Exodus 5:6-14 New English Translation
6 That same day Pharaoh commanded[a] the slave masters and foremen[b] who were[c] over the people:[d] 7 “You must no longer[e] give straw to the people for making bricks[f] as before.[g] Let them go[h] and collect straw for themselves. 8 But you must require[i] of them the same quota of bricks that they were making before.[j] Do not reduce it, for they are slackers.[k] That is why they are crying, ‘Let us go sacrifice to our God.’ 9 Make the work harder[l] for the men so they will keep at it[m] and pay no attention to lying words!”[n]
10 So the slave masters of the people and their foremen went to the Israelites and said,[o] “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I am not giving[p] you straw. 11 You[q] go get straw for yourselves wherever you can[r] find it, because there will be no reduction at all in your workload.’” 12 So the people spread out[s] through all the land of Egypt to collect stubble for straw. 13 The slave masters were pressuring[t] them, saying, “Complete[u] your work for each day, just like when there was straw!” 14 The Israelite foremen whom Pharaoh’s slave masters had set over them were beaten and were asked,[v] “Why did you not complete your requirement for brickmaking as in the past—both yesterday and today?”[w]
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- Exodus 5:6 tn Heb “and Pharaoh commanded on that day.”
- Exodus 5:6 tn The Greek has “scribes” for this word, perhaps thinking of those lesser officials as keeping records of the slaves and the bricks.
- Exodus 5:6 tn The phrase “who were” is supplied for clarity.
- Exodus 5:6 sn In vv. 6-14 the second section of the chapter describes the severe measures by the king to increase the labor by decreasing the material. The emphasis in this section must be on the harsh treatment of the people and Pharaoh’s reason for it—he accuses them of idleness because they want to go and worship. The real reason, of course, is that he wants to discredit Moses (v. 9) and keep the people as slaves.
- Exodus 5:7 tn The construction is a verbal hendiadys: לֹא תֹאסִפוּן לָתֵת (loʾ toʾsifun latet, “you must not add to give”). The imperfect tense acts adverbially, and the infinitive becomes the main verb of the clause: “you must no longer give.”
- Exodus 5:7 tn The expression “for making bricks” is made of the infinitive construct followed by its cognate accusative: לִלְבֹּן הַלְּבֵנִים (lilbon hallevenim).
- Exodus 5:7 tn Heb “as yesterday and three days ago” or “as yesterday and before that.” This is idiomatic for “as previously” or “as in the past.”
- Exodus 5:7 tn The jussive יֵלְכוּ (yelekhu) and its following sequential verb would have the force of decree and not permission or advice. He is telling them to go and find straw or stubble for the bricks.
- Exodus 5:8 tn The verb is the Qal imperfect of שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). The form could be an imperfect of instruction: “You will place upon them the quota.” Or, as here, it may be an obligatory imperfect: “You must place.”
- Exodus 5:8 tn Heb “yesterday and three days ago” or “yesterday and before that” is idiomatic for “previously” or “in the past.”
- Exodus 5:8 tn Or “loafers.” The form נִרְפִּים (nirpim) is derived from the verb רָפָה (rafah), meaning “to be weak, to let oneself go.” They had been letting the work go, Pharaoh reasoned, and being idle is why they had time to think about going to worship.
- Exodus 5:9 tn Heb “let the work be heavy.”
- Exodus 5:9 tn The text has וְיַעֲשׂוּ־בָהּ (veyaʿasu vah, “and let them work in it”) or the like. The jussive forms part of the king’s decree that the men not only be required to work harder but be doing it: “Let them be occupied in it.”sn For a discussion of this whole section, see K. A. Kitchen, “From the Brickfields of Egypt,” TynBul 27 (1976): 137-47.
- Exodus 5:9 sn The words of Moses are here called “lying words” (דִבְרֵי־שָׁקֶר, divre shaqer). Here is the main reason, then, for Pharaoh’s new policy. He wanted to discredit Moses. So the words that Moses spoke Pharaoh calls false and lying words. The world was saying that God’s words were vain and deceptive because they were calling people to a higher order. In a short time God would reveal that they were true words.
- Exodus 5:10 tn Heb “went out and spoke to the people saying.” Here “the people” has been specified as “the Israelites” for clarity.
- Exodus 5:10 tn The construction uses the negative particle combined with a subject suffix before the participle: אֵינֶנִּי נֹתֵן (ʾenenni noten, “there is not I—giving”).
- Exodus 5:11 tn The independent personal pronoun emphasizes that the people were to get their own straw, and it heightens the contrast with the king. “You—go get.”
- Exodus 5:11 tn The tense in this section could be translated as having the nuance of possibility: “wherever you may find it,” or the nuance of potential imperfect: “wherever you are able to find any.”
- Exodus 5:12 tn The verb וַיָּפֶץ (vayyafets) is from the hollow root פּוּץ (puts) and means “scatter, spread abroad.”
- Exodus 5:13 tn Or “pressed.”
- Exodus 5:13 tn כַּלּוּ (kallu) is the Piel imperative; the verb means “to finish, complete” in the sense of filling up the quota.
- Exodus 5:14 tn The quotation is introduced with the common word לֵאמֹר (leʾmor, “saying”) and no mention of who said the question.
- Exodus 5:14 sn The idioms for time here are found also in 3:10 and 5:7-8. This question no doubt represents many accusations shouted at Israelites during the period when it was becoming obvious that, despite all their efforts, they were unable to meet their quotas as before.
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