people. Under the influence of the complaints, Moses’ earlier doubt about the appropriateness of his selection to free the Hebrew people arises: ‘Why have You sent me?’ (Exod 5:22) He himself cannot force Pharaoh to let the Israelites go (Exod 3:11), and the Lord will not help him either: ‘and yet You have not delivered Your people.” * * * From the Hebrew: “appeared to us.” More accurately: “allow us to go.”