Exodus 5

TJiat they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness. In order to which, it was necessary they should offer sacrifice, (ver. 3.) which they could not do in Egypt: and therefore desired to go into the wilderness; where they might •use their own rites and ceremonies of religion, without offence to the Egyptians. Every word hath its weight in it: for a feast denotes an extraordinary service; and to me signifies such peculiar rites of worship, as should be prescribed and instituted by the Lord, in whose name they spake: for which the wilderness was most proper, because there was no concourse of people likely to be in that place to disturb them in their solemnity.

Exodus 5:1

jCjLND afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh. When they had convinced the elders of Israel of their commission, they desired audience of Pharaoh. Which having obtained, they wentto court; taking some of the elders along with them, to attend them. Which is not a mere conjecture, from the decencyof the thing, that they should not go alone on such a solemn embassy; butso they were commanded to do, Exod. iii. 18. and it will appear from ver, 3. of this chapter, that so they did. I have observed before, (iii. 10.) that this Pharaoh is commonly thought to be him called Cenchres. Thus saitli the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, &c] These words contain only the substance of w T hat they said: which was delivered, we may well suppose, in a longer oration. Wherein they declared they had received a commission from their God, the Lord of heaven and earth, to make this address to him. In all nations there were some persons, who, pretending to greater familiarity with their gods than other men, were highly reverenced, both by their own countrymen and by strangers. And therefore it is no wonder Pharaoh offered no violence to them, when they came to make this demand; because their persons were held sacred; as those of ambassadors now are, who come from one prince to another. This is a better account than that winch some of the Jews (in Schalschalah-Hakkabalah) give of it; who say, that wiien they came into Pharaoh’s presence, they appeared in such majesty as daunted him: being like the angels of the ministry; and raised to a taller stature than they had before; and having a splendour in their countenances like that of the sun, 8cc. In which they seem to imitate the story of St. Stephen, whose face shined like that of an Vcr. 28. And Moses told Aaron all the words of the angel, when he appeared before their council

Exodus 5:2

And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord? &c. These are not atheistical words; for he owned such gods as the Egyptians worshipped: but slighted that God whom Moses called Jehovah; to whom he saith, he owed no obedience, because he did not know who they meant by him. He speaks also with too much scorn; his pride and passion not suffering him to ask seriously who Jehovah was. I knotv not the Lord, &c] Nor did he desire to know; being so transported with anger that he would not examine their commission; but only resolved he would not obey it

Exodus 5:3

And they said, The God of the Hebrews. They gave him no other account (since he was so haughty and huffing), but that they came in the name of him, whom they and their ancestors had for many generations worshipped. Whom they had at first called (ver. 1.) the Lord God of Israel: T6v rrjc okov/ilvrjc ActnnJrr/v, as Artapanus in Eusebius expounds it, the Lord and Governor of the Universe. Hath met with us.] Appeared to us, and given us this commission, when we thought of no such thing. For they would not have him think that they sought this embassy; but were put upon it by the Divine authority, which they durst not disobey. Let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the desert.] These are the very words in which God commanded Moses to deliver his message, (iii. 18.) And as their desire was moderate (to go but three days’ journey), so it was very modestly delivered; by humble entreaty; and with such a reason as they thought might move him to grant their request. And sacrifice unto the Lord our God.] That he may be propitious to us. Lest he fall upon us with the pestilence, or tvitli the sword.] Send a plague among us (for. our neglect of him), or some foreign enemy to infest us, and cut us off. Whereby Pharaoh (they secretly suggest) would lose the benefit of their labours, more than by their going for a little time into the wilderness. (See viii. 27.) It is observable, that they neither wrought any miracle, nor threatened any punishment to Pharaoh, at their first application to him; but only told him the danger they themselves were in, if they did not obey their God: which was a very submissive way of treating with him. Artapanus, indeed, (in Euseb. Prscp. Evang. lib. ix. cap. 27. and in Clem. Alex. lib. i. Strom.) tells us of several miraculous things which Moses did at this audience; whereby Pharaoh and his servants were astonished and frighted from doing: them any hurt; nay, he asked Moses the name of his God, which he whispered in Pharaoh’s ear. But he had all this out of some such fabulous author as him I mentioned above, (ver. 1.) and I mention him only to shew that the heathen had the knowledge of this history, and report it as a truth: though with some mixture of human invention.

Exodus 5:4

Wlierefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works?. Instead of answering their reasons, he tells them, That he looked upon them two as disturbers of the peace of the kingdom, and hinderers of his business. Get you unto your burdens.] This seems to be spoken unto the elders, which they had brought along with them.

Exodus 5:5

Behold, the people of the land now are many. They are very numerous, notwithstanding all their labours; to what will they grow, if they have nothing to do? Or, as some expound it, they will think of nothing but sedition, now they are so numerous, if they be suffered to cease from their burdens. Cajetan hence gathers, that the law for throwing their infants into the river was abolished as infamous; or he could not get it put in execution. And you make them rest from their burdens.] Which was the course he took to make them less numerous. Perhaps this was the sabbath-day; on which they had been wont to rest, when they had their liberty. Ver. G. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers.] The task-masters were the chief exactors of their labours, being Egyptians, who had officers under them to execute their orders, and to give an account how they were obeyed: and it appears from ver. 14, 15, &e. that they were Israelites.

Exodus 5:7

Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore, &c. Instead of casing them, he increased their burdens, and made them intolerable. What the use of straw was in making bricks is variously conjectured. Some think it was mixed with the clay, to make the bricks more solid. Others, that they only heated their kilns with it, to burn the bricks. Others (who think they were not baked in a kiln) imagine it served only to cover them; that they might not be cracked by the violent heat of the sun, wherein they were baked. For so Vitruvius tells us, that the best bricks were made in the spring and in the autumn, ut uno tenore siccescant, that they might dry by an equal heat: they that were made at the solstice being suddenly crusted over by the sun, and left too moist within, (lib. ii. de Architect, cap. 3.) -

Exodus 5:8

And the tale of the bricks, tvhich they did make heretofore, yon shall lay upon them, &c. It appears from ver. 13, 14. that there was a certain quantity exacted from them every day. For they be idle, and therefore they cry, saying, Let n$ go and sacrifice to our God.] They have not work enough to employ their thoughts; which makes their mind wander after other things.

Exodus 5:9

Let there more tvork be laid upon the men. Or, make it heavy xipon them (as it is in the margin). Tliat they may labour therein.] Have no time to think of any thing else. And let them not regard vain tvords.] So he calls the message of Moses and Aaron; who, he pretends, w T ere mere deceivers, and fed their hope with lies (for so it is in the Hebrew, tvords of falsehood, or lying words), or, at least, he resolved their words should not prove true; for he would not let the people go.

Exodus 5:10

*Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. The task-masters with their officers proclaimed the king’s order, that every body might take notice of it. 2A 2