Exodus 5:1
in Exodus 5After 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 the wilderness.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And afterward Moses and Aaron came, and said unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
KJV
And 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.
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This verse in Exodus 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Pharaoh - This king, probably Tothmosis II, the great grandson of Aahmes Exo 1:8, the original persecutor of the Israelites, must have been resident at this time in a city, probably Tanis Exo 2:5, of Lower Egypt, situated on the Nile. The Lord God - Yahweh God of Israel demanded the services of His people. The demand, according to the general views of the pagans, was just and natural; the Israelites could not offer the necessary sacrifices in the presence of Egyptians.
This site's exposition
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel
The demand is freedom for a purpose, and the purpose travels with it. Let my people go occurs nine times in Exodus and seven of those carry the clause that they may serve me, at 4:23, 7:16, 8:1, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13 and 10:3. Here it is a feast in the wilderness, so the first thing Pharaoh is asked to release is worship.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
Some ask how the people can be told that God gave the order that he would lead them from Egypt into the land of Canaan, while Pharaoh was told that they wanted to make three days' journey into the desert to offer sacrifice to their god by his command. But the passage should be understood thus: although God knew what he was going to do and knew that Pharaoh would not agree to dismiss the people, that fact was to be stated first that would also happen first, if Pharaoh let the people go. The contumacy of Pharaoh and his courtiers merited everything that happened, to which the Scripture afterward attests. God is not lying when he commands what he knows is not going to be done by the one he commands; his purpose is to obtain a just judgment.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And afterwards Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh,....
"The Israelites are slaves in Egypt, but they are my people," says God, "and I will not suffer them to be always trampled upon." See Isa. lii. He expected services and sacrifices from them, and therefore they must have leave to go where they could freely exercise their religion, without giving offence to, or receiving offence from, the Egyptians.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
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.
And afterward Moses and Aaron went - This chapter is properly a continuation of the preceding, as the succeeding is a continuation of this; and to preserve the connection of the facts they should be read together. How simply, and yet with what authority, does Moses deliver his message to the Egyptian king! Thus saith Jehovah, God of Israel, Let my people go. It is well in this, as in almost every other case where יהוה Jehovah occurs, to preserve the original word: our using the word Lord is not sufficiently expressive, and often leaves the sense indistinct.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
After Aaron did the signs. Recorded in Ex.:30. the two of them came to Pharaoh and the two of them spoke.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַחַ֗ר | veachar | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| בָּ֚אוּ | bau | they went | H935 → | 2568 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֣ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| וְאַהֲרֹ֔ן | veaharon | and Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| וַיֹּאמְר֖וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֑ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֤ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹהֵ֣י | ʾelohei | [the] God of | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| שַׁלַּח֙ | shalach | let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַמִּ֔י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְיָחֹ֥גּוּ | veyachogu | so they may celebrate a festival | H2287 → | 16 times |
| לִ֖י | li | to <the> me | ||
| בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃ | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
וְאַחַ֗רand after
veacharH310 →715 times
בָּ֚אוּthey went
bauH935 →2568 times
מֹשֶׁ֣הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
וְאַהֲרֹ֔ןand Aaron
veaharonH175 →347 times
וַיֹּאמְר֖וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פַּרְעֹ֑הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֤רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹהֵ֣י[the] God of
ʾeloheiH430 →2601 times
יִשְׂרָאֵ֔לIsrael
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
שַׁלַּח֙let go
shalachH7971 →845 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עַמִּ֔יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
וְיָחֹ֥גּוּso they may celebrate a festival
veyachoguH2287 →16 times
לִ֖יto <the> me
li
בַּמִּדְבָּֽר׃in the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 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
Matthew 10:28Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
it leads to
- Luke 12:4–5
I tell you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.
- Isaiah 8:12–13
“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
- Revelation 2:10
Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
- James 4:12
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?
- Ecclesiastes 8:12–13
Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and still lives long, yet I also know that it will go well with those who fear God, who are reverent in His presence.
- Luke 12:4–5
Through
Acts 4:29And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness,
it leads to
- Acts 4:13
When they saw the boldness of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they marveled and took note that these men had been with Jesus.
- Philippians 1:14
And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.
- Acts 14:3
So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
- Acts 4:13
Where this verse is studied
By subject
Worship35 verses
About Exodus
Who and where
2 names 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); Augustine of Hippo, QUESTIONS ON EXODUS 13; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.