Exodus 5:7

Yee shall no more giue the people straw to make bricke, as heretofore: let them goe and gather straw for themselues. Exodus 5:7 (KJV)

This verse is part of the account of Moses and Aaron’s confrontation with Pharaoh in the book of Exodus. To understand its significance we must first recall the broader context. The Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt for many years, and God chose Moses and Aaron to lead His people out of bondage toward the Promised Land.

Moses went before Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, bearing God’s message: “Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness” (Exodus 5:1). Pharaoh did not comply; he questioned the LORD and refused to release the Israelites.

In response, Pharaoh intensified the Israelites’ oppression. As recorded in Exodus 5:7‑8, he ordered that the people would no longer be supplied with straw for brick‑making as before; they were to gather straw for themselves while still meeting the same quota of bricks. The verse even records the harsh command, “And the same task, and the same number, and they gave them no straw.”

Straw was essential for binding mud and clay to form bricks. By withdrawing this provision, Pharaoh made the already grueling labor far more arduous, forcing the Israelites to labor harder for the identical output. This caused great distress among the people and was a deliberate act of oppression intended to break their spirit and resolve, revealing Pharaoh’s hardened heart and his refusal to yield to God’s command.

God, seeing the increased suffering, prepared to increase pressure on Pharaoh through a series of plagues. The removal of straw set the stage for these divine demonstrations of power, which would compel Pharaoh to release His people.

The subsequent chapters of Exodus recount the remaining plagues that God sent upon Egypt and culminate in the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, through which the Israelites were finally delivered from bondage.