The stated result is not merely that Pharaoh will stop resisting, but that Israel’s leaving will become unavoidable and complete. Pharaoh moves from controlling the situation to wanting Israel gone.

Where interpretation differs (only where needed)

Some readers think the main question is when Yahweh said this:

• One view reads it as a fresh word given at this moment in the story.
• Another view reads it as a parenthetical note (“Yahweh had said”), inserted here to explain why Moses speaks so confidently right after.

A smaller difference concerns how forceful the final line should sound in English: whether it means Pharaoh will “send” Israel away or “drive/expel” them, emphasizing urgency and totality.

Why the disagreement exists

The surrounding narrative can be read as either a continuous scene with Pharaoh or as a report that briefly steps back in time to supply background. Also, the Hebrew verb behind “thrust you out” (related to gāreš) often carries a stronger sense than simple permission, so translators choose different English intensities.

What this passage clearly contributes

• It frames the final plague as the decisive end of the standoff: “one more” and then release.
• It portrays Yahweh as actively directing events toward a determined outcome.
• It predicts not just release but expulsion—Israel’s departure will be complete, not partial or delayed.
• It sets up the next section’s momentum: the end is not Pharaoh’s victory in negotiation, but Pharaoh’s surrender to a crisis he can no longer manage (cf. Exodus 12:31).

place (miz·zeh)