Exodus
Study Section 9: Bricks without Straw – Exodus 5:1 to 6:1
Initial observation
1. Read Exodus 5:1 through 6:1 out loud in the group. (Use
the Dialogue provided.)
2. Underline or highlight frequently used words (or refer to
your homework).
3. What words, phrases, or ideas make an impression on you?
In-depth Observation
4. Read and discuss the questions that the group wrote for
homework.
5. What do Moses and
Aaron ask for in verse 5:1 and 5:3?
6. Back in chapter 3,
when Moses gets a request from God to bring the Israelites out of Egypt (Exodus
3:10-11) Moses responds, “Who am I…?” Here in Exodus 5:1-2 Pharaoh hears the
same request. How does Pharaoh respond? What is the difference between his response
and Moses’ response in 3:11?
7. After Moses and
Aaron persist in their request (verse 3), what is the result?
8. One commentary*
points out that the English words worship,
bondage, slavery, and service all
come from Hebrew words that are related.
For the Israelites, what is the difference between serving Pharaoh and
serving God? How is worship related to service?
Interpretation and Application:
A. What do you learn about the nature of God from this passage?
B. What do you learn
about the other characters from this passage?
C. What can we learn
from this passage that applies to our own lives?
Vocabulary and notes
Verse 2 “Who is the Lord…?”: an echo of what Moses said in Exod 3:11.
Verse 2 “… heed him……?”:
Literally, “listen to his voice,” an echo of what Moses said in Exod
4:1.
Verse 2 “I do not know the Lord”: To know the Lord is a main theme of the
whole narrative (see Exod 7:5, 7:17, 8:10, 9:14, and 14:18).
Verse 14 “foremen of the Israelites” or “supervisors” or “overseers”: That is, Israelites who were to control their
own people.
Verse 19 “trouble”:
literally “bad” or “evil”.
Verse 22 “mistreated”:
literally “bad” or “evil”.
*John Goldingay, Professor of Old Testament at Fuller
Theological Seminary, in the commentary Exodus
for Everyone.
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