Tree of Life Version
Exodus 5:2
2But Pharaoh said, “Who is Adonai, that I should listen to His voice and let Israel go? I do not know Adonai, and besides, I will not let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:2 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)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.
- New International Version (NIV)Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)But Pharaoh said, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, and moreover, I will not let Israel go."
- New King James Version (NKJV)And Pharaoh said, “Who is the Lord, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go.”
Context of Exodus 5:2
1Afterward, Moses and Aaron went and said to Pharaoh, “This is what Adonai, God of Israel, says: Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast for Me in the wilderness.” But Pharaoh said, “Who is Adonai, that I should listen to His voice and let Israel go? I do not know Adonai, and besides, I will not let Israel go.” 3They answered, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so we may sacrifice to Adonai our God, or else He may strike us with pestilence or with the sword.” 4But the king of Egypt said to them, “Why do you, Moses and Aaron, make the people break loose from their work? Go to your labors!”
Read all of Exodus 5Exodus 5:2 word by word
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר פַּרְעֹ֔ה מִ֤י יְהוָה֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר אֶשְׁמַ֣ע בְּקֹל֔וֹ לְשַׁלַּ֖ח אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לֹ֤א יָדַ֙עְתִּי֙ אֶת־יְהוָ֔ה וְגַ֥ם אֶת־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל לֹ֥א אֲשַׁלֵּֽחַ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Exodus 5:2
- Exodus 3:19Nevertheless, I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go, except by a mighty hand.
- 2 Kings 18:35Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their country out of my hand? So will Adonai deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
- 2 Chronicles 32:15So now, do not let Hezekiah deceive you or mislead you like this. Do not believe him, for no god of any nation or any kingdom has been able to deliver his people from my hand and from the hand of my fathers. How much less will your God deliver you from my hand!’”
- Job 21:15Who is Shaddai that we should serve Him? What would we gain if we pray to Him?’
- Psalms 10:4The wicked one, with his nose in the air, never seeks Him. All his thoughts are: “There is no God.”
- Psalms 12:4May Adonai cut off all flattering lips— a tongue bragging big things.
- Psalms 14:1For the music director, of David. The fool said in his heart: “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good.
- 1 Samuel 2:12Now Eli’s sons were worthless men; they did not acknowledge Adonai.
- John 16:3They will do these things because they have never known the Father or Me.
- Romans 1:28And just as they did not see fit to recognize God, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what is not fitting.
- 2 Thessalonians 1:8in flaming fire, He will command judgment on those who do not know God and do not heed the Good News of our Lord Yeshua.
- Jeremiah 44:16“As for the word that you spoke to us in the Name of Adonai, we are not going to listen to you!
Commentaries on Exodus 5:2
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Who is the Lord - Who is Jehovah, that I should obey his voice? What claims has he on me? I am under no obligation to him. Pharaoh spoke here under the common persuasion that every place and people had a tutelary deity, and he supposed that this Jehovah might be the tutelary deity of the Israelites, to whom he, as an Egyptian, could be under no kind of obligation. It is not judicious to bring this question as a proof that Pharaoh was an atheist: of this…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2I know not the Lord - Either Pharaoh had not heard of Yahweh, or he did not recognize Him as a God.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2Pharaoh quickly addressed the main issue. What god could be greater than Pharaoh? What god could make him do something against his will? This is a key question for all people. Is there anyone or anything more important than my own interests?Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord--rather "Jehovah." Lord was a common name applied to objects of worship; but Jehovah was a name he had never heard of. Pharaoh estimated the character and power of this God by the abject and miserable condition of the worshippers and concluded that He held as low a rank among the gods as His people did in the nation. To demonstrate the supremacy of the true God over all the gods of Egypt, was the design of the plagues…Read the comment
Topics related to Exodus 5:2
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Exodus 5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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