Exo 5:6-14 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Exod 5:6-14: 5:6-14 Pharaoh made the work harder in retaliation for their insubordination; he also believed they had too much time on their hands (5:8 ). He could not conceive of a god who would reveal himself outside of the established royal system of worship, so the only explanation he could imagine for their strange religious ideas was that they had dreamed them up themselves—when they should have been working (see also 5:17 ).

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‏ Exodus 5:6-14

Summary for Exod 5:6-14: 5:6-14 ^a Pharaoh made the work harder in retaliation for their insubordination; he also believed they had too much time on their hands (5:8 ^b). He could not conceive of a god who would reveal himself outside of the established royal system of worship, so the only explanation he could imagine for their strange religious ideas was that they had dreamed them up themselves—when they should have been working (see also 5:17 ^c).
5:7 ^d Straw is a binder to help clay and mud bricks retain their form while drying in the sun.