Review of the previous lesson (v. 1-5)
Review of the previous lesson, verses 1-5.
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who went to Egypt with Jacob, each with his family: 2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah; 3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin; 4 Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. 5 The descendants of Jacob numbered seventy in all; Joseph was already in Egypt.
Introduction
Exodus 1:1–14 describes the explosive growth of the nation of Israel and the erosion of their relationship with Egypt. Joseph's efforts in the past saved Egypt from ruin, and his family was welcomed into the land. Generations later, the drastic increase in their population is seen as a threat to the Egyptian people. Motivated by a combination of fear and disgust, the king of Egypt brutally enslaved the people of Israel to reduce their numbers. This effort fails, and the following passage shows Pharaoh resorting to infanticide to control the Hebrews.
EXODUS 5:6-14
6 That same day, Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: 7 You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. 8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; do not reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.' 9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.'
10 Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, 'This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw. 11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.'' 12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. 13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, 'Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.' 14 And Pharaoh's slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, 'Why haven't you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?'
Commentary on Exodus 5:6-14
5:6 That same day, Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people:
As Pharaoh possessed neither fear of God nor fear of the gods, but, in the proud security of his might, determined to keep the Israelites as enslaved people and to use them as tools for the glorifying of his kingdom by the erection of magnificent buildings, he suspected that their wish to go into the desert was nothing but an excuse invented by idlers, and prompted by a thirst for freedom, which might become dangerous to his kingdom, on account of the numerical strength of the people. He, therefore, thought that he could best extinguish such desires and attempts by increasing the oppression and adding to their labors. For this reason, he instructed his taskmasters to abstain from delivering straw to the Israelites who were engaged in making bricks and letting them gather it for themselves; but not to make the slightest reduction in the number to be delivered every day. "Those who urged the people on" were the taskmasters selected from the Egyptians and placed over the Israelitish workmen, the general managers of the work. Under them, some taskmasters were chosen from the Israelites and had to distribute the work among the people and hand it over, when finished, to the royal officers. The bricks were not burned, for the bricks used in the ancient monuments of Egypt and many of the pyramids are not burnt in ovens but dried in the sun. The straw used for binding bricks is accomplished by adding chopped straw, made from the stubble that was left standing when the corn was reaped or the straw that lay upon the ground. They chopped up and mixed with the clay to provide further durability to the bricks, which may be seen in bricks found in the oldest monuments.
What is a taskmaster? [one that imposes a task or burdens another with labor] The Egyptian taskmasters would wake the Hebrews at dawn every morning for their slave labor. To do this, the taskmasters would enter the houses of the Israelites. [When one taskmaster entered Shelomith's tent, he was struck by her beauty and desired her.]
7 You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw.
You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks. Whether this was given and used to mix with the clay, as is done in some places, that the bricks made thereof might be firmer, or to burn them in the furnaces, or to cover them from the heat of the sun, that they might not dry too soon and crack, is not easy to determine. However, it is said that the unburnt bricks of Egypt formerly were and still are made of clay mixed with straw. The Egyptian pyramids seem to be made of the earth brought by the Nile, being of sandy black earth, with some pebbles and shells in it; it is mixed up with chopped straw to bind the clay together, as they now make unburnt bricks in Egypt, and many other eastern parts, which they use very much in their buildings. He says he found some of these bricks (of the pyramid) thirteen inches and a half long, six inches and a half are broad, and four inches thick; and others fifteen inches long, seven broad, and four inches thick. However, be the straw for what use it will, it had been dealt out to them by proper persons to be used in one way or another, but now it was forbidden to be given them: as heretofore it had been done: let them go and gather straw for themselves; out of the fields where it lay, after the corn had been reaped and gathered in, or in barns, where it had been threshed; to do which must take up a good deal of their time, and especially if the straw lay at any distance, or was hard to come by.
8 But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; do not reduce the quota. They are lazy; they are crying out, 'Let us go and sacrifice to our God.'
Peter knew that John the Baptist—the first prophet of God since Malachi, 400 years before—identified Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah who would rescue the Jews (John 1:35–42). When Jesus felt too crowded on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, Peter willingly took Jesus onto his boat. They were cast off from shore so people could better hear Christ's teaching. Furthermore, when Jesus told Peter and his brother to go into the deeper part of the lake, they did so, despite their night being fruitless and it was the wrong time of day to fish in deep water (Luke 5:1–5).
It is unclear what the fishers expected, but they did not anticipate so many fish that two cooperating boats were at risk of sinking (Luke 5:6–7).
Peter's attitude toward Jesus immediately transitions from respect for a rabbi to fear of a prophet. The fish, the breaking nets, and the sinking ship are forgotten. Peter does not fully understand who Jesus is, and he will not wait until after the resurrection. He calls Jesus "Lord" because of Jesus' relationship to God as an agent of His authority. He is not necessarily recognizing Jesus as the Christ just yet. However, Peter knows that he does not deserve to be in Jesus' presence.
That is precisely what Jesus is looking for in a disciple: someone who knows they do not "deserve" status or power. Later, Jesus will tell the Pharisees, "Those who well do not need a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance" (Luke 5:31–32). This sinful man will be such an essential part of Jesus' mission that He gives him the nickname Peter—the rock (John 1:42).
Peter's humble acknowledgment of his unworthiness in the presence of Jesus is the first of several attributes Luke illuminates as necessary for discipleship. When Jesus heals a man's leprosy, He grants ceremonial cleanness necessary to worship God. When Jesus heals the paralytic, Luke points out the faith of the paralytic and the forgiveness of his sins. Moreover, when Jesus calls Levi, the tax collector, to follow, Luke is sure to focus the story on repentance. Luke concludes that being in the presence of Jesus and experiencing His new way of life is worthy of celebration (Luke 5:12–39).
Verse 8 transitions from the introduction regarding the evolution of Jacob's family to the situation just prior to the birth of Moses. A new king (Pharaoh) arose in Egypt who "did not know Joseph." The implication is that previous Pharaohs respected Joseph's role in saving their nation, while this new ruler had no knowledge or concern for this history. Despite the widespread use of the name Rameses, the exact identification of this Pharaoh is uncertain. Likely candidates are Thutmose I, Neferhotep I, or possibly Amenhotep I. The capital city during these times was Zoan, known as Tanis in Greek.
Whoever this specific ruler was, he saw the Hebrew people as a threat to Egyptian rule. His rule was oppressive and violent, leading to God's intervention among the Hebrews and the midwives who served among them.
The Egyptians had recently struggled against a people group known as the Hyksos and were likely focused on establishing a greater nationalism. The Pharaoh would focus on three different ways of decreasing the threat to the Egyptian people in the remaining verses of this chapter.
9 Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.'
Jesus works: turning scarcity into abundance beyond anyone's wildest expectations. In return for using his boat and as an introduction to a lifelong mission, Jesus has allowed Peter and Andrew (Mark 1:16) to catch an enormous haul of fish. The overloaded nets threaten to break, and both their boat and James and John are at risk of sinking (Luke 1:1–7).
When Jesus performs a miracle, people are as impressed with the quality of the results as the fact of the results. When He turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana, the steward praised the taste (John 2:9–10). After Jesus healed a man who was deaf and had a speech impediment, the bystanders proclaimed, "He has done all things well. He even makes the deaf hear, and the mute speak" (Mark 7:37).
The four fishermen are soon to learn Jesus' greatest miracle is what He can do in human lives. Later, Paul will tell the Ephesians that God can do "far more abundantly than all we ask or think" (Ephesians 3:20). That includes building a worldwide church: a body of brothers and sisters from every nation and tribe (Revelation 7:9). Jesus does not just invite the fishers into this work (Luke 5:10). He also changes them personally that religious leaders become confused about how uneducated merchants could express such profound theological arguments (Acts 4:13).
The fish are just the beginning. Those in the church these men build continue to experience God's extravagant blessings. When speaking of eternity, Paul quotes Isaiah 64:4: "But, as it is written, 'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9).
10 Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, 'This is what Pharaoh says: 'I will not give you any more straw.
Let the work be heavy (press heavily) upon the people, and they shall make with it (i.e., stick to their work), and not look at lying words." By "lying words," the king meant the words of Moses, that the God of Israel had appeared to him, and demanded a sacrificial festival from His people. In Exodus 5:11 special emphasis is laid upon "ye:" "Go, ye yourselves, fetch your straw," not others for you as heretofore; "for nothing is taken (diminished) from your work." Kimchi has correctly explained this verse by supposing a parenthetical thought, et quidem alacrity vobis eundum est (see v. 11 – "Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all." ).
11 Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.''
"Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it." Straw was not valued in Egypt. Reaping was affected either by gathering the ears or by cutting the stalks of the corn at a short distance below the heads; the straw was then left almost entirely upon the ground. The grass was so plentiful that it was not required for fodder, and there was no use made of it as litter in farmyards. Thus an abundance of straw could be gathered in the cornfields after harvest, and as there were many harvests, some sort of straw was probably obtainable in the Delta at almost all seasons of the year. However, collecting it and chopping it into small pieces, as required in brickmaking, consumed much time and left too little for the actual making of the bricks.
12 So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw.
Verse 12. - The people were scattered abroad throughout the land of Egypt. The expression used is hyperbolical (scattered: of, relating to, or marked by language that exaggerates or overstates the truth ), relating to, or marked by hyperbole and not to be understood literally). A tolerably wide dispersion over the central and eastern portions of the Delta is probably intended. Stubble instead of straw. Rather, "stubble for the straw." Teben, the word translated as straw, seems to be correctly "chopped straw" (stramenta (strata) minutim (minute) concisa (concise). The Israelites, who had been accustomed to having this provided for them, gathered now long stalks of stubble in the fields, which they had subsequently to make into teben by chopping it into short bits.
13 The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, 'Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.'
The Egyptian monuments show us foreign labourers engaged in brickmaking under Egyptian overseers, or "taskmasters," armed with sticks, and "hasten" the labourers whenever they ceased work to rest themselves. The taskmasters hasted (pressed) them. The overseers are continually saying to the workpeople, "Work without faintness."
As when there was straw.—Heb., as when there, was the straw—i.e., as. When the straw was furnished to you.
14 And Pharaoh's slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, 'Why haven't you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?
This makes it clear that the taskmasters and officers were different persons, but that the ones were Egyptians appointed by Pharaoh. The other were Israelites, of the better sort of them, who were set over the poorer sort by the taskmasters, to look after them, and take account of their work, and the tale of their bricks, and give it to the taskmasters; now these were beaten by the taskmasters, either with a cane, stick, or cudgel or with whips and scourges, because there was a deficiency in their accounts. The whole tale of bricks was not given: demanded, wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick, both yesterday and today? On the first day, they were deficient, they took no notice of it and did not call them to an account for it, but this being the case on the second day, they not only argued with them but beat them for it, which was hard usage. They did not need to ask them the reason for it, which they knew very well, and must be sensible that the men could not do the same work and be obliged to spend part of their time in going about for straw or stubble; or the same number of men make the same tale of bricks when some of them were employed to get straw for the rest, and to beat those officers for a deficiency through such means was cruel. Moreover, the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh's taskmasters had set over them,...
