THEOSISRoshdestwenski W.G.
Pharaoh instructed Moses to distance himself, ordering that he not be allowed to see his face, under the harshest sentence of death, as there would be no day to present himself before Pharaoh again. Moses agreed to this without hesitation, responding, “Let it be as you have said; I will not appear before you.” As indicated in chapter 11, Moses declared Pharaoh’s impending judgment. In Exodus 11:8, it is noted that he left Pharaoh’s presence in anger, and Exodus 12:31 reveals that Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron at night to demand their immediate departure from Egypt.
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EXPLANATION. From the time of that decree, Moses never returned to the king's court and did not appear again before Pharaoh. He steadfastly held his position, which he could not alter by his own will. The Holy Spirit affirms this in Exodus 11:3, where it states that Moses was regarded highly in the land of Egypt, both by Pharaoh’s officials and by others. Consequently, the malicious king, along with his advisers and the rest of the people, could not harm this esteemed figure, even while his adversaries sought every opportunity to belittle him. In contrast, Moses, who possessed divine authority, paid little mind to their threats and chose not to trouble them further with his presence.
Moses’s patience in this matter was bolstered by God Himself, whose limitless power the fierce foe could no longer withstand, ultimately leading to his defeat and the required release of the Hebrew people. This incident is reaffirmed in the following chapter, Exodus 12:31, where it recounts how Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron under the cover of night and seemingly compelled them to leave, not directly but through intermediaries, as made clear in Exodus 11:8, where Moses declares, “And all thy children shall come unto me, and worship me, saying, Depart thou.”