Exodus 5:6 Komentář

Moses and Aaron are here dealing with Pharaoh, to get leave of him to go and worship in the wilderness. I. They demand leave in the name of God (Exo 5:1), and he answers their demand with a defiance of God (Exo 5:2). II. They beg leave in the name of Israel (Exo 5:3), and he answers their request with further orders to oppress Israel (Exo 5:4-9). These cruel orders were, 1. Executed by the task-masters (Exo 5:10-14). 2. Complained of to Pharaoh, but in vain (Exo 5:15-19). 3. Complained of by the people to Moses (Exo 5:20, Exo 5:21), and by him to God (Exo 5:22, Exo 5:23).

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, Exo 5:1 which orders were executed with severity by them, Exo 5:10, upon which the officers of the children of Israel complained to Pharaoh, but to no purpose, Exo 5:14, and meeting with Moses and Aaron, lay the blame upon them, Exo 5:20, which sends Moses to the Lord to expostulate with him about it, Exo 5:22.

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.

Moses and Aaron open their commission to Pharaoh, Exo 5:1. He insultingly asks who Jehovah is, in whose name they require him to dismiss the people, Exo 5:2. They explain, Exo 5:3. He charges them with making the people disaffected, Exo 5:4, Exo 5:5; and commands the task-masters to increase their work, and lessen their means of performing it, Exo 5:6-9. The task-masters do as commanded, and refuse to give the people straw to assist them in making brick, and yet require the fulfillment of their daily tasks as formerly, when furnished with all the necessary means, Exo 5:10-13. The Israelites failing to produce the ordinary quantity of brick, their own officers, set over them by the task-masters, are cruelly insulted and beaten, Exo 5:14. The officers complain to Pharaoh, Exo 5:15, Exo 5:16; but find no redress, Exo 5:17, Exo 5:18. The officers, finding their case desperate, bitterly reproach Moses and Aaron for bringing them into their present circumstances, Exo 5:19-21. Moses retires, and lays the matter before the Lord, and pleads with him, Exo 5:22, Exo 5:23.

The task-masters of the people and their officers - The task-masters were Egyptians, (see Clarke on Exo 1:11 (note)), the officers were Hebrews; see Clarke below Exo 5:14 (note). But it is probable that the task-masters Exo 1:11, who are called שרי מסים sarey missim, princes of the burdens or taxes, were different from those termed taskmasters here, as the words are different; נגשים nogesim signifies exactors or oppressors - persons who exacted from them an unreasonable proportion either of labor or money. Officers - שטרים shoterim; those seem to have been an inferior sort of officers, who attended on superior officers or magistrates to execute their orders. They are supposed to have been something like our sheriffs.

FIRST INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. (Exo. 5:1-23) Moses and Aaron went in--As representatives of the Hebrews, they were entitled to ask an audience of the king, and their thorough Egyptian training taught them how and when to seek it. and told Pharaoh--When introduced, they delivered a message in the name of the God of Israel. This is the first time He is mentioned by that national appellation in Scripture. It seems to have been used by divine direction (Exo 4:2) and designed to put honor on the Hebrews in their depressed condition (Heb 11:16).

Pharaoh commanded--It was a natural consequence of the high displeasure created by this interview that he should put additional burdens on the oppressed Israelites. taskmasters--Egyptian overseers, appointed to exact labor of the Israelites. officers--Hebrews placed over their brethren, under the taskmasters, precisely analogous to the Arab officers set over the Arab Fellahs, the poor laborers in modern Egypt.

Moses and Aaron Sent to Pharaoh - Exodus 5-7:7 The two events which form the contents of this section - viz., (1) the visit of Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh to make known the commands of their God, with the harsh refusal of their request on the part of Pharaoh, by an increase of the tributary labours of Israel (Exo 5); and (2) the further revelations of Jehovah to Moses, with the insertion of the genealogies of Moses and Aaron-not only hang closely together so far as the subject-matter is concerned, inasmuch as the fresh declarations of Jehovah to Moses were occasioned by the complaint of Moses that his first attempt had so signally failed, but both of them belong to the complete equipment of Moses for his divine mission. Their visit to Pharaoh was only preliminary in its character. Moses and Aaron simply made known to the king the will of their God, without accrediting themselves by miraculous signs as the messengers of Jehovah, or laying any particular emphasis upon His demand. For this first step was only intended to enlighten Moses as to the attitude of Pharaoh and the people of Israel in relation to the work of God, which He was about to perform. Pharaoh answered the demand addressed to him, that he would let the people go for a few days to hold a sacrificial festival in the desert, by increasing their labours; and the Israelites complained in consequence that their good name had been made abhorrent to the king, and their situation made worse than it was. Moses might have despaired on this account; but he laid his trouble before the Lord, and the Lord filled his despondent heart with fresh courage through the renewed and strengthened promise that He would now for the first time display His name Jehovah perfectly - that He would redeem the children of Israel with outstretched arm and with great judgments - would harden Pharaoh's heart, and do many signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, that the Egyptians might learn through the deliverance of Israel that He was Jehovah, i.e., the absolute God, who works with unlimited freedom. At the same time God removed the difficulty which once more arose in the mind of Moses, namely, that Pharaoh would not listen to him because of his want of oratorical power, by the assurance, "I make thee a god for Pharaoh, and Aaron shall be thy prophet" (Exo 7:1), which could not fail to remove all doubt as to his own incompetency for so great and severe a task. With this promise Pharaoh was completely given up into Moses' power, and Moses invested with all the plenipotentiary authority that was requisite for the performance of the work entrusted to him.

As Pharaoh possessed neither fear of God (εὐσέβεια) nor fear of the gods, but, in the proud security of his might, determined to keep the Israelites as slaves, and to use them as tools for the glorifying of his kingdom by the erection of magnificent buildings, he suspected that their wish to go into the desert was nothing but an excuse invented by idlers, and prompted by a thirst for freedom, which might become dangerous to his kingdom, on account of the numerical strength of the people. He therefore thought that he could best extinguish such desires and attempts by increasing the oppression and adding to their labours. For this reason he instructed his bailiffs to abstain from delivering straw to the Israelites who were engaged in making bricks, and to let them gather it for themselves; but yet not to make the least abatement in the number (מתכּנת) to be delivered every day. בּעם הנּגשׂים, "those who urged the people on," were the bailiffs selected from the Egyptians and placed over the Israelitish workmen, the general managers of the work. Under them there were the שׁטרים (lit., writers, γραμματεῖς lxx, from שׁטר to write), who were chosen from the Israelites (vid., Exo 5:14), and had to distribute the work among the people, and hand it over, when finished, to the royal officers. לבנים לבן: to make bricks, not to burn them; for the bricks in the ancient monuments of Egypt, and in many of the pyramids, are not burnt but dried in the sun (Herod. ii. 136; Hengst. Egypt and Books of Moses, pp. 2 and 79ff.). קשׁשׁ: a denom. verb from קשׁ, to gather stubble, then to stubble, to gather (Num 15:32-33). תּבן, of uncertain etymology, is chopped straw; here, the stubble that was left standing when the corn was reaped, or the straw that lay upon the ground. This they chopped up and mixed with the clay, to give greater durability to the bricks, as may be seen in bricks found in the oldest monuments (cf. Hgst. p. 79).