Exodus 14:5
in Exodus 14When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about them and said, “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And it was told the king of Egypt that the people were fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was changed towards the people, and they said, What is this we have done, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
KJV
And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we have let Israel go from serving us?
⋯
This verse in Exodus 14
Commentary
6 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The people fled - This was a natural inference from the change of direction, which indicated a determination to escape from Egypt. Up to the time when that information reached Pharaoh both he and his people understood that the Israelites would return after keeping a festival in the district adjoining Etham. From Etham the intelligence would be forwarded by the commander of the garrison to Rameses in less than a day, and the cavalry, a highly-disciplined force, would be ready for immediate departure.
This site's exposition
And it was told the king of Egypt
on Exodus 14:5-7
Pharaoh's own words name what he counts as lost, that we have let Israel go from serving us, and the Hebrew root behind serving is the one Exodus 1:13 and 1:14 used five times over for the bondage. He had said go, serve the LORD at 12:31, and within days he reckons the cost in labour. Six hundred chosen chariots and all the chariots of Egypt go out after people who left with kneading troughs on their shoulders.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And it was told the king of Egypt,....
Such a fright was he in, when he gave them leave to go, that when the fright was a little over he either forgot, or would not own, that they departed with his consent, and therefore was willing that it should be represented to him as a revolt from their allegiance. Thus what may easily be justified is easily condemned, by putting false colours upon it.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He had been convinced, but not converted--overawed, but not sanctified by the appalling judgments of heaven. He bitterly repented of what he now thought a hasty concession. Pride and revenge, the honor of his kingdom, and the interests of his subjects, all prompted him to recall his permission to reclaim those runaway slaves and force them to their wonted labor.
And it was told the king - that the people fled - Of their departure he could not be ignorant, because himself had given them liberty to depart: but the word fled here may be understood as implying that they had utterly left Egypt without any intention to return, which is probably what he did not expect, for he had only given them permission to go three days’ journey into the wilderness, in order to sacrifice to Jehovah; but from the circumstances of their departure, and the property they had got from the Egyptians, it was taken for granted that they had no design to return; and this was in all likelihood the consideration that weighed most with this avaricious king, and determined him to pursue, and either recover the spoil or bring them back, or both. Thus the heart of Pharaoh and his servants was turned against the people, and they said, Why have we let Israel go from serving us? Here was the grand incentive to pursuit; their service was profitable to the state, and they were determined not to give it up.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֻּגַּד֙ | vaiyugad | and it was told | H5046 → | 370 times |
| לְמֶ֣לֶךְ | lemelekh | to [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| כִּ֥י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| בָרַ֖ח | varach | it had fled | H1272 → | 63 times |
| הָעָ֑ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַ֠יֵּהָפֵךְ | vaiyehafekh | and it was changed | H2015 → | 94 times |
| לְבַ֨ב | levav | [the] heart of | H3824 → | |
| פַּרְעֹ֤ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וַעֲבָדָיו֙ | vaavadav | and servants his | H5650 → | 799 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָעָ֔ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וַיֹּֽאמרוּ֙ | vaiyomru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| מַה־ | mah- | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| זֹּ֣את | zot | this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| עָשִׂ֔ינוּ | ʾasinu | have we done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שִׁלַּ֥חְנוּ | shilachnu | we have let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| מֵעָבְדֵֽנוּ׃ | meavedenu | from serving us | H5647 → | 288 times |
וַיֻּגַּד֙and it was told
vaiyugadH5046 →370 times
לְמֶ֣לֶךְto [the] king of
lemelekhH4428 →2525 times
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
כִּ֥יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
בָרַ֖חit had fled
varachH1272 →63 times
הָעָ֑םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַ֠יֵּהָפֵךְand it was changed
vaiyehafekhH2015 →94 times
לְבַ֨ב[the] heart of
levavH3824 →
פַּרְעֹ֤הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
וַעֲבָדָיו֙and servants his
vaavadavH5650 →799 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָעָ֔םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
וַיֹּֽאמרוּ֙and they said
vaiyomruH559 →5305 times
מַה־what?
mah-H4100 →752 times
זֹּ֣אתthis
zotH2063 →603 times
עָשִׂ֔ינוּhave we done
ʾasinuH6213 →2628 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שִׁלַּ֥חְנוּwe have let go
shilachnuH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
מֵעָבְדֵֽנוּ׃from serving us
meavedenuH5647 →288 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 12:33And in order to send them out of the land quickly, the Egyptians urged the people on. “For otherwise,” they said, “we are all going to die!”
it leads to
- Psalms 105:38
Egypt was glad when they departed, for the dread of Israel had fallen on them.
- Exodus 11:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt one more plague. After that, he will allow you to leave this place. And when he lets you go, he will…
- Genesis 20:3
One night, however, God came to Abimelech in a dream and told him, “You are as good as dead because of the woman you have taken, for she is a married woman.”
- Psalms 105:38
Through
Psalms 105:25whose hearts He turned to hate His people, to conspire against His servants.
it leads to
- Acts 7:19
He exploited our people and oppressed our fathers, forcing them to abandon their infants so they would die.
- Genesis 15:13
Then the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years.
- Exodus 9:16
But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.
- Exodus 1:16
“When you help the Hebrew women give birth, observe them on the birthstools. If the child is a son, kill him; but if it is a daughter, let her live.”
- Romans 9:17–19
For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”
- Acts 7:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.