Exodus 10:8

KJV

And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: [but] who [are] they that shall go?

KJV (with Strong's)

And Moses {H4872} and Aaron {H175} were brought again {H7725} unto Pharaoh {H6547}: and he said {H559} unto them, Go {H3212}, serve {H5647} the LORD {H3068} your God {H430}: but who are they that shall go {H1980}?

Complete Jewish Bible

So Moshe and Aharon were brought to Pharaoh again, and he said to them, "Go, worship ADONAI your God. But who exactly is going?"

Berean Standard Bible

So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. “Go, worship the LORD your God,” he said. “But who exactly will be going?”

American Standard Version

And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve Jehovah your God; but who are they that shall go?

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Exodus 10:8 captures Pharaoh's desperate, yet calculated, attempt to negotiate with God by offering a partial concession for Israel's worship, revealing his persistent resistance to God's total demand for liberation. Despite the escalating plagues, Pharaoh's question, "who are they that shall go?", exposes his desire to retain control over a portion of the Israelite community, particularly their future generations, highlighting the fundamental conflict between human will and divine sovereignty and the futility of negotiating with an omnipotent God.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** This verse is situated at a critical juncture in the plague narrative, immediately following the devastating seventh plague of hail and preceding the eighth plague of locusts. Moses and Aaron had just been forcefully driven from Pharaoh's presence after the hail plague's cessation, as recorded in [Exodus 10:6](/exodus/10-6 "Moses and Aaron leave Pharaoh after the hail plague"). However, the immense suffering inflicted by the plagues has pushed Pharaoh's own servants to their breaking point, leading them to urge their king to release Israel, lest Egypt be utterly destroyed, as detailed in [Exodus 10:7](/exodus/10-7 "Pharaoh's servants urge him to let Israel go"). Pharaoh's summoning of Moses and Aaron back to his court, as described in our current verse, signals a shift from outright refusal to a reluctant, yet still limited, offer of concession. This sets the stage for Moses's unwavering counter-demand for total liberation in [Exodus 10:9](/exodus/10-9 "Moses's demand for all to go") and the subsequent plague.
* **Historical & Cultural Context:** In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh was not merely a king but was considered a divine being, the embodiment of cosmic order (Ma'at), and the ultimate authority on earth. To challenge the pharaoh's will was to challenge the divine order itself. The Israelites represented a significant and essential labor force, crucial for Egypt's economy and monumental building projects. Pharaoh's deep-seated reluctance to release them stemmed not only from economic self-interest but also from a profound ideological and theological clash: the God of Israel was directly challenging the authority and divinity of Pharaoh and the entire Egyptian pantheon. Pharaoh's repeated attempts at negotiation, offering partial freedom or worship within Egypt, as seen in [Exodus 8:25](/exodus/8-25 "Pharaoh's first concession") and [Exodus 8:28](/exodus/8-28 "Pharaoh's second concession"), were typical strategies of a powerful ruler attempting to maintain control, save face, and avoid complete capitulation, rather than genuine submission to a superior deity.
* **Key Themes:** This verse powerfully contributes to several major theological and narrative themes within the book of Exodus. It highlights the escalating **conflict between divine sovereignty and human will**, as Pharaoh continually resists God's absolute demand for the complete liberation of His people. It underscores the theme of **God's unwavering faithfulness to His covenant promises** to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, demonstrating His power to deliver His people from bondage. Furthermore, it emphasizes the nature of **true worship and service to God**, which requires total dedication and cannot be compartmentalized or limited by human terms. Pharaoh's attempts to control the scope of Israel's departure foreshadow the ongoing challenge for God's people to render Him undivided loyalty, a theme that resonates throughout the Pentateuch, particularly in calls to obedience found in books like [Deuteronomy](/deuteronomy/1 "The Book of Deuteronomy").

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

#### Key Word Analysis
* **Serve (Hebrew, _ʻâbad'_):** This verb (H5647) is central to the conflict. It means "to work," "to labor," "to be a slave," or "to serve," especially God. Pharaoh's use of "serve the LORD your God" is laden with irony. From his perspective, he understands `ʻâbad` in the context of forced labor, and he is now grudgingly allowing them to "labor" for their own God. However, for God and Israel, `ʻâbad` implies worship, devotion, and covenantal obedience—a complete dedication of life, not merely a ritual act. Pharaoh's offer to let them "serve" is an attempt to define the terms of their "service," limiting it to a religious ceremony while retaining their economic utility and control over their lives.
* **LORD (Hebrew, _Yᵉhôvâh'_):** This is the sacred, covenantal name of God (H3068), often translated as "Jehovah" or "the LORD" (in all caps) in English Bibles. It signifies "the self-Existent One" or "the Eternal One." Pharaoh's reluctant acknowledgment of "the LORD your God" is a significant shift from his earlier defiance ("Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice?" [Exodus 5:2](/exodus/5-2 "Pharaoh's defiance")). While he still attempts to control the terms of worship, he is forced to recognize the existence and power of Israel's God, whose identity is inextricably linked to His covenant faithfulness and power demonstrated through the plagues.
* **Go (Hebrew, _hâlak'_):** This primitive root (H1980) means "to walk" or "to go" in a wide variety of applications, literally and figuratively. In this context, it refers to the act of departure. Pharaoh's question, "who are they that shall go?", focuses on limiting the scope of this "going." While he grants permission for some to "go" (using `yâlak`, H3212, in the command "Go, serve..."), his subsequent question about "who are they that shall go?" (using `hâlak` in the participle form) reveals his intent to restrict the number and demographics of those departing. This highlights his desire to control the extent of their freedom, preventing a full exodus.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh:"**: This opening phrase indicates a forced summons, not a voluntary return of Moses and Aaron. It signals Pharaoh's growing desperation and the mounting pressure from his own court and the suffering of his people. The dynamic of power is ostensibly still with Pharaoh, but his actions betray his increasing vulnerability and the effectiveness of God's judgments.
* **"and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God:"**: This represents Pharaoh's "concession." He uses the language of permission ("Go") and, for the first time, explicitly acknowledges the Israelites' God ("your God"). This is a significant step for a pharaoh who previously claimed ultimate divine authority and dismissed the LORD. However, this permission is immediately qualified, demonstrating that his "concession" is not born of true repentance but strategic calculation.
* **"[but] who [are] they that shall go?"**: This is the pivotal clause of the verse. The KJV's bracketed "but" accurately captures the adversarial and conditional nature of the question. Pharaoh is not genuinely inquiring; he is setting a strict condition, attempting to dictate the terms of worship and freedom. His aim is to allow only a select group (likely the adult men) to leave for a temporary religious observance, thereby keeping the women, children, and livestock as a guarantee of their return and continued servitude. This reveals his deep-seated resistance to a full and unconditional release, highlighting his desire to maintain control over Israel's future and their labor.

#### Literary Devices
The passage employs striking **irony**: Pharaoh, who has enslaved Israel and defiantly resisted their God, now "permits" them to "serve" their God, yet on his own restrictive terms. This highlights the paradox of a powerful ruler attempting to control the worship of the Almighty. There is also a strong sense of **negotiation**, framed as a power struggle, where Pharaoh continually tries to bargain with God's absolute demand for total liberation. This ongoing back-and-forth illustrates Pharaoh's hardening heart and the ultimate futility of human resistance against divine will. The rhetorical question, "who are they that shall go?", serves as a form of **interrogation**, designed not for information but to assert control and limit the scope of God's command.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
This verse powerfully illustrates God's demand for total devotion and the futility of partial obedience. Pharaoh's attempt to compartmentalize Israel's service—allowing a religious act while retaining economic control and human collateral—is a direct affront to the LORD's absolute sovereignty. God desires the whole community, men, women, children, and all their possessions, to be dedicated to His worship and service. This prefigures the covenantal call for Israel's complete obedience and wholehearted love for God, a theme echoed throughout the Torah and the Prophets, emphasizing that true worship is an all-encompassing commitment of life, not a segmented activity.

* This concept of complete devotion is foundational to the covenant relationship: [Deuteronomy 6:5](/deuteronomy/6-5 "Love the Lord with all your heart") states, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might."
* The idea that true worship involves the entire community, including children, is emphasized in the call to teach the next generation: [Deuteronomy 4:9-10](/deuteronomy/4-9-10 "Teach your children the statutes") instructs Israel to teach their children and grandchildren the statutes and judgments of God.
* Pharaoh's resistance to God's full demand highlights the ongoing spiritual battle between the kingdom of God and the kingdoms of this world, where the latter often seek to limit or control true worship: [Joshua 24:15](/joshua/24-15 "Choose whom you will serve") famously challenges, "choose this day whom you will serve... as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Exodus 10:8 serves as a potent reminder that God desires our complete surrender, not just partial obedience or convenient concessions. We, like Pharaoh, can be tempted to negotiate with God, offering Him parts of our lives—our Sunday mornings, our tithes, or certain "spiritual" activities—while subtly holding back other areas, such as our careers, relationships, personal ambitions, or even our future plans. True service to God requires the dedication of our whole being, our families, and our resources, recognizing that every aspect of our existence is under His loving and sovereign claim. This verse challenges us to examine where we might be subtly resisting God's full claim on our lives, seeking to control the terms of our faith rather than yielding in complete trust and joyful obedience to His perfect will. It calls us to consider if our "going" to serve the Lord is truly wholehearted, encompassing all generations and all possessions, or if we are still holding back a portion for ourselves.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **In what areas of your life are you tempted to offer God only a "partial" commitment, holding back certain resources, relationships, or ambitions?**
* **How does the concept of "intergenerational faith" (all ages going to worship and serve God) challenge or affirm your current spiritual practices within your family or community?**
* **What does it truly mean to "serve the LORD your God" with your whole self in today's world, and what might that look like practically in your daily life?**

### FAQ

**Why did Pharaoh keep negotiating instead of just letting them go or refusing outright?**

Answer: Pharaoh's repeated negotiations, despite the escalating plagues, demonstrate the hardening of his heart, as prophesied by God in [Exodus 4:21](/exodus/4-21 "God hardens Pharaoh's heart"). His actions are not rational responses to the plagues but a manifestation of his immense pride, his perceived divine authority, and perhaps a desperate hope to maintain his economic and political power. Each negotiation is a test of wills, a subtle attempt to assert his control over God's absolute command, even as his kingdom crumbles around him. This stubbornness ultimately serves to magnify God's power and glory through the complete destruction of Pharaoh's resistance, as seen in [Exodus 14](/exodus/14 "The Crossing of the Red Sea").

**Does Pharaoh's question, "who are they that shall go?", imply a distinction between men and women in ancient worship?**

Answer: While some ancient cultures had gender-specific roles in public life and worship, Pharaoh's question here is primarily driven by economic and strategic concerns, not religious custom. He wanted to retain the women and children as leverage to ensure the men's return, as well as to preserve a future labor force for Egypt. Moses's subsequent insistence in [Exodus 10:9](/exodus/10-9 "Moses's demand for all to go") that "our young and our old, our sons and our daughters" must go underscores that God's call to worship and liberation is for the entire community, without exception, highlighting the comprehensive nature of God's redemptive plan for His people.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Exodus 10:8, with its theme of complete liberation and wholehearted service, finds profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Pharaoh's partial offer mirrors humanity's fallen tendency to offer God conditional obedience or a divided heart, clinging to aspects of our old life even as we seek freedom. Jesus, however, calls for absolute surrender and total devotion, declaring that no one can serve two masters ([Matthew 6:24](/matthew/6-24 "No one can serve two masters")). He liberates us not just from physical slavery but from the spiritual bondage of sin and death, a far greater exodus than that from Egypt ([Colossians 1:13-14](/colossians/1-13-14 "Delivered from the domain of darkness")). Just as God demanded all of Israel—men, women, children, and possessions—to be set free for His worship, so Christ's salvation encompasses our entire being: spirit, soul, and body ([1 Thessalonians 5:23](/1_thessalonians/5-23 "Sanctification of spirit, soul, and body")). Through His death and resurrection, Jesus provides the means for us to truly "serve the LORD our God" not through coerced labor, but through willing, joyful, and complete devotion as adopted children in His kingdom ([Romans 12:1](/romans/12-1 "Present your bodies as a living sacrifice")). His call is for a new community, the Church, where all are equally called to worship and serve, regardless of age, gender, or social status, for in Christ "there is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus" ([Galatians 3:28](/galatians/3-28 "No Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female in Christ")).

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Exodus 10:24

And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.

Exodus 12:31

And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, [and] get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said.

Exodus 10:16

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.

Exodus 8:8

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.