Exodus 9 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Exodus 9

The Fifth Plague: Egyptian Livestock Die

9:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go and still hold them, 3 behold, the hand of the LORD will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, the horses, the donkeys, the camels, the herds, and the flocks. 4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” 5 And the LORD set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD will do this thing in the land.” 6 And the next day the LORD did this thing. All the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not one of the livestock of the people of Israel died. 7 And Pharaoh sent, and behold, not one of the livestock of Israel was dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

The Sixth Plague: Boils

8 And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” 10 So they took soot from the kiln and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses threw it in the air, and it became boils breaking out in sores on man and beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians. 12 But the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.

The Seventh Plague: Hail

13 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For this time I will send all my plagues on you yourself,¹ and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. 15 For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. 16 But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. 17 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. 18 Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. 19 Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” 20 Then whoever feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses, 21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field.

22 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man and beast and every plant of the field, in the land of Egypt.” 23 Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 The hail struck down everything that was in the field in all the land of Egypt, both man and beast. And the hail struck down every plant of the field and broke every tree of the field. 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the people of Israel were, was there no hail.

27 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the LORD is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. 28 Plead with the LORD, for there has been enough of God’s thunder and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.” 29 Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will stretch out my hands to the LORD. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s. 30 But as for you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the LORD God.” 31 (The flax and the barley were struck down, for the barley was in the ear and the flax was in bud. 32 But the wheat and the emmer² were not struck down, for they are late in coming up.) 33 So Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh and stretched out his hands to the LORD, and the thunder and the hail ceased, and the rain no longer poured upon the earth. 34 But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants. 35 So the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people of Israel go, just as the LORD had spoken through Moses.

Footnotes

[1] 9:14 Hebrew on your heart
[2] 9:32 A type of wheat

Commentary

The plagues were all unpleasant, yet they grow more severe. Initially the plagues and their effects are reversed. Later, people were killed (v14, 25), and only in the Passover were large numbers of Egyptians killed.

v1: The repeated request, that the people be released to worship the Lord, as in v13. This brings an important emphasis; the children of Israel were redeemed to worship God.

v2-3: A fresh threat, of a "terrible plague" upon the livestock in the field.

v4: Again, the livestock belonging to the children of Israel would be distinguished. Not one animal would die.

v6-7: The promise was fulfilled, as the livestock died. Pharaoh checked that the Israelite animals had been preserved.

The plague of boils fell upon other animals, not livestock, which had all died. By the time of the plague of hail, the Egyptians had obtained more livestock, to replace what was lost.

v8-9: The sixth plague, of boils.

v10: The soot was taken from a furnace; Egypt itself is elsewhere described as a furnace.

v11-12: The enemy could not stand before Moses, but Pharaoh still did not repent. The Lord hardened his heart. See also 10.1,20. The hardening by the Lord indicates a consistent rejection of the claims of God on his life, and a refusal to repent.

v13: The repeated request, from the Lord God of the Hebrews, speaking on behalf of His people.

v14: The plagues would become more severe; "the full force of my plagues". This implies that the Lord God had shown restraint in the previous plagues.

v15-16: God had shown His mercy in the plagues, for He could have destroyed the whole nation of Egypt by this stage. The plagues were to be a testimony to God's power; see Josh 2.10-11; 9.9-10. Compare also 2 Kings 2.24, where youths were mauled, and therefore scarred, rather than killed. The Lord goes further, by stating that Pharaoh had been raised up so that God's power be demonstrated; see Rom 9.17. It seems that, from Rom 9.18, God had mercy on Pharaoh AND He hardened his heart.

v17: Pharaoh remained stubborn and hard-hearted, refusing to heed the command of God, and maintaining his dominion over the people of God, and his opposition to the people of God.

v18-19: The worst hailstorm ever experienced, but again tempered with mercy. This was the seventh plague. God, in His mercy, gave a clear warning to the people of Egypt. To avoid the effects of the hail, the people should bring their livestock and servants under cover.

v20-21: Some heeded the warning, and others ignored it. Those who ignored the warning caused the suffering of their slaves.

It may have been, when the Lord God gave orders for the people to apply blood to their doorposts and lintels, and so avoid the destruction of the Passover, some Egyptians did this also; although 12.30 suggests that every household in Egypt suffered loss. But 12.38 speaks of a mixed multitude, leaving with the children of Israel; perhaps some Egyptians and other races allied themselves with the Israelites.

v22-25: The description of the dreadful hailstorm, with thunder and lighting.

v26: Again, the children of Israel were exempted from the plague.

v27-28: Apparent regret from Pharaoh. Note that he does not speak of personal wrong, but "my people are in the wrong". We do tend to avoid personal admission of guilt. Pharaoh asked again for the plague to be removed, and said that the children of Israel could leave.

v29: Moses was God's man. Time and again, at his word, the plagues stopped, as here.

v30: But Moses knew that Pharaoh and his leaders would not let the children of Israel go.

v31-32: The impact upon the crops. Such details are indicative of the accuracy of the account here.

v33: Again the plague stopped in answer to Moses' prayer.

v34-35: Pharaoh sinned again, by refusing the let the people go.