[5:6] 1 tn Heb “and Pharaoh commanded on that day.”
[5:6] 2 tn The Greek has “scribes” for this word, perhaps thinking of those lesser officials as keeping records of the slaves and the bricks.
[5:6] 3 tn The phrase “who were” is supplied for clarity.
[5:6] 4 sn In vv. 6-14 the second section of the chapter describes the severe measures by the king to increase the labor by decreasing the material. The emphasis in this section must be on the harsh treatment of the people and Pharaoh’s reason for it – he accuses them of idleness because they want to go and worship. The real reason, of course, is that he wants to discredit Moses (v. 9) and keep the people as slaves.
[5:15] 5 sn The last section of this event tells the effect of the oppression on Israel, first on the people (15-19) and then on Moses and Aaron (20-21). The immediate reaction of Israel was to cry to Pharaoh – something they would learn should be directed to God. When Pharaoh rebuffed them harshly, they turned bitterly against their leaders.
[5:15] 6 tn The imperfect tense should be classified here with the progressive imperfect nuance, because the harsh treatment was a present reality.
