Exodus 7:16

Exo 7:16 And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

Ver. 16. Hitherto thou wouldest not hear.] Indeed, he could not hear; as little as those Jews could believe Christ’s miracles, Joh 12:37. "Therefore they could not believe," saith the text, "because that Isaiah had said, He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their hearts," &c.

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.

(16) The Lord God of the Hebrews.—Heb., Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews. On the first application made to him by Moses and Aaron, Pharaoh had professed not to know who Jehovah was (Exo_5:2). To prevent his again doing so, Moses is ordered to give both name and title.

Hath sent me—Rather, sent me.

Let my people go.—Comp. Exo_5:1. The reference is to Moses’ first appearance before Pharaoh, and the message then delivered.

Thou wouldest not hear.—Rather, thou hast not heard: i.e., thou hast not obeyed.

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

16. The demand to be made of the Pharaoh. The terms, as elsewhere in J (Exo_8:1; Exo_8:20, Exo_9:1; Exo_9:13, Exo_10:3): see p. 56.

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 thou shalt say unto him,.... Upon meeting him:

the Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee; still appearing in the character of the ambassador of Jehovah, the God of the children of Israel:

saying, let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; the demand is once more renewed, before any punishment is inflicted for refusal, that the patience and forbearance of God might be the more visible, and his judgments appear the more righteous when inflicted, as well as Pharaoh be left more inexcusable. The reason of the demand is observed:

that they may serve me; keep a feast, and sacrifice to him, as is before expressed, and the place where is pointed at:

in the wilderness; at Sinai, in Arabia, where were the mountains of Sinai and Horeb; but the time of their service is not here expressed, as elsewhere, namely, three days:

and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear; and obey the voice of the Lord, upbraiding him with his disobedience, and the hardness of his heart; but signifying it was not now too late, though it was advisable to be quick, or the blow would be given, and the plagues inflicted.

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

The Lord God hath sent me unto thee. Rather, "sent me unto thee." The reference is to the original sending. (Exo_5:1) Thou wouldest not hear. Literally, "Thou hast not heard," i.e. up to this time thou hast not obeyed the command given to thee.

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

Say to him

"Say to Pharaoh"

strike the water

"hit the water"

translationWords

Yahweh

Hebrew

worship

desert

Nile River

blood

die

Egypt

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

עד כה means UNTIL NOW. A Midrashic explanation (taking this sentence to mean, “thou wilt not hearken until (עד) thou hearest the word “כה”) is: until thou hearest from me the announcement of the slaughter of the first-born, which I will begin with the words, (Exodus 11:4) “Thus (כה) saith the Lord, About midnight etc.”

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.

AND, BEHOLD, HITHERTO THOU HAST NOT HEARKENED. Because this was one of the [ten] plagues and henceforth He will begin to smite him, He therefore said to him that it was his wickedness which was responsible for the bringing of the punishment upon him since he hearkened not to the command of his Creator. Now at this time, [i.e., when the warning about the first plague was given to him], Pharaoh did not declare to Moses and Aaron that he will neither hearken to G-d’s words nor let the people go. It was only at the first time [when they came before him] that he said, I know not the Eternal, and moreover I will not let Israel go. At present, he did not rebuke them; he only heard their words and remained silent, for since they performed the wonder of the serpent before him and Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods, he was already afraid of the plagues, except that during the first plagues he attempted that the magicians do likewise, that is, by means of deeds of sorcery. Thus he was afraid, and yet he hardened his heart. This is the sense of the expression, And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.

Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Tanakh — English translation: “Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.