וימת מלך מצרים. כל זמן שאותו מלך קיים היו מצפין מתי ימות שמא תתבטל הגזרה וכשמת לא נתבטלה אמרו מעתה ידענו שאין לדבר סוף לכך ויאנחו, ד"א וימת מלך מצרים ויאנחו מאחר שמת המלך יכול משה לשוב למצרים וגם בני ישראל נאנחו וגם הקב"ה ית"ש זכר את בריתו כל הדברים האלה גרמו שנשתלח משה: וימת מלך מצרים, the King of Egypt died;” as long as that king had been alive, the Hebrews had been hoping and praying all the time that he would die soon. They hoped against hope that his anti-Hebrew decrees would die with him. When none of his decrees was annulled even after his death, they sighed; they realised that there was no relief in sight and for the first time in 86 years they turned to their G–d in prayer. An alternate interpretation: they felt that their potential leader Moses would now be able to return to Egypt without having to fear an indictment. G–d also used this opportunity of their prayer to reveal Himself to Moses at the bottom of Mount Sinai, at the burning bush, setting in motion the process of their redemption.