Exodus 8:28
in Exodus 8Pharaoh answered, “I will let you go and sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness, but you must not go very far. Now pray for me.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: entreat for me.
KJV
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
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This verse in Exodus 8
Commentary
6 notes on this verseI will let you go only ye shall not go very far away - Pharaoh relented because the hand of God was heavy upon him; but he was not willing to give up his gain. The Israelites were very profitable to him; they were slaves of the state, and their hard labor was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, (Exo 8:25); or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and would soon return.
This site's exposition
as he shall command us
on Exodus 8:27-28
Moses holds to the distance first named at 3:18 and repeated at 5:3, and adds that the form of the sacrifice belongs to God to set rather than to Pharaoh. The king's second offer keeps the shape of a concession and hides a limit inside it, only ye shall not go very far away, which would leave the people within reach. He closes with intreat for me, the second time in one chapter that he asks for prayer from the men he is refusing.
This site's exposition
but you must not go very far
Pharaoh grants the sacrifice in the wilderness but limits the distance, and in the same breath asks Moses to pray for him. The limit keeps Israel within his reach. Adam Clarke reads it as Pharaoh's unwillingness to lose the profit of Israel's labor, since the Israelites served as slaves of the state.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness,....
Thus some sinners who, in a pang of conviction, part with their sins, yet are loth they should go very far away; for, when the fright is over, they will return to them again.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Pharaoh called for Moses, . . . Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land, &c.--Between impatient anxiety to be freed from this scourge and a reluctance on the part of the Hebrew bondsmen, the king followed the course of expediency; he proposed to let them free to engage in their religious rites within any part of the kingdom.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֣אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֗ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| אָנֹכִ֞י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| אֲשַׁלַּ֤ח | ʾashalach | I will let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| אֶתְכֶם֙ | ʾetkhem | <obj.> you | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וּזְבַחְתֶּ֞ם | uzevachtem | and you will sacrifice | H2076 → | 134 times |
| לַיהוָ֤ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ | ʾeloheikhem | God your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| רַ֛ק | rak | only | H7535 → | 109 times |
| הַרְחֵ֥ק | harchek | certainly <to be far away> | H7368 → | 57 times |
| לֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תַרְחִ֖יקוּ | tarchiku | you must be far away | H7368 → | 57 times |
| לָלֶ֑כֶת | lalekhet | to go | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| הַעְתִּ֖ירוּ | ha'tiru | pray | H6279 → | 20 times |
| בַּעֲדִֽי׃ | baadi | for me | H1157 → |
וַיֹּ֣אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
פַּרְעֹ֗הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
אָנֹכִ֞יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
אֲשַׁלַּ֤חI will let go
ʾashalachH7971 →845 times
אֶתְכֶם֙<obj.> you
ʾetkhemH853 →10935 times
וּזְבַחְתֶּ֞םand you will sacrifice
uzevachtemH2076 →134 times
לַיהוָ֤הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙God your
ʾeloheikhemH430 →2601 times
בַּמִּדְבָּ֔רin the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
רַ֛קonly
rakH7535 →109 times
הַרְחֵ֥קcertainly <to be far away>
harchekH7368 →57 times
לֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
תַרְחִ֖יקוּyou must be far away
tarchikuH7368 →57 times
לָלֶ֑כֶתto go
lalekhetH1980 →1546 times
הַעְתִּ֖ירוּpray
ha'tiruH6279 →20 times
בַּעֲדִֽי׃for me
baadiH1157 →
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
1 Kings 13:6Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
it leads to
- Exodus 8:8
Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the…
Reached by 4 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 9:28
Pray to the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go; you do not need to stay any longer.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- Acts 8:24
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Luke 6:27–28
But to those of you who will listen, I say: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
- Exodus 8:8
Through
Exodus 8:8Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray to the LORD to take the frogs away from me and my people. Then I will let your people go, that they may sacrifice to the…
it leads to
- Exodus 10:17
Now please forgive my sin once more and appeal to the LORD your God, that He may remove this death from me.”
Reached by 3 separate paths from here.
- 1 Kings 13:6
Then the king responded to the man of God, “Intercede with the LORD your God and pray that my hand may be restored.” So the man of God interceded with the LORD, and the…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 8:25–28
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within this land.”
- Exodus 10:17
Through
Acts 8:24Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me, so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
it leads to
- Numbers 21:7
Then the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the LORD and against you. Intercede with the LORD so He will take the snakes away from us.” So Moses…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Numbers 21:7
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.