15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite thee n ch. 3. 20. and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. the idiom of the original will easily admit of this conditional import of the passage, and we may consider the meaning of the divine speaker as fairly represented by the following paraphrase, which is largely sustained by Rabbinical and other critical authorities: 'For I had, or could have, stretched out my hand (i. e. in the plague of the murrain which destroyed so many of the beasts, and could easily have numbered thee among its victims,) and I had (potentially, though not in actual fact) smitten thee and thy people with (that) pestilence, and thou wert (as good as) cut off from the earth.' On the same principle it is said, Luke, 5. 6, 'They enclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net brake ;' i. e. if we may so express it, the net, considered in itself, brake, but was kept whole by the power of God; for had it actually broken, the a kind of concentrated terribleness, so that each one should come upon him as if with the accumulated weight of all the rest. What he had already experienced was indeed grievous, but it should be nothing compared to what was to follow. They were to be such plagues as should not only endanger the body, but smite the heart, the inner man. They should penetrate the inward spirit with such indescribable pangs of terror, that it would seem as if the whole magazine of heaven's vengeance were opened upon him and his people. This seems to be what is intended by the language-' I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart,' where we are probably to understand by 'this time,' the time occupied by the whole ensuing course of judgments that should finally end in the utter destruction of Pharaoh. 15. For now I will stretch out my fish would have escaped, whereas it is hand that I may smite, &c. Heb. ki attah shalahti eth yadi va-ak, for now have I sent forth my hand and smitten. The true construction is somewhat ambiguous. The verbs in the original undoubtedly require a past rendering, though the Greek, with our own and several other versions, give the future. But it does not appear in what sense Pharaoh and his people could be said to have been cut off by pestilence, as they were drowned in the Red Sea, unless the term be taken in the general sense of mortality, to which it is probably a valid objection, that the original said, 'they filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. In like manner, if we mistake not, it is said, Ps. 105. 26— 28, 'He sent Moses his servant; and Aaron whom he had chosen. They showed his signs among them, and wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.' That is, there was such an intrinsic moral power in these miracles to beget belief, to work submission and compliance; they were in themselves so convincing, so overpowering, so absolutely charged with demonstration; that the writer speaks as if it would be an abuse of | בהדבר=בדבר) has the definite article by the pestilence) implying a particular pestilence. At the same time, if it be applied to the past, it is evident that it must be understood in a qualified and hypothetical rather than in an absolute sense; for Pharaoh had not yet been really cut off from the earth. But language in him, equal to the abuse of reason in them, not to admit the actual working of the legitimate effect. He says, therefore, that 'they (the Egyptians) rebelled not against his word,' because the word came attended with such a flood of evidence that there was 16 And in very deed for this | cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that o Rom. 9. 17. See ch. 14. 17. Prov. 16. 4. ] Pet. 2. 9. my name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go? a loose to my power, I should have destroyed thee and thy people, and thou wouldst have been eradicated; but I have reserved, &c.' Taking the words in this sense we may gather, (1) That however men may forget or disregard former judgments, God remembers them, and that sooner or later he will remember his enemies of them. (2) That as a preservative against future tokens of divine displeasure, we do well to call often to mind the plagues and destructions from which we have very narrowly, and through the forbearance of heaven, escaped. a kind of moral paradox, or absurdity, or impossibility in supposing that it did not produce obedience, although such was indeed the fact. In the passage before us we conceive that God designs to assure Pharaoh, that considering his liability to have been cut off by the preceding plague, he may regard himself as having been in effect a dead man; 'nevertheless,' says he, 'for this cause have I raised thee up.' Heb. 'Have I made thee to stand ;' i. e. have preserved thee safe in the midst of danger, 'for to show in thee, &c.' The word translated 'raised up' does not signify to bring into existence, but to cause to stand, to make to continue. Thus, 1 Kings, 15. 4, harotheka eth kohi, to 'Nevertheless for David's sake did the Lord his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem.' Heb. 'To make to stand,' i. e. to preserve. Prov. 29. 4, "The king by judgment establisheth the land.' Heb. Makes to stand;' i. e. renders safe. So also Ex. 21.21, 'If he continue a day or two.' Heb. 'If he stand a day or two;' i. e. survive. Paul, however, in quoting this passage, Rom. 9. 17, employs the term 'raised up,' which will occasion no difficulty, if it 16. To show in thee my power. Heb. make thee' see my power. This is the יזבל עמו yizbeleni for יזבלני) be borne in mind that a person may be | me eth his own soul.' said to be 'raised up' who is preserved yizbal immi).' Ps. 5. 4, 'Neither shall alive when in danger of dying, a usage evil dwell (with) thee (7 yegureka of the word which occurs James, 5. 15. for 27 yegur immeka).' Prov. 'And the prayer of faith shall save the 8. 36, 'He that sinneth (against) me sick, and the Lord shall raise him up.'( hotei for hote bi) wrongIt was in this sense of being spared from imminent destruction that Pharaoh was raised up. Among the ancient versions the Chal. has 'For now it was near before me (i. e. it lacked but little) that I had sent out the stroke of my strength and thou hadst been consumed.' Arab. 'Because if I had given 17. Exaltest thou thyself against my people? Heb. 33o mistolël, from the root 330 salal, to elevate or cast up. The present term is the participle of Hithpael, or the reflexive voice, and seems to denote that self-elevation which resembles a rampart made to oppose an 18 Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. 19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field: for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought enemy. Gr. εμποιή thou insultest. Chal. id. Syr. 'Thou detainest.' Arab. "Thou hinderest.' Although Pharaoh was a powerful monarch, and God's people a poor, degraded, and enslaved race, yet it was to be to his ruin that he exalted himself against them, inasmuch as it was virtually exalting himself against God. No power is too high to be called to account for lording it despotically over 'the people of the saints of the Most High.' 18. To-morrow about this time. Gr. 'At this same hour.' The time is thus accurately specified, that the effect, when it occurred, might not be attributed to chance.- - I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail. As rain is exceedingly rare, and hail almost unknown in Egypt, so formidable a hailstorm as that predicted, would be one of the greatest marvels that could occur in a climate like that of Egypt. A heavy fall of snow in July, would not be so great a phenomenon in our own country, as a heavy hail-storm at any time in Egypt.- -¶ Since the foundation thereof. Heb. 70 lemin hayom hivvasedah, since the day of its being founded. That is, since its first being inhabited; otherwise expressed, v. 24, 'since it became a nation.' The Gr. however renders it, 'From the day of its being created,' i. e. physically created. It was at any rate to be a storm such as never had had a precedent in that country, and for the reason, that the occasion of it had never had a precedent. But unparalleled judg home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20 He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses: 21 And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field. ments may be expected to overtake unparalleled offenders. 19. Send therefore now, and gather, &c. Heb. 1 haëz, gather speedily, denoting an action to be performed with the utmost expedition, as is explained in the ensuing verse, 'made to flee.' With characteristic clemency the Lord couples with the prediction a gracious warning, to as many as will heed it, to send and gather their servants and cattle out of the field, and place them under shelter before the appointed time arrived. So unwilling is God that any should perish that even in the midst of impending wrath, he kindly provides and points out a way of escape. 21. He that regarded not the word. Heb. 13 x lo sam libbo, that set not his heart to the word. Although there were some, even among the servants of Pharaoh, who had been sufficiently wrought upon by the former plagues to tremble at God's word, yet there were others, and they probably the majority, who partook of the spirit of their master, and would not believe, though the event thus far, had in every instance proved the truth of Moses' predictions. One would have thought that even if there were a peradventure that the calamity might come, they would have chosen the safer side, and housed their cattle for so short a time, rather than leave the poor creatures exposed to perish in the tempest; but they were so fool-hardy as in defiance of the truth of Moses and the power of God to risk the consequences. 22 ¶ And the LORD said unto Mo- | rod toward heaven, and ¶ the LORD ses, Stretch forth thine hand toward sent thunder and hail, and the fire heaven, that there may be p hail in ran along upon the ground: and all the land of Egypt, upon man, the LORD rained hail upon the land and upon beast, and upon every of Egypt. herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his P Rev. 16. 21. 23. The Lord sent thunder and hail. Heb. 7 barad, gave voices and hail. The Lord's ' voice,' is an expression often used as equivalent to 'thunder.' See Note on Gen. 3. 8. Thus Rev. 6. 1, 'And I heard as it were the noise (pwvn, voice) of thunder.' Rev. 10. 3, 'And when he had cried (the) seven thunders uttered their voices.'¶ The fire ran along upon the ground. Heb. aretzah, towards the earth. This is the exact rendering, and there can be no doubt that the fire meant was the lightning that accompanied the hail. The Psalmist thus speaks of this judgment, Ps. 78. 47, 48, 'He destroyed their vines and their sycamore-trees with frost. He 24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very griev q Josh. 10. 11. Ps. 18. 13. & 78. 47. & 105. 32. & 148. 8. Isa. 30. 30. Ezek. 38. 22. Rev. 8. 7. pa esh mithlaknathan kolothu-kahath bethok habbarad, fire catching hold, infolding, involving itself in the midst of the hail. The words are no doubt intended to depict a complication of elemental terrors which it is not easy distinctly to conceive. Amid peals of deep and portentous thunder, the lightning gleamed with terrific flashes, and at the same time a tremendous hailstorm poured its fury over a land of which the inhabitants had probably never before witnessed or heard of a similar phenomenon. If a violent tempest or tornado is an appalling occurrence in countries where they are not uncommon, what overwhelming dread must this have produced in Egypt! How could they but imagine that heaven and earth were mingling together in wild confusion! And then, when its fury had somewhat abated, to behold the desolations it had caused! Men and cattle killed and promiscuously scattered over the fields-all kinds of trees, plants, and grain battered down and destroyed-and the whole face of the ground appearing to have been swept by the besom of destruction! And yet, to enhance the wonder still more, in the land of Goshen not a solitary vestige of the wide-spreading havoc was to be seen. Here all nature was smiling unruffled in its usual fertility and beauty. gave up their cattle also to the hail and their flocks to hot thunderbolts.' To this seventh plague of Egypt is compared the effect of the seventh vial of the Apocalypse; Rev. 16. 17-21, ‘And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air... and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since men were upon the earth ... and there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent;' where in the mention of the hail-stones there is an allusion probably to the passage of Joshua, ch. 10. 11, 'The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them unto What a contrast between the verAzekah, and they died: they were more dant fields and tranquil flocks of the which died with hail-stones than they one region, and the fearful spectacle of whom the children of Israel slew with scathing and ruin in the other! 'And the sword.' my people shall dwell in a peaceable 24. Fire mingled with the hail. Heb. habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ous, such as there was none like it | 27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: "the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28 Entreat the LORD (for it is enough) that there be no more mighty thunderings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. 25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast, and the hail r smote every herb of the field and brake every tree of the field. S 26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail. r Ps. 105. 33. s ch. 8. 22. & 9. 4, 6. & 10. 23. & 11.7. & 12. 13. Isai. 32. 18, 19. in quiet resting-places, when it shall hail, coming down on the forest; and the city shall be utterly abased.' No wonder that the visitation should, for a time at least, have overpowered the obduracy of Pharaoh, and prompted him to send in haste for Moses and Aaron, and address them in the language of the humbled penitent. t ch. 10. 16. u 2 Chron. 12. 6. Ps. 129. 4 & 145. 17. Lam. 1. 18. Dan. 9. 14. *ch. 8 8, 28. & 10. 17. Acts 8. 24. eous, and I and my people are wicked. Under the pressure of his convictions he humbles himself still farther, and entreats that this direful plague may at once be stayed, promising without any qualification that the people shall be dismissed. Perhaps he sincerely felt and intended all that he said at the time as the terror of the rod often extorts peni. tent acknowledgments from those that have no penitent affections; but the result proved that he knew little of the 25. The hail smote every herb of the field. That is, some of all sorts, as is evident from Ex. 10. 15. Thus, Acts, 10. 12, 'Wherein were all manner of four-plague of his own heart, whatever he had footed beasts of the earth.' Gr. navra Ta TETOR da, all four-footed beasts. 27, 28. I have sinned this time. As it can hardly be supposed that Pharaoh intended to limit this confession of his sin to the present instance of his unbelief, we are no doubt authorized to extend the import of the phrase 'this time' to the whole course of his disobedience during the occurrence of the preceding plagues. This sense of the phrase strikingly confirms the interpretation put upon it in v. 14, as implying the time of a future series of judgments. Overcome by the tremendous display of the divine indignation which he had just witnessed, and which had proved fatal to many of his subjects, he confessed himself on the wrong side in his contest with the God of the Hebrews, declares that he has sinned in standing it out so long, and owns the equity of God's proceedings against him: 'The Lord is right been compelled to know of the plague of God's hand. Moses, however, though he evidently placed no reliance upon his promise, v. 30, did not hesitate to listen to his request, and engaged at once to obtain a cessation of the storm; thus teaching us that even those of whom we have little hopes, and who will probably soon repent of their repentance are still to be prayed for and admonished.- -¶ Righteous, &c. Heb. ¬¬ hatz-tzaddik, the righteous one hareshaim, the sinners; thus showing that the original is far more emphatic than our translation. It was equivalent to saying that he and his people fully deserved all that had been brought upon them.- -¶ Mighty thunderings. Heb. 3 koloth Elohim, voices of God; i. e. loud and deafening peals of thunder, called voices or thunderings of God as 'mountains of God' are large and lofty mountains. |