The Torah · Old Testament

Exodus 5

Pharaoh increases the burden after Moses and Aaron speak

General context

Moses and Aaron ask Pharaoh to let Israel hold a feast to the Lord in the wilderness. Pharaoh refuses, saying he does not know the Lord. They ask for a three-day journey to sacrifice and speak of danger if they cannot do so. Pharaoh treats their request as an interruption of labor and orders that the workers receive no more straw while still producing the same number of bricks. The people scatter to gather stubble. When the daily quota is not met, Israelite officers appointed under Pharaoh's taskmasters are beaten. They appeal to Pharaoh, explaining that straw is withheld while the brick demand remains. Pharaoh calls them idle and repeats the order. The officers then blame Moses and Aaron for making their situation worse. Moses returns to the Lord with questions about the harm to the people and why he was sent, saying that deliverance has not occurred.

Cited passages: Exodus 5:1, Exodus 5:2, Exodus 5:3, Exodus 5:4, Exodus 5:5, Exodus 5:6, Exodus 5:7, Exodus 5:8, Exodus 5:9, Exodus 5:10, Exodus 5:11, Exodus 5:12, Exodus 5:13, Exodus 5:14, Exodus 5:15, Exodus 5:16, Exodus 5:17, Exodus 5:18, Exodus 5:19, Exodus 5:20, Exodus 5:21, Exodus 5:22, Exodus 5:23

Exodus 5 (KJV)

¹And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

²And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

³And they said, The God 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 he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

⁴And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

⁵And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

⁶And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

⁷Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

⁸And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

⁹Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

¹⁰And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

¹¹Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

¹²So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

¹³And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

¹⁴And 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?

¹⁵Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

¹⁶There 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.

¹⁷But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord.

¹⁸Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

¹⁹And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

²⁰And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

²¹And they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.

²²And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

²³For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

Brickmaking, supplied straw, gathering stubble and daily production demands describe the work under dispute. The account distinguishes Pharaoh's taskmasters from the Israelite officers who are beaten for unmet quotas. Those officers appeal directly to Pharaoh and identify the withheld supplies as the problem. His description of them as idle is his accusation, not an assessment adopted by the guide. The chapter names neither the king nor a construction site. The warning about pestilence or the sword belongs to Moses and Aaron's request; the officers' later reference to a sword expresses their accusation that the confrontation has endangered them.

Cited passages: Exodus 5:3, Exodus 5:4, Exodus 5:5, Exodus 5:6, Exodus 5:7, Exodus 5:8, Exodus 5:9, Exodus 5:10, Exodus 5:11, Exodus 5:12, Exodus 5:13, Exodus 5:14, Exodus 5:15, Exodus 5:16, Exodus 5:17, Exodus 5:18, Exodus 5:19, Exodus 5:20, Exodus 5:21

Literary context

The request for worship is answered by an increased workload. Pharaoh repeatedly connects the request with idleness, while the workers' search for materials and the officers' beating show the burden imposed by his decision. The officers' appeal brings no relief, and their accusation turns toward Moses and Aaron. The final exchange moves from the royal audience to Moses addressing the Lord. His questions leave the chapter at an unresolved point: speaking in the Lord's name has been followed by harsher treatment, and the promised rescue is still awaited.

Cited passages: Exodus 5:1, Exodus 5:2, Exodus 5:3, Exodus 5:7, Exodus 5:8, Exodus 5:9, Exodus 5:12, Exodus 5:14, Exodus 5:15, Exodus 5:16, Exodus 5:17, Exodus 5:18, Exodus 5:19, Exodus 5:20, Exodus 5:21, Exodus 5:22, Exodus 5:23

Key moments

Pharaoh refuses the request (Exodus 5:2). Pharaoh rejects the demand to let Israel go and says he does not know the Lord.
The brick quota remains (Exodus 5:8). Pharaoh removes the supplied straw without reducing the required number of bricks.
Israelite officers are beaten (Exodus 5:14). The officers are beaten when the required brick production is not fulfilled.
Moses brings his questions to the Lord (Exodus 5:22). Moses asks why the people have suffered harm and why he was sent.