Exodus 5:9-11

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition

⁹Let heavier work be laid upon the men that they may labor at it and pay no attention to lying words.

¹⁰The taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers, and they said to the people, Thus says Pharaoh, I will not give you straw.

¹¹Go, get ^[a]straw where you can find it; but your work shall not be diminished in the least.

Exodus 5:11 Archaeologists became interested early in examining Egyptian bricks of Moses’ time to see if they contained straw. They found that, while many did contain straw, many also did not, leaving the impression that the Bible was wrong. But as usual in such cases, sooner or later it is shown that “the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple” (Ps. 19:7)—who know no better than to doubt the truth of God’s Word. It is now known that oat straw boiled in water, when added to clay, makes the clay much easier to handle. Without the organic material obtained from the straw, the difficulty of making bricks was greatly increased. The fact that brickmakers of Egypt found the use of straw essential, whether visible evidence remains or not, is fully borne out, as various writers have asserted. (See Allan A. MacRae’s, “The Relation of Archaeology to the Bible” in Modern Science and Christian Faith.)