Bible Strands
Exodus 5:21
“May the LORD look upon you and judge you,” the foremen said, “for you have made us a stench before Pharaoh and his officials; you have placed in their hand a sword to kill us!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Israelite foremen confront Moses and Aaron immediately after leaving Pharaoh’s court. They accuse the leaders of provoking royal hostility that threatens their lives.
The words — The verb הִבְאַשְׁתֶּם (hiv.'ash.Tem) literally means “you have made stink,” describing how the foremen claim Moses and Aaron ruined their standing before the king. The curse phrase יֵרֶא יְהוָה וְיִשְׁפֹּט (Ye.re' Yah.weh ve.yish.Pot) literally translates to “may he look and may he judge,” invoking divine reckoning against the leaders.
The thread — The foremen’s complaint echoes Genesis 34:30, where Jacob declares his sons made him a stench to the Canaanites, and Genesis 16:5, where Sarai charges Abram with bringing wrong upon her. The same dynamic appears in Exodus 6:9, where the people’s crushed spirit prevents them from listening to Moses.
Why it lands — The text records the foremen’s literal accusation that Moses and Aaron provoked Pharaoh’s lethal anger. It requires readers to face the immediate backlash that follows obedience before any promised deliverance arrives.
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 they said unto them, The Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our savour to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
Cross-references
- Genesis 34:30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble upon me by making me a stench to the Canaanites and Perizzites, the people of this land. We are few in number; if they unite against me and attack me, I and my household will be destroyed.”
- Genesis 16:5 Then Sarai said to Abram, “May the wrong done to me be upon you! I delivered my servant into your arms, and ever since she saw that she was pregnant, she has treated me with contempt. May the LORD judge between you and me.”
- Exodus 6:9 Moses relayed this message to the Israelites, but on account of their broken spirit and cruel bondage, they did not listen to him.
- 1 Samuel 13:4 And all Israel heard the news: “Saul has attacked an outpost of the Philistines, and now Israel has become a stench to the Philistines!” Then the people were summoned to join Saul at Gilgal.
- 1 Samuel 27:12 So Achish trusted David, thinking, “Since he has made himself an utter stench to his people Israel, he will be my servant forever.”
- 2 Samuel 10:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, they hired twenty thousand Aramean foot soldiers from Beth-rehob and Zoba, as well as a thousand men from the king of Maacah and twelve thousand men from Tob.
- 1 Chronicles 19:6 When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from Aram-naharaim, Aram-maacah, and Zobah.
- Exodus 4:31 and they believed. And when they heard that the LORD had attended to the Israelites and had seen their affliction, they bowed down and worshiped.
- Exodus 14:11 They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us into the wilderness to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?
- Ecclesiastes 10:1 As dead flies bring a stench to the perfumer’s oil, so a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor.