Library Theodoret Questions on Exodus
Questions on Exodus 13: Why God allowed the people to suffer
Why then did God allow the people to suffer these things?
So that they might hate not only the Egyptians but also their gods, as having suffered such things from them; and so that they might quickly obey when ordered to go out. For if even after these things had happened this way they remembered the luxury in Egypt and often tried to turn back, who would have persuaded them to leave Egypt if they had suffered nothing terrible from them?
Greek: Theodoret of Cyrus, Quaestiones in Octateuchum / Questions on Exodus (CPG 6200.02; cf. Fernández Marcos and Sáenz-Badillos; also PG 80, cols. 225–298). English: study translation for BWAB Library—not the copyrighted Robert C. Hill (CUA Press) translation. The full Questions on Exodus (72 questions) is hosted here.