Exodus 4:23
in Exodus 4and I told you to let My son go so that he may worship Me. But since you have refused to let him go, behold, I will kill your firstborn son!’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and I have said unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me; and thou hast refused to let him go: behold, I will slay thy son, thy first-born.
KJV
And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn.
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This verse in Exodus 4
Commentary
6 notes on this verseLet my son go, that he may serve me - Which they could not do in Goshen, consistently with the policy and religious worship of the Egyptians; because the most essential part of an Israelite’s worship consisted in sacrifice, and the animals which they offered to God were sacred among the Egyptians. Moses gives Pharaoh this reason Exo 8:26. I will slay thy son, even thy first-born - Which, on Pharaoh’s utter refusal to let the people go, was accordingly done; see Exo 12:29.
This site's exposition
Israel is my son, even my firstborn
on Exodus 4:22-23
The tenth plague is announced in chapter four, before the first one falls, and it is framed as a matter between two sons. Genesis spent fifty chapters setting the younger ahead of the firstborn, Isaac over Ishmael, Jacob over Esau, Ephraim over Manasseh, and Exodus turns and deals with the firstborn directly at 12:29, 13:2 and 13:13. The demand at verse 23 reads let my son go, that he may serve me, and it is the first of seven times a purpose clause is fixed to the release, returning as let my people go, that they may serve me at 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13 and 10:3. Release is asked for with a use named for it every time.
This site's exposition
let My son go so that he may worship Me
The demand names Israel as the LORD's son and sets the terms of the whole contest: release for worship, or the loss of Pharaoh's own firstborn. The threat stated here is carried out in the tenth plague at 12:29. Adam Clarke explains that Israel could not sacrifice in Egypt, since the animals it offered were sacred to the Egyptians, a reason Moses gives in 8:26.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And I say unto thee, let my son go, that he may serve me,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
GOD had a people in Egypt. They were His own, the people of His choice. Although they had been grievously oppressed and had sunk into ignominious slavery, His interest in their welfare had in no degree lessened. The Lord's purpose in sending Moses down into Egypt was that He might fetch out that people from among the nations to make them a separate people to Himself that He might give them an inheritance, even the land which flowed with milk and honey and that they might dwell there as witnesses of His Covenant and keep His Testimonies. Now precisely what God was doing towards His people, Israel, in the land of Ham, He is doing towards His own chosen ones throughout the whole world. From one point of view the object of the Gospel is to gather out from among the nations a people whom He did foreknow, whom He did predestinate, whom He has redeemed unto Himself to be His peculiar heritage. These are to be fetched out from among others. They are to be made a separate people to be brought into a distinct position and to have a distinct experience. "The people shall dwell alone; they shall not be reckoned among the nations" and they are ultimately to be brought to a prepared place for which they are to be especially prepared that they may abide there and that the Lord may verify the thing that He has predicted of them, "They shall be Mine in that day when I make up My jewels." The work of rescuing perishing sinners out of the present evil world is as worthy of God as the work of delivering Israel out of Egypt.
GOD had a people in Egypt. They were His own, the people of His choice. Although they had been grievously oppressed and had sunk into ignominious slavery, His interest in their welfare had in no degree lessened. The Lord's purpose in sending Moses down into Egypt was that He might fetch out that people from among the nations to make them a separate people to Himself that He might give them an inheritance, even the land which flowed with milk and honey and that they might dwell there as witnesses of His Covenant and keep His Testimonies.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וָאֹמַ֣ר | vaomar | and I said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלֶ֗יךָ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
| שַׁלַּ֤ח | shalach | let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בְּנִי֙ | beni | son my | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| וְיַֽעַבְדֵ֔נִי | veyaavdeni | so he may serve me | H5647 → | 288 times |
| וַתְּמָאֵ֖ן | vatemaen | and you refused | H3985 → | 41 times |
| לְשַׁלְּח֑וֹ | leshalecho | to let go him | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הִנֵּה֙ | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֣י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| הֹרֵ֔ג | horeg | [am] about to kill | H2026 → | 167 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בִּנְךָ֖ | binkha | son your | H1121 → | 4930 times |
| בְּכֹרֶֽךָ׃ | bekhorekha | firstborn your | H1060 → | 122 times |
וָאֹמַ֣רand I said
vaomarH559 →5305 times
אֵלֶ֗יךָto you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 times
שַׁלַּ֤חlet go
shalachH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בְּנִי֙son my
beniH1121 →4930 times
וְיַֽעַבְדֵ֔נִיso he may serve me
veyaavdeniH5647 →288 times
וַתְּמָאֵ֖ןand you refused
vatemaenH3985 →41 times
לְשַׁלְּח֑וֹto let go him
leshalechoH7971 →845 times
הִנֵּה֙here!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֣יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
הֹרֵ֔ג[am] about to kill
horegH2026 →167 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
בִּנְךָ֖son your
binkhaH1121 →4930 times
בְּכֹרֶֽךָ׃firstborn your
bekhorekhaH1060 →122 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 12:29Now at midnight the LORD struck down every firstborn male in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon,…
it leads to
- Psalms 78:51
He struck all the firstborn of Egypt, the virility in the tents of Ham.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 136:10
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt His loving devotion endures forever.
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 135:8
He struck down the firstborn of Egypt, of both man and beast.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 105:36
Then He struck all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their vigor.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 11:4–5
So Moses declared, “This is what the LORD says: ‘About midnight I will go throughout Egypt,
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 78:51
Through
Exodus 11:5and every firstborn son in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the servant girl behind the hand mill, as well…
it leads to
- Exodus 13:15
And when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, the LORD killed every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both of man and beast. This is why I sacrifice to the LORD the firstborn…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 13:15
Through
Exodus 5:1After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in…
it leads to
- Exodus 10:9
“We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
- Acts 4:29
And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness,
- Exodus 10:9
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies2
On this verse
On this chapter
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1440: “The Great Emancipator” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.