Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 5:7
(7) Straw to make brick.—“The use of crude brick was general in Egypt for dwelling-houses, tombs, and ordinary buildings, the walls of towns, fortresses, and the sacred enclosures of temples, and for all purposes where stone was not required, which last was nearly confined to temples, quays, and reservoirs” (Wilkinson, in Rawlinson’s Herodotus, vol. ii. p. 213). These crude bricks were always made of the mud of the Nile, mixed with chopped straw, which served to bind them together (Rosellini,... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 5:6
(6) Taskmasters . . . officers.—Three grades of officials are mentioned as employed in superintending the forced labours of the Hebrews—(1) “lords of service” (sarey massim), in Exodus 1:11; (2) “taskmasters” (nogeshim), here and in Exodus 5:10; Exodus 5:13-14; and (3) “officers”—literally, scribes (shoterim), here and in Exodus 5:11-21. The “lords of service” were probably a small body who exercised a general superintendence, and determined the works in which the Hebrews should be employed.... read more