Exodus 5:7 (KJV)

What does Exodus 5:7 mean?

Exodus 5:7 shows Pharaoh making the Israelites’ work harder by taking away a material they had been given for brickmaking. They must now find their own straw, adding another task to their forced labor.

Pharaoh gives this order to the taskmasters and officers over the people. Straw was mixed with mud to make bricks. The command changes how the workers get that material, not what they are expected to produce.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 5:7

• “make” — לָבַן (lavan): This word can mean “make bricks.” Paired with “brick,” it describes the work as brickmaking rather than construction in general.
• “gather” — קָשַׁשׁ (qashash): This word carries the sense of collecting scattered material. It pictures workers having to search for straw rather than receiving it in one place.

Why Exodus 5:7 matters

• The order increases the burden without reducing the output. In verse 8, Pharaoh says the workers must make the same number of bricks as before.
• Pharaoh treats the request to leave as a reason for harder labor. In verses 8–9, he calls the people idle and orders that more work be laid on them.