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Exodus 5:7
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5 And Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are amany now, and you make them rest from their labor!”  
6 So the same day Pharaoh commanded the ataskmasters of the people and their officers, saying,  
7 “You shall no longer give the people straw to make abrick as before. Let them go and gather straw for themselves.  
8 And you shall lay on them the quota of bricks which they made before. You shall not reduce it. For they are idle; therefore they cry out, saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’
9 Let more work be laid on the men, that they may labor in it, and let them not regard false words.”
10 And the taskmasters of the people and their officers went out and spoke to the people, saying, “Thus says Pharaoh: ‘I will not give you straw.
11 Go, get yourselves straw where you can find it; yet none of your work will be reduced.’ ”
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
13 And the taskmasters forced them to hurry, saying, “Fulfill your work, your daily quota, as when there was straw.”
14 Also the aofficers of the children of Israel, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were bbeaten and were asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and today, as before?”  
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried out to Pharaoh, saying, “Why are you dealing thus with your servants?
16 There is no straw given to your servants, and they say to us, ‘Make brick!’ And indeed your servants are beaten, but the fault is in your own people.”
17 But he said, “You are idle! Idle! Therefore you say, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’
18 Therefore go now and work; for no straw shall be given you, yet you shall deliver the quota of bricks.”
19 And the officers of the children of Israel saw that they were in trouble after it was said, “You shall not reduce any bricks from your daily quota.”
20 Then, as they came out from Pharaoh, they met Moses and Aaron who stood there to meet them.
Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
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Exodus 5:7

Straw to make brick - There have been many conjectures concerning the use of straw in making bricks. Some suppose it was used merely for burning them, but this is unfounded. The eastern bricks are often made of clay and straw kneaded together, and then not burned, but thoroughly dried in the sun. This is expressly mentioned by Philo in his life of Moses, who says, describing the oppression of the Israelites in Egypt, that some were obliged to work in clay for the formation of bricks, and others to gather straw for the same purpose, because straw is the bond by which the brick is held together, - Phil. Oper., edit. Mang., vol. ii., p. 86. And Philo' s account is confirmed by the most intelligent travelers. Dr. Shaw says that the straw in the bricks still preserves its original color, which is a proof that the bricks were never burned. Some of these are still to be seen in the cabinets of the curious; and there are several from ancient Babylon now before me, where the straw which was amalgamated with the clay is still perfectly visible. From this we may see the reason of the complaint made to Pharaoh, Exodus 5:16 : the Egyptians refused to give the necessary portion of straw for kneading the bricks, and yet they required that the full tale or number of bricks should be produced each day as they did when all the necessary materials were brought to hand; so the people were obliged to go over all the cornfields, and pluck up the stubble, which they were obliged to substitute for straw. See Exodus 5:12.


 
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