Exodus 5:2

My Notes

What Does Exodus 5:2 Mean?

Exodus 5:2 is Pharaoh's response to Moses and Aaron's first demand — and it's the most consequential display of arrogance in the Old Testament. "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?" — mi YHWH asher eshma beqolo leshalleach et-yisra'el. The question is genuine — Pharaoh doesn't know YHWH. The God of the Hebrew slaves isn't in Egypt's pantheon. He's unregistered, unrecognized, unknown. And Pharaoh's assumption is: if I don't know Him, He doesn't matter.

"I know not the LORD" — lo yadati et-YHWH. The verb yada' means to know experientially, to recognize, to acknowledge. Pharaoh doesn't just lack information. He refuses recognition. He will not acknowledge YHWH's authority because acknowledging it would require obedience — and Pharaoh obeys no one.

"Neither will I let Israel go" — vegam et-yisra'el lo ashalleach. The refusal is absolute. Two negations: I don't know Him, and I won't obey Him. The man who sits on the throne of the most powerful empire on earth dismisses the God of the universe with a shrug.

The ten plagues that follow are God's answer to Pharaoh's question. "Who is the LORD?" Each plague is an introduction. By the tenth, Pharaoh will know. Exodus 7:5: "the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD." The question asked in arrogance will be answered in devastation. Pharaoh wanted to know who YHWH was. He found out.

Reflection Questions

• 1.Where are you acting like Pharaoh — dismissing God's authority because acknowledging it would require obedience?
• 2.How does God typically answer the question 'who is the LORD?' in your life — through gentle revelation or through harder lessons?
• 3.What 'gods' in your life (career, control, self-sufficiency) is God dismantling to show you who He is?
• 4.Have you been treating God as one option among many? What would full acknowledgment of His authority cost you?

Devotional

Who is the LORD? Pharaoh asked the question as a dismissal. God answered it as an education.

The ruler of the most powerful nation on earth looked at two shepherds from the desert and said: I don't know your God. The assumption was transparent: if I haven't heard of Him, He isn't worth hearing. If He isn't in my catalog of deities, He isn't real. If He has no army, no temple, no political leverage, He has no authority over me.

The arrogance wasn't unusual for a Pharaoh. Egyptian kings were considered divine. They spoke for the gods. They were the gods. And when an unknown deity from an enslaved people sends messengers demanding their release, the expected response is exactly what Pharaoh gave: who? I don't know Him. I won't obey Him. Dismissed.

The ten plagues were God's resume. Each one answered Pharaoh's question in a different language. The Nile turning to blood: I'm the Lord of the river you worship. The frogs: I'm the Lord of the land you rule. The darkness: I'm the Lord of the sun you call a god. Each plague peeled back another layer of Pharaoh's ignorance until the final answer — the death of the firstborn — left no more room for the question.

Who is the LORD? If you've been asking that question casually — treating God as one option among many, as a deity you can take or leave, as a voice you can override with your own authority — Pharaoh's story is a warning. The question will be answered. The only variable is how much devastation you require before you accept the answer.

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture