What Does Exodus 10:25 Mean?

But Moses said, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God." Moses' response to the animal-retention proposal is absolute rejection: not only will Israel's animals not be left behind, but Egypt must also provide sacrificial animals from its own remaining livestock.

The demand that Egypt contribute to Israel's sacrificial worship is a remarkable reversal: the enslaved workforce that produced Egypt's economic surplus is now demanding that Egypt's surviving animals be contributed to YHWH's worship. The negotiating terms have been completely inverted from the beginning of the confrontation.

The theological basis for the animal requirement is the worship purpose of the departure: "that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God." Israel cannot fulfill its worship obligation without animals for sacrifice and burnt offerings. A worship departure without sacrificial animals is not the worship YHWH commanded; it is a performance without the essential element. Moses' demand that Egypt supply sacrificial animals is simultaneously a logistical requirement (Israel needs animals for worship) and a theological statement (Egypt's animals too are YHWH's to direct to his worship).

The demand that Egypt contribute to Israel's sacrificial worship extends the "the earth is the LORD's" claim of Exodus 9:29 into Egyptian livestock: even what Pharaoh considers his remaining animals are YHWH's to direct for his worship purposes. The plague sequence has already killed most of Egypt's livestock (plague 5); the remaining animals that Pharaoh is retaining as leverage now become the animals Moses demands for sacrifice. Egypt's last economic asset is claimed by YHWH's worship purpose.