Or HaChaim on Exodus 2:23/אור החיים על שמות ב׳:כ״ג

1 מן העבודה, on account of the bondage. They did not appeal to G'd to save them from their situation; they merely groaned, something which people who feel that their burdens are too great are wont to do out of a sense of helplessness. The Torah informs us that although this outcry was not a direct appeal to G'd for help, it did reach the ears of G'd because their situation was indeed intolerable; this is why the Torah adds that the reason G'd responded was מן העבודה, their bondage was too intolerable. However, G'd did not respond to a prayer but to a general groaning, i.e. נעקתם (verse 24).

2The Torah may also teach us something that David referred to in Psalms 118,5, where he speaks about מן המצר קראתי קה, "I have called upon the Lord out of distress, etc." One of the prayers to which G'd responds is the one that is prompted by the distress a person finds himself in. We find that Jonah prayed from similar motivations (Jonah 2,3) when he said: "I called out because I am in distress." The Torah testifies that G'd responded to the distress the people found themselves in. According to our analysis the word שעוה means prayer, as well as an outcry prompted by pain; this is hinted at by the Torah's use of the words מן העבודה ויזעקו; the Torah is quite correct therefore when it introduces G'd's response as being in response to שועתם instead of זעקתם. The Torah wanted to point out that the outcry of the children of Israel consisted of two elements, i.e. both זעקה and שעוה.

3The stress on the words מן העבודה may indicate that the prayer/outcry rose up to G'd without the help of any intermediary [such as the accompanying prayer of the patriarchs Ed.] because it was due to the intolerable burden of their workload and working conditions.