Antiguo Testamento

Exodus — Capítulo 5

FIRST INTERVIEW WITH PHARAOH. (Exo. 5:1-23) Moses and Aaron went in--As representatives of the Hebrews, they were entitled to ask an audience of the king, and their thorough Egyptian training taught them how and when …

Versión

Texto — Reina-Valera 1960

1Después Moisés y Aarón entraron a la presencia de Faraón y le dijeron: Jehová el Dios de Israel dice así: Deja ir a mi pueblo a celebrarme fiesta en el desierto.

2Y Faraón respondió: ¿Quién es Jehová, para que yo oiga su voz y deje ir a Israel? Yo no conozco a Jehová, ni tampoco dejaré ir a Israel.

3Y ellos dijeron: El Dios de los hebreos nos ha encontrado; iremos, pues, ahora, camino de tres días por el desierto, y ofreceremos sacrificios a Jehová nuestro Dios, para que no venga sobre nosotros con peste o con espada.

4Entonces el rey de Egipto les dijo: Moisés y Aarón, ¿por qué hacéis cesar al pueblo de su trabajo? Volved a vuestras tareas.

5Dijo también Faraón: He aquí el pueblo de la tierra es ahora mucho, y vosotros les hacéis cesar de sus tareas.

6Y mandó Faraón aquel mismo día a los cuadrilleros del pueblo que lo tenían a su cargo, y a sus capataces, diciendo:

7De aquí en adelante no daréis paja al pueblo para hacer ladrillo, como hasta ahora; vayan ellos y recojan por sí mismos la paja.

8Y les impondréis la misma tarea de ladrillo que hacían antes, y no les disminuiréis nada; porque están ociosos, por eso levantan la voz diciendo: Vamos y ofrezcamos sacrificios a nuestro Dios.

9Agrávese la servidumbre sobre ellos, para que se ocupen en ella, y no atiendan a palabras mentirosas.

10Y saliendo los cuadrilleros del pueblo y sus capataces, hablaron al pueblo, diciendo: Así ha dicho Faraón: Yo no os doy paja.

11Id vosotros y recoged la paja donde la halléis; pero nada se disminuirá de vuestra tarea.

12Entonces el pueblo se esparció por toda la tierra de Egipto para recoger rastrojo en lugar de paja.

13Y los cuadrilleros los apremiaban, diciendo: Acabad vuestra obra, la tarea de cada día en su día, como cuando se os daba paja.

14Y azotaban a los capataces de los hijos de Israel que los cuadrilleros de Faraón habían puesto sobre ellos, diciendo: ¿Por qué no habéis cumplido vuestra tarea de ladrillo ni ayer ni hoy, como antes?

15Y los capataces de los hijos de Israel vinieron a Faraón y se quejaron a él, diciendo: ¿Por qué lo haces así con tus siervos?

16No se da paja a tus siervos, y con todo nos dicen: Haced el ladrillo. Y he aquí tus siervos son azotados, y el pueblo tuyo es el culpable.

17Y él respondió: Estáis ociosos, sí, ociosos, y por eso decís: Vamos y ofrezcamos sacrificios a Jehová.

18Id pues, ahora, y trabajad. No se os dará paja, y habéis de entregar la misma tarea de ladrillo.

19Entonces los capataces de los hijos de Israel se vieron en aflicción, al decírseles: No se disminuirá nada de vuestro ladrillo, de la tarea de cada día.

20Y encontrando a Moisés y a Aarón, que estaban a la vista de ellos cuando salían de la presencia de Faraón,

21les dijeron: Mire Jehová sobre vosotros, y juzgue; pues nos habéis hecho abominables delante de Faraón y de sus siervos, poniéndoles la espada en la mano para que nos maten.

22Entonces Moisés se volvió a Jehová, y dijo: Señor, ¿por qué afliges a este pueblo? ¿Para qué me enviaste?

23Porque desde que yo vine a Faraón para hablarle en tu nombre, ha afligido a este pueblo; y tú no has librado a tu pueblo.

JAMIESON-FAUSSET-BROWN BIBLE COMMENTARY

Versículo 2

I. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord--rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of…

And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord--rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of worship; but Jehovah was a name he had never heard of. Pharaoh estimated the character and power of this God by the abject and miserable condition of the worshippers and concluded that He held as low a rank among the gods as His people did in the nation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the true God over all the gods of Egypt, was the design of the plagues. I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go--As his honor and interest were both involved he determined to crush this attempt, and in a tone of insolence, or perhaps profanity, rejected the request for the release of the Hebrew slaves.

Versículo 3

II. The God of the Hebrews hath met with us--Instead of being provoked into reproaches or threats, th…

The God of the Hebrews hath met with us--Instead of being provoked into reproaches or threats, they mildly assured him that it was not a proposal originating among themselves, but a duty enjoined on them by their God. They had for a long series of years been debarred from the privilege of religious worship, and as there was reason to fear that a continued neglect of divine ordinances would draw down upon them the judgments of offended heaven, they begged permission to go three days' journey into the desert--a place of seclusion--where their sacrificial observances would neither suffer interruption nor give umbrage to the Egyptians. In saying this, they concealed their ultimate design of abandoning the kingdom, and by making this partial request at first, they probably wished to try the king's temper before they disclosed their intentions any farther. But they said only what God had put in their mouths (Exo 3:12, Exo 3:18), and this "legalizes the specific act, while it gives no sanction to the general habit of dissimulation" [CHALMERS].

Versículo 4

III. Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? &c.--Without taking any notice…

Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? &c.--Without taking any notice of what they had said, he treated them as ambitious demagogues, who were appealing to the superstitious feelings of the people, to stir up sedition and diffuse a spirit of discontent, which spreading through so vast a body of slaves, might endanger the peace of the country.

Versículo 6

IV. Pharaoh commanded--It was a natural consequence of the high displeasure created by this interview…

Pharaoh commanded--It was a natural consequence of the high displeasure created by this interview that he should put additional burdens on the oppressed Israelites. taskmasters--Egyptian overseers, appointed to exact labor of the Israelites. officers--Hebrews placed over their brethren, under the taskmasters, precisely analogous to the Arab officers set over the Arab Fellahs, the poor laborers in modern Egypt.

Versículo 7

V. Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick--The making of bricks appears to have been a…

Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick--The making of bricks appears to have been a government monopoly as the ancient bricks are nearly all stamped with the name of a king, and they were formed, as they are still in Lower Egypt, of clay mixed with chopped straw and dried or hardened in the sun. The Israelites were employed in this drudgery; and though they still dwelt in Goshen and held property in flocks and herds, they were compelled in rotation to serve in the brick quarries, pressed in alternating groups, just as the fellaheen, or peasants, are marched by press gangs in the same country still. let them go and gather straw for themselves--The enraged despot did not issue orders to do an impracticable thing. The Egyptian reapers in the corn harvest were accustomed merely to cut off the ears and leave the stalk standing.

Versículo 8

VI. tale--an appointed number of bricks. The materials of their labor were to be no longer supplied, …

tale--an appointed number of bricks. The materials of their labor were to be no longer supplied, and yet, as the same amount of produce was exacted daily, it is impossible to imagine more aggravated cruelty--a perfect specimen of Oriental despotism.

Versículo 12

VII. So the people were scattered--It was an immense grievance to the laborers individually, but there…

So the people were scattered--It was an immense grievance to the laborers individually, but there would be no hindrance from the husbandmen whose fields they entered, as almost all the lands of Egypt were in the possession of the crown (Gen 47:20).

Versículo 13

VIII. And the taskmasters hasted them . . . officers . . . beaten--As the nearest fields were bared and…

And the taskmasters hasted them . . . officers . . . beaten--As the nearest fields were bared and the people had to go farther for stubble, it was impossible for them to meet the demand by the usual tale of bricks. "The beating of the officers is just what might have been expected from an Eastern tyrant, especially in the valley of the Nile, as it appears from the monuments, that ancient Egypt, like modern China, was principally governed by the stick" [TAYLOR]. "The mode of beating was by the offender being laid flat on the ground and generally held by the hands and feet while the chastisement was administered" [WILKINSON]. (Deu 25:2). A picture representing the Hebrews on a brick field, exactly as described in this chapter, was found in an Egyptian tomb at Thebes.

Versículo 20

IX. they met Moses . . . The Lord look upon you, and judge--Thus the deliverer of Israel found that t…

they met Moses . . . The Lord look upon you, and judge--Thus the deliverer of Israel found that this patriotic interference did, in the first instance, only aggravate the evil he wished to remove, and that instead of receiving the gratitude, he was loaded with the reproaches of his countrymen. But as the greatest darkness is immediately before the dawn, so the people of God are often plunged into the deepest affliction when on the eve of their deliverance; and so it was in this case. Next: Exodus Chapter 6

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