SHEMOT / Exodus 1:1 – 6:1

By Matthew Moshe Nolan

SHEMOT/Exodus 1:1:   VE’ELEH SHEMOT B’NEI Y’ISRAEL HABA’IM MITZRAYMAH ET YAAKOV ISH UVEITO BA’U.

And these are the names of the children of Yisrael who were coming to Egypt; with Yaakov, each man and his household came.

² Reuven, Shimon, Levi, and Yahudah; ³ Yissachar, Zevulun, and Binyamin; ⁴ Dan and Naftali; Gad and Asher.  ⁵ And all the persons who emerged from Yaakov’s loins were seventy souls, and Yosef was in Egypt.  ⁶ Yosef died, and all his brothers and that entire generation.  ⁷ The children of Yisrael were fruitful, teemed, increased, and became strong – very, very much so; and the land became filled with them.  ⁸ A new king arose over Egypt who did not know of Yosef.  ⁹ He said to his people, “Behold! the people, the children of Yisrael, are more numerous and stronger than we.  ¹⁰ Come, let us outsmart it lest it become numerous and it may be that if a war will occur, it, too, may join our enemies, and wage war against us and go up from the land.”

Shemot: The names of the children of Israel who came down to Mitzrayim with Yaakov.  The journey to enslavement in Egypt and the eventual deliverance and birth of the nation.  As we study through Shemot, keep your prophetic eye open to the shadows of the Greater Exodus for the last generation!  We’ll see patterns of exile and redemption.

Overview – Symbology: Moshe – drawn from water and the Shiloh connection, a bush and fire, the tale of the sandals, the so-called I AM tradition, and finishing with Jerusalem – YHWH’s firstborn.

The three promises YHWH made to Israel from Beresheeth/Genesis 42:

² And Elohim spoke to Yisrael in the visions of the night and said, Yaakov, Yaakov.  And he said, Hineni.  ³ And He said, I am El, the El of your abba:  Fear not to go down into Mitzrayim; for I will there make of you a great nation – a goy gadol.  ⁴ I will go down with you into Mitzrayim; and I will also surely bring you up again; and Yoseph shall put his hand upon your eyes.

1. He would be with them.
2. He would make them a great nation – goy gadol.
3. He would bring them out again.

By verse 9 of our text, YHWH has already fulfilled two of the three promises!

Shemot/Exodus 1:1 [Israel’s suffering in Egypt]: Now these are the Shemot of the children of Yisrael, who came into Mitzrayim; every man and his house­hold came with Yaakov.  ² Reuven, Shimeon, Lewi, and Yahudah, ³ Yissacher, Zevulun, and Benyamin, ⁴ Dan, and Naphtali, Gad, and Asher.  ⁵ And all the nefesh/beings that came out of the loins of Yaakov were seventy-five (DSS, LXX, B/H) beings [nefesh in the singular – for they’re no longer separate, warring souls of the brothers, but a united singular nation/soul.  This is what we are to strive for – unity!]; for Yoseph was in Mitzrayim already.  ⁶ And Yoseph died, and all his brothers, and all that generation.  ⁷ And the children of Yisrael were fruitful, and increased abundantly, and multiplied, and became exceedingly mighty; and the land was filled with them.  ⁸ Now there arose up a new melech over Mitzrayim who knew not Yoseph. [Be watchful of a new leader who has no knowledge of the ways of Yahushua.] ⁹ And he said to his people [Am – Hebrew for nation – they are no longer one person], See, the people of the children of Yisrael are more and mightier than us.  ¹⁰ Come, let us deal wisely with them lest they multiply and it comes to pass that, when there comes upon us any war, they join with our enemies, and fight against us, and then leave the land.  ¹¹ There­fore, they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens.  And they built for Pharaoh the treasure cities of Pithom and Raamses. [Archeological evidence with inscriptions found describing by Semitic slaves] ¹² But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew.  And they were grieved because of the children of Yisrael.  ¹³ And the Mitzrim made the children of Yisrael to serve with harshness.  ¹⁴ And they made their lives bitter with hard bondage, with mortar, and with brick, [in a British museum, there’s a brick stamped “Rammasses 2^nd] and with all manner of service in the field; all their service, which they made them serve, was with harshness.  ¹⁵ And the melech of Mitzrayim spoke to the Ivri midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah. [The Hebrew midwives here are used by YHWH to bring forth the promises of YHWH and this is revealed in their names: Shiphrah = brightness/to adorn and Puah = to glitter/ twinkle.  What was the promise given to Avraham?  “I will increase your zera like the stars in the heavens”; “I will adorn the heavens” stars glitter and twinkle – they build the house of Yisrael.) ¹⁶ And he said, When you perform the office of a midwife to the Ivri women and see them upon the stools, if it be a son then you shall kill him, but if it be a daughter then she shall live. [When the nations can’t win against Israel, they opt for genocide.] ¹⁷ But the midwives feared Elohim, and did not obey what the melech of Mitzrayim commanded them, but saved the male children alive. [The preservation of life is the utmost of all commandments.] ¹⁸ And the melech of Mitzrayim called for the midwives, and said to them, Why have you done this thing and have saved the male children alive?  ¹⁹ And the midwives said to Pharaoh, Because the Ivri women are not as the Mitzri women; for they are lively, and are delivered before the midwives come in to help them. [Myself being a “Hebrew midwife,” I can personally attest to this:  My wife just delivered before anyone could come to help!] ²⁰ Therefore, Elohim dealt well with the midwives; and the people multiplied and became very mighty.  ²¹ And it came to pass, because the midwives feared Elohim, that He made them batiym.  ²² And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born to you, him shall you cast into the river, but every daughter you shall save alive. [Rabbinic tradition has the edict lasting three years.]

Chapter 2 begins with the father of the prophets, liberator, and instructor of Israel who led and taught Israel how to live as free people consecrated to YHWH.  Our introduction to Moshe – Mem‑Shin‑Heh:  one who is drawn out of the water.  Water signifies purification, dedication, and a commencement of a new way of life in YHWH.  Moshe, the man who would unite a people and set them free.  How are Moshe and Shiloh connected?  Shiloh’s Gematria (numerical value of letters) is the same as the name of Moshe.  You see, there’s a deep relationship between Shiloh and Moshe:  Moshe was the first to unite our people and restore families around YHWH’s Torah, and Shiloh will be our last day’s sign of YHWH uniting people and families around His Torah!

Shemot/Exodus 1:1: And there went a man from beit Lewi, and took as a wife a daughter of Lewi.  ² And the woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.  ³ And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark of wicker, and coated it with slime and with pitch, and put the child inside; and she laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. [As I’ve studied over the years, I’ve come to the inescapable conclusion that the world’s religions have all taken Biblical truth and formed their own false religious history from true Biblical accounts.  One such example is when Krishna escaped King Kansa’s order that all male babies be slain by being hidden and carried by stealth across the river Jumna.] ⁴ And his sister stood far off, to know what would happen to him.  ⁵ And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash herself at the river; and her female avadim walked along by the river’s side; and when she saw the ark among the reeds [The ark first began with Noach and develops as Biblical events unfold:  bulrushes with Moshe, the tabernacle – an ark preserving Israel, the belly of the whale – a womb of life carrying Jonah bringing new beginnings to the people of Nineveh, and here a seed carrier floating down the river bringing freedom to a nation], she sent her eved to get it. [The plan of Pharaoh is thwarted by women.] ⁶ And when she had opened it, she saw the child; and, see, the baby wept.  And she had compassion on him and said, This is one of the Ivris’ children.  ⁷ Then said his sister to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call for you a nurse from the Ivri women, that she may nurse the child for you?  ⁸ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go.  And the eved went and called the child’s eema.  ⁹ And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages.  And the woman took the child and nursed it.  ¹⁰ And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son.  And she called his name Moshe and she said, Because I drew him out of the mayim.  ¹¹ And it came to pass in those days, when Moshe had grown, that he went out to his brothers, and looked on their burdens; and he saw a Mitzri smiting an Ivri, one of his brothers.  ¹² And he looked all around, and when he saw that there was no man, he killed the Mitzri and hid him in the sand.  ¹³ And when he went out the second day, see, two men of the Ivrim argued together; and he said to him that did the wrong, Why did you smite your neighbor?  ¹⁴ And he said, Who made you a sar and a shophet over us? [The typical attitude of a small but consistent Messianic minority:  the spirit of Dathan and Aviram.] Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Mitzri?  And Moshe feared and said, Surely this thing is known. [Acts 7 is our traditional teaching.  In Jude verse 9, S.a.tan, the accuser of the brethren, wants Moshe Rabainu’s body because of this incident.  The author of murder comes a looking for him.  But in Chapter 4 we see Moshe Rabainu is given all spiritual authority, even over S.a.tan:  authority to cleanse and heal, authority in the Word.] ¹⁵ Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moshe.  But Moshe fled from the face of Pharaoh, and dwelt in the land of Midyan and he sat down by a well.  ¹⁶ Now the priest of Midyan had seven daughters; and they came and drew mayim, and filled the bowls to give mayim to their abba’s flock.  ¹⁷ And the shepherds came and drove them away; but Moshe stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.  ¹⁸ And when they came to Reu-El their abba, he said, How is it that you came back so soon today?  ¹⁹ And they said, A Mitzri delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds, and also drew enough mayim for us, and watered the flock.  ²⁰ And he said to his daughters, And where is he?  Why is it that you have left the man?  Call him, that he may eat a meal.

Again, the water symbol!  The well symbolizes spiritual knowledge:  “Come to Me all you who thirst.”  The seven daughters represent talmidim of Elohim:  They’re good shepherds who’ve overcome their flesh – the flesh being represented by the selfish shepherds who want to drive away the sheep from the well of Torah where spiritual knowledge is found.  YHWH is demonstrating to us, as sheep, what we can attain by being His talmidim and listening to Moshe.  Moshe stands up to those who would like to prevent you and I from gaining access to spiritual knowledge:  Moshe broke bread, partook of the father’s wisdom, and received Zipporah – enlightenment.  If we will only sit down at the Master’s feet, break bread, and partake of the Father’s wisdom, we’ll receive enlightenment as His talmidim.  A side note, yet interesting nonetheless:  Covenant has come to be known as a contractual agreement, but it originally meant “to eat bread with” and has huge implications for us … especially when it comes to the talmidim’s prayer:  “Give us this day our daily bread”!

Shemot/Exodus 1:21: And Moshe was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moshe Tzipporah, his daughter.  ²² And she bore him a son, and he called his name Gershom; for he said, I have been a ger in a strange land.  ²³ And it came to pass in due time that the melech of Mitzrayim died; and the children of Yisrael sighed because of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up to Elohim because of the bondage. [We begin our cry for freedom from the task­masters by speaking out.] ²⁴ And Elohim heard their groaning, and Elohim remembered His brit with Avraham, with Yitzchak, and with Yaakov.

YHWH will not hear the cry of his people, YHWH will not answer our prayers, YHWH will not comfort us … unless we cry out for our daily bread/covenant.  When I cried out for Moshiach all those years ago, what was I doing?  I didn’t fully understand, yet YHWH met me in my lack of understanding.  I was crying out for my daily bread, to be in covenant – covenant by the blood of the Lamb.

²⁵ And Elohim looked upon the children of Yisrael, and Elohim took note of them.

^3:1 [The burning bush] Now Moshe kept the flock of Yithro his abba-in-law, the priest of Midyan; and he led the flock to the backside of the desert and came to the mountain of Elohim, even to Horev.  ² And the Malach-YHWH appeared to him [Malach YHWH, according to the rabbis, is the prince of Torah or Moshiach – Moshe’s teacher Who will lead him to a higher plane] in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush [the messenger of YHWH appears encircled by a thorn bush] and he looked and, see, the bush burned with fire and the bush was not consumed.

The symbol of fire is now introduced.  What do you think YHWH is trying to teach us through Moshe the one drawn from water?  Only through the water of life and the fire of the Ruach, can your soul be born.  Let’s be purified by water and fire!  Fire symbolizes Ruach Ha Kodesh, our regeneration of the spiritual nature of man.

Shemot/Exodus 3:3: And Moshe said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned. [“Sheh” thorn, as in the wild acacia which is visible on the real Har Sinai – Jabbel Allez in Saudi Arabia.  The fire in the thorn bush represents affliction and distress, the oven of affliction that has come upon the people of Yisrael.  YHWH will be working in the midst of Yisrael in their affliction, He will be with them.) ⁴ And when YHWH saw that he turned aside to see, Elohim called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moshe, Moshe. And he said, Hineni.

“The bush was not burned.” Skeptics of the Bible love to chuckle when you tell them that you literally believe this stuff … a burning bush that wasn’t consumed – are you serious?  Yet YHWH, the creator of the universe has revealed to this last generation … I’ll give you a bit of science here!  When electrons are influenced by a high-spin nucleus this creates a “white fire,” a blaze equivalent to many tens of thousands of flash bulbs – like an explosion – yet you could place a limb from a bush on end within this white fire and it would be left standing with no harm done to it!  I believe in miracles, yes for sure; I also believe that miracles will happen within the scientific and medical communities when petitioned by the Kiddushim.  Later ,when we visit with Bezaleel, the master-craftsman of the Mishkan and the ark of the covenant, he’ll teach us how to use science to provide manna and a white stone capable of raising human conscious­ness in the wilderness of the Greater Exodus – turning gold into manna by using the same white fire from the burning bush!

Gilyahnah/Revelation 2:17: He that has an ear, let him hear what the Ruach says to the Yisraelite congregations; to him that overcomes will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a renewed name written, which no man knows other than he that receives it.

Shemot/Exodus 3:5: And He said, Draw not near here: put off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is Kadosh ground.

The meaning behind the account of the sandals:

Root/Ruth 4:5: Then said Boaz, on the day you buy the field from the hand of Naomi, you must acquire also Root the Moavitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead for and upon his inheritance.  ⁶ And the kinsman redeemer said, I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I ruin my own inheritance; redeem my right for yourself, for I cannot redeem it.  ⁷ Now this was the manner in former times in Yisrael concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things, a man plucked off his sandal and gave it to his neighbor; and this was a testimony in Yisrael.  ⁸ Therefore, the kinsman said to Boaz, buy it for you.  So he drew off his sandal.

Devarim/Deuteronomy 25:9: [The torot of Yibbum] Then shall his brother’s wife come to him in the presence of the zechanim, and loose his shoe from off his foot, and spit in his face, and shall answer and say, So shall it be done to that man that will not build up his brother’s bayit.  ¹⁰ And his name shall be called in Yisrael, the bayit of him that has his shoe loosed.

This is the sign in Torah of what?  Surrendering your rights!

Yochanan/John 1:27: He it is, Whose coming after me is preferred before me, whose sandals I am not worthy to unloose.

Yochanan Ha Matbel is saying to Moshiach, “I have no rights to you, all that you have I’m unworthy of.

So what is YHWH saying to Moshe?  “I AM redeeming you, I have the rights to you, Moshe, surrender to me, I lay claim to you – you’re mine.”)

Shemot/Exodus 3:6: Moreover He said, I am the Elohim of your abba, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of Yaakov.  And Moshe hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon Elohim.  ⁷ And YHWH said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people which are in Mitzrayim, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows.  ⁸ And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Mitzrim, and to bring them up out of that land to a lovely and large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey; to the place of the Kanaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Yevusites.  ⁹ Now, therefore, see the cry of the children of Yisrael has come to Me; and I have also seen the oppression with which the Mitzrim oppress them.  ¹⁰ Come now, ther ore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people the children of Yisrael out of Mitzrayim.  ¹¹ And Moshe said to Elohim, Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Yisrael out of Mitzrayim?  ¹² And He said, Certainly I will be with you; and this shall be an ot to you that I have sent you:  When you have brought forth the people out of Mitzrayim, you shall serve Elohim upon this mountain. [The sign of following the One True Eloheim is leaving Egypt and keeping Torah.] ¹³ And Moshe said to Elohim, See, when I come to the children of Yisrael and shall say to them, The Elohim of your ahvot has sent me to you; and they shall say to me, What is His Name?, what shall I say to them?  ¹⁴ And the Word of Elohim said to Moshe, Eyeh Asher Eyeh [KJV= I AM WHO I AM] and He said, This shall you say to the children of Yisrael, Eyeh [KJV= I AM] has sent me to you.

[The signature of YHWH] Yochanan 8:58: Yahushua said to them, Amein, amein, I say to you, before Avraham was, I AM.  ⁵⁹ Then they took up stones to cast at Him; but Yahushua hid Himself, and went out of the Beit HaMikdash, going through the midst of them, and so went away.

Yahushua signs His name, the name from Shemot 3:14, that’s why they took up stones from the old altar from the time of the Maccabbees to stone Him – He just gave the signature of Ha Shem.  Is YHWH’s name really “I AM” as many of us were taught?  I think that’s ridiculous and it never made much sense to me.  “I AM,” in the Hebrew is “Anokhi” or “Ani,” so why the “Eyeh Asher Eyeh”?

Beresheeth/Genesis 15:7: And He said to him, I Am YHWH that brought you out of Ur of the Chaldees.

Beresheeth 28:13: And see, YHWH stood above it, and said, I Am YHWH Elohim of Avraham your abba.

Shoftim/Judges 6:10: And I said to you, I Am YHWH your Elohim; fear not the elohim of the Amorites in whose land you dwell; but you have not obeyed my voice.

These verses don’t just say “Ani” (I AM), they say “Ani YHWH.”  So with this understanding how the text of Shemot 3:14 reads “Eh-Yah Asher Eh-Yah, “He that was YAH is still YAH” and He spoke this to the sons of Israel.  This is by the leading of YAH, the One He is sending forth among you.”  The Aleph-Heh-Yod-Heh … the Plurality of Divinity … the signature of YHWH.

Shemot/Exodus 3:15: And Elohim said moreover to Moshe, This shall you say to the children of Yisrael, YHWH Elohim of your ahvot, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of Yaakov has sent me to you.  This is My Name le‑olam-va‑ed, and this is My memorial to all generations.  ¹⁶ Go, and gather the zechanim of Yisrael together and say to them, YHWH Elohim of your ahvot, the Elohim of Avraham, of Yitzchak, and of Yaakov, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you, and have seen that which is done to you in Mitzrayim.  ¹⁷ And I have said, I will bring you up out of the affliction of Mitzrayim to the land of the Kanaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Yevusites, to a land flowing with milk and honey.  ¹⁸ And they shall listen to your voice; and you shall come, you and the zechanim of Yisrael, to the melech of Mitzrayim and you shall say to him, YHWH Elohim of the Ivrim has met with us; and now please let us go on a three-days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to YHWH our Elohim. [the appropriate way to worship YHWH) ¹⁹ And I am sure that the melech of Mitzrayim will not let you go, no, not even by a mighty hand.  ²⁰ And I will stretch out My hand, and smite Mitzrayim with all My wonders that I will do in the midst of it; and after that he will let you go.  ²¹ And I will give this people favor in the sight of the Mitzrim; and it shall come to pass that when you go, you shall not go empty.  ²² But every woman shall take from her neighbor, and from her that sojourns in her bayit jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and garments; and you shall put them upon your sons, and upon your daughters; and you shall plunder the Mitzrim.

4:1: And Moshe answered and said, But see, they will not believe me, nor listen to my voice; for they will say, YHWH has not appeared to you.  ² And YHWH said to him, What is that in your hand?  And he said, A rod.  ³ And He said, Cast it on the ground.  And he cast it on the ground and it became a serpent; and Moshe fled from before it.  ⁴ And YHWH said to Moshe, Put forth your hand and take it by the tail.  And he put forth his hand and caught it, and it became a rod in his hand.  ⁵ So that they may believe that YHWH Elohim of their ahvot, the Elohim of Avraham, the Elohim of Yitzchak, and the Elohim of Yaakov, has appeared to you.  ⁶ And YHWH said furthermore to him, Put now your hand into your bosom.  And he put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, see, his hand was leprous as snow.  ⁷ And He said, Put your hand back into your bosom again.  And he put his hand back into his bosom again and plucked it out of his bosom and, see, it had turned again as his other flesh.  ⁸ And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe you, neither listen to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign.  ⁹ And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither listen to your voice, that you shall take from the mayim of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the mayim which you take out of the river shall be­come dahm upon the land.  ¹⁰ And Moshe said to YHWH, O YHWH, I am not eloquent, neither before nor since You have spoken to Your eved; but I am slow of speech and of a slow tongue.  ¹¹ And YHWH said to him, Who has made man's mouth?  Or who makes the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind?  Have not I, YHWH?  ¹² Now, therefore, go and I will be with your mouth and teach you what you shall say.  ¹³ And he said, O YHWH, I beg You; by the hand of someone else please send deliverance.  ¹⁴ And the anger of YHWH burned against Moshe, and He said, Is not Aharon the Lewi your brother?  I know that he can speak well.  And also, see, he comes forth to meet you; and when he sees you, he will have simcha in his lev.  ¹⁵ And you shall speak to him and put words in his mouth; and I will be with your mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do.  ¹⁶ And he shall be your spokesman to the people: and he shall be to you like a mouth, and you shall be to him in Elohim’s place.  ¹⁷ And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do the signs.  ¹⁸ And Moshe went and returned to Yithro his abba-in- law, and said to him, Let me go, please, and return to my brothers who are in Mitzrayim, and see whether they still are alive.  And Yithro said to Moshe, Go in shalom.  ¹⁹ And YHWH said to Moshe in Midyan, Go, return into Mitzrayim, for all the men are dead who sought your chayim.  ²⁰ And Moshe took his wife and his sons and put them upon a donkey, and he returned to the land of Mitzrayim; and Moshe took the rod of Elohim in his hand.  ²¹ And YHWH said to Moshe, When you go to return to Mitzrayim, see that you do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in your hand; but I will harden his lev, that he shall not let the people go.  ²² And you shall say to Pharaoh, This said YHWH, Yisrael is My son, even My bachor.  ²³ And I say to you, Let My son go, that he may serve Me; and if you refuse to let him go, see, I will slay your son, even your bachor. [It starts with Jerusalem and it will end with Jerusalem!  Sode:  Every third letter in the phrase, “Yisrael is My son, even My bachor” spells Jerusalem!] ²⁴ And it came to pass in the derech at the lodging place that YHWH met Moshe and sought to kill him.  ²⁵ Then Tzipporah took a sharp stone and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet and said, Surely a bloody husband are you to me.  ²⁶ So YHWH let Moshe go; then she said, A “bloody husband” you are, because of the brit-milah. [Addressed to the child “Chathan damin” “Bridegroom of the covenant”.  Jethro/Ruel and Zipporah were Bedouins and may have influenced Moshe in delaying the brit milah until 13 as in the Arab tradition from Genesis 17:25.  Judgment was to come upon Moshe for delaying.] ²⁷ And YHWH said to Aharon, Go into the wilderness to meet Moshe.  And he went, and met him on the mount of Elohim, and kissed him.  ²⁸ And Moshe told Aharon all the words of YHWH who had sent him, and all the signs, which He had commanded him.  ²⁹ And Moshe and Aharon went and gathered together all the zechanim of the children of Yisrael:  ³⁰ And Aharon spoke all the words that YHWH had spoken to Moshe, and did the signs in the sight of the people.  ³¹ And the people believed: and when they heard that YHWH had visited the children of Yisrael, and that He had looked upon their affliction, then they bowed their heads and worshiped.

5:1: And afterward Moshe and Aharon went in and told Pharaoh, This says YHWH Elohim of Yisrael, Let My people go, that they may hold a moed to Me in the wilderness.  ² And Pharaoh said, Who is this YHWH that I should obey His voice to let Yisrael go?  I know not YHWH, neither will I let Yisrael go. [Many brethren will call you legalistic because you want to observe Torah, they’ll say they know YHWH and He knows their heart.  Yet here we see even Pharaoh understood that knowing YHWH equates to obeying YHWH!] ³ And they said, The Elohim of the Ivrim has met with us; let us go for a three-day journey into the desert and sacrifice to YHWH our Elohim lest He fall upon us with pestilence or with the sword.  ⁴ And the melech of Mitzrayim said to them, Why do you, Moshe and Aharon, take the people away from their work?  Get back to your burdens.  ⁵ And Pharaoh said, See, the people of the land now are many, and you make them rest from their burdens.  ⁶ And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,  ⁷ You shall no more give the people straw to make bricks, as before; let them go and gather straw for themselves.  ⁸ And the same amount of bricks which they did make before, you shall require it of them; you shall not diminish any of it; for they are idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our Elohim.  ⁹ Let even more work be laid upon the men, that they may labor in it; and let them not regard vain words.  ¹⁰ And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spoke to the people saying, This said Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.  ¹¹ Go get your straw wherever you can find it; yet none of your work shall be diminished.  ¹² So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Mitzrayim to gather stubble instead of straw.  ¹³ And the taskmasters hurried them, saying, Fulfill your work, your daily tasks just like when there was straw.  ¹⁴ And the foremen of the children of Yisrael, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and asked, Why have you not fulfilled your task in making bricks both yesterday and today, as before?  ¹⁵ Then the foremen of the children of Yisrael came and cried to Pharaoh, saying, Why do you treat your avadim this way?  ¹⁶ There is no straw given to your avadim, and they say to us, Make bricks; and see, your avadim are beaten; the fault is with your own people.  ¹⁷ But he said, You are idle; therefore you say, Let us go and do sacrifice to YHWH.  ¹⁸ Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given to you, yet shall you deliver the same amount of bricks.  ¹⁹ And the foremen of the children of Yisrael did see that they were in trouble, after it was said, You shall not diminish any from the bricks of your daily task.  ²⁰ And they met Moshe and Aharon who stood in the derech, as they came forth from Pharaoh:  ²¹ And they said to them, YHWH look upon you and judge, because you have made us to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his avadim, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.  ²² And Moshe returned to YHWH, and said, YHWH, why have You done this evil to this people?  Why is it that You have sent me?  ²³ For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your Name, he has done evil to this people; neither have You delivered Your people at all.

6:1: Then YHWH said to Moshe, Now shall you see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.