Exodus 4:23

Exo 4:23 And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, [even] thy firstborn.

Ver. 23. Let my son go.] God commanding Pharaoh to let go his people, and yet hardening his heart that he would not let them go, is not contrary to himself. For by so commanding him, he requireth his obedience; and by so hardening him, he punisheth his disobedience.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 23. Let my son go, that he may serve me] Which they could not do in Goshen, consistently with the policy and religious worship of the Egyptians; because the most essential part of an Israelite's worship consisted in sacrifice, and the animals which they offered to God were sacred among the Egyptians. Moses gives Pharaoh this reason Ex 8:26.

I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.] Which, on Pharaoh's utter refusal to let the people go, was accordingly done; see Ex 12:29.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(23) I will slay thy son, even thy first-born.—The threat was not made until immediately before the tenth plague (Exo_11:5). It is not recorded in the words which Moses is here directed to use; but the speech of Moses in Exodus 11 is no doubt much abbreviated.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

23. that he may serve me] i.e. hold a religious service (‘serve,’ as in Exo_3:12 and frequently), viz. in the wilderness: cf. (also in J) Exo_7:16, Exo_8:1; Exo_8:20, Exo_9:1; Exo_9:13, Exo_10:3.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And I say unto thee, let my son go, that he may serve me,.... Worship God according to his will in the place he had designed for him, and where he might be safe and free; and which service was due from him as a son, and to be performed not in a servile way, but in a filial manner, and therefore as a servant he could demand his dismission, and much more as his son; and this is required in an authoritative way, for saying is here commanding, insisting on it as a point of right to be done:

and if thou refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn; meaning, not only in a strict and literal sense Pharaoh's firstborn son, and heir to his crown, but the firstborn of all his subjects, which in a civil sense were his. This was not to be said to Pharaoh at the first opening of his commission to him, but after all methods had been tried, and the several other plagues designed were inflicted on him to no purpose, he was to be told this, which was the last plague, and succeeded; but this is told to Moses before hand, that when other messages he should be sent with to him, and all that should be done by him would prove ineffectual, this, when sent with and performed, would have the desired effect.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Thy son. This was the tenth and last scourge, which forced the king to relent. (Menochius)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

I say unto thee; I command thee; for saying is put for commanding, Luk 4:3; 9:54; and in 1Ch 21:19, compared with 2Sa 24:19.

I will slay thy son; by which plague, coming after the rest, thou wilt be enforced to do what I advise thee now to do upon cheaper terms.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

I will slay thy son, even thy firstborn. For the fulfilment of the threat, see Exo_12:29. Moses did not utter it till all other arguments were exhausted, and he knew that he was having his last interview with the monarch. (Exo_10:29 Exo_11:4, Exo_11:5) In this reserve and in the whole series of his dealings with the Egyptian king, we must regard him as simply carrying out the special directions which, after his return to Egypt, he continually received from the Almighty. (see Exo_6:11 Exo_7:9, 15 19:8:1, 5, 16, 20, etc.)

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Let my son go - Not only my servant whom thou hast no right to detain, but my son whose liberty and honour I am jealous for. If thou refuse, I will slay thy son, even thy first-born - As men deal with God's people, let them expect to be themselves dealt with.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

ואמר אליך AND I HAVE SAID UNTO THEE, as a messenger of the Omnipresent God, שלח את בני LET MY SON GO,

הנה אנכי הרג וגו׳ BEHOLD I WILL SLAY etc. — This, it is true, was the last of the plagues, but it was by mention of it that God gave him the first warning regarding the plagues that would come upon him, because this was the severest of them all. This is what Scripture means by, (Job 36:22) “Behold God is mighty in His power”, therefore “Who is a teacher like unto Him?” — This signifies: A human being who intends to avenge himself upon his fellow keeps his plans secret in order that he may not seek means of escape. But the Holy One, blessed be He, is so mighty in His power that there is no possibility of escape from His hand except by returning to Him in penitence. Just on this account He teaches him (informs him what punishment will befall him) and so warns him to return to Him (Exodus Rabbah 9:9).

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.