Exodus 5:2 records Pharaoh’s answer to Moses and Aaron when they ask him to release the Israelites so they can worship the LORD in the wilderness. In short, Pharaoh does not know the LORD, does not feel bound to obey Him, and refuses to let the people go. The verse is spoken by the Egyptian king, Pharaoh, in reply to the messengers who came in the name of the God of Israel.
Pharaoh said, “Who is the LORD, that I should listen to his voice to let Israel go? I don’t know the LORD, and moreover I will not let Israel go.”
Exodus 5:2 (WEB)
What Exodus 5:2 Means
Pharaoh opens with a question: “Who is the LORD?” He is not asking for information so much as making a challenge. In his mind, a god whose voice he must heed would have to be someone he respected or feared. He asks why he should listen to this deity’s voice, which signals that he sees no claim on his will. The phrase “to let Israel go” shows that his refusal is the real point of the question.
He then says plainly, “I don’t know the LORD,” and adds that he “will not let Israel go.” The second clause is the firmer one. The verse does not promise that Pharaoh will change his mind or that the LORD will win an easy victory. It shows a hard heart set against both the messengers and the God who sent them, and it sets up the conflict that runs through the next chapters of Exodus.
The Context of Exodus 5:2
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses and tells how God brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt and formed them into a nation under His covenant. Its first audience was the people of Israel, who needed to understand how their deliverance began and who the LORD was. The book is careful to show that the LORD is not one god among many in Egypt but the one true God who rules over the land and its king.
The verses just before this one, Exodus 5:1, report that Moses and Aaron delivered the LORD’s message: “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.” Pharaoh’s reply in verse 2 is a direct rejection of that command. Read together, the two verses show a clear contrast between the authority of the LORD and the defiance of the king, which is exactly the tension the story is built to explore.
Key Phrases in Exodus 5:2
Exodus 7:5
The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”
(WEB)
This verse follows the confrontation with Pharaoh and shows the purpose behind the plagues: that the Egyptians will know the LORD when He stretches out His hand. It answers the question Pharaoh raised in 5:2 by explaining that the LORD will make Himself known through what He does.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
(WEB)
This psalm calls people to be still and recognize that God is exalted over the nations. It offers a calm counterpart to Pharaoh’s defiance, reminding readers that knowing the LORD leads to humble acknowledgment of who He is rather than arrogant dismissal.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 5:2
Lord, I confess that there are places in my life where I have said, in effect, that I will not listen to Your voice. Show me where pride or fear has kept me from knowing You more truly. Soften my heart so that I hear Your word as a call to trust rather than a challenge to resist. Teach me to recognize Your authority in the everyday choices I make, and help me to follow You with a willing spirit. Amen.
