Exodus 5:5-7
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
5 Pharaoh continued, “Look how they are already more numerous[a] than the people of the land, and yet you would give them rest from their labors!”
6 That very day Pharaoh gave the taskmasters of the people and their foremen[b] this order: 7 “You shall no longer supply the people with straw for their brickmaking[c] as before. Let them go and gather their own straw!
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 5:5 They are already more numerous: a recollection of Pharaoh’s earlier words to his subjects in 1:9.
- 5:6 The taskmasters of the people and their foremen: the former were higher officials and probably Egyptians; the latter were lower officials (perhaps recordkeepers or clerks), chosen from the Israelites themselves. Cf. v. 14.
- 5:7 Straw was mixed with clay to give sun-dried bricks greater cohesion and durability.
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