Bible Strands
Exodus 5:1
After that, 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 feast to Me in the wilderness.’”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh to deliver a message from the LORD, the God of Israel. This encounter marks the initial confrontation following a prior event.
The words — The Hebrew word כֹּֽה (koh) means "thus," functioning as a formal marker for the divine speech that follows. The conjunction וְ/אַחַ֗ר (ve./'a.Char) notes that this meeting occurs after a preceding action.
The thread — The demand for a wilderness feast reappears in Exodus 10:9 when Moses specifies the full community must depart. The theme of bold proclamation under threat aligns with the prayer in Acts 4:29.
Why it lands — The text states that liberation is commanded for the purpose of holding a feast to God. It requires the reader to accept that worship and deliverance are inseparable divine mandates.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
Cross-references
- Exodus 10:9 “We will go with our young and old,” Moses replied. “We will go with our sons and daughters, and with our flocks and herds, for we must hold a feast to the LORD.”
- Acts 4:29 And now, Lord, consider their threats, and enable Your servants to speak Your word with complete boldness,
- 1 Kings 21:20 When Elijah arrived, Ahab said to him, “So you have found me out, my enemy.” He replied, “I have found you out because you have sold yourself to do evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Ezekiel 2:6 But you, son of man, do not be afraid of them or their words. Do not be afraid, though briers and thorns surround you, and you dwell among scorpions. Do not be afraid of their words or dismayed by their presence, though they are a rebellious house.
- Jonah 3:3 This time Jonah got up and went to Nineveh, in accordance with the word of the LORD. Now Nineveh was an exceedingly great city, requiring a three-day journey.
- Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
- 1 Corinthians 5:8 Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the old bread, leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.
- Exodus 3:18 The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’
- Psalms 119:46 I will speak of Your testimonies before kings, and I will not be ashamed.
- Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.