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Exodus Chapter
Five
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 5
Moses and Aaron go in to
Pharaoh, and desire leave for the children of Israel to go into the wilderness
three days' journey, to sacrifice to the Lord, and are answered in a very
churlish and atheistical manner, and are charged with making the people idle,
the consequence of which was, the taskmasters had orders, to make their work
more heavy and toilsome, Exodus 5:1 which
orders were executed with severity by them, Exodus 5:10, upon
which the officers of the children of Israel complained to Pharaoh, but to no
purpose, Exodus 5:14, and
meeting with Moses and Aaron, lay the blame upon them, Exodus 5:20, which
sends Moses to the Lord to expostulate with him about it, Exodus 5:22.
Exodus 5:1 Afterward Moses
and Aaron went in and told Pharaoh, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel:
‘Let My people go, that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
YLT 1And afterwards have Moses and Aaron entered,
and they say unto Pharaoh, `Thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Send My people
away, and they keep a feast to Me in the wilderness;'
And afterwards
Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh,.... Whose name, some
say, was Cenchres, others Amenophis, according to Manetho and ChaeremonF8Apud
Joseph. contr. Apion. l. 1. c. 26. 32. ; See Gill
on Exodus 3:10 went
into Pharaoh's palace, and being introduced by the proper officer at court for
that purpose, addressed him in the following manner:
thus saith the
Lord God of Israel: as ambassadors of him, who is King of kings, and Lord of lords;
and so ArtapanusF9Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 434.
, the Heathen, says that the Egyptian king, hearing that Moses was come, sent
for him to know wherefore he was come, who told him, that the Lord of the world
commanded him to let the Jews go, as it follows here:
let my people
go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness; in the
wilderness of Sinai or Arabia, at Horeb there, where they might keep it more
freely and safely, without being disturbed by the Egyptians, and without giving
any offence to them; and the demand is just; they were the people of God, and
therefore he claims them, and service from them was due to him; and Pharaoh had
no right to detain them, and what is required was but their reasonable service
they owed to their God. This feast was to be held, not for themselves, but to
God, which chiefly consisted in offering sacrifice, as is after explained; the
entire dismission of them is not at once demanded, only to go a little while
into the wilderness, and keep a feast there to the Lord; though it was not
intended they should return, but it was put in this form to try Pharaoh, and
that he might be the more inexcusable in refusing to grant what was so
reasonable.
Exodus 5:2 2 And
Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His
voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel
go.”
YLT 2and Pharaoh saith, `Who [is] Jehovah, that I
hearken to His voice, to send Israel away? I have not known Jehovah, and Israel
also I do not send away.'
And Pharaoh
said, who is the Lord,.... Jehovah, they made mention of, which, whether he took it for
the name of a deity, or of a king, whose ambassadors they declared themselves
to be, was a name he had never heard of before; and this being expressed and
pronounced, shows that this name is not ineffable, or unlawful to be
pronounced, as say the Jews:
that I should
obey his voice, to let Israel go? he knew of no superior
monarch to him, whose orders he was obliged to obey in any respect, and
particularly in this, the dismission of the people of Israel out of his land,
though it was but for a short time:
I know not the
Lord; who this Jehovah is, that made this demand, and required
Israel's dismission. The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,"I have not
found the name of Jehovah written in the book of angels, I am not afraid of
him.'An Egyptian book, in which, the paraphrast supposes, were written the
names of gods and of angels; and no such name being there, he was the more bold
and insolent:
neither will I
let Israel go; determining he would pay no regard to such an unknown Deity, or
King, be he who he would.
Exodus 5:3 3 So
they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please, let us go three
days’ journey into the desert and sacrifice to the Lord our God, lest
He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.”
YLT 3And they say, `The God of the Hebrews hath
met with us, let us go, we pray thee, a journey of three days into the
wilderness, and we sacrifice to Jehovah our God, lest He meet us with
pestilence or with sword.'
And they said,
the God of the Hebrews hath met with us,.... Perceiving that the
name Jehovah was unknown to him, and treated by him in a scornful manner, they
leave it out, and only say, "the God of the Hebrews": a people that
dwelt in his country, he well knew by this name, and could not be ignorant that
their God was different from his; and it was he that had met Moses and Aaron;
they did not seek to him to be sent on this errand, but he appeared to them as
he did to Moses at Horeb, and to Aaron in Egypt. Some render it, "the God
of the Hebrews is called upon us"F6נקרא
עלינו "est invocatus super nos", Montanus.
So some in Vatablus, Drusius. ; his name was called upon them, or they were
called by his name; they were his servants and worshippers, and therefore under
obligation to attend to what he enjoined them:
let us go, we
pray thee, three days' journey into the desert: a request which was made
in a very humble and modest manner, and not at all extravagant, nor anything
dangerous and disadvantageous to him; for now they speak as of themselves, and
therefore humbly entreat him; they do not ask to be wholly and for ever set
free, only to go for three days; they do not propose to meet and have their
rendezvous in any part of his country, much less in his metropolis, where he
night fear they would rise in a body, and seize upon his person and treasure,
only to go into the wilderness, to Mount Sinai there. And hence it appears,
that the distance between Egypt and Mount Sinai was three days' journey, to go
the straightest way, as Aben Ezra observes:
and sacrifice
unto the Lord our God: which is what was meant by keeping a feast; some sacrifices the
people, as well as the priests, feasted on; this was not a civil, but a
religious concern:
lest he fall
upon us with pestilence, or with the sword: this they urge as a
reason to have their request granted, taken from the danger they should be
exposed unto, should they not be allowed to go and offer sacrifice to God;
though by this they might suggest both loss and danger to Pharaoh, in order to
stir him up the more to listen to their request; for should they be smitten
with pestilence, or the sword, he would lose the benefit of their bond service,
which would be a considerable decline in his revenues; and besides, if God
would be so displeased with the Israelites for not going, and not sacrificing,
when they were detained, how much more displeased would he be with Pharaoh and
the Egyptians for hindering them?
Exodus 5:4 4 Then
the king of Egypt said to them, “Moses and Aaron, why do you take the people
from their work? Get back to your labor.”
YLT 4And the king of Egypt saith unto them, `Why,
Moses and Aaron, do ye free the people from its works? go to your burdens.'
And the king of
Egypt said to them,.... For he was not struck dumb, as ArtapanusF7Ut
supra. (Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 434.) , afore cited
writer, says:
wherefore do
ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? as they did
when they gathered them together, and wrought signs before them; which Pharaoh
it seems had heard of, and had got their names very readily:
get you unto
your burdens; meaning not Moses and Aaron, ordering them to go about their
private and family business, but the people they represented, and on whose
account they came; and it is highly probable the elders of the people, at least
some of them, were with them, to whom these words might be more particularly
directed. See Exodus 3:18.
Exodus 5:5 5 And
Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are many now, and you make
them rest from their labor!”
YLT 5Pharaoh also saith, `Lo, numerous now [is]
the people of the land, and ye have caused them to cease from their burdens!'
And Pharaoh
said, behold, the people of the land now are many,.... So that
if some were taken off, as suggested, there were enough of them to do business
and so he cared not; but if allowed to go, they might mutiny and rebel, and
give a great deal of trouble to quell them; or it may be, the sense is, they
were very numerous, and too numerous already, and if they were took off of
their work, and allowed to go a feasting, they would be more so, which agrees
with the next clause:
and you make
them rest from their burdens; which was the way to make them more
numerous still, and to frustrate the design of laying burdens upon them, which
was originally intended to hinder the multiplication of them, Exodus 1:9.
Exodus 5:6 6 So
the same day Pharaoh commanded the taskmasters of the people and their
officers, saying,
YLT 6And Pharaoh commandeth, on that day, the
exactors among the people and its authorities, saying,
And Pharaoh
commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people,.... Who were
Egyptians, and whom Pharaoh sent for the same day, to give them orders to
oppress them yet more and more, so far was he from complying with their
request:
and their officers; who were Israelites, and were under the
taskmasters, and accountable to them for each man's work that they had the
inspection and care of:
saying, as follows.
Exodus 5:7 7 “You
shall no longer give the people straw to make brick as before. Let them go and
gather straw for themselves.
YLT 7`Ye do not add to give straw to the people
for the making of the bricks, as heretofore -- they go and have gathered straw
for themselves;
Ye shall no
more give the people straw to make brick,.... Whether this was
given and used to mix with the clay, as is done in some placesF8Vide
Vitruvium de Architectura, l. 2. c. 3. p. 46. & Philander in ib. , that the
bricks made thereof might be firmer and stronger, or to burn them with in the
furnaces, or to cover them from the heat of the sun, that they might not dry
too soon and crack, is not easy to determine; though it is said that the
unburnt bricks of Egypt formerly were, and still are made of clay mixed with
straw. The Egyptian pyramid of unburnt brick, Dr. PocockeF9Observations
on Egypt, p. 53. observes, seems to be made of the earth brought by the Nile,
being of a sandy black earth, with some pebbles and shells in it; it is mixed
up with chopped straw, in order to bind the clay together, as they now make
unburnt bricks in Egypt, and many other eastern parts, which they use very much
in their buildings. He says he found some of these bricks (of the pyramid)
thirteen inches and a half long, six inches and a half broad, and four inches
thick; and others fifteen inches long, seven broad, and four inches three
quarters thick. But be the straw for what use it will, it had been dealt out to
them by proper persons to be used in one way or another; but now it was
forbidden to be given them:
as heretofore it had been
done:
let them go and
gather straw for themselves; out of the fields where it lay, after the
corn had been reaped and gathered in, or in barns, where it had been threshed;
to do which must take up a good deal of their time, and especially if the straw
lay at any distance, or was hard to be come at.
Exodus 5:8 8 And
you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not
reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and
sacrifice to our God.’
YLT 8and the proper quantity of the bricks which
they are making heretofore ye do put on them, ye do not diminish from it, for
they are remiss, therefore they are crying, saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice
to our God;
And the tale of
the bricks, which they did make heretofore, you shall lay upon them,.... Oblige
them to make and bring in the same number of bricks they used to do, when straw
was brought to them and given them; by which it appears, that their daily task
was such a number of bricks:
you shall not
diminish ought thereof; not make any abatement of the number of bricks, in consideration
of their loss of time and their labour in going to fetch straw from other
places:
for they be
idle; and want to be indulged in a lazy disposition, which ought by no
means to be connived at:
therefore they
cry, let us go and sacrifice to our God; suggesting, that this
request and cry of theirs did not proceed from a religious principle, or the
great veneration they had for their God, but from the sloth and idleness they
were addicted to.
Exodus 5:9 9 Let
more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not
regard false words.”
YLT 9let the service be heavy on the men, and let
them work at it, and not be dazzled by lying words.'
Let there more
work be laid upon the men,.... Instead of lessening it, let it be
increased, or "be heavy"F11תכבד
"aggravetur", Pagninus, Montanus, &c. upon them, that it may
oppress and afflict them and keep them down, and weaken their strength and
their spirits, and diminish them:
that they may
labour therein; and have no leisure time to spend in idleness and sloth:
and let them
not regard vain words; or "words of falsehood"F12בדברי "in verbis mendacii", Pagninus, Montanus,
Vatablus. "Verbis falsis", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. and
lies, such as were spoken by Moses and Aaron, promising them liberty and
deliverance from their bondage, which he was determined never to grant, and so
eventually make such words to appear to be vain and empty, falsehood and lies.
Exodus 5:10 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.
YLT 10And the exactors of the people, and its authorities,
go out, and speak unto the people, saying, `Thus said Pharaoh, I do not give
you straw,
And the
taskmasters of the people went out,.... From the presence of
Pharaoh, out of his court, to the respective places where they were set to see
that the Israelites did their work:
and their
officers; the officers of the Israelites, who were under the taskmasters,
and answerable to them for the work of the people, and their tale of bricks:
and they spake
to the people, saying, thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw; that is, any
longer, as he had used to do.
Exodus 5:11 11 Go, get yourselves straw
where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’”
YLT 11ye -- go ye, take for yourselves straw where
ye find [it], for there is nothing of your service diminished.'
Go ye, get ye
straw, where you can find it,.... Before it was provided by the king, and
brought to the brickkilns, but now they are bid to go and fetch it themselves,
and get it where they could, whether in fields or barns; and if they were
obliged to pay for it out of their labour; it was a greater oppression still:
yet not ought
of your work shall be diminished; they were to do the same
work, and make the same number of bricks, as when straw was brought and given
them; and no allowance made for waste of time in seeking, or expenses in
procuring straw, which was very hard upon them.
Exodus 5:12 12 So
the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather
stubble instead of straw.
YLT 12And the people is scattered over all the land
of Egypt, to gather stubble for straw,
So the people
were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt,.... That part
of it where they dwelt:
to gather
stubble instead of straw; straw not being easy to come at, they were obliged to gather
stubble that was left in the fields, after the corn was gathered in. Ben Melech
observes, that the word signifies small straw, or small sticks of wood, and
KimchiF13Sepher Shorash, rad. קשש. , and
if so, this must be to burn the bricks with in the furnaces.
Exodus 5:13 13 And
the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your
daily quota, as when there was straw.”
YLT 13and the exactors are making haste, saying,
`Complete your works, the matter of a day in its day, as when there is straw.'
And the
taskmasters hasted them, Kept them tight and close to their work, and were urgent on them
to make quick dispatch of it:
saying, fulfil
your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw; they insisted
upon it, that they did the same business at the brickkilns, made the same
number of bricks every day, as they used to do when they had straw at hand. See
Exodus 5:11.
Exodus 5:14 14 Also
the officers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over
them, were beaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task
in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”
YLT 14And the authorities of the sons of Israel,
whom the exactors of Pharaoh have placed over them, are beaten, saying,
`Wherefore have ye not completed your portion in making brick as heretofore,
both yesterday and to-day?'
And the
officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over
them,.... This makes it clear, not only that the taskmasters and
officers were different persons, but that the one were Egyptians appointed by
Pharaoh, and the other were Israelites, of the better sort of them, who were
set over the poorer sort by the taskmasters, to look after them, and take an
account of their work, and the tale of their bricks, and give it in to the taskmasters;
now these
were beaten by the
taskmasters, either with a cane, stick, or cudgel, or with whips and scourges,
because there was a deficiency in their accounts, and the full tale of bricks
was not given in:
and demanded, wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making
brick, both yesterday and today, as heretofore? the first day they were
deficient they took no notice of it, did not call them to an account for it,
but this being the case the second day, they not only expostulated with them
about it, but beat them for it, which was hard usage. They had no need to ask
them the reason of it, which they knew very well, and must be sensible that the
men could not do the same work, and be obliged to spend part of their time in
going about for straw or stubble; or the same number of men make the same tale
of bricks, when some of them were employed to get straw for the rest, and to
beat those officers for a deficiency through such means was cruel.
Exodus 5:15 15 Then
the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying,
“Why are you dealing thus with your servants?
YLT 15And the authorities of the sons of Israel
come in and cry unto Pharaoh, saying, `Why dost thou thus to thy servants?
Then the
officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh,.... Made
their complaints to him, perhaps with tears in their eyes, being used so very
ill. They little thought it was by Pharaoh's orders; they supposed he knew
nothing of it, and therefore hoped to have their grievances redressed by him,
but were mistaken:
saying,
wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? so they call themselves,
they living in his country, and being under his jurisdiction, though not
properly his subjects; however, he had made them his slaves, and so indeed even
bondservants.
Exodus 5:16 16 There
is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And
indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own
people.”
YLT 16Straw is not given to thy servants, and they
are saying to us, Make bricks, and lo, thy servants are smitten -- and thy people
hath sinned.'
There is no
straw given unto thy servants,.... As used to be, which they supposed
Pharaoh knew nothing of, and by which it appears that the order given by
Pharaoh, Exodus 5:6 was not
given in the hearing of the officers, only to the taskmasters, and by them to
be made known to the officers, though indeed both are there mentioned, and both
represent this to the people, Exodus 5:10.
and they say to
us, make brick, though they had no straw to make or burn it with:
and, behold,
thy servants are beaten; because the same number of bricks is not made as heretofore, but
the fault is in thine own people; the taskmasters, who sent the people abroad
to get straw or stubble themselves, and therefore could not make the same
bricks as before; or "thy people sin"F14וחטאת עמך "et peccat populus
tuns", Montanus, Drusius, Cartwright. , the guilt is theirs: or by thy
people are meant the Israelites, whom they call Pharaoh's people to gain favour
with him; and then the sense is, either "sin" is imputed "to thy
people"F15So Vatablus, Piscator, and some in Munster, Pagninus.
, the blame is laid upon them, or punishment is inflicted on them without
cause, sin being often put for punishment; they are wrongfully charged with a
fault, and wrongfully punished.
Exodus 5:17 17 But
he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and
sacrifice to the Lord.’
YLT 17And he saith, `Remiss -- ye are remiss,
therefore ye are saying, Let us go, let us sacrifice to Jehovah;
But he said, ye
are idle, ye are idle,.... Instead of expressing indignation at the taskmasters, and
relieving the officers and the people, he insults them in a flouting sarcastic
way, charging them with sloth and idleness; and which, for the certainty of it,
or, however, to show how strongly persuaded and fully assured he was of the
truth of it, repeats it, and gives the following as a proof of it:
therefore ye
say, let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord; suggesting that it was
not so much the service and honour of God they regarded, as that they might
have a leisure day from work and labour.
Exodus 5:18 18 Therefore
go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver
the quota of bricks.”
YLT 18and now, go, serve; and straw is not given to
you, and the measure of bricks ye do give.'
Go therefore
now, and work,.... Go about your business, attend to your work, even you
officers, as well as your people; work yourselves, as well as see that your
people do theirs, and do not trouble me with such impertinent applications:
for there shall
no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks; the usual
number of bricks, as the Vulgate Latin version has it; though in Exodus 5:8, it is
rendered in that version the measure of bricks, and so another word is translated
by them, Exodus 5:14, and
perhaps both may be intended, both number and measure; that is, that it was
expected and insisted on that they delivered the full number of bricks they
used to make, and these of full measure; for bricks were made of different
measures, as VitruviusF16Ut supra. (Vide Vitruvium de Architectura,
l. 2. c. 3. p. 46) observes; some among the bricks were of two hands' breadth,
others of four, and a third sort of five. See Gill on Exodus 5:7.
Exodus 5:19 19 And
the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in
trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your
daily quota.”
YLT 19And 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.'
And the
officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case,.... In a bad
condition and circumstances, and that there was no likelihood of their getting
out of them, since Pharaoh treated them after this manner; they saw not only
that the common people were in a bad condition, in great bondage, misery, and
distress, to be obliged to get straw to make brick, and carry in their full
tale as before; but that they themselves were in a bad situation, since for the
deficiency in their people they were like to be beaten for it from time to
time:
after it was
said, ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task; after this
had been said and confirmed by Pharaoh, they had no hope of things being better
with them, but looked upon their unhappy lot as irretrievable.
Exodus 5:20 20 Then,
as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet
them.
YLT 20And they meet Moses and Aaron standing to
meet them, in their coming out from Pharaoh,
And they met
Moses and Aaron,.... The officers of the children of Israel, who had been with
their complaints to Pharaoh:
who stood in
the way as they came forth from Pharaoh; they, had placed
themselves in a proper situation, that they might meet them when they came out,
and know what success they had, and which they were extremely desirous of
hearing; by which they might judge in what temper Pharaoh was, and what they
might for the future expect from him in consequence of their embassy.
Exodus 5:21 21 And they said to them,
“Let the Lord
look on you and judge, because you have made us abhorrent in the sight of
Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to kill
us.”
YLT 21and 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.'
And they said
unto them, the Lord look upon you and judge,.... Or, "will look
upon you and judge"F17ירא־וישפוט
"videbit" "et judicabit", Rivet. ; and so it is either a
prediction of what would be done to them, or an imprecation on them that God
would take notice of their conduct, and punish them, or at least chastise them
for acting the part they had, if not wickedly, yet imprudently:
because you
have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh; or to
"stink"F18הבאש־תאם "fecisti
foetere", V. L. Pagninus, Montanus, Tigurine version, Drusius. ; they were
become vile, abominable, and hateful to him, he could not bear the sight of
them, and treated them as the filth and offscouring of all things; they had
lost their good name, credit, and reputation with him; for leave being asked
for them to go three days' journey into the wilderness, to offer sacrifice, and
keep a feast, they were looked upon as a parcel of idle slothful fellows:
and in the eyes
of his servants; not the taskmasters only, but his nobles, counsellors, and
courtiers:
to put a sword
in their hands to slay us; a proverbial expression, signifying that
they by their conduct had exposed them to the utmost danger, and had given
their enemies an occasion against them, and an opportunity of destroying their
whole nation, under a pretence of disobedience and disloyalty.
Exodus 5:22 22 So
Moses returned to the Lord
and said, “Lord, why have You brought trouble on this people? Why is it
You have sent me?
YLT 22And Moses turneth back unto Jehovah, and
saith, `Lord, why hast Thou done evil to this people? why [is] this? -- Thou
hast sent me!
And Moses
returned unto the Lord,.... Bishop Patrick thinks, that this not only intimates that the
Lord had appeared to Moses since he came into Egypt, but that there was some
settled place where he appeared, and where he might resort to him on all
occasions, and therefore is said to return to him; though it may signify no
more, than that, instead of staying to give an answer to the officers, which he
might be at a loss to do, he went to God, to the throne of grace, by prayer, as
he was wont to do in cases of difficulty:
and said, Lord,
wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? or afflicted
them, and suffered them to be thus afflicted; which to ascribe to God was
right, whatever were the means or instruments; for all afflictions are of him,
and who has always wise reasons for what he does, as he now had; to try the
faith and patience of his people; to make the Egyptians more odious to them,
and so take them off from following their manners, customs, rites, and
superstitions, and make them more desirous of departing from thence to the land
of Canaan, nor seek a return to Egypt again; and that his vengeance on the
Egyptians for such cruelty and inhumanity might appear the more just, and his
power might be seen in the plagues he inflicted on them, and in the deliverance
of his people when reduced to the utmost extremity:
why is it that
thou hast sent me? he seems to wish he had never been sent, and could be glad to be
recalled, something of the same disposition still remaining in him as when
first called; since no end was answered by his mission, no deliverance wrought,
yea, the people were more afflicted and oppressed than before; and therefore he
was at a loss how to account for it that he should be sent at all, seeing
nothing came of it to the good of the people.
Exodus 5:23 23 For
since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people;
neither have You delivered Your people at all.”
YLT 23and 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.'
For since I
came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name,.... Had he come in his
own name, it needed not be wondered at if he should not succeed, but coming in
the name of God, it might have been expected he would, and that Pharaoh would
have been prevailed upon, or obliged to use the people well, and let them go;
but instead of that:
he hath done
evil to this people; afflicted and oppressed them more than ever: see Exodus 5:7, &c.
neither hast
thou delivered thy people at all; there was not the least
thing done towards their deliverance, their affliction was not at all
mitigated, but increased: Moses expected that God would have made a beginning
as soon as he had delivered his message to Pharaoh; that his mind would have
been disposed in favour of the people, and he would have made their bondage
lighter and easier, if he did not dismiss them at once; but, instead of that,
more work was laid upon them, and their burdens were heavier: now this was a
stumbling and a temptation to Moses, to wish he had never been sent; but if he
had called to mind, which he seems to have forgotten, that Pharaoh would not
let the people go at first, until all the wonders were wrought he had given him
power to do, Exodus 4:2 it would
have relieved him, and removed his objections, and put a stop to his
expostulation with God, who gives an answer to them in the following chapter,
without expressing any displeasure at them.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》