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Exodus Chapter
Ten
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 10
This chapter is introduced
with giving the reasons why the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, Exodus 10:1. Moses
and Aaron go in to him, and once more demanded in the name of the Lord the
dismission of the people of Israel, and in case of refusal, threatened him with
locusts being sent into his country, which should make terrible havoc in all
his coasts, Exodus 10:3, the
servants of Pharaoh entreat him to let them go, upon which Moses and Aaron are
brought in again, and treated with about the terms of their departure; but
they, insisting upon taking all with them, men, women, and children, and flocks
and herds, and Pharaoh not willing that any but men should go, they are drove
from his presence in wrath, Exodus 10:7
wherefore the locusts were brought on all the land, which made sad devastation
in it, Exodus 10:12, and
this wrought on Pharaoh so far as to acknowledge his sin, pray for forgiveness,
and to desire Moses and Aaron to entreat the Lord to remove the plague, which
they did, and it was removed accordingly, but still Pharaoh's heart was
hardened, Exodus 10:16 then
followed the plague of thick darkness over all the land for three days, which
brought Pharaoh to yield that all should go with them excepting their flocks
and herds; but Moses not only insisted that not a hoof should be left behind,
but that Pharaoh should give them sacrifices and burnt offerings, Exodus 10:21.
Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he refused to comply, and Moses was bid to be
gone, and take care never to see his face any more, and which Moses agreed to, Exodus 10:27.
Exodus 10:1 Now the Lord said to Moses,
“Go in to Pharaoh; for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his
servants, that I may show these signs of Mine before him,
YLT 1And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Go in unto
Pharaoh, for I have declared hard his heart, and the heart of his servants, so
that I set these My signs in their midst,
And the Lord
said unto Moses, go in unto Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart,.... Or, as
some render it, "though I have hardened his heart"F21כי "quamvis", Piscator; so Ainsworth. ; or
otherwise it would seem rather to be a reason he should not go, than why he
should; at least it would be discouraging, and he might object to what purpose
should he go, it would be in vain, no end would be answered by it; though there
was an end God had in view, and which was answered by hardening his heart:
and the heart
of his servants; whose hearts also were hardened until now; until the plague of
the locusts was threatened, and then they relent; which end was as follows:
that I might
shew these my signs before him; which had been shown already, and others
that were to be done, see Exodus 7:3 or in
the midst of himF23בקרבו "in medio
ejus", Pagninus, Drusius; "in interioribus ejus", Montanus. , in
the midst of his land, or in his heart, see Exodus 9:14.
Exodus 10:2 2 and
that you may tell in the hearing of your son and your son’s son the mighty
things I have done in Egypt, and My signs which I have done among them, that
you may know that I am the Lord.”
YLT 2and so that thou recountest in the ears of
thy son, and of thy son's son, that which I have done in Egypt, and My signs
which I have set among them, and ye have known that I [am] Jehovah.'
And that thou
mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son's son,.... Not of
his sons and grandsons only; for Moses here, as Aben Ezra observes, was in the
stead of Israel; and the sense is, that it should be told to their posterity in
all succeeding ages:
what things I
have wrought in Egypt; the plagues that he inflicted on the Egyptians:
and my signs
which I have done amongst them; meaning the same things which were signs:
that ye may
know how that I am the Lord; that their God is the true Jehovah, and the
one only living and true God; the Lord God omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent,
infinite, and eternal.
Exodus 10:3 3 So
Moses and Aaron came in to Pharaoh and said to him, “Thus says the Lord God of the
Hebrews: ‘How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people
go, that they may serve Me.
YLT 3And Moses cometh in -- Aaron also -- unto
Pharaoh, and they say unto him, `Thus said Jehovah, God of the Hebrews, Until
when hast thou refused to be humbled at My presence? send My people away, and
they serve Me,
And Moses and
Aaron came in unto Pharaoh,.... As the Lord commanded them, for what is
before said to Moses was designed for Aaron also, his prophet and spokesman:
and said unto
him, thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews; as the ambassadors of
the God of Israel, and in his name said:
how long wilt
thou refuse to humble thyself before me? to acknowledge his
offence, lie low before God, and be subject to his will; he had humbled himself
for a moment, but then this did not continue; what God expected of him, and
complains of the want of, was such a continued humiliation before him, and such
a subjection to him, as would issue in complying with what he had so often
demanded of him, and is as follows:
let my people
go, that they may serve me; see Exodus 9:1.
Exodus 10:4 4 Or
else, if you refuse to let My people go, behold, tomorrow I will bring locusts
into your territory.
YLT 4for if thou art refusing to send My people
away, lo, I am bringing in to-morrow the locust into thy border,
Else, if thou
refuse to let my people go,.... He threatens him with the following
plague, the plague of the locusts, which PlinyF24Nat. Hist. l. 11.
c. 29. calls "denrum irae pestis":
behold,
tomorrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast; according to Bishop
UsherF25Annales Vet. Test. p. 21. this was about the seventh day of
the month Abib, that this plague was threatened, and on the morrow, which was
the eighth day, it was brought; but Aben Ezra relates it as an opinion of
Japhet an Hebrew writer, that there were many days between the plague of the
hail, and the plague of the locusts, that there might be time for the grass and
plants to spring out of the field; but this seems not necessary, for these
locusts only ate of what were left of the hail, as in the following verse.
Exodus 10:5 5 And
they shall cover the face of the earth, so that no one will be able to see the
earth; and they shall eat the residue of what is left, which remains to you
from the hail, and they shall eat every tree which grows up for you out of the
field.
YLT 5and it hath covered the eye of the land, and
none is able to see the land, and it hath eaten the remnant of that which is
escaped, which is left to you from the hail, and it hath eaten every tree which
is springing for you out of the field;
And they shall
cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth,.... Or,
"cover the eye of the earth"F26עין
הארץ "oculum terrae", Montanus, Piscator;
so Ainsworth. ; either the appearance and colour of the earth, so as they could
not be discerned for the multitude of the locusts on it; so the word is used in
Numbers 11:7 or the
eye of man looking upon the earth, which would not be able to see it, because
the locusts would be between his eye and the earth. The Targum of Onkelos
is,"and shall cover the eye of the sun of the earth,'so that its rays
shall not reach the earth; and so Abarbinel interprets it of the sun, which is
the light of the earth, when it casts forth its rays, as the eye upon the
object that is seen; and the meaning is, that the locusts should be so thick
between the heavens and the earth, that the eye of the earth, which is the sun,
could not see or cast its rays upon it, as in Exodus 10:15, and
so Pliny saysF1Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29. , that locusts came
sometimes in such multitudes as to darken the sun:
and they shall
eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the
hail; particularly the wheat and the rye, or rice, which was not grown,
Exodus 9:32 and the
herb or grass of the land, Exodus 10:12.
and shall eat
every tree which groweth for you out of the field; such fruit
trees as escaped the hail, and such boughs and branches of them which were not
broken off by it, Exodus 10:15 and
locusts will indeed eat trees themselves, the bark of them, and gnaw
everything, even the doors of houses, as PlinyF2Nat. Hist. l. 11. c.
29. relates.
Exodus 10:6 6 They
shall fill your houses, the houses of all your servants, and the houses of all
the Egyptians—which neither your fathers nor your fathers’ fathers have seen,
since the day that they were on the earth to this day.’” And he turned and went
out from Pharaoh.
YLT 6and they have filled thy houses, and the
houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither
thy fathers nor thy father's fathers have seen, since the day of their being on
the ground unto this day,' -- and he turneth and goeth out from Pharaoh.
They shall fill
thy houses,.... The king's palace and all the offices of it:
and the houses
of thy servants; the palaces of his nobles and courtiers:
and the houses
of all the Egyptians; of all the common people, not only in the metropolis, but in all
the cities and towns in the kingdom; and so Dr. ShawF3Travels, p.
187, Edit. 2. says, the locusts he saw in Barbary, in the years 1724 and 1725,
climbed as they advanced over every tree or wall that was in their way; nay,
they entered into our very houses and bedchambers, he says, like so many
thieves:
which neither
thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers, have seen since the day they were upon
the earth unto this day; for size, for numbers, and for the mischief they should do; for
though they have sometimes appeared in great numbers, and have covered a large
spot of ground where they have settled, and devoured all green things, yet
never as to cover a whole country at once, and so large an one as Egypt, and
destroy all green things in it; at least, never such a thing had been seen or
known in Egypt before since it was a nation, though it was a country sometimes
visited by locusts; for PlinyF4Ut supra. (Nat. Hist. 11. c. 29.)
says, that in the country of Cyreniaca, which was near Egypt, see Acts 2:10 there was
a law made for the diminishing of them, and keeping them under, to be observed
three times a year, first by breaking their eggs, then destroying their young,
and when they were grown up:
and he turned
himself, and went out from Pharaoh; as soon as Moses had
delivered his message, perceiving anger in Pharaoh's countenance, and
concluding from hence and some gestures of his that he should not succeed, and
perhaps might be bid to go away, though it is not recorded; or "he looked
and went out from him"F5ויפן "et
respexit", Pagninus, "et respiciens exivit", &c. Tigurine
version. , in honour to the king, as R. Jeshuah observes, he went backward with
his face to the king; he did not turn his back upon him, but went out with his
face to him; and which as it was and is the manner in the eastern countries, so
it is with us at this day, to go from the presence of the king, not with the
back, but with the face turned toward him, so long as he is to be seen.
Exodus 10:7 7 Then
Pharaoh’s servants said to him, “How long shall this man be a snare to us? Let
the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God. Do you not yet
know that Egypt is destroyed?”
YLT 7And the servants of Pharaoh say unto him,
`Until when doth this [one] become a snare to us? send the men away, and they
serve Jehovah their God; knowest thou not yet that Egypt hath perished?'
And Pharaoh's
servants said to him,.... His courtiers and counsellors, such of them as were not so
hardened as others, or however now began to relent, and dreaded what would be
the consequence of things, even the ruin of the whole country, the good of
which they seem to have had at heart:
how long shall
this man be a snare unto us? an occasion of ruin and destruction, as
birds by a snare; they speak in a contemptuous manner of Moses, calling him
"this man", the rather to ingratiate themselves into the good will of
Pharaoh, and that their advice might be the better and the easier taken:
let the men go,
that they may serve the Lord their God: that is, Moses and his
people, grant them their request, that the land may be preserved from ruin; for
if things go on long at this rate, utter destruction must ensue:
knowest thou
not yet that Egypt is destroyed? as good as ruined, by the plagues that
already were come upon it, especially by the last, by the murrain and boils
upon the cattle, which destroyed great quantities, and by the hail which had
smitten their flax and their barley; or, "must thou first know that Egypt
is destroyed?" before thou wilt let the people go; or dost thou first
wish, or is it thy pleasure, that it should be first declared to thee that
Egypt is destroyed, as Aben Ezra interprets it, before thou wilt grant the
dismission of this people? The Targum of Jonathan is,"dost thou not yet
know, that by his hands the land of Egypt must perish?'See Gill on Exodus 1:15. See
Gill on Exodus 2:15.
Exodus 10:8 8 So
Moses and Aaron were brought again to Pharaoh, and he said to them, “Go, serve
the Lord
your God. Who are the ones that are going?”
YLT 8And Moses is brought back -- Aaron also --
unto Pharaoh, and he saith unto them, `Go, serve Jehovah your God; -- who and
who [are] those going?'
And Moses and
Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh,.... Upon this motion of
his ministers, messengers were sent to bring them in again:
and he said,
go, serve the Lord your God; as you have often desired:
but who are
they that shall go? or, "who and who"F6מי
ומי "qui et qui?" Pagninus, Montanus;
"quis & quis?" Vatablus. ? for Pharaoh was unwilling that they
should all go, but would have some retained as pledges of their return; for he
was jealous of a design to get out of his country, and never return again,
which he could not bear the thoughts of, even of losing such a large number of
men he had under his power, and from whom he received so much profit and
advantage by their labour.
Exodus 10:9 9 And
Moses said, “We will go with our young and our old; with our sons and our daughters,
with our flocks and our herds we will go, for we must hold a feast to the Lord.”
YLT 9And Moses saith, `With our young ones, and
with our aged ones, we go, with our sons, and with our daughters, with our
flock, and our herd, we go, for we have a festival to Jehovah.'
Moses said, we
will go with our young and with our old,.... The latter were
necessary to guide, direct, and instruct in the business of sacrifice, and to
perform it as heads of their respective families; and the former were to be
present, that they might be trained up and inured to such religious services:
with our sons
and with our daughters; as with persons of every age, so of every sex, who had all a
concern herein, especially as it was a solemn feast, which all were to partake
of:
with our flocks
and with our herds will we go; which were requisite for the sacrifices,
not knowing which they were to sacrifice, and with which to serve God, till
they came to the place where they were to sacrifice; see Exodus 10:26,
for we must
hold a feast unto the Lord; which required the presence of old and
young, men, women, and children, to join in it, and their flocks and their
herds, out of which it was to be made.
Exodus 10:10 10 Then
he said to them, “The Lord
had better be with you when I let you and your little ones go! Beware, for evil
is ahead of you.
YLT 10And he saith unto them, `Be it so, Jehovah
[be] with you when I send you and your infants away; see -- for evil [is]
before your faces;
And he said
unto them, let the Lord be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little
ones,.... Either as mocking them, let the Lord you talk of be with you
if he will, and let him deliver you if he can, as I shall let you go with your
children, which I never will; or as wishing them ill, that the Lord their God
may be with them, as he should dismiss them on their proposal, that is, not at
all; he wishes they might never have the presence of the Lord, or receive any
from him, till he should dismiss them, which he was determined never to do in
the manner they desired; and therefore the sum of his wish or imprecation is,
that they might never enjoy any benefits from the Lord; the first sense seems
to be best:
look to it, for
evil is before you; which is either a charge of sin upon them, that they had an evil
design upon him, and intended to raise a mutiny, make an insurrection, and form
a rebellion against him; or a threatening to inflict the evil of punishment
upon them, if they would not comply with his terms; and it is as if he should
say, be it at your peril if you offer to go away in any other manner than it is
my pleasure.
Exodus 10:11 11 Not so! Go now, you who
are men, and serve the Lord, for that is what you
desired.” And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
YLT 11not so! go now, ye who [are] men, and serve
Jehovah, for that ye are seeking;' and [one] casteth them out from the presence
of Pharaoh.
Not so,.... You shall
not go with your children as you propose:
go now ye that
are men, and serve the Lord, for that you did desire; suggesting
that that was all they first required, that their men should, go three days
into the wilderness, and sacrifice unto the Lord; whereas the demand was, let
my people go, Exodus 5:1 which
were not the men only, but the women and children also, and all were concerned
in the service of God, and in keeping a feast to him:
and they were
driven out from Pharaoh's presence; by some of his officers,
according to his orders.
Exodus 10:12 12 Then
the Lord
said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts,
that they may come upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land—all
that the hail has left.”
YLT 12And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Stretch out
thy hand against the land of Egypt for the locust, and it goeth up against the
land of Egypt, and doth eat every herb of the land -- all that the hail hath
left.'
And the Lord
said unto Moses, stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt,.... First one
way, and then another, towards every quarter, and every part of the land, to
signify that the following plague would come upon the whole land:
for the
locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt; the
stretching out of his hand was to be the signal to them to come up and spread
themselves over the land, which was brought about by the mighty power of God;
for otherwise there was no such virtue in the hand or rod of Moses, to have
produced so strange an event:
and eat every
herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left; the wheat and
the rye, or rice, the grass, herbs, and plants, it had beat down, but not utterly
destroyed, as well as some boughs and branches of trees which were left
unbroken by it.
Exodus 10:13 13 So
Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an
east wind on the land all that day and all that night. When it was
morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
YLT 13And Moses stretcheth out his rod against the
land of Egypt, and Jehovah hath led an east wind over the land all that day,
and all the night; the morning hath been, and the east wind hath lifted up the
locust.
And Moses
stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt,.... His hand, with his
rod in it:
and the Lord
brought an east wind upon the land, all that day and all
that night; all that day after he had been driven from Pharaoh, and after he
had stretched out his hand with his rod in it over Egypt, which was the seventh
of the month Abib, and all the night following. This Jehovah did, who holds the
winds in his fist, and brings them out of his treasures, whose will they obey,
and whose word they fulfil:
and when it was
morning; the morrow was come, Exodus 10:4 the eighth
day of the month Abib:
the east wind
brought the locusts; it was usual for these creatures to be taken up and carried with
the wind, and brought into countries, as PlinyF7Nat. Hist. l. 11. c.
29. and other writers attest. In the year 1527, a strong wind brought vast
troops of locusts out of Turkey into Poland, which did much mischief; and in
the year 1536 a wind from the Euxine Pontus brought such vast numbers of them
into Podolia, as that for twenty miles round they devoured everythingF8Frantzii
Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 794. . The word here used commonly
signifies the east wind, and so the Jewish writers unanimously interpret it;
and if those locusts were brought from the Red sea, into which they were
carried, it must be by an east wind, since the Red sea was east of Egypt; but
the Septuagint version renders it the "south wind", and which is
approved of by De Dieu on the place, and by BochartF9Hierozoic. par.
2. l. 1. c. 15. col. 101, 102, & l. 4. c. 3. col. 463. Vid. Jablonski de
Terra Goshen, Dissertat. 5. sect. 5. ; and the latter supposes these locusts
were brought by a south wind out of Ethiopia, which lay to the south of Egypt,
and where in the spring of the year, as it now was, were usually great numbers
of locusts, and where were a people that lived upon them, as Diodorus SiculusF11Bibliothec,
l. 3. p. 162. and StraboF12Geograph. l. 16. p. 531. relate; who both
say that at the vernal equinox, or in the spring, the west and southwest winds
blowing strongly brought locusts into those parts; and the south wind being
warm might contribute to the production, cherishing, and increasing of these
creatures, and which are sometimes brought by a south wind. Dr. Shaw saysF13Travels,
p. 187. Edit. 2. , the locusts he saw in Barbary, An. 1724 and 1725, were much
bigger than our common grasshoppers, and had brown spotted wings, with legs and
bodies of a bright yellow; their first appearance was toward the latter end of
March, the wind having been for some time from the south.
Exodus 10:14 14 And
the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and rested on all the territory
of Egypt. They were very severe; previously there had been no such
locusts as they, nor shall there be such after them.
YLT 14And the locust goeth up against all the land
of Egypt, and resteth in all the border of Egypt -- very grievous: before it
there hath not been such a locust as it, and after it there is none such;
And the locusts
went up over all the land of Egypt,.... Being raised up by
the wind in the places where they were generated, they flew and spread
themselves all over the land, being in a wonderful manner produced and
multiplied by the power of God:
and rested in
all the coasts of Egypt; in every part of it where the Egyptians dwelt, and where there
were meadows, pastures, fields, gardens, orchards; here they lighted and fed,
excepting the land of Goshen, where Israel dwelt, which must be thought to be
exempted from this plague, as from the rest.
Very grievous
were they; because of the mischief that they did, and because of their
multitude, for they were innumerable, as the Vulgate Latin version renders it,
and as it is, Psalm 105:34,
there were no
such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such; there were
none before, and there would be none afterwards like them, which Moses knew by
a spirit of prophecy. If this is to be understood of their size, they must be
very large; in the year 1556, there were locusts at Milain that were a span
long, and had six feet, and these like the feet of rats, and there was one four
times bigger than the rest, which was taken and kept by a citizen, and would
hiss like a serpent when it saw that no food was set before itF14Frantzii
Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 800. ; yea, PlinyF15Ut supra.
(Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29.) speaks of locusts in India three feet long; and what
Moses here says is not contradicted in Joel 2:2 because
his words may be understood of the Chaldean army, of which the locusts were an
emblem; and besides, each may be restrained to the country in which they were,
as that none ever before or since were seen in Egypt as these, though they
might be in other countries; and so those in Joel's time were such as never
before or since were seen in the land of Judea, though they might be in other
places.
Exodus 10:15 15 For
they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and
they ate every herb of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail
had left. So there remained nothing green on the trees or on the plants of the
field throughout all the land of Egypt.
YLT 15and it covereth the eye of all the land, and
the land is darkened; and it eateth every herb of the land, and all the fruit
of the trees which the hail hath left, and there hath not been left any green
thing in the trees, or in the herb of the field, in all the land of Egypt.'
For they
covered the face of the whole earth,.... Of the whole land of
Egypt; and this seems to be the instance in which these locusts differed from
all others, that had been or would be, even in their numbers; for though there
might have been before, and have been since, such vast numbers of them together
as to darken the air and the sun, and by lighting first on one spot, and then
on another, have destroyed whole countries; yet never was such an instance
known as this, as that they should come in so large a body, and at once to
light, and spread, and settle themselves over the whole country. Leo AfricanusF16Descriptio
Africae, l. 2. p. 117. indeed speaks of a swarm of locusts, which he himself
saw at Tagtessa in Africa, A. D. 1510, which covered the whole surface of the
ground; but then that was but in one place, but this was a whole country. It is
in the original, "they covered the eye of the whole earth"; of which
See Gill on Exodus 10:5.
so that the
land was darkened; the proper colour of the earth, and the green grass on it, could
not be seen for them, they lay so thick upon it; and being perhaps of a brown
colour, as they often are, the land seemed dark with them:
and they did
eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which the hail had
left; for though every herb of the field is said to be smitten, and
every tree of the field to be broke with it, Exodus 9:25, yet
this, as has been observed, is to be understood either hyperbolically, or of
the greater part thereof, but not of the whole:
and there
remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field,
through all the land of Egypt; the like is said to befall the province of
Carpitania, in the nineth year of Childibert, king of France; which was so
wasted by locusts, that not a tree, nor a vineyard, nor a forest, nor any sort
of fruit, nor any other green thing remainedF17Frantzii Hist.
Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 802. . So Dr. ShawF18Ut supra.
(Travels, p. 187. Edit. 2.) says of the locusts he saw as above related, that
they let nothing escape them, eating up everything that was green and juicy,
not only the lesser kinds of vegetables, but the vine likewise, the fig tree,
the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field.
But then such devastations are usually made gradually, by these creatures
moving from place to place, whereas this destruction in Egypt was done in one
day. Indeed we are told in history, that in one country one hundred and forty
acres of land were destroyed in one dayF19Frantz. ib. p. 800. ; but
what is this to all the land of Egypt? with this plague may be compared that of
the locusts upon the sounding of the fifth trumpet, Revelation 9:1.
Exodus 10:16 16 Then
Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste, and said, “I have sinned against
the Lord
your God and against you.
YLT 16And Pharaoh hasteth to call for Moses and for
Aaron, and saith, `I have sinned against Jehovah your God, and against you,
Then Pharaoh
called for Moses and Aaron in haste,.... Or, "hastened
to call them"F20וימהר־לקרא "et
festinavit ad vocandum", Montanus; "festinavit accersere",
Junius & Tremellius, Piscator. ; sent messengers in all haste to fetch
them, and desire them to come as soon as possible to him. Thus he who a few
hours ago drove them from his presence, in a hurry, sends for them to come to
him with all speed, which the present circumstances he was in required:
and he said to
Moses and Aaron: when they were brought into his presence:
I have sinned
against the Lord your God, and against you; against the Lord by
disobeying his command, in refusing to let Israel go, when he had so often
required it of him; and against Moses and Aaron his ambassadors, whom he had
treated with contempt, and had drove them from his presence with disgrace; and
against the people of Israel, whom they personated, by retaining them, and
using them so ill as he had. This confession did not arise from a true sense of
sin, as committed against God, nor indeed does he in it own Jehovah to be his
God, only the God of Moses and Aaron, or of the Israelites; but from the fright
he was in, and fear of punishment continued upon him, to the utter ruin of him
and his people.
Exodus 10:17 17 Now
therefore, please forgive my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God, that
He may take away from me this death only.”
YLT 17and now, bear with, I pray you, my sin, only
this time, and make ye supplication to Jehovah your God, that He turn aside
from off me only this death.'
Now therefore
forgive, I pray thee, my sin, only this once,.... Pretending that he
would never offend any more, and if he did, he did not desire it should be
forgiven him, but that due punishment should be inflicted on him. These words
are directed to Moses, he being the principal person that came to him with a
commission from the Lord, and who was made a god to Pharaoh; and therefore he
does not ask forgiveness of the Lord, but of Moses:
and entreat the
Lord your God, that he may take away from me this death only; this deadly
plague of the locusts, which devouring all the fruits of the earth, must in
course produce a famine, and that the death of men. Moreover, the author of the
book of Wisdom says, that the bites of the locusts killed men,"For them
the bitings of grasshoppers and flies killed, neither was there found any
remedy for their life: for they were worthy to be punished by such.' (Wisdom of Solomon 16:9)Pharaoh
was sensible that this plague came from God, and that he only could remove it;
and therefore begs the prayers of Moses and Aaron to him for the removal of it,
and suggests that he would never desire such another favour; but that if he
offended again, and another plague was inflicted on him, he could not desire it
to be taken away; by which he would be understood, that he determined to offend
no more, or give them any occasion for any other judgment to come upon him, was
he once clear of this.
Exodus 10:18 18 So
he went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord.
YLT 18And he goeth out from Pharaoh, and maketh supplication
unto Jehovah,
And he went out
from Pharaoh,.... Without the city, as he had been wont to do: and entreated
the Lord; prayed to him that he would remove the plague of the locusts from the
land.
Exodus 10:19 19 And
the Lord
turned a very strong west wind, which took the locusts away and blew them into
the Red Sea. There remained not one locust in all the territory of Egypt.
YLT 19and Jehovah turneth a very strong sea wind,
and it lifteth up the locust, and bloweth it into the Red Sea -- there hath not
been left one locust in all the border of Egypt;
And the Lord
turned a mighty strong west wind,.... He turned the wind
the contrary way it before blew; it was an east wind that brought the locusts,
but now it was changed into a west wind, or "a wind of the sea"F21רוח ים "venture maris",
Montanus, Drusius. , of the Mediterranean sea; a wind which blew from thence,
which lay to the west of Egypt, as the Red sea did to the east of it, to which
the locusts were carried by the wind as follows: which took away the locusts,
and cast them into the Red sea; and as it is usual for locusts to be brought by
winds, so to be carried away with them, and to be let fall into seas, lakes,
and pools, and there perish. So Pliny saysF23Nat. Hist. l. 11. c.
29. of locusts, that being taken up and carried with the wind in flocks or
swarms, they fell into seas and lakes; and Jerom observesF24Comment.
in Joel, ii. 20. in his time, that they had seen swarms of locusts cover the
land of Judea, which upon the wind rising have been driven into the first and
last seas; that is, into the Dead sea, and into the Mediterranean sea; see Joel 2:20. This sea
here called the Red sea is the same which is now called the Arabian gulf; in
the original text it is the sea of Suph; that is, the sea of flags or rushes;
as the word is rendered, Exodus 2:3 from the
great numbers of these growing on the banks of it, which are full of them, as
ThevenotF25Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 33. p. 175. says; or
the "sea of weeds"F26ימה סוף "in mare algosum", Junius & Tremellius,
Piscator; "in mare carectosum", Tigurine version. , from the multitude
of them in the bottom of it, or floating on it. So Columbus found in the
Spanish West Indies, on the coast of Paria, a sea full of herbs, or weedsF1P.
Martyr. de Angleria, Decad. 1. l. 6. Vide Decad. 3. 5. , which grew so thick,
that they sometimes in a manner stopped the ships. Some render Yam Suph, the
sea of bushes; and some late travellersF2Egmont and Heyman's
Travels, vol. 2. p. 158. observe, that though, in the dreadful wilds along this
lake, one sees neither tree, shrub, nor vegetable, except a kind of bramble,
yet it is remarkable that they are found in the sea growing on its bottom,
where we behold with astonishment whole groves of trees blossoming and bearing
fruit, as if nature by these marine vegetables meant to compensate for the extreme
sterility reigning in all the deserts of Arabia; and with this agrees the
account that PlinyF3Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 103. l. 13. c. 25. gives of
the Red sea, that in it olives and green fruit trees grow; yea, he says that
that and all the Eastern ocean is full of woods; and adds, it is wonderful that
in the Red sea woods live, especially the laurel, and the olive bearing
berries. HillerusF4Onomastic. Sacr. p. 128. thinks this sea here has
the name of the sea of Suph from a city of the same name near unto it. It is
often called the Red sea in profane authors as here, not from the coral that
grew in it, or the red sand at the bottom of it, or red mountains near it;
though ThevenotF5Ut supra. (Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 33.
p. 175.) says, there are some mountains all over red on the sides of it; nor
from the shade of those mountains upon it; nor from the appearance of it
through the rays of the sun upon it; and much less from the natural colour of
it; which, as CurtiusF6Hist. l. 8. sect. 9. observes, does not
differ from others; though a late traveller saysF7Hieronymo Lobo's
Observations, &c. in Ray's Travels, vol. 2. p. 489. , that"on several
parts of this sea (the Red sea) we observed abundance of reddish spots made by
a weed resembling "cargaco" (or Sargosso) rooted in the bottom, and
floating in some places: upon strict examination, it proved to be that which we
found the Ethiopians call Sufo (as here Suph), used up and down for dying their
stuffs and clothes of a red colour,'but the Greeks called it so from Erythras
or Erythrus, a king that reigned in those partsF8Curtius ut supra.
(Hist. l. 8. sect. 9.). Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 3. c. 8. Strabo, l. 16. p. 535,
536. , whose name signifies red; and it is highly probable the same with Esau,
who is called Edom, that is, red, from the red pottage he sold his birthright
for to Jacob; and this sea washing his country, Idumea or Edom, was called the
Red sea from thence; and here the locusts were cast by the wind, or
"fixed"F9ויתקעהו "et fixit
eam", Montanus; so Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator,
Drusius, Ainsworth. , as a tent is fixed, as the word signifies, and there
continued, and never appeared more:
there remained
not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt; so that the removal of
them was as great a miracle as the bringing them at first: this was done about
the nineth day of the month Abib.
Exodus 10:20 20 But
the Lord
hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he did not let the children of Israel go.
YLT 20and Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of
Pharaoh, and he hath not sent the sons of Israel away.
But the Lord
hardened Pharaoh's heart,.... For as yet he had not brought all his judgments on him he
designed to bring:
so that he
would not let the children of Israel go: though he had promised
to do it, and that he would never offend more in this way.
Exodus 10:21 21 Then the Lord said to Moses,
“Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land
of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”
YLT 21And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `Stretch out
thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and
the darkness is felt.'
And the Lord
said unto Moses,.... About the eleventh day of the month Abib:
stretch out
thine hand toward heaven; where the luminaries are, and from whence light comes:
that there may
be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt; that is, what
caused it, the gross vapours and thick fogs; for otherwise darkness itself,
being a privation of light, cannot be felt: Onkelos paraphrases it,"after
that the darkness of the night is removed;'so Jonathan; that it might appear to
be different from that, and be much grosser.
Exodus 10:22 22 So
Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness in all
the land of Egypt three days.
YLT 22And Moses stretcheth out his hand towards the
heavens, and there is darkness -- thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three
days;
And Moses
stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness over all
the land of Egypt three days. The eleventh, twelveth, and thirteenth days
of the month Abib; with this compare the fifth vial, Revelation 16:10.
Exodus 10:23 23 They
did not see one another; nor did anyone rise from his place for three days. But
all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
YLT 23they have not seen one another, and none hath
risen from his place three days; and to all the sons of Israel there hath been
light in their dwellings.'
They saw not
one another,.... Not only the luminaries of heaven were covered and beclouded
with the darkness, so that they were of no use to them; but the fogs and
vapours which occasioned it were so damp and clammy that they put out their
fires, lamps, and candles, so that they could receive no benefit from them:
neither rose up
any from his place for three days; from the place of his
habitation, not being able to find the way to the door, or however not able to
do any business abroad; and besides were quite amazed and confounded, supposing
the course of nature was changed and all things going to a dissolution, their
consciences filled with horror and terror and black despair, strange and
terrible phantoms and apparitions presented to their minds, as the author of
the book of Wisdom suggests,"No power of the fire might give them light:
neither could the bright flames of the stars endure to lighten that horrible
night.' (Wisdom 17:5)and which is
countenanced by what the psalmist says, who instead of this plague of darkness,
takes notice of evil angels being sent among them, Psalm 78:49 that
is, devils in horrible shapes represented to their minds, which dreadfully
distressed and terrified them, so that they durst not stir and move from the
place where they were:
but all the
children of Israel had light in their dwellings; not only in the land of
Goshen, but in all places where they were mixed with the Egyptians, as it is
plain they were, from Exodus 10:23 so
that they could go about their business, and perform it as at other times, and
had now a fine opportunity of packing up their goods, and getting every thing
ready for their departure, without being observed by the Egyptians. Doctor
LightfootF11Works, vol. 1. p. 707. thinks, that now they attended to
the ordinance of circumcision, which had been generally neglected, and was
necessary to their partaking of the passover, which in a few days was to be
observed, and of which no uncircumcised person might eat, Exodus 12:48 and which
he grounds upon Psalm 105:28, and
this time was wisely taken for it, when the Egyptians could have no opportunity
or advantage against them, because of their soreness by it; it may indeed be
wondered at, that they did not take the advantage of the darkness the Egyptians
were in, of getting out of the land, and going their three days' journey into
the wilderness; but it was the will of God that they should not steal away
privately, or go by flight as fugitives, but openly, and with the mighty hand
and outstretched arm of God; besides, the Lord had not as yet wrought all the
judgments he intended. In the fabulous expedition of Bacchus against the
Indians, a story is told which seems to be taken from hence, that the Indians
were covered with darkness, while those with Bacchus were in light all around
themF12Vid. Huet. Quaest. Alnetan. l. 2. c. 13. sect. 12. p. 204. .
Exodus 10:24 24 Then
Pharaoh called to Moses and said, “Go, serve the Lord; only let your
flocks and your herds be kept back. Let your little ones also go with you.”
YLT 24And Pharaoh calleth unto Moses and saith, `Go
ye, serve Jehovah, only your flock and your herd are stayed, your infants also
go with you;'
And Pharaoh
called unto Moses,.... After the three days, as the Targum of Jonathan, when the
darkness was over, or at least much diminished, fearing that still worse evils
would befall him:
and said, go
ye, serve the Lord, only let your flocks and your herds be stayed; stopped or
remained behind, as a pledge and security of their return; and these the rather
he was desirous of retaining, because of the great loss of cattle he had
sustained by the murrain and boils upon them, and by the hail: let your little
ones also go with you; this he had refused before, but now consents to it,
which he thought was doing them a great favour, and that upon such terms they
might be content to go.
Exodus 10:25 25 But
Moses said, “You must also give us sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may
sacrifice to the Lord
our God.
YLT 25and Moses saith, `Thou also dost give in our
hand sacrifices and burnt-offerings, and we have prepared for Jehovah our God;
And Moses said,
thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings,.... Sheep,
rams, and goats for sacrifices, and oxen for burnt offerings; and that of his
own, as Jarchi interprets it; but rather the meaning is, that besides having
their little ones with them, they must be allowed also to take their cattle for
sacrifices and burnt offerings:
that we may
sacrifice unto the Lord our God; might have wherewith to offer up in
sacrifice to him as he shall require.
Exodus 10:26 26 Our
livestock also shall go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind. For we must
take some of them to serve the Lord our God, and even we do
not know with what we must serve the Lord until we arrive there.”
YLT 26and also our cattle doth go with us, there is
not left a hoof, for from it we do take to serve Jehovah our God; and we -- we
know not how we do serve Jehovah till our going thither.'
Our cattle also
shall go with us,.... Of every kind, of the flocks and of the herds:
there shall not
an hoof be left behind; not a single creature that has an hoof: it is a proverbial
expression, signifying that they should carry all that belonged to them with
them:
for thereof
must we take to serve the Lord our God; something of every kind
and sort, all they had being devoted to his service, and to be yielded to him upon
demand:
and we know not
with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither; into the
wilderness; they knew not exactly and precisely what kind of creatures or how
many of them, as Aben Ezra observes, they were to offer at a time; for though
before this there was a known distinction between clean and unclean creatures,
and the various offerings and sacrifices of the patriarchs might in a good
measure direct them in the use of them; yet the special and peculiar laws about
sacrifices were not given until after their deliverance, and they were got into
the wilderness; so that this was not a bare pretence to get their cattle along
with them, but was the true case and real matter of fact.
Exodus 10:27 27 But
the Lord
hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let them go.
YLT 27And Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of
Pharaoh, and he hath not been willing to send them away;
But the Lord
hardened Pharaoh's heart,.... Yet more and more:
and he would
not let them go; his heart was set against it, his will was resolute, and he was
determined never to let them go.
Exodus 10:28 28 Then
Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Take heed to yourself and see my face
no more! For in the day you see my face you shall die!”
YLT 28and Pharaoh saith to him, `Go from me, take
heed to thyself, add not to see my face, for in the day thou seest my face thou
diest;'
And Pharaoh
said unto him,.... To Moses:
get thee from
me; be gone from my presence, I have nothing more to say to thee, or
do with thee:
take heed to
thyself; lest mischief befall thee from me, or those about me:
see my face no
more; neither here nor elsewhere:
for in that day
thou seest my face thou shalt die; this was a foolish as
well as a wicked speech, when he lay at the mercy of Moses, rather than Moses
at his; he being made a god unto him, and had such power to inflict plagues
upon him, of which he had had repeated instances.
Exodus 10:29 29 So
Moses said, “You have spoken well. I will never see your face again.”
YLT 29and Moses saith, `Rightly hast thou spoken, I
add not any more to see thy face.'
And Moses said,
thou hast spoken well,.... Not that which was good, in a moral sense, for it was very
wicked, but what would eventually prove true:
I will see thy
face again no more; which may be understood either conditionally, except he was sent
for, and he desired to see him, he would not come of himself; or absolutely
knowing by a spirit of prophecy that he should be no more sent unto him, and
that Pharaoh should in a little time be drowned in the Red sea, when he would
be seen no more by him nor any other; for as for what is said in the following
chapter, it is thought by many to have been said at this time, as it might even
before he went out of the presence of Pharaoh, which in Exodus 11:8 he is
said to do in anger: and as for Pharaoh's calling for him at midnight, and
bidding him rise and begone, Exodus 12:31 it
might be delivered by messengers, and so he be not seen by Moses and Aaron. By
this speech of Moses, it appears he was not afraid of Pharaoh and his menaces,
but rather taunts at him, and it is to this fearless disposition of Moses at
this time that the apostle refers in Hebrews 11:27.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》