(KJV) Exodus 51

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⥃Pharaoh’s First Refusal

[1] And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told2 Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast3 unto me in the wilderness. [2] And Pharaoh said, Who4 [is] the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not5 the Lord, neither6 will I let Israel go. [3] And they said, The God7 of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he8 fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. [4] And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore9 do ye, Moses and Aaron, let10 the people from their works? get you unto your burdens11. [5] And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now [are] many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.12

⥃Bricks and Straw

[6] And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters13 of the people, and their officers14, saying, [7] Ye shall no more give the people straw15 to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. [8] And the tale16 of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay17 upon them; ye shall not diminish [ought] thereof: for they [be] idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go [and] sacrifice to our God. [9] Let there more work be laid upon the men18, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words19.

[10] And the taskmasters20 of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. [11] Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought21 of your work shall be diminished. [12] So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble22 instead of straw. [13] And the taskmasters hasted [them], saying, Fulfil your works, [your] daily tasks23, as when there was straw. [14] And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, [and] demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?

⥃The Cry of the Israelites

[15] Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? [16] There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants [are] beaten; but the fault [is] in thine own people. [17] But he said, Ye [are] idle, [ye are] idle: therefore ye say, Let us go [and] do sacrifice to the Lord.24 [18] Go therefore now, [and] work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver25 the tale of bricks. [19] And the officers of the children of Israel did see [that] they [were] in evil [case26], 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 Lord27 look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour28 to be abhorred29 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 returned30 unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou [so] evil entreated this people? why [is] it31 [that] thou hast sent me? [23] For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name32, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered33 thy people at all.

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  1. Exod 5:1, Pharaoh chides Moses and Aaron for their message; Exod 5:6, He increases the Israelites’ task; Exod 5:15, He checks their complaints; Exod 5:19, They cry out upon Moses and Aaron; Exod 5:22, Moses complains to God. ↩

  2. 1Kgs 21:20; Ps 119:46; Ezek 2:6; Jonah 3:3-4; Matt 10:18, Matt 10:28; Acts 4:29 ↩

  3. Exod 10:9; Isa 25:6; 1Cor 5:8 ↩

  4. Exod 3:19; 2Kgs 18:35; 2Chr 32:15, 2Chr 32:19; Job 21:15; Ps 10:4, Ps 12:4, Ps 14:1 ↩

  5. 1Sam 2:12; John 16:3; Rom 1:28; 2Thess 1:8 ↩

  6. Exod 3:19; Jer 44:16-17 ↩

  7. Exod 3:18 ↩

  8. Deut 28:21; 2Kgs 17:25; 2Chr 30:8; Ezra 7:23; Ezek 6:11; Zech 14:16-19 ↩

  9. Jer 38:4; Amos 7:10; Luke 23:2; Acts 16:20-21, Acts 24:5 ↩

  10. Taphreeoo, from pard, to loose, disengage; and which we render let, from the Anglo-Saxon lettan, to hinder. Ye hinder the people from their work: "Get you unto your burdens." "Let religion alone and mind your work." The language not only of tyranny, but of thoughtless irreligion. ↩

  11. Exod 1:11 ↩

  12. Exod 1:7-11; Prov 14:28 ↩

  13. Nogesim, literally, exactors, oppressors. These taskmasters were Egyptians (Exod 1:11), but the officers were Hebrews. Exod 5:14. Exod 5:10, Exod 5:13, Exod 5:15, Exod 5:19, Exod 1:11; Prov 12:10 ↩

  14. Shoterim, from the Arabic saytara, to overlook, superintend, seems to denote, as musaytar in Arabic also does, overseers, superintendents. They may have been somewhat like the chiefs of trades, who are found in every city in the East; where every trade has a head, who is entrusted with authority over them, and is in some measure answerable for them to Government. Compare Exod 2:14. Num 11:16; Deut 1:15, Deut 16:18; Josh 8:33, Josh 24:1, Josh 24:4; 2Chr 26:11 ↩

  15. The straw was mixed with clay, in order to make the bricks. This is expressly affirmed by Philo (vit. Mos.) who was himself a native of Alexandria, in Egypt. He says, describing the oppression of the Israelites, that some were obliged to work in clay, and others to gather straw for the formation of bricks, πλινθου γαρ αχυρα δεσμος, because straw is the binding of the brick. Philo's account is confirmed by Dr. Shaw, who says that "some of the Egyptian pyramids are made of brick, the composition whereof is only a mixture of clay, mud, and straw, slightly blended and kneaded together, and afterwards baked in the sun. The straw, which keeps the bricks together, and still preserves its original colour, seems to be a proof that these bricks were never burnt or made in kilns." The same materials are now used for building in Egypt. Mr. Baumgarten says, "The houses are for the most part of bricks that are only hardened by the heat of the sun, and mixed with straw to make them firm." Gen 24:25; Judg 19:19 ↩

  16. Tale denotes number, from the Anglo-Saxon taellan, to number, count, etc. ↩

  17. Ps 106:41 ↩

  18. Heb. Let the work be heavy upon the men ↩

  19. 2Kgs 18:20; Job 16:3; Jer 43:2; Zech 1:6; Mal 3:14; Eph 5:6 ↩

  20. Exod 1:11; Prov 29:12 ↩

  21. Exod 5:13-14 ↩

  22. Exod 15:7; Isa 5:24, Isa 47:14; Joel 2:5; Nah 1:10; Obad 1:18; 1Cor 3:12 ↩

  23. Heb. a matter of a day in his day ↩

  24. Matt 26:8; John 6:27; 2Thess 3:10-11 ↩

  25. Ezek 18:18; Dan 2:9-13 ↩

  26. Deut 32:36; Eccl 4:1, Eccl 5:8 ↩

  27. Exod 4:31, Exod 6:9; Gen 16:5 ↩

  28. Eccl 10:1; Joel 2:20; 2Cor 2:15-16 ↩

  29. Heb. to stink, Gen 34:30; 1Sam 13:4, 1Sam 27:12; 2Sam 10:6; 1Chr 19:6 ↩

  30. Exod 17:4; 1Sam 30:6; Ps 73:25; Jer 12:1 ↩

  31. Num 11:14-15; 1Kgs 19:4, 1Kgs 19:10; Jer 20:7; Hab 2:3 ↩

  32. Ps 118:26; Jer 11:21; John 5:43 ↩

  33. Heb. delivering, thou hast not delivered, Isa 26:17-18, Isa 28:16; Heb 10:36-37 ↩