Sunday Sermonette: The plot convolutes

Exodus 5 is mercifully relatively short, though it still displays the repetitive style we've gotten used to. It seems straightforward but with a bit of reflection, it reveals interesting pathology on the part of both Pharaoh and God. And the plot has gotten away from the scribes. Nevertheless, unlike the previous chapter, which has bizarre elements that get left out of popular tellings of the tale, this episode is well known.

Afterward Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let my people go, so that they may hold a festival to me in the wilderness.’”
² 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.”
³ Then they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Now let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness to offer sacrifices to the Lord our God, or he may strike us with plagues or with the sword.”
⁴ But the king of Egypt said, “Moses and Aaron, why are you taking the people away from their labor? Get back to your work!” ⁵ Then Pharaoh said, “Look, the people of the land are now numerous, and you are stopping them from working.”

Note that there are multiple continuity errors here. In chapter 3, Moses was not instructed to ask for a three-day festival, but for liberation. This is the first time the idea of the festival has come up. It is not what God commanded Moses to ask for. In chapter 4, God told Moses to expect Pharaoh not to believe in Him, but gave him magic tricks to do to prove God's power. Why doesn't Moses use his magic tricks now? Finally, this whole thing started because Pharaoh thought the Hebrews were too numerous, so he was having all the male babies killed. But now, there is no shortage of male Hebrews, including Aaron who quite obviously was not killed.

⁶ That same day Pharaoh gave this order to the slave drivers and overseers in charge of the people: ⁷ “You are no longer to supply the people with straw for making bricks; let them go and gather their own straw. ⁸ But require them to make the same number of bricks as before; don’t reduce the quota. They are lazy; that is why they are crying out, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to our God.’ ⁹ Make the work harder for the people so that they keep working and pay no attention to lies.”
¹⁰ Then the slave drivers and the overseers went out and said to the people, “This is what Pharaoh says: ‘I will not give you any more straw. ¹¹ Go and get your own straw wherever you can find it, but your work will not be reduced at all.’” ¹² So the people scattered all over Egypt to gather stubble to use for straw. ¹³ The slave drivers kept pressing them, saying, “Complete the work required of you for each day, just as when you had straw.” ¹⁴ And Pharaoh’s slave drivers beat the Israelite overseers they had appointed, demanding, “Why haven’t you met your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as before?”

Slave owners generally want to get the most production out of their slaves as they can. By imposing this policy, Pharaoh is not getting as many bricks as before, but evidently he takes sadistic enjoyment in overworking his slaves. It seems to be revenge for the temerity of asking for a holiday. By the way, in case you are wondering, modern bricks don't contain straw. They are kiln fired, which makes them much stronger than the sun-dried bricks of antiquity. Adding fiber to sun-dried mud bricks apparently made them more durable, or at least people thought so.

On the continuity issue, note that this is the first time we learn that the Hebrews job was to make bricks. On the whole, I wonder if this is not an interpolation from a different account.

¹⁵ Then the Israelite overseers went and appealed to Pharaoh: “Why have you treated your servants this way? ¹⁶ Your servants are given no straw, yet we are told, ‘Make bricks!’ Your servants are being beaten, but the fault is with your own people.”
¹⁷ Pharaoh said, “Lazy, that’s what you are—lazy! That is why you keep saying, ‘Let us go and sacrifice to the Lord.’ ¹⁸ Now get to work. You will not be given any straw, yet you must produce your full quota of bricks.”
¹⁹ The Israelite overseers realized they were in trouble when they were told, “You are not to reduce the number of bricks required of you for each day.” ²⁰ When they left Pharaoh, they found Moses and Aaron waiting to meet them, ²¹ and they said, “May the Lord look on you and judge you! You have made us obnoxious to Pharaoh and his officials and have put a sword in their hand to kill us.”

Again, Moses and Aaron didn't have to let it come to this. They could have done their magic tricks.

²² Moses returned to the Lord and said, “Why, Lord, why have you brought trouble on this people? Is this why you sent me? ²³ Ever since I went to Pharaoh to speak in your name, he has brought trouble on this people, and you have not rescued your people at all.”

Well yeah Mo, but you didn't follow the instructions. Just sayin'.We are not told in what form the Lord appears here or how Moses summons Him.