Êxodo 5:2

2 Mas Faraó respondeu: Quem é o Senhor, para que eu ouça a sua voz para deixar ir Israel? Não conheço o Senhor, nem tampouco deixarei ir Israel.

Êxodo 5:2 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 5:2

And Pharaoh said, who is the Lord
Jehovah, they made mention of, which, whether he took it for the name of a deity, or of a king, whose ambassadors they declared themselves to be, was a name he had never heard of before; and this being expressed and pronounced, shows that this name is not ineffable, or unlawful to be pronounced, as say the Jews:

that I should obey his voice, to let Israel go?
he knew of no superior monarch to him, whose orders he was obliged to obey in any respect, and particularly in this, the dismission of the people of Israel out of his land, though it was but for a short time:

I know not the Lord;
who this Jehovah is, that made this demand, and required Israel's dismission. The Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it,

``I have not found the name of Jehovah written in the book of angels, I am not afraid of him.''

An Egyptian book, in which, the paraphrast supposes, were written the names of gods and of angels; and no such name being there, he was the more bold and insolent:

neither will I let Israel go;
determining he would pay no regard to such an unknown Deity, or King, be he who he would.

Êxodo 5:2 In-Context

1 Depois foram Moisés e Arão e disseram a Faraó: Assim diz o Senhor, o Deus de Israel: Deixa ir o meu povo, para que me celebre uma festa no deserto.
2 Mas Faraó respondeu: Quem é o Senhor, para que eu ouça a sua voz para deixar ir Israel? Não conheço o Senhor, nem tampouco deixarei ir Israel.
3 Então eles ainda falaram: O Deus dos hebreus nos encontrou; portanto deixa-nos, pedimos-te, ir caminho de três dias ao deserto, e oferecer sacrifícios ao Senhor nosso Deus, para que ele não venha sobre nós com pestilência ou com espada.
4 Respondeu-lhes de novo o rei do Egito: Moisés e Arão, por que fazeis o povo cessar das suas obras? Ide �s vossas cargas.
5 Disse mais Faraó: Eis que o povo da terra já é muito, e vós os fazeis abandonar as suas cargas.
The Almeida Atualizada is in the public domain.