Exodus 5:2

But the king said, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I pay attention to what he says and let the Israeli people [MTY] go? I do not know Yahweh! And furthermore, I will not let the Israeli people go!”

Translation for Translators

In The King James Version

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.

In Context

1Then Aaron and Moses/I went to the king and one of them/us said, “Yahweh God, whom we Israeli people worship, says this to you: ‘Let my people go to the desert, in order that they may have a feast to honor me!’”

3They/we replied, “Yahweh God, the one we Hebrews worship, has ◄revealed himself/appeared► to us and told us what to tell you. So we ask you to please let us go on a three day journey into the desert. We must offer sacrifices to Yahweh God there. If we do not do that, he will cause us to die [IDM] from diseases or from attacks by our enemies [MTY].”

Read all of Exodus 5

Cross References

Exodus 3:19But I know that the king of Egypt will allow you to go only if he realizes I am more powerful [MTY] than he is.

1 Samuel 25:10He said to them, “Who does this man, this son of Jesse, think that he is? [DOU, RHQ] There are many slaves who are running away from their masters at the present time, and it seems to me that he is just one of them.

2 Chronicles 32:15So do not allow Hezekiah to deceive you like this. Do not believe what he says, because no god of any nation or kingdom has ever been able to rescue his people from being conquered by my army and the armies of my ancestors. So certainly your god will not be able to rescue you from my power'.”

Job 15:25Those things happen to them because they ◄shook their fists/dared to fight► against Almighty God, and thought that they were strong enough to defeat him.

Job 21:15Why do you, Almighty God, think that we should serve you? ◄What advantage do we get if we pray to you?/It is useless for us to pray to you.► [RHQ]’

Psalms 12:4They say, “By telling lies we will get what we want; we control what we say [MTY], so no one can tell us what we should not do!”

Matthew Henry on Exodus 5:2-3

Sufferings of the Israelites Increased. ( b. c. 1491.) 1 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. 2 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. Moses and Aaron, having delivered their message to the elders of Israel, with whom they found good acceptance, are now to deal with Pharaoh, to whom they come in… Read the whole commentary →

This Verse In Other Editions

Study Exodus 5:2