Exodus 8:20
in Exodus 8Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
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This verse in Exodus 8
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Cometh forth to the water - See the Exo 7:15 note. It is not improbable that on this occasion Pharaoh went to the Nile with a procession in order to open the solemn festival, which was held 120 days after the first rise, at the end of October or early in November. At that time the inundation is abating and the first traces of vegetation are seen on the deposit of fresh soil. The plague now announced may be regarded as connected with the atmosphere, also an object of worship.
This site's exposition
Get up early in the morning
on Exodus 8:20-21
The fourth plague opens the second set of three with the staging of the first, at the water in the morning. The purpose clause returns word for word: “Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.”
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the Lord said unto Moses, rise up early in the morning,....
Pharaoh was early up at his superstitious devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep and more slumber when any service is to be done which would pass well in our account in the great day? Those that would approve themselves God's faithful servants must not be afraid of the face of man.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The worship of flies, particularly of the beetle, was a prominent part of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. The employment of these winged deities to chastise them must have been painful and humiliating to the Egyptians while it must at the same time have strengthened the faith of the Israelites in the God of their fathers as the only object of worship.
The words behind it
20 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֨אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֜ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֗ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| הַשְׁכֵּ֤ם | hashkem | rise early | H7925 → | 65 times |
| בַּבֹּ֙קֶר֙ | baboker | in the morning | H1242 → | 214 times |
| וְהִתְיַצֵּב֙ | vehityatzev | and present yourself | H3320 → | 48 times |
| לִפְנֵ֣י | lifnei | <to> before | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| פַרְעֹ֔ה | faroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| הִנֵּ֖ה | hineh | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| יוֹצֵ֣א | yotze' | [he is] going out | H3318 → | 1067 times |
| הַמָּ֑יְמָה | hamayemah | the water towards | H4325 → | 581 times |
| וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ | veamarta | and you will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֵלָ֗יו | ʾelav | to him | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| שַׁלַּ֥ח | shalach | let go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| עַמִּ֖י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| וְיַֽעַבְדֻֽנִי׃ | veyaavduni | so they may serve me | H5647 → | 288 times |
וַיֹּ֨אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֜הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֗הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
הַשְׁכֵּ֤םrise early
hashkemH7925 →65 times
בַּבֹּ֙קֶר֙in the morning
babokerH1242 →214 times
וְהִתְיַצֵּב֙and present yourself
vehityatzevH3320 →48 times
לִפְנֵ֣י<to> before
lifneiH6440 →2123 times
פַרְעֹ֔הPharaoh
farohH6547 →274 times
הִנֵּ֖הthere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
יוֹצֵ֣א[he is] going out
yotze'H3318 →1067 times
הַמָּ֑יְמָהthe water towards
hamayemahH4325 →581 times
וְאָמַרְתָּ֣and you will say
veamartaH559 →5305 times
אֵלָ֗יוto him
ʾelavH413 →5510 times
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
שַׁלַּ֥חlet go
shalachH7971 →845 times
עַמִּ֖יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
וְיַֽעַבְדֻֽנִי׃so they may serve me
veyaavduniH5647 →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 3:18The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with…
it leads to
- Exodus 9:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Exodus 7:16
Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But you have not…
- Exodus 10:24–26
Then Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, “Go, worship the LORD. Even your little ones may go with you; only your flocks and herds must stay behind.”
- Exodus 9:13
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go,…
- Numbers 23:15–16
Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”
- Exodus 9:1
Through
Exodus 8:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
it leads to
- Exodus 3:18
The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with…
- Exodus 3:12
“I will surely be with you,” God said, “and this will be the sign to you that I have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, all of you will…
- Exodus 3:18
Through
Exodus 9:13Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go,…
it leads to
- Exodus 7:15
Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was…
- Exodus 7:15
Where this verse is studied
About Exodus
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 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); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.