Exodus 10:25-29

"And Moses said, Thou must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto Jehovah our God. Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not a hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve Jehovah our God; and we know not with what we must serve Jehovah, until we come thither. But Jehovah hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in the day thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well; I will see thy face no more."

The dramatic and triumphant answer of God through Moses to the proposal of Pharaoh that the flocks and herds remain in Egypt is a marvel of blunt, powerful affirmatives.

Our cattle shall go with us.

Not a hoof shall be left behind.

Thou must also give (us) sacrifices.

"Thou must also give into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings ..." This is usually understood as meaning merely that Pharaoh would do this by permitting the Israelites to take with them their flocks and herds; but the "NEB translates this verse so as to mean that Pharaoh must not only let the Israelites take their flocks and herds, but that he must also himself provide animals suitable for sacrifice."[32] The RSV skirts the question by an ambiguous rendition. It turned out to be true, in fact, that the Egyptians did enrich the Hebrews by giving them costly jewels, gold, silver, and other gifts on the night of their departure. Johnson interpreted the place thus:

That is, you must give us the means of sacrificing and therefore (Exodus 10:26) we must take all our cattle.[33]

Rylaarsdam's excellent comment on Moses' answer here is perceptive:

Moses says, in effect, that all the cattle belong to the Lord (Psalms 5; Psalms 10). His objection that only upon arrival at the place of sacrifice will they know what is wanted is not just a ruse; it is also, and more significantly, an explication of what it means to be the people of God. In Israel all of life is held in trust under a single trusteeship. The God of Israel is one Lord.[34]

"Moses said, "I will see thy face no more ..." This seems to terminate the interview here, but it does not. Exodus 11:4-10 relates what immediately followed, with Exodus 11:1-3 standing between as a parenthesis. Both critical and conservative scholars alike accept this. Davies alleged a slightly disarranged text here, asserting that, "Probably Exodus 11:4-10, once followed Exodus 10:29."[35] Dummelow wrote that: "The present interview does not terminate with these words, but is continued in the next chapter. Moses leaves the presence of Pharaoh at Exodus 11:8. Exodus 11:1-3 may be regarded as a parenthesis."[36]

Thus, it is not to be supposed that Moses bolted out of Pharaoh's presence because of the vicious words in Exodus 10:29. Moses accepted Pharaoh's words without fear, calmly waited until the final plague was announced, and told Pharaoh plainly:

"After just one more plague, Pharaoh's servants would come to him, bow down, and plead with the Israelites to leave."[37] As it turned out, even Pharaoh himself did this (Exodus 12:30,31).