The KJV Holy Bible

 

Exodus Chapter Five

 

1 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.

2 And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go.

3 And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with us: let us go, we pray thee, three days' journey into the desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon us with pestilence, or with the sword.

4 And the king of Egypt said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the people from their works? get you unto your burdens.

5 And Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many, and ye make them rest from their burdens.

6 And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying,

7 Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves.

8 And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.

9 Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words.

10 And the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

11 Go ye, get you straw where ye can find it: yet not ought of your work shall be diminished.

12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.

13 And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your works, your daily tasks, as when there was straw.

14 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?

15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants?

16 There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten; but the fault is in thine own people.

17 But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord.

18 Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks.

19 And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish ought from your bricks of your daily task.

20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh:

21 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.

22 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me?

23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all.

 

 

Esoteric Interpretation & Commentary

 

The Hermetic Blueprint of Exodus: The Resistance of the Ego and the Increased Burden

"Exodus Chapter Five illustrates a Universal Law of Spiritual Alchemy: the moment the Awakened Soul Consciously attempts to break free from earthly bondage, the material world fiercely intensifies its resistance. This chapter details the first direct confrontation between the Spiritual Will (Moses) and the entrenched Lower Ego (Pharaoh). It reveals that the initial stages of the Great Work do not bring immediate peace, but rather Profound Psychological Friction. Threatened by the demand for liberation, the lower ego doubles down on its tyranny, overwhelming the Internal Faculties with the heavy, exhausting demands of mundane survival to prevent them from Seeking the Divine."

 

 

Verses 1-2: The Demand for Liberation and the Blindness of the Ego - "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. And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go." 

Moses (the Spiritual Will) and Aaron (the Rational Intellect) formally present the demands of the Higher Self to Pharaoh (the Lower Ego). The request to "hold a feast in the wilderness" represents the need to withdraw the Internal Spiritual Faculties away from material distractions so they can be nourished by Pure, Transcendent Contemplation. Pharaoh's response—"Who is the Lord... I know not the Lord"—perfectly encapsulates the nature of the Carnal, Unawakened Mind. The lower ego operates entirely on the frequency of the Five physical senses; it Genuinely Cannot Perceive or Comprehend the Existence of the Universal Spirit, and therefore flatly refuses to yield its Absolute Authority over the human Temple.

 

 

Verses 6-9: The Removal of Vitality and the Illusion of Labor - "And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks, which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them; ye shall not diminish ought thereof: for they be idle; therefore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God. Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may labour therein; and let them not regard vain words." 

This is the Ultimate defensive maneuver of the threatened ego. To stop the Mind from Pursuing Spiritual Liberation (which the ego dismisses as "vain words"), it drastically increases the burden of material life. "Straw" represents the energetic binding agent—the natural vitality or ease previously granted to the faculties. By removing the straw but demanding the same quota of bricks, the ego forces the Spiritual Faculties to frantically scrounge through the dense "stubble" of the material world just to maintain basic survival. The goal is to make the Adept so utterly exhausted, distracted, and consumed by worldly anxieties that they Abandon All Thoughts of Spiritual Ascension.

 

 

Verses 15-18: The Futility of Appealing to the Lower Nature - "Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy servants? ...But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now, and work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye deliver the tale of bricks." 

The "officers" represent the localized, lower-level Spiritual Thoughts that are still attempting to negotiate with the ego. When the burden of material life becomes unbearable, these faculties initially cry out to the ego itself for relief, hoping the worldly Mind will show mercy. Pharaoh’s harsh rejection demonstrates a Profound Metaphysical Truth: you Cannot Find Spiritual Rest or Relief within the domain of the Carnal Mind. The lower ego has No Compassion; its only function is to bind the Consciousness to the heavy, mechanical wheel of earthly labor.

 

 

Verses 20-23: The Friction of Awakening and the Doubt of the Will - "And they met Moses and Aaron... 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 Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, wherefore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; neither hast thou delivered thy people at all." 

This marks the painful Psychological backlash of early initiation. The Internal Faculties, overwhelmed by the intensified struggles of life, turn against the Newly Awakened Will (Moses), blaming the Spiritual Path for their increased suffering. Even Moses experiences profound doubt, asking the Divine why the situation has worsened since he began the Great Work. This is the crucial test of the Adept: Understanding that the Initial application of Spiritual Law will cause the entrenched lower nature to violently revolt, creating a temporary period of extreme darkness and friction before True Liberation Can Finally Be Achieved.