Exodus 5:2 records Pharaoh’s blunt refusal when Moses and Aaron ask him to release the Israelites. Pharaoh says he does not know the LORD and will not let Israel go, which sets up the long contest between his power and God’s purpose that fills the rest of the book. The words are spoken by Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, in reply to a message delivered on God’s behalf by Moses and Aaron.
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 begins with a question: “Who is the LORD?” He is not asking for information so much as rejecting any authority that could command him. His next phrase, “that I should listen to his voice,” shows he sees obedience as a matter of power. In his mind, a king does not take orders from a deity he has never acknowledged.
He then admits he does not know the LORD and declares he will not release the people. The verse does not promise that the king will change his mind. It shows the opening move in a conflict that God has already said will end in deliverance. Pharaoh’s stubbornness is real, but the verse does not present it as the final word.
The Context of Exodus 5:2
Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses, and it was written for the people of Israel as they remembered their rescue from slavery in Egypt and their covenant with God at Sinai. The book tells how God heard the cries of an oppressed people and acted through a chosen leader to bring them out. Readers would already know the outcome, which gives Pharaoh’s defiance a different weight than it would carry in a story with an uncertain ending.
Just before this verse, Moses and Aaron deliver God’s message: “Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.” Just after, the Israelites’ workload becomes heavier, because Pharaoh punishes them for the request. Pharaoh’s answer in verse 2 therefore shows why the people’s situation worsens before it improves, and why the rest of the account keeps returning to the question of who truly rules.
Key Phrases in Exodus 5:2
Exodus 14:4
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and he will follow after them; and I will get honor over Pharaoh, and over all his armies; and the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD.” They did so.
(WEB)
This verse comes near the climax of the story and shows that Pharaoh’s hardened resistance is itself part of God’s plan to display His glory. It helps you see that Pharaoh’s refusal in chapter 5 belongs to a larger movement toward revelation.
Exodus 6:6
Therefore tell the children of Israel, ‘I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments…
(WEB)
God speaks directly to the Israelites here, responding to Moses’s report of Pharaoh’s refusal. The promise of redemption comes right after the defiance, showing that God’s commitment does not depend on Pharaoh’s cooperation.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 5:2
Lord, I confess that I can be like Pharaoh, asking who You are to tell me what to do and holding on to my own way when You call me to change. Soften my heart where it has grown hard, and give me the humility to listen when You speak. Remind me that Your purposes do not depend on the strength of any opposing power, and help me trust Your faithfulness in the places where I feel stuck. Amen.
