5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the | the people, and their officers, saypeople of the land now are f many, ing, and ye make them rest from their burdens. 6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the g taskmasters of f ch. 1.7, 9. g ch. 1. 11. dens, &c. This command was probably designed more expressly for the elders who had accompanied Moses and Aaron, though he would perhaps intimate at the same time that if the brothers were where they ought to be, they would be bearing their part of the burdens. ་ 5. The people of the land now are many, &c. As if he should say, 'If the people are already increased to such a multitude, notwithstanding all the methods taken to prevent it, how much more numerous and formidable will they soon become if suffered to cease from their labor.' Vulg. You see that the multitude is increased; how much more, if you give them rest from their works?' Or, the number of the people may be alluded to in order to hint at the greatness of the damage done to the state by the interruption of the labors of so large a body of men. Some of the Jewish commentators give it still a different shade of meaning, viz. that it was absolutely necessary to keep so great a multitude busily employed, lest they should engage in plots of insurrection. 7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. 7. Ye shall no more give the people straw, &c. Commentators have doubted for what particular purpose straw was made use of by the Egyptians in making brick, some supposing it to be employed for fuel in burning the brick, and others that it was cut or chopt fine and mixed with the clay to give more consistency and firmness to the brick when taken from the kiln. The probability is that it was used for both purposes. The Gr. term axvpov, by which the Heb. is here rendered, signifying properly straw instead of chaff, occurs in Mat. 3. 12. 'He will gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff (straw) with unquenchable fire;' intimating that when the wheat was separated, the straw was of no farther use, except as fuel for fires. Kypke, in his note on this passage, has the following observation: 'The Jews and other nations burnt straw and stubble, instead of wood, in cooking their meats, in heating their furnaces, and in other uses:' for which he cites the Symposi acks of Plutarch; Those who melt 6. The task-masters of the people and gold work it by a fire kindled with their officers. These task-masters,' straw.' The same thing is to be inferlit. 'exactors,' constituting the highest red from the words of Christ, Mat. 6. grade of officers, were Egyptians ap- 30, 'Wherefore if God so clothe the pointed to exact labor of the Israelites. grass of the field which to-day is, and But those termed 'officers,' appear, V. to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he 14-16, to have been Israelites set over not much more,' &c. On which Grotheir brethren. The latter term is ren- tius quotes the words of Ulpian the Rodered in the Gr. 'Scribes,' i. e. probably man lawyer in a definition of fuel; 'In men who executed written decrees, or some regions, as for instance in Egypt, rendered written accounts of their offi- where reeds and the papyrus plant are cial services, answering with consider burnt for fuel, the common appellation able exactness to our modern 'sheriffs.''wood' includes certain species of herbs It is, however, certain that they were and thorns and other vegetables. This under-officers to the task-masters. is accounted for from the fact, that in 8 And the tale of the bricks which | Let us go and sacrifice to our God. 9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein: and let them not regard vain words. they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish aught thereof; for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, most of the eastern countries wood is so extremely scarce, that various species of dried vegetables, grass, straw, flowers, and furze, constitute their principal articles of fuel. But that straw, on the other hand, was used in the composition of brick in Egypt, is evident from the reports of modern travellers. Thus Dr. Shaw, speaking of the bricks found in one of the Egyptian pyramids, says, 'The composition is only a mixture of clay, mud, and straw, slightly blended and kneaded together.' Baumgarten, another traveller, speaking of Cairo in Egypt, says, "The houses for the most part are of brick mixt with straw to make them firm. Sir John Chardin tells us, 'That eastern bricks are made of clay, well moistened with water, and mixed with straw, which, according to their way of getting the grain out of the ear, is cut into small pieces by a machine which they make use of instead of a flail for thrashing.' ¶ As heretofore. Literally, 'As yesterday and the third day.' See Note on Gen. 31. 2. Hitherto those who labored in the brick-fields had been furnished all the materials for their work, not only the clay of which the bricks were made, but the straw with which they were compacted. But the present order was a great grievance, as much of the time which should have been employed in making the bricks was now consumed in seeking for straw. And this burden must have become more heavy every day, in proportion as the straw thus hunted up became scarce in the neighborhood of the brick-fields. But in all this the lot of the Israelites seems intended to illustrate a frequent law of providence, viz., that the burden of affliction presses the heavier, the nearer the approach of deliverance. His people are not prepared for the destined relief till their cup of woe is full, and all help is entirely despaired of except from heaven. tikbad תכבד העבדה .Heb 8. The tale of the bricks, &c. That is, the number, the amount of the bricks. This was the very refinement of cruelty to require the end and yet deny the means.- -T For they be idle. A charge than which nothing could be more unreasonable or untrue. The cities they built for Pharaoh, and the other fruits of their labors, were witnesses for them that they were not idle, though it is not unlikely that many of these public works were so intrinsically useless, like the pyramids, that it was little better than idleness to be employed about them; yet diligently employed they certainly were, and he thus basely misrepresents them, that he might have a pretence for increasing their burdens. 9. Let there more work be laid upon the men. ha-abodah, let the work be heavy upon the men; which if they performed they would be broken down by it, while if they failed to perform it, they would be punished. So fearful is the alternative which iron-hearted oppression leaves to its poor victims! Let them not regard vain words. Heb. 37 dibrë shaker, words of lying. Vanity and falsehood, according to the Hebrew idiom, are often used interchangeably for each other. See Note on Ex. 20. 7. If the phrase is to be understood in the sense given it by our translation, it is a directly impious and slanderous imputation upon the words of God, as vain, empty, and delusive. But as the original for words,' is often equivalent to 'things,' (See Note on Gen. 15. 1.), 10 T And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw. 11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not aught of your work shall be diminished. the import may be that they were not to indulge themselves in vain hopes, dreams, and aspirations. The Heb. term for regard ( shaah) when used in the sense of having respect to a person or thing is usually followed by 3 el, al, or signifying to, as Gen. 4. 4, And God had respect unto Abel ( va-yisha el Hebel) and to his offering.' But when constructed with the preposition b, in, as here, it signifies rather to meditate or to ponder orally upon any thing, as Ps. 119. 117,772 ve 6 esha behukkeka tamid, and I will meditate in thy statutes continually. Accordingly the Gr. renders the present passage, 'Let them care for these words, and let them not care for vain words.' Chal. 'Let them be occupied in it (the work), and let them not be occupied in idle words.' Syr. 'Let them think upon it (the work), and not think upon vain words.' Arab. Let them be occupied in it, and not occupy themselves in vain things.' The sense undoubtedly is, that they were to give themselves unremittingly to their work, and not to cherish any vain, wild, illusory hopes, whether the product of their own minds, or suggested to them by others. 10. I will not give you straw. I will not allow it to be given. The taskmasters were probably Egyptians, while the officers were native Israelites. The message would be as grievous to the one as it probably was acceptable to the other. 12. So the people were scattered abroad. This dispersion, however, would at least 12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt, to gather stubble instead of straw. 13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw. have the effect to make Pharaoh's barbarous usage of his bondmen extensively known, and perhaps to cause them to be pitied and somewhat aided by their compassionate neighbors. T To gather stubble instead of straw. 'We are so much in the habit of associating the making of bricks with burning, that the common reader fails to discover that the straw could be for any other use than to burn the bricks. With out disputing that the Egyptians did sometimes burn their bricks, the evidence of ancient remains in their country and the existing customs of the East leave little room to doubt that the use of the straw was to mix with and compact the mass of clay used in making sun-dried bricks, such as we have noticed in the notes on Babylon and on the pyramids. Bricks of this sort are still commonly made in Egypt; and their ancient use in the same country is evinced by the brick pyramids at Dashoor and Faioum. never in the fire is shown by the fact that the straw which enters into their composition has sustained no injury or discoloration. Such bricks are very durable in dry climates like Egypt, but would soon be ruined if exposed to much rain. Herodotus observed it as one of the customs in which the Egyptians were unlike other nations, that they kneaded their clay with their hands, and their dough with their feet.'-Pict. Bib. That they were 13. The task-masters hasted them. Heb. DN atzim (were) urgent, pressing. Chal. Drove them.' As the taskmasters exercised a more especial superintendance over the 'officers,' it is pro 14 And the officers of the children 15 ¶ Then the officers of the of Israel, which Pharaoh's task-children of Israel came and cried masters had set over them, were unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore beaten, and demanded, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy serhave ye not fulfilled your task in vants? making brick, both yesterday and to-day, as heretofore? 16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, dent. Instances are mentioned of persons who, being wealthy, and knowing that attempts would be made to extort money from them by beating, have inured themselves, by self-inflicted blows, to bear the worst without being shaken. The consequence of all this is, that personal chastisement is in those countries not considered a disgrace, but sim bable that the latter are to be understood by the expletive 'them' in this connexion. This appears still more obvious in comparing the next verse. -Fulfil your works, your daily tasks. Heb. 12 debar yom | deyomo, the matter of a day in his day. Gr. Ta kaůnxovтa kal' 'nμɛpav, the things appropriate to every day. 14. The officers of the children of Is-ply a misfortune, limited to the pain inrael. That is, not so much the officers flicted, or to the degree of displeasure that were over the children of Israel, on the part of a superior which it may but the officers that were by birth of be understood to indicate. A great the children of Israel. Accordingly the minister of state, who was beaten yesGr. has, 'The scribes of the lineage of terday, does not hold his head less the sons of Israel.' Were beaten, erect, and is not less courted or reand demanded. Heb. ¬¬ yukku spected to-day, if he still retains his mor, were beaten, saying. This is place and influence at court; and if his quite oriental. We need only allude to great master condescends, on second China, which has aptly been said to be thoughts, to invest his bruised person governed by the stick. In Persia also with a robe of honor, and to speak a the stick is in continual action. Men few words of kindness or compliment, of all ranks and ages are continually the former punishment is considered by hable to be beaten. It is by no means all parties to be more than adequately a rare occurrence for the highest and compensated.'-Pict. Bib. most trusted persons in the state, in a moment of displeasure or caprice in their royal master, to be handed over to the beaters of carpets, who thrash them with their sticks as if they were dogs. The same practice descends through all ranks; and it has often made the writer's heart ache to see respectable, and even venerable whitebearded men chastised by the menials and messengers of great persons, on their own account, with a brutality which would in this country subject a man to judicial punishment if exercised upon his ass or horse. Thus, beating comes to be regarded by all as among the common evils to which life is inci 15. Then the officers came and cried unto Pharaoh, &c. Supposing perhaps that this rigor had been imposed upon them by the task-masters, without Pharaoh's order, and therefore having hope of obtaining redress. But, alas! theirs was a case of which it might well be said in the language of the preacher, Ecc. 1. 1, 'I returned and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun; and behold the tears of such as were oppressed, and they had no comforter; and on the side of their oppressors there was power; but they had no comforter.' 16. The fault is in thine own people. Heb. Thattath ammeka, thy Make brick and behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people. 17 But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go, and do sacrifice to the LORD. 18 Go therefore now, and work: for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks. 19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish aught from your bricks of your daily task. nothing would have been more likely than that they should have devised some such excursion as he here charges upon them, under the plea of religious service. Thus the worldly wisdom and base insinuations of the king of Egypt, though grossly false and injuri ous in the present case, may yet teach us the useful lesson, that increased diligence in our daily work is one of the best remedies for a roving imagination and ungovernable thoughts. Let those that suffer from such temptations set them. selves diligently to work at some em people has sinned, or done wrong; or certain extent indeed there was ground considering a noun, this is the for Pharaoh's words; that is to say, sin of thy people. The true meaning they recognize the fact, that being idle of the clause is not easily determined, is oftentimes the occasion of indulging as it is by no means obvious whether vain and evil thoughts, and cherishing the phrase 'thy people' is to be referred visionary projects. Had it been true, to the Israelites or to the Egyptians. as he professed to think, that the IsThose who adopt the former construc-raelites had not work enough to do, tion suppose the Israelites are called Pharaoh's people in order to work upon his compassion. But even in this case there is some discrepancy of interpretation. The words may be understood as a complaint of the officers that they were beaten, though the people (the Israelites) were the offenders, if any. On another, and on the whole a better construction, the sense will be; Behold thy servants are beaten, and yet the fault really lies at the door of thine own people (the Egyptians), who refuse to furnish them straw.' According to this the Chal. has, "Thy people sin-ployment useful to man and honorable neth against them.' Leclerc, however, to God. The less time they allow their intimates that the phrase, 'the fault is hands to be idle, the less will be the in thine own people,' equivalent to risk of their thoughts leading them saying the fault is charged, imputed, to astray.. thine own people (the Israelites), and 19. The officers-did see that they punishment inflicted upon them accord- were in evil case. Heb. in evil. ingly, though with vast injustice. This Moses and Aaron are here made to exis somewhat countenanced by the Gr. perience the lot that sometimes befalls Syr. and Vulg. which all render substan- good men in the best of causes. Their tially, Thou injurest thy people,' i. e. well-meant efforts but increase the hardthe Israelites. We are still left in some ships they were intended to remedy. degree of suspense as to the true import. The mission which had not long before 17, 18. But he said, Ye are idle, ye so exhilarated the minds of the people are idle, &c. Thus affording a sample and filled them with eager anticipations of the grossest tyranny, which gener- of deliverance, now proves the occasion ally thinks it sufficient to answer rea- of new miseries and persecutions. Bad sonable complaints by redoubled abuse as their condition had been before the and crimination, and by increasing the two brothers came among them with burdens which call them forth. To a their promises and their wonderful 6 |