Stubble instead of straw - Rather, for the straw: i. e. to be prepared as straw. This marks the season of the year, namely, early spring, after the barley or wheat harvest, toward the end of April. Their suffering must have been severe: at that season the pestilential sand-wind blows over Egypt some 50 days, hence, its name - Chamsin. (compare Genesis 41:6 note).
Related Commentaries of Exodus 5:12
Exodus 5:12
12 So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.