6 And they shall fill H4390 thy houses, H1004 and the houses H1004 of all thy servants, H5650 and the houses H1004 of all the Egyptians; H4714 which neither thy fathers, H1 nor thy fathers' H1 fathers H1 have seen, H7200 since the day H3117 that they were upon the earth H127 unto this day. H3117 And he turned H6437 himself, and went out H3318 from Pharaoh. H6547
And the river H2975 shall bring forth H8317 frogs H6854 abundantly, H8317 which shall go up H5927 and come H935 into thine house, H1004 and into thy bedchamber, H2315 H4904 and upon thy bed, H4296 and into the house H1004 of thy servants, H5650 and upon thy people, H5971 and into thine ovens, H8574 and into thy kneadingtroughs: H4863
Else, if thou wilt not let my people H5971 go, H7971 behold, I will send H7971 swarms H6157 of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, H5650 and upon thy people, H5971 and into thy houses: H1004 and the houses H1004 of the Egyptians H4714 shall be full H4390 of swarms H6157 of flies, and also the ground H127 whereon they are.
Not so: go H3212 now ye that are men, H1397 and serve H5647 the LORD; H3068 for that ye did desire. H1245 And they were driven out H1644 from Pharaoh's H6547 presence. H6440
And the locusts H697 went up H5927 over all the land H776 of Egypt, H4714 and rested H5117 in all the coasts H1366 of Egypt: H4714 very H3966 grievous H3515 were they; before H6440 them there were no such H3651 locusts H697 as they, neither after H310 them shall be such. For they covered H3680 the face H5869 of the whole earth, H776 so that the land H776 was darkened; H2821 and they did eat H398 every herb H6212 of the land, H776 and all the fruit H6529 of the trees H6086 which the hail H1259 had left: H3498 and there remained H3498 not any green thing H3418 in the trees, H6086 or in the herbs H6212 of the field, H7704 through all the land H776 of Egypt. H4714
And all these thy servants H5650 shall come down H3381 unto me, and bow down H7812 themselves unto me, saying, H559 Get thee out, H3318 and all the people H5971 that follow H7272 thee: and after H310 that I will go out. H3318 And he went out H3318 from Pharaoh H6547 in a great H2750 anger. H639
A day H3117 of darkness H2822 and of gloominess, H653 a day H3117 of clouds H6051 and of thick darkness, H6205 as the morning H7837 spread H6566 upon the mountains: H2022 a great H7227 people H5971 and a strong; H6099 there hath not been H1961 ever H5769 the like, neither shall be any more H3254 after H310 it, even to the years H8141 of many H1755 generations. H1755
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 10
Commentary on Exodus 10 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 10
Ex 10:1-20. Plague of Locusts.
1. show these my signs, &c.—Sinners even of the worst description are to be admonished even though there may be little hope of amendment, and hence those striking miracles that carried so clear and conclusive demonstration of the being and character of the true God were performed in lengthened series before Pharaoh to leave him without excuse when judgment should be finally executed.
2. And that thou mayest tell … of thy son, and of thy son's son, &c.—There was a further and higher reason for the infliction of those awful judgments, namely, that the knowledge of them there, and the permanent record of them still, might furnish a salutary and impressive lesson to the Church down to the latest ages. Worldly historians might have described them as extraordinary occurrences that marked this era of Moses in ancient Egypt. But we are taught to trace them to their cause: the judgments of divine wrath on a grossly idolatrous king and nation.
4. to-morrow will I bring the locusts—Moses was commissioned to renew the request, so often made and denied, with an assurance that an unfavorable answer would be followed on the morrow by an invasion of locusts. This species of insect resembles a large, spotted, red and black, double-winged grasshopper, about three inches or less in length, with the two hind legs working like hinged springs of immense strength and elasticity. Perhaps no more terrible scourge was ever brought on a land than those voracious insects, which fly in such countless numbers as to darken the land which they infest; and on whatever place they alight, they convert it into a waste and barren desert, stripping the ground of its verdure, the trees of their leaves and bark, and producing in a few hours a degree of desolation which it requires the lapse of years to repair.
7-11. Pharaoh's servants said—Many of his courtiers must have suffered serious losses from the late visitations, and the prospect of such a calamity as that which was threatened and the magnitude of which former experience enabled them to realize, led them to make a strong remonstrance with the king. Finding himself not seconded by his counsellors in his continued resistance, he recalled Moses and Aaron, and having expressed his consent to their departure, inquired who were to go. The prompt and decisive reply, "all," neither man nor beast shall remain, raised a storm of indignant fury in the breast of the proud king. He would permit the grown-up men to go away; but no other terms would be listened to.
11. they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence—In the East, when a person of authority and rank feels annoyed by a petition which he is unwilling to grant, he makes a signal to his attendants, who rush forward and, seizing the obnoxious suppliant by the neck, drag him out of the chamber with violent haste. Of such a character was the impassioned scene in the court of Egypt when the king had wrought himself into such a fit of uncontrollable fury as to treat ignominiously the two venerable representatives of the Hebrew people.
13-19. the Lord brought an east wind—The rod of Moses was again raised, and the locusts came. They are natives of the desert and are only brought by an east wind into Egypt, where they sometimes come in sun-obscuring clouds, destroying in a few days every green blade in the track they traverse. Man, with all his contrivances, can do nothing to protect himself from the overwhelming invasion. Egypt has often suffered from locusts. But the plague that followed the wave of the miraculous rod was altogether unexampled. Pharaoh, fearing irretrievable ruin to his country, sent in haste for Moses, and confessing his sin, implored the intercession of Moses, who entreated the Lord, and a "mighty strong west wind took away the locusts."
Ex 10:21-29. Plague of Darkness.
21-23. Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness—Whatever secondary means were employed in producing it, whether thick clammy fogs and vapors, according to some; a sandstorm, or the chamsin, according to others; it was such that it could be almost perceived by the organs of touch, and so protracted as to continue for three days, which the chamsin does [Hengstenberg]. The appalling character of this calamity consisted in this, that the sun was an object of Egyptian idolatry; that the pure and serene sky of that country was never marred by the appearance of a cloud. And here, too, the Lord made a marked difference between Goshen and the rest of Egypt.
24-26. Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the Lord—Terrified by the preternatural darkness, the stubborn king relents, and proposes another compromise—the flocks and herds to be left as hostages for their return. But the crisis is approaching, and Moses insists on every iota of his demand. The cattle would be needed for sacrifice—how many or how few could not be known till their arrival at the scene of religious observance. But the emancipation of Israel from Egyptian bondage was to be complete.
28. Pharaoh said, … Get thee from me—The calm firmness of Moses provoked the tyrant. Frantic with disappointment and rage, with offended and desperate malice, he ordered him from his presence and forbade him ever to return.
29. Moses said, Thou hast spoken well.