Exodus 5:20

5:20 When they went out from Pharaoh, they encountered Moses and Aaron standing there to meet them, ¹ 

Exodus 23:4

23:4 “If you encounter ²  your enemy’s ox or donkey wandering off, you must by all means return ³  it to him.

Exodus 5:3

5:3 And they said, “The God of the Hebrews has met with us. Let us go a three-day journey ⁴  into the desert so that we may sacrifice ⁵  to the Lord our God, so that he does not strike us with plague or the sword.” ⁶ 

[5:20]  ¹ sn Moses and Aaron would not have made the appeal to Pharaoh that these Hebrew foremen did, but they were concerned to see what might happen, and so they waited to meet the foremen when they came out.

[23:4]  ² tn Heb “meet” (so KJV, ASV, NASB).

[23:4]  ³ tn The construction uses the imperfect tense (taken here as an obligatory imperfect) and the infinitive absolute for emphasis.

[5:3]  ³ tn The word “journey” is an adverbial accusative telling the distance that Moses wanted the people to go. It is qualified by “three days.” It is not saying that they will be gone three days, but that they will go a distance that will take three days to cover (see Gen 31:22-23; Num 10:33; 33:8).

[5:3]  ⁴ tn The purpose clause here is formed with a second cohortative joined with a vav (ו): “let us go…and let us sacrifice.” The purpose of the going was to sacrifice.

[5:3]  ⁵ sn The last clause of this verse is rather unexpected here: “lest he meet [afflict] us with pestilence or sword.” To fail to comply with the summons of one’s God was to invite such calamities. The Law would later incorporate many such things as the curses for disobedience. Moses is indicating to Pharaoh that there is more reason to fear Yahweh than Pharaoh.