We may take it for granted that at first Pharaoh viewed the political and economic consequences of Israel‘s quest with contempt. Serfs had no rights in Egypt and their masters were not about to give them any. This of course was not merely an Egyptian or Pharaonic attitude; it was universal and not bound to time. In fact, one may wonder how the biblical storyteller envisioned a meeting of the slave leaders with the king. However, the unlikelihood of any face-to-face negotiations was apparently of no interest to the text. Moses and Aaron appear primarily as religious leaders before Pharaoh. The latter must be seen in this exchange both as the man who held the key to Israel‘s freedom and as the godlike leader of his own people, who stood in the context of his own traditions, beliefs, and practices.
