Exodus · Chapter 5

V. 1. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go-Moses, in treating with the elders of Israel, is directed to call God the God of their fathers; but, in treating with Pharaoh, they call him the God of Israel, and it is the first time we find him called so in scripture. He is called the God of Israel, the person, Genesis 33:20, but here it is Israel the people. They are just beginning to be formed into a people when God is called their God. Let my people go-They were God’s people, and therefore Pharaoh ought not to detain them in bondage. And he expected services and sacrifices from them, and therefore they must have leave to go where they could freely exercise their religion, without giving offence to, or receiving offence from, the Egyptians.

Verse 1. And afterward Moses and Aaron went] This chapter is properly a continuation of the preceding, as the succeeding is a continuation of this; and to preserve the connection of the facts they should be read together.

How simply, and yet with what authority, does Moses deliver his message to the Egyptian king! Thus saith JEHOVAH, GOD of ISRAEL, Let my people go. It is well in this, as in almost every other case where hwhy Jehovah occurs, to preserve the original word: our using the word LORD is not sufficiently expressive, and often leaves the sense indistinct.

Verse 1. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel — Moses, in treating with the elders of Israel, is directed to call God the God of their fathers; but in treating with Pharaoh, he and Aaron call him the God of Israel, and it is the first time we find him called so in Scripture. He is called the God of Israel, the person, (Genesis 33:20,) but here it is Israel, the people. They are just beginning to be formed into a people when God is called their God. Let my people go — They were God’s people, and therefore Pharaoh ought not to detain them in bondage. And he expected services and sacrifices from them, and therefore they must have leave to go where they could freely exercise their religion, without giving offence to, or receiving offence from the Egyptians.

Verse 1. Moses and Aaron, accompanied by the elders, as in Exodus 6:26, went to Pharaoh.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

V. 2. Who is the Lord that I should obey his voice?-Being summoned to surrender, he thus hangs out the flag of defiance. Who is Jehovah? I neither know him nor care for him; neither value nor fear him. It is a hard name that he never heard of before, but he resolves it shall be no bugbear to him. Israel was now a despised, oppressed people, and by the character they bore he makes his estimate of their God, and concludes that he made no better figure among the gods, than his people did among the nations.

Verse 2. Who is the Lord] Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice? What claims has he on me? I am under no obligation to him. Pharaoh spoke here under the common persuasion that every place and people had a tutelary deity, and he supposed that this Jehovah might be the tutelary deity of the Israelites, to whom he, as an Egyptian, could be under no kind of obligation. It is not judicious to bring this question as a proof that Pharaoh was an atheist: of this the text affords no evidence.

Verse 2. Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? — I am the sovereign lord of Egypt, and I own no superior here. The Hebrew name Jehovah ought to have been retained in this and the preceding verse, and not to have been translated Lord. Thus saith Jehovah — who is Jehovah — I know not Jehovah. The Egyptians, it must be observed, and other nations were at this time sunk in idolatry, and knowing nothing of the true God, the possessor of heaven and earth, each nation had a god or gods of its own. Pharaoh, therefore, did not speak as an atheist, or mean that he knew nothing of any god whom he ought to obey; but he knew nothing of the God of the Hebrews, whom they termed Jehovah, imagining him to be like one of the gods of Egypt, or of some other country, a mere local deity, whom therefore it neither concerned him to know nor to obey. Now the train of miracles which followed were intended to teach Pharaoh and his people, that Jehovah was not only the God of the Hebrews, but of all the world, having an uncontrolled and sovereign power over universal nature.

Ver. 2. Who is Jehovah? I know not JEHOVAH. The mythology of the gentiles supposed every city, and every country or nation to have its own god, or rather goddess, mothers being supposed to be more tender-hearted than fathers. Thus Minerva was supposed to be the presiding divinity over Athens; and Diana to be the goddess of the Ephesians. Thus we find Moses accommodating himself to the ideas of the Egyptians in saying, “The God of the Hebrews hath met with us.” Exodus 3:6.

2. Who is Jehovah? It is possible that Pharaoh had never heard the name, for hitherto it had not been much used among the Hebrews in Egypt. At least he refuses to recognise Jehovah’s authority.

V. 3. We pray thee, let us go three days journey into the desert-And that on a good errand, and unexceptionable: we will sacrifice to the Lord our God-As other people do to theirs; lest if we quite cast off his worship, he fall upon us-With one judgment or other, and then Pharaoh will lose his vassals.

Verse 3. Three days’ journey] The distance from Goshen to Sinai; see Exodus 3:18.

And sacrifice unto the Lord] Great stress is laid on this circumstance. God required sacrifice; no religious acts which they performed could be acceptable to him without this. He had now showed them that it was their indispensable duty thus to worship him, and that if they did not they might expect him to send the pestilence-some plague or death proceeding immediately from himself, or the sword-extermination by the hands of an enemy. The original word rbd deber, from rdb dabar, to drive off, draw under, &c., which we translate pestilence from the Latin pestis, the plague, signifies any kind of disease by which an extraordinary mortality is occasioned, and which appears from the circumstances of the case to come immediately from God. The Israelites could not sacrifice in the land of Egypt, because the animals they were to offer to God were held sacred by the Egyptians; and they could not omit this duty, because it was essential to religion even before the giving of the law. Thus we find that Divine justice required the life of the animal for the life of the transgressor, and the people were conscious, if this were not done, that God would consume them with the pestilence or the sword. From the foundation of the world the true religion required sacrifice. Before, under, and after the law, this was deemed essential to salvation. Under the Christian dispensation Jesus is the lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world; and being still the Lamb newly slain before the throne, no man cometh unto the Father but by him.

“In this first application to Pharaoh, we observe,” says Dr. Dodd, “that proper respectful submission which is due from subjects to their sovereign. They represent to him the danger they should be in by disobeying their God, but do not so much as hint at any punishment that would follow to Pharaoh.”

Verse 3. Three days’ journey into the desert — And that on a good errand, and unexceptionable: we will sacrifice to the Lord our God — As other people do to theirs; lest if we quite cast off his worship, he fall upon us — With one judgment or other, and then Pharaoh will lose his vassals. Though it was the intention of the Israelites quite to leave Egypt; yet the request was made only to go three days’ journey into the desert to sacrifice, probably to set the tyranny of the king in a stronger light, who would not indulge them in this small liberty even for the performance of religious rites. And as this demand was made by the express order of God, who knew that Pharaoh would not grant it, all appearance of there being any artful design in it to deceive Pharaoh is taken away.

Ver. 3. Three days’ journey, the distance to Horeb. Pharaoh was a wicked man, and therefore God proposed the emancipation of his people in the easiest form. The request was not unreasonable, for God had rights as well as the king.

3. The God of the Hebrews — The Israelites generally called themselves Hebrews when conferring with strangers, and were so called by other nations. Thus their reply is explanatory. Jehovah, whom they styled God of Israel, Pharaoh would style God of the Hebrews.

Verse 4. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron] He hints that the Hebrews are in a state of revolt, and charges Moses and Aaron as being ringleaders of the sedition. This unprincipled charge has been, in nearly similar circumstances, often repeated since. Men who have laboured to bring the mass of the common people from ignorance, irreligion, and general profligacy of manners, to an acquaintance with themselves and God, and to a proper knowledge of their duty to him and to each other, have been often branded as being disaffected to the state, and as movers of sedition among the people! See Clarke on “Exodus 5:17”.

Let the people] תפריעו taphriu, from [rp para, to loose or disengage, which we translate to let, from the Anglo-Saxon [Anglo-Saxon] lettan, to hinder. Ye hinder the people from working. Get ye to your burdens. “Let religion alone, and mind your work.” The language not only of tyranny, but of the basest irreligion also.

Verse 4. Get you to your burdens — These words were not addressed to Moses and Aaron, but to the Israelites, the elders of whom went with Moses, several others also probably following him, when he went in unto Pharaoh, impatient to see what the end would be.

4. Wherefore do ye — Rather, Wherefore make ye the people cease from their work, by this conference with them and agitation? Then to the elders of Israel, who stood with Moses and Aaron, he says, Get you unto your burdens.

V. 5. The people are many-Therefore your injury to me is the greater, in attempting to make them rest from their labours.

Verse 5. The people of the land now are many] The sanguinary edict had no doubt been long before repealed, or they could not have multiplied so greatly.

Verses 5, 6. The people are many — Therefore your injury to me is greater, in attempting to make them rest from their labours. The task-masters — Were Egyptians; the officers — Were Israelites employed under them, who, as appears from verse 14, were some of the heads of the people, obliged, under the penalty of punishment, to take care that a certain number of bricks were furnished by them daily.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

V. 6. The task-masters, were Egyptians, the officers were Israelites employed under them.

Verse 6. The task-masters of the people and their officers] The task-masters were Egyptians, (see Clarke on “Exodus 1:11”,) the officers were Hebrews; see Clarke below “Exodus 5:14”. But it is probable that the task-masters Exodus 1:11, who are called µysm yrc sarey missim, princes of the burdens or taxes, were different from those termed taskmasters here, as the words are different; µycgn nogesim signifies exactors or oppressors-persons who exacted from them an unreasonable proportion either of labour or money.

Officers.-µyrcv shoterim; those seem to have been an inferior sort of officers, who attended on superior officers or magistrates to execute their orders. They are supposed to have been something like our sheriffs.

Verses 5, 6. The people are many — Therefore your injury to me is greater, in attempting to make them rest from their labours. The task-masters — Were Egyptians; the officers — Were Israelites employed under them, who, as appears from verse 14, were some of the heads of the people, obliged, under the penalty of punishment, to take care that a certain number of bricks were furnished by them daily.

Ver. 6. Taskmasters, or exacters. They were Egyptians; but the officers or overlookers were Israelites, as appears from the fourteenth verse.

6-9. Increase of the oppression is the fierce and despotic reply to their request. Two grades of officers are now mentioned in addition to the sarim, or Egyptian superintendents, mentioned Exodus 1:11, namely, the (Egyptian) overseers — rendered taskmasters — and (Hebrew) scribes, (shoterim,) rendered officers. These Hebrew shoterim, or scribes, were so called because of the great amount of writing which the Egyptian method of supervision required. Writing was used as much in the ancient Egyptian business as it is in the American business of to-day. Wilkinson relates that in the accounts which the overseers of shepherds were required to present to the steward’s scribes, “Every egg was noted and entered, with the chickens and goslings. And, in order to prevent any connivance, or a question respecting the accuracy of a report, two scribes received it from the superintendent at the same moment. Every thing was done in writing. Bureaucracy was as consequential in Egypt as in modern Austria or France. Scribes were required, on every occasion, to settle public or private questions; no bargain of consequence was made without the voucher of a written document.… They would have been in an agony of mind to see us so careless and so duped in many of our railway and other speculations.” Egyptian deeds and conveyances were documents most formidable for length, and bristled with circumlocution and circumstantiality enough to gladden the heart of a modern lawyer. The following cut, from a Theban monument, represents a superintendent of an estate giving an account of stock to two scribes.

It will thus be seen how thoroughly the Hebrews were trained in writing during their Egyptian sojourn, and were thus providentially qualified to prepare and preserve the most valuable documents in the world. Yet we are not to think of them as learning the art in Egypt, for, as Ewald shows, (Hist. Israel, i, p. 51,) this great art was known in the alphabetic form among the Shemitic nations before the time of Moses.

V. 7. Straw-To mix with the clay, or to burn the brick with.

Verse 7. Straw to make brick] There have been many conjectures concerning the use of straw in making bricks. Some suppose it was used merely for burning them, but this is unfounded. The eastern bricks are often made of clay and straw kneaded together, and then not burned, but thoroughly dried in the sun. This is expressly mentioned by Philo in his life of Moses, who says, describing the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, that some were obliged to work in clay for the formation of bricks, and others to gather straw for the same purpose, because straw is the bond by which the brick is held together, plinqou gar acora desmov.-PHIL. Oper., edit. MANG., vol. ii., p. 86. And Philo’s account is confirmed by the most intelligent travellers. Dr. Shaw says that the straw in the bricks still preserves its original colour, which is a proof that the bricks were never burned. Some of these are still to be seen in the cabinets of the curious; and there are several from ancient Babylon now before me, where the straw which was amalgamated with the clay is still perfectly visible. From this we may see the reason of the complaint made to Pharaoh, Exodus 5:16: the Egyptians refused to give the necessary portion of straw for kneading the bricks, and yet they required that the full tale or number of bricks should be produced each day as they did when all the necessary materials were brought to hand; so the people were obliged to go over all the cornfields, and pluck up the stubble, which they were obliged to substitute for straw. See Exodus 5:12.

Verse 7. Straw — To mix with the clay. Shaw tells us in his Travels, (p. 136,) that “the composition of bricks in Egypt was only a mixture of clay, mud, and straw, slightly blended and kneaded together, and afterward baked in the sun. Paleis cohærent lateres, says Philo in his Life of Moses. The straw which keeps these bricks together in Egypt, and still preserves its original colour, seems to be a proof that these bricks were never burned nor made in kilns.” The straw therefore, was not wanted for burning them with it.

Ver. 7. Ye shall no more give the people straw. In Egypt the people use straw and chaff for their ovens; the straw was here used to burn the bricks, and to preserve the mass of clay from drying too fast. Hence the tasks, by the refusal of straw, were almost doubled. The clay was mixed with straw, and often only dried in the sun; but all the bricks exposed to the weather were burned.

6-9. Increase of the oppression is the fierce and despotic reply to their request. Two grades of officers are now mentioned in addition to the sarim, or Egyptian superintendents, mentioned Exodus 1:11, namely, the (Egyptian) overseers — rendered taskmasters — and (Hebrew) scribes, (shoterim,) rendered officers. These Hebrew shoterim, or scribes, were so called because of the great amount of writing which the Egyptian method of supervision required. Writing was used as much in the ancient Egyptian business as it is in the American business of to-day. Wilkinson relates that in the accounts which the overseers of shepherds were required to present to the steward’s scribes, “Every egg was noted and entered, with the chickens and goslings. And, in order to prevent any connivance, or a question respecting the accuracy of a report, two scribes received it from the superintendent at the same moment. Every thing was done in writing. Bureaucracy was as consequential in Egypt as in modern Austria or France. Scribes were required, on every occasion, to settle public or private questions; no bargain of consequence was made without the voucher of a written document.… They would have been in an agony of mind to see us so careless and so duped in many of our railway and other speculations.” Egyptian deeds and conveyances were documents most formidable for length, and bristled with circumlocution and circumstantiality enough to gladden the heart of a modern lawyer. The following cut, from a Theban monument, represents a superintendent of an estate giving an account of stock to two scribes.

It will thus be seen how thoroughly the Hebrews were trained in writing during their Egyptian sojourn, and were thus providentially qualified to prepare and preserve the most valuable documents in the world. Yet we are not to think of them as learning the art in Egypt, for, as Ewald shows, (Hist. Israel, i, p. 51,) this great art was known in the alphabetic form among the Shemitic nations before the time of Moses.

V. 8. They are idle-The cities they built for Pharaoh, were witnesses for them that they were not idle; yet he thus basely misrepresents them, that he might have a pretence to increase their burdens.

Verse 8. And the tale of the bricks] Tale signifies the number, from the Anglo-Saxon [Anglo-Saxon], to number, to count, &c.

For they be idle; therefore they cry-Let us go and sacrifice] Thus their desire to worship the true God in a proper manner was attributed to their unwillingness to work; a reflection which the Egyptians (in principle) of the present day cast on these who, while they are fervent in spirit serving the Lord, are not slothful in business. See Clarke below “Exodus 5:17”.

Verse 8. They are idle — The cities they built for Pharaoh were witnesses for them that they were not idle; yet he thus basely misrepresents them, that he might have a pretence to increase their burdens.

6-9. Increase of the oppression is the fierce and despotic reply to their request. Two grades of officers are now mentioned in addition to the sarim, or Egyptian superintendents, mentioned Exodus 1:11, namely, the (Egyptian) overseers — rendered taskmasters — and (Hebrew) scribes, (shoterim,) rendered officers. These Hebrew shoterim, or scribes, were so called because of the great amount of writing which the Egyptian method of supervision required. Writing was used as much in the ancient Egyptian business as it is in the American business of to-day. Wilkinson relates that in the accounts which the overseers of shepherds were required to present to the steward’s scribes, “Every egg was noted and entered, with the chickens and goslings. And, in order to prevent any connivance, or a question respecting the accuracy of a report, two scribes received it from the superintendent at the same moment. Every thing was done in writing. Bureaucracy was as consequential in Egypt as in modern Austria or France. Scribes were required, on every occasion, to settle public or private questions; no bargain of consequence was made without the voucher of a written document.… They would have been in an agony of mind to see us so careless and so duped in many of our railway and other speculations.” Egyptian deeds and conveyances were documents most formidable for length, and bristled with circumlocution and circumstantiality enough to gladden the heart of a modern lawyer. The following cut, from a Theban monument, represents a superintendent of an estate giving an account of stock to two scribes.

It will thus be seen how thoroughly the Hebrews were trained in writing during their Egyptian sojourn, and were thus providentially qualified to prepare and preserve the most valuable documents in the world. Yet we are not to think of them as learning the art in Egypt, for, as Ewald shows, (Hist. Israel, i, p. 51,) this great art was known in the alphabetic form among the Shemitic nations before the time of Moses.

V. 9. Vain words-Those of Moses and Aaron.

Verse 9. Vain words — Those of Moses and Aaron, which he said were vain, or false; that is, that they falsely pretended that their God had commanded them to go and worship, when it was only a crafty design of their own to advance themselves by raising sedition.

6-9. Increase of the oppression is the fierce and despotic reply to their request. Two grades of officers are now mentioned in addition to the sarim, or Egyptian superintendents, mentioned Exodus 1:11, namely, the (Egyptian) overseers — rendered taskmasters — and (Hebrew) scribes, (shoterim,) rendered officers. These Hebrew shoterim, or scribes, were so called because of the great amount of writing which the Egyptian method of supervision required. Writing was used as much in the ancient Egyptian business as it is in the American business of to-day. Wilkinson relates that in the accounts which the overseers of shepherds were required to present to the steward’s scribes, “Every egg was noted and entered, with the chickens and goslings. And, in order to prevent any connivance, or a question respecting the accuracy of a report, two scribes received it from the superintendent at the same moment. Every thing was done in writing. Bureaucracy was as consequential in Egypt as in modern Austria or France. Scribes were required, on every occasion, to settle public or private questions; no bargain of consequence was made without the voucher of a written document.… They would have been in an agony of mind to see us so careless and so duped in many of our railway and other speculations.” Egyptian deeds and conveyances were documents most formidable for length, and bristled with circumlocution and circumstantiality enough to gladden the heart of a modern lawyer. The following cut, from a Theban monument, represents a superintendent of an estate giving an account of stock to two scribes.

It will thus be seen how thoroughly the Hebrews were trained in writing during their Egyptian sojourn, and were thus providentially qualified to prepare and preserve the most valuable documents in the world. Yet we are not to think of them as learning the art in Egypt, for, as Ewald shows, (Hist. Israel, i, p. 51,) this great art was known in the alphabetic form among the Shemitic nations before the time of Moses.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

11. Get you straw — For the sun-baked bricks, which were made of Nile mud mixed with cut straw, as is seen in specimens still preserved. Similar oppression and a like unreasonable exaction are on record in an Egyptian papyrus of the nineteenth dynasty, wherein the writer complains, “I have no one to help me in making bricks, no straw.”

12. To gather stubble instead of straw — Literally, for the straw. The Egyptians cut the grain first below the ear, leaving a long stubble, which was chopped into straw. The Israelites were now scattered over all the grain fields to gather stubble for themselves.

The cut on the next page shows an Egyptian field, with the stubble standing in a portion of it as the reapers have left it, and gives another view of the scribes.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

V. 14. In thy own people-For if they had given us straw, we should have fulfilled our task.

Verse 14. And the officers-were beaten] Probably bastinadoed; for this is the common punishment in Egypt to the present day for minor offences. The manner of it is this: the culprit lies on his belly, his legs being turned up behind erect, and the executioner gives him so many blows on the soles of the feet with a stick. This is a very severe punishment, the sufferer not being able to walk for many weeks after, and some are lamed by it through the whole of their lives.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

15, 16. The Hebrew scribes come to Pharaoh and complain that they are beaten for not performing an impossible task. The monuments also give us pictures of labourers working under the stick, showing that it was customary for the superintendents to stimulate by blows. There is a papyrus, translated by M. Chabas, which relates the punishment of twelve labourers who failed to make up the required “tale of bricks.” The Egyptians had much confidence in the virtue of corporeal punishment.

Verse 16. The fault is in thine own people.] tacj chatath, the SIN, is in thy own people. 1st. Because they require impossibilities; and 2dly, because they punish us for not doing what cannot be performed.

Verse 16. The fault is in thine own people — That is, in the Egyptian task-masters; who, by sending us abroad to gather straw, hinder us from doing the work which they require; and so are both unjust and unreasonable. For if they had given us straw we should have fulfilled our tasks.

15, 16. The Hebrew scribes come to Pharaoh and complain that they are beaten for not performing an impossible task. The monuments also give us pictures of labourers working under the stick, showing that it was customary for the superintendents to stimulate by blows. There is a papyrus, translated by M. Chabas, which relates the punishment of twelve labourers who failed to make up the required “tale of bricks.” The Egyptians had much confidence in the virtue of corporeal punishment.

Verse 17. Ye are idle-therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice] It is common for those who feel unconcerned about their own souls to attribute the religious earnestness of others, who feel the importance of eternal things, to idleness or a disregard of their secular concerns. Strange that they cannot see there is a medium! He who has commanded them to be diligent in business, has also commanded them to be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. He whose diligence in business is not connected with a true religious fervour of spirit, is a lover of the world; and whatever form he may have he has not the power of godliness, and therefore is completely out of the road to salvation.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

Verse 19. Did see that they were in evil case] They saw that they could neither expect justice nor mercy; that their deliverance was very doubtful, and their case almost hopeless.

THE INTERCESSION OF MOSES WITH PHARAOH, AND THE RESULT, 1-23.

1. The era of preparation ends, and the first act of the struggle begins. Moses and Aaron open their mission to Pharaoh. Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, so the phrase should be rendered, since “Jehovah” is the proper name, and not the compound word “Lord God,” as the Authorized Version would indicate. Moses and Aaron do not at first demand national independence. It is a far more moderate request to be permitted to sacrifice according to the command of Jehovah. As all nations had their forms of worship, and as religious claims were everywhere acknowledged to be paramount, this was no unreasonable petition, especially in Egypt, where religious festivals and processions were a most familiar pageant. At the same time it contained the core principle of Israel’s mission — recognition of Jehovah. See on Exodus 3:18, 19. It is a strange and irreverent misconception that has led some interpreters to consider this a deceptive request.

20, 21. The bastinadoed shoterim have now lost all faith in Moses and Aaron, for they feel that the yoke that was to have been broken is only tightened. They forget that this is exactly what might have been expected from Jehovah’s prediction. Exodus 3:19, 20.

V. 21. The Lord look upon you, and judge-They should have humbled themselves before God, but instead of that they fly in the face of their best friends. Those that are called to public service for God and their generation, must expect to be tried not only by the threats of proud enemies, but by the unjust and unkind censures of unthinking friends. To put a sword in their hand to slay us-To give them the occasion they have long sought for.

Verse 21. The Lord look upon you, and judge] These were hasty and unkind expressions; but the afflicted must be allowed the privilege of complaining; it is all the solace that such sorrow can find; and if in such distress words are spoken which should not be justified, yet the considerate and benevolent will hear them with indulgence. God is merciful; and the stroke of this people was heavier even than their groaning. Put a sword in their hand] Given them a pretence which they had not before, to oppress us even unto death.

Verse 21. The Lord look upon you and judge — They should have humbled themselves before God, but instead of that they fly in the face of their best friends. Those that are called to public service for God and their generation, must expect to be tried not only by the threats of proud enemies, but by the unjust and unkind censures of unthinking friends. To put a sword in their hand to slay us — To give them the occasion they have long sought for.

20, 21. The bastinadoed shoterim have now lost all faith in Moses and Aaron, for they feel that the yoke that was to have been broken is only tightened. They forget that this is exactly what might have been expected from Jehovah’s prediction. Exodus 3:19, 20.

V. 22. He expostulated with him. He knew not how to reconcile the providence with the promise, and the commission he had received. Is this God’s coming down to deliver Israel? Must I who hoped to be a blessing to them become a scourge to them? By this attempt to get them out of the pit, they are but sunk the farther into it. Wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people-Even when God is coming towards his people in ways of mercy, yet sometimes he takes such methods that they may think themselves but ill-treated: when they think so, they should go to God by prayer, and that is the way to have better treatment in God’s good time. Why is it that thou hast sent me-Pharaoh has done evil to this people, and not one step seems to be taken towards their deliverance. It cannot but sit very heavy upon the spirits of those whom God employs for him, to see that their labour doth no good, and much more to see that it doth hurt, eventually, though not designedly.

Verse 22. And Moses returned unto the Lord] This may imply, either that there was a particular place into which Moses ordinarily went to commune with Jehovah; or it may mean that kind of turning of heart and affection to God, which every pious mind feels itself disposed to practise in any time or place. The old adage will apply here: “A praying heart never lacks a praying place.”

Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?] It is certain that in this address Moses uses great plainness of speech. Whether the offspring of a testy impatience and undue familiarity, or of strong faith which gave him more than ordinary access to the throne of his gracious Sovereign, it would be difficult to say. The latter appears to be the most probable, as we do not find, from the succeeding chapter, that God was displeased with his freedom; we may therefore suppose that it was kept within due bounds, and that the principles and motives were all pure and good. However, it should be noted, that such freedom of speech with the Most High should never be used but on very special occasions, and then only by his extraordinary messengers.

Verse 22. Moses returned unto the Lord — And expostulated with him. He knew not how to reconcile the providence with the promise, and the commission he had received. Is this God’s coming down to deliver Israel? Must I, who hoped to be a blessing to them, become a scourge to them? By this attempt to get them out of the pit, they are but sunk the farther into it. Wherefore hast thou so evil-entreated this people? — Even when God is coming toward his people in ways of mercy, yet sometimes he takes such methods that they may think themselves but ill-treated; when they think so, they should go to God by prayer, which is the way to have better treatment in God’s good time. Why is it that thou hast sent me? — Pharaoh has done evil to this people, and not one step seems to be taken toward their deliverance. It cannot but sit very heavy upon the spirits of those whom God employs for him, to see that their labour doth no good, and much more to see that it doth hurt eventually, though not designedly.

22, 23. Moses, too, smarting under the accusations of his brethren, and also wounded by sympathy for their increased sufferings, returns to Jehovah with passionate entreaty for an explanation of his providence. There is a characteristic vehemence — an almost irreverent impetuosity — in his prayer, most natural to the man, and yet betraying a weakness which any writer of the Jewish ages would have been glad to hide. Only Moses could have written this, and only inspired man could write with such unworldly objectivity of himself.

Verse 23. He hath done evil to this people] Their misery is increased instead of being diminished.

Neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.] The marginal reading is both literal and correct: And delivering thou hast not delivered. Thou hast begun the work by giving us counsels and a commission, but thou hast not brought the people from under their bondage. Thou hast signified thy pleasure relative to their deliverance, but thou hast not brought them out of the hands of their enemies.

1. IT is no certain proof of the displeasure of God that a whole people, or an individual, may be found in a state of great oppression and distress; nor are affluence and prosperity any certain signs of his approbation. God certainly loved the Israelites better than he did the Egyptians; yet the former were in the deepest adversity, while the latter were in the height of prosperity. Luther once observed, that if secular prosperity were to be considered as a criterion of the Divine approbation, then the grand Turk must be the highest in the favour of God, as he was at that time the most prosperous sovereign on the earth. An observation of this kind, on a case so obvious, was really well calculated to repress hasty conclusions drawn from these external states, and to lay down a correct rule of judgment for all such occasions.

2. In all our addresses to God we should ever remember that we have sinned against him, and deserve nothing but punishment from his hand. We should therefore bow before him with the deepest humiliation of soul, and take that caution of the wise man, “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth; therefore let thy words be few,” Ecclesiastes 5:2. There is the more need to attend to this caution, because many ignorant though well-meaning people use very improper, not to say indecent, freedoms in their addresses to the throne of grace. With such proceedings God cannot be well pleased; and he who has not a proper impression of the dignity and excellence of the Divine Nature, is not in such a disposition as it is essentially necessary to feel in order to receive help from God. He who knows he has sinned, and feels that he is less than the least of all God’s mercies, will pray with the deepest humility, and even rejoice before God with trembling. A solemn AWE of the Divine Majesty is not less requisite to successful praying, than faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When we have such a commission as that of Moses, we may make use of his freedom of speech; but till then, the publican’s prayer will best suit the generality of those who are even dignified by the name of Christian-Lord, be merciful to ME, a SINNER!

EXODUS

22, 23. Moses, too, smarting under the accusations of his brethren, and also wounded by sympathy for their increased sufferings, returns to Jehovah with passionate entreaty for an explanation of his providence. There is a characteristic vehemence — an almost irreverent impetuosity — in his prayer, most natural to the man, and yet betraying a weakness which any writer of the Jewish ages would have been glad to hide. Only Moses could have written this, and only inspired man could write with such unworldly objectivity of himself.