Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Exodus
Chapter 5: Who Is the LORD?
Moses and Aaron finally stand before Pharaoh with God's demand: "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." Pharaoh's answer is pure defiance: "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice? ... I know not the LORD." Far from freeing Israel, Pharaoh makes their slavery crueler, ordering them to gather their own straw yet make the same number of bricks. The people are beaten, and they turn on Moses, blaming him for making their lives worse. Even Moses is shaken, and he brings his confusion straight to God: "wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?" Exodus 5 is a chapter about the pride of a man who will not bow to God, about the hard truth that obedience can bring opposition before it brings deliverance, and about a servant learning to pour out his heart to God when the promise seems to fail.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Exodus chapter 5. For each section you will find the KJV text, the Hebrew words that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Chapter 5 is the first confrontation with Pharaoh, and it does not go as we might expect: the burden grows heavier and the people despair. It teaches the pride of man, the goal of worship, and how faith holds on when obedience seems to make things worse. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Who Is the LORD?
Pharaoh answers God's demand with proud contempt, claiming he does not know the LORD and will not obey Him.
Bricks Without Straw
Instead of freeing Israel, Pharaoh crushes them harder, demanding the same quota of bricks while cutting off their supply of straw.
The LORD Look Upon You
Beaten and desperate, the Hebrew officers turn on Moses and Aaron, blaming them for making their bondage worse.
Moses Turns to God
Shaken and confused, Moses brings his hard questions straight to the LORD, honestly asking why things have only grown worse.
I Know Not the LORD (Exodus 5:1-5)
Moses and Aaron deliver God's demand, and Pharaoh answers with proud contempt for the God he claims not to know.
Let My People Go
"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. And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go. And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the LORD our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens. And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,"
Hebrew Study
Moses' first demand names its true purpose: "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me" (chagag, to keep a pilgrim-festival). Pharaoh's answer frames the whole book: "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?... I know not the LORD" — lo yadati. That is the question Exodus exists to answer; before the plagues are done Pharaoh, Egypt, and Israel will all "know that I am the LORD." The tyrant's ignorance of God is the darkness the signs will shatter.
Explanation
Moses and Aaron come before the most powerful ruler on earth with the word of God: "Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness." Notice the purpose God gives: not merely freedom, but worship. Israel is to be freed so they may hold a feast to the LORD. Pharaoh's response is a monument of pride: "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice? ... I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go." He knows the gods of Egypt, and he counts himself a god, but the God of a slave people means nothing to him. He does not know the LORD, and he does not intend to. It is a defiant question, and the rest of Exodus will be God's answer to it. By the time the plagues have run their course, Pharaoh and all Egypt will know exactly who the LORD is.
Gospel Focus
"Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?" is the question of every proud heart that refuses to bow to God. Pharaoh spoke it out loud, but many say it quietly by the way they live, acting as if God has no claim on them. Yet God had already declared the end of Pharaoh's defiance: "the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt" (Exodus 7:5). The man who said "I know not the LORD" would be made to know Him, not in mercy but in judgment. It is a fearful thing to demand "Who is the LORD?" as a challenge, for God will surely answer it. Far better to ask it as a seeker and come to know Him as Savior now than to be forced to know Him as Judge later. And notice why God wanted His people freed: "that they may hold a feast unto me." The goal of deliverance is worship. God saves us not merely to make us free but to make us His worshippers, for "the Father seeketh such to worship him" (John 4:23). We are brought out of bondage to bow before God.
Bricks Without Straw (Exodus 5:6-14)
Rather than let Israel go, Pharaoh makes their slavery harsher, cutting off their straw while demanding the same number of bricks.
Let Them Gather Straw for Themselves
"Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished. So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw. And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore? Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the LORD. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task."
Hebrew Study
Pharaoh's cruelty grows precise and psychological: the same daily tale of bricks (matkoneth, the fixed quota) now with no straw supplied — the workers must scatter to gather stubble and still meet the count. And he names their desire to worship as mere sloth: "ye are idle, ye are idle" — nirpim, slack — "therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice." It is the oppressor's oldest slander: to call devotion to God laziness, and to bury the longing for worship under heavier work.
Explanation
Pharaoh strikes back at the request for worship by making the work impossible. Until now, the Egyptians supplied the straw that bound the mud bricks together; now the Hebrews must gather their own straw, scattering across the land to find stubble, yet still produce the same daily quota, "ye shall not diminish ought thereof." Pharaoh calls them "idle," claiming their cry to worship God is just laziness, and he loads more work on them to crush the very idea out of them. It is a shrewd and cruel move. The people are worn down, scattered, and driven, and the Hebrew officers set over them are beaten when the impossible quota falls short. Pharaoh's strategy is to make them too exhausted and desperate to think of freedom or God. The first result of Moses' obedience is not relief but a heavier chain.
Gospel Focus
Here is a hard truth of the life of faith: obedience to God can bring opposition before it brings deliverance. Moses did exactly what God said, and the immediate result was that things got worse, not better. This surprises us, but it should not. When God's people begin to move toward freedom and worship, the enemy often presses harder, hoping to crush their resolve. The apostles taught the young churches this very thing, "that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22). The path out of Egypt ran through a season of heavier bricks. Do not be shaken, then, if stepping out in obedience to God is first met with increased difficulty. It is not a sign that you have missed God's will; it may be the very evidence that you are on the way out, and the enemy knows it. The darkness is often deepest just before the deliverance dawns. Pharaoh piled on the work precisely because God had begun to move, and God's move would not be stopped by Pharaoh's spite.
The LORD Look Upon You (Exodus 5:15-21)
The beaten officers cry to Pharaoh in vain, then turn their anger on Moses and Aaron for making their bondage worse.
Ye Have Made Our Savour to Be Abhorred
"And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh: And they said unto them, The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us."
Hebrew Study
The Hebrew officers (shoterim, the foremen drawn from Israel) are beaten for the shortfall, and they turn their bitterness not on Pharaoh but on Moses: "the LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred" — ba'ash, to stink — in Pharaoh's eyes. Here is a hard truth of redemption: the first effect of the deliverer's coming is not relief but deeper affliction, and the very people being saved resent the one sent to save them.
Explanation
The Hebrew officers appeal to Pharaoh, pointing out that the fault lies with his own taskmasters, but Pharaoh only mocks them: "Ye are idle, ye are idle." Getting no relief, they come out and find Moses and Aaron waiting, and they unload their bitterness on them: "The LORD look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh," that is, you have made us stink to Pharaoh and given him an excuse to kill us. The very men Moses came to save now see him as the cause of their deeper misery. Their hope had been raised and then dashed, and in their pain they turn on their would-be deliverer. It is a crushing moment for Moses: Pharaoh has rejected him, and now his own people have too.
Gospel Focus
The people's bitter blame is understandable but misplaced. Their fight was with Pharaoh's cruelty and, behind it, with the unbelief that could not yet see God's plan; but in their pain they aimed their anger at Moses, the one God had sent to help them. This often happens to those who try to lead others toward God. When the road gets hard, the very people you are trying to help may turn on you. Moses would learn to bear this again and again in the years ahead, as every faithful servant of God must. It is worth remembering that they cried, "The LORD look upon you, and judge," calling on God against His own servant, when in truth God had already looked upon their affliction to save them. Suffering can blind us, making us lash out even at God's mercy. When we cannot see what God is doing, it is easy to blame the wrong person. The lesson for us is patience on both sides: patience for leaders who are misjudged, and a warning to us not to turn against God's messengers when the road grows hard. God had not failed them; He had only just begun.
Moses Returned Unto the LORD (Exodus 5:22-23)
Shaken by Pharaoh's defiance and his people's blame, Moses does the right thing with his confusion: he takes it straight to God.
Wherefore Hast Thou So Evil Entreated This People?
"And Moses returned unto the LORD, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all."
Hebrew Study
Moses takes the complaint straight to God, and does not soften it: "wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?" (hare'otah) — "neither hast thou delivered thy people at all" (hatsel lo-hitsalta, the emphatic "delivering thou hast not delivered"). This is not unbelief but honest, wrestling prayer — the same frankness with which Job and the psalmists press their case. God is large enough for the questions of the men He sends.
Explanation
Moses is deeply shaken. Everything has gone wrong: Pharaoh scorned God, the burden increased, and the people turned on him. So Moses does the wisest thing a confused servant can do: "Moses returned unto the LORD." He does not quit, and he does not merely stew in bitterness; he takes his hard questions to God. And they are hard, honest questions: "wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? ... neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." Moses is bewildered. He obeyed, and it seems only to have made things worse, and God has not delivered anyone. There is real faith in this complaint, even in its confusion, because Moses brings it to the right place. He does not conclude that God is powerless or absent; he brings his "why" to God Himself and waits for an answer, which God will give in the very next chapter.
Gospel Focus
There is comfort in seeing that even Moses struggled to understand God's ways, and that he brought his struggle to God rather than away from Him. God is not offended by the honest questions of a faithful heart. The Scripture invites us, "Trust in him at all times; ye people, pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us" (Psalm 62:8). Moses poured out his heart, and that is exactly what God wants us to do with our confusion and pain. There is a great difference between the complaint that turns away from God in unbelief and the complaint that turns toward God in trust; Moses' was the latter. He did not have the answer, but he took his question to the One who did. When God's ways make no sense to us, when obedience seems to make things worse, the answer is not to abandon Him but to run to Him and lay our honest "why" before Him. And the God who let Moses ask would soon answer with the great "I AM" promises of chapter 6. The darkest confusion of God's servant was, once again, just before the dawn of God's deliverance.
Chapter 5 in Review
Exodus 5 is the first, discouraging round with Pharaoh. Moses and Aaron deliver God's demand, "Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me," and Pharaoh answers with proud contempt: "Who is the LORD? ... I know not the LORD." Instead of freeing Israel, he crushes them harder, cutting off their straw while demanding the same bricks, and the beaten officers turn their anger on Moses. Shaken by Pharaoh's defiance and his people's blame, Moses brings his honest, confused questions straight to God: "wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people?"
For the Apostolic reader, this hard chapter is full of instruction. It shows the pride of the human heart that asks "Who is the LORD?" as a challenge, and it warns that God will surely answer such defiance. It reminds us that the goal of our deliverance is worship, for God frees His people to serve Him. It prepares us for the hard truth that obedience can meet fresh opposition before it brings deliverance, that we enter the kingdom "through much tribulation," and that those we serve may sometimes blame us. And it teaches us, through Moses, to bring our confusion to God rather than away from Him, pouring out our hearts before the God who is our refuge. The chapter ends in Moses' darkest bewilderment, which is exactly where God loves to begin His deliverance.
- Pride asks "Who is the LORD?" as a challenge, but God will surely answer it (5:2; Exodus 7:5).
- The goal of deliverance is worship: God frees His people to serve Him (5:1; John 4:23).
- Obedience can bring opposition before deliverance; we enter the kingdom through much tribulation (5:7-9; Acts 14:22).
- Those we try to help may turn on us when the road grows hard (5:21).
- Bring your honest confusion to God, not away from Him: pour out your heart before Him (5:22; Psalm 62:8).
Questions for Reflection
- Pharaoh asked "Who is the LORD?" in defiance. Where might you be living as if God has no claim on you?
- Moses obeyed and things got harder. How do you respond when doing right seems to make things worse?
- Moses took his confusion to God. Do you pour out your honest questions before Him, or turn away in discouragement?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). "The tale of the bricks" means the required count or quota of bricks, and "your savour to be abhorred" means to be made hateful or repugnant, as can be checked in any Bible reference. Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- Pharaoh's defiance and the goal of worship: Exodus 5:1-5; Exodus 7:5; John 4:23.
- Bricks without straw; opposition before deliverance: Exodus 5:6-14; Acts 14:22.
- The people blame Moses: Exodus 5:15-21.
- Moses pours out his heart to God: Exodus 5:22-23; Psalm 62:8.