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.
Pharaoh called unto Moses. Terrified by the preternatural darkness, the stubborn king relents, and proposes another compromise-the flocks and herds to be left as hostages for their return.
Verse 25. Thou must give us also sacrifices, х zªbaachiym (H2077)] - opposed to х `olowt (H5927)], 'burnt offerings.' The word denotes a sacrifice only in part consumed, a thank offering (cf. Leviticus 17:8; Numbers 15:5). But the crisis is approaching, and Moses insists on all he had asked for. The cattle would be needed for sacrifice-how many or how few could not be known until their arrival at the scene of religious observance.
Verse 26. There shall not an hoof be left behind - an elegant metonomy for 'all the cattle must be taken with us.' The emancipation of Israel from Egyptian bondage was to be complete.