Exodus 5

This chapter belongs to the opening section of Exodus and follows the call of Moses (chapters 3–4). In chapter 4, the people believed the words of Moses and Aaron and worshiped. In chapter 5, the two men go to Pharaoh for the first time, but Pharaoh refuses their demand. As a result, the people's suffering increases.

Outline

• Verses 1–5 Moses and Aaron deliver the LORD's word to Pharaoh: he is to let the people go so that they may hold a feast in the wilderness. When Pharaoh refuses, saying, "Who is the LORD?", the two ask that the people be allowed to go about three days' journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifice. Pharaoh rebukes them for making the people rest from their work.
• Verses 6–9 That same day Pharaoh issues orders to the taskmasters and the officers: the people are no longer to be given straw for making bricks, yet the number of bricks is not to be reduced.
• Verses 10–14 The people scatter throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. The taskmasters beat the officers of the children of Israel for failing to meet the quota.
• Verses 15–19 The officers appeal to Pharaoh, but Pharaoh calls them "idle" and orders them to deliver the full quota.
• Verses 20–21 The officers meet Moses and Aaron on the way and complain against them.
• Verses 22–23 Moses laments before the LORD, asking, "Why is it that thou hast sent me?"

Key Verses

• Exodus 5:1 "Let my people go" — the first appearance of the demand that is repeated throughout the rest of the Exodus narrative.
• Exodus 5:2 "I know not the LORD" — opens a question that runs through the whole book of Exodus: who will come to know the LORD?
• Exodus 5:22 "Why is it that thou hast sent me?" — a prayer that candidly expresses the frustration Moses faced after obeying.

Characters and Places

• Moses and Aaron: brothers who deliver the LORD's word to Pharaoh.
• Pharaoh: the title of the king of Egypt. The text does not give this king's name.
• Taskmasters: Egyptian officials who supervised the forced labor. The New Korean Revised Version renders the term as "overseers."
• Officers of the children of Israel: work supervisors appointed by the taskmasters from among the Israelites. The New Korean Revised Version renders the term as "record-keepers."
• Egypt: the land where Israel labored in bondage.

Points for Reflection

• Interpretations differ as to why Moses and Aaron asked only for a three days' journey to worship. Some regard it as an initial request that tested Pharaoh's heart, while others emphasize that God intended complete liberation from the outset.
• Pharaoh's statement that he does not know the LORD is answered later, in the account of the ten plagues, by the declaration that they shall "know that I am the LORD."
• God's response to Moses' lament appears in chapter 6. For this reason, the chapter is usually read together with chapter 6 rather than in isolation.
• No New Testament passage clearly quotes this chapter directly.

In the Korean Church

In preaching, this chapter frequently serves as a text on situations in which hardship increases after obedience, and on honest lament offered in prayer.