Bible Strands
Exodus 5:14
Then the Israelite foremen, whom Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over the people, were beaten and asked, “Why have you not fulfilled your quota of bricks yesterday or today, as you did before?”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Pharaoh’s taskmasters beat the Israelite foremen they had appointed over the people and demand to know why the daily brick quotas were not met yesterday or today.
The words — וַ/יֻּכּ֗וּ (va/i.yu.Ku) means “and they were struck,” describing the physical punishment inflicted on the supervisors. שָׂ֣מוּ (Sa.mu) means “they had appointed,” noting how Pharaoh’s officials installed these Israelites as overseers.
The thread — The narrative of appointed intermediaries facing violence continues in Isaiah 10:24, where the Lord warns Zion not to fear Assyria, who strikes his people.
Why it lands — The text records the taskmasters’ direct question about unmet brick quotas before noting the foremen’s subsequent appeal to Pharaoh in Exodus 5:15. It requires the reader to observe how oppressive systems weaponize appointed leaders to enforce labor demands before any formal complaint is lodged.
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 the officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s taskmasters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded, Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
Cross-references
- Isaiah 10:24 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD of Hosts says: “O My people who dwell in Zion, do not fear Assyria, who strikes you with a rod and lifts his staff against you as the Egyptians did.