Reference: Plagues of Egypt
Hastings
There are not many references in the Bible to the plagues outside the Book of Exodus. They are epitomized in Ps 78:44-51; 105:28-36. In Ro 9:14-24 God's treatment of Pharaoh is dwelt upon, to show His absolute right to do what He will with the creatures of His own handiwork. And in Re 8; 9; 16 much of the imagery in the visions of the trumpets and the bowls is based upon the plagues
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They piled them in countless heaps, and there was a terrible odor in the land.
The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding,
"This is blood!" they exclaimed. "The kings have clashed swords and killed each other. So, to the spoil, Moab!"
He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. He sent among them swarms of flies, which fed on them, and frogs, which devastated them.
He sent among them swarms of flies, which fed on them, and frogs, which devastated them. He gave their crops to the caterpillar and the fruit of their labor to the locust. read more. He killed their vines with hail and their sycamore-fig trees with a flood. He handed over their livestock to hail and their cattle to lightning bolts. He sent His burning anger against them: fury, indignation, and calamity- a band of deadly messengers. He cleared a path for His anger. He did not spare them from death, but delivered their lives to the plague. He struck all the firstborn in Egypt, the first progeny of the tents of Ham.
He sent darkness, and it became dark- for did they not defy His commands? He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to die. read more. Their land was overrun with frogs, even in their kings' chambers. He spoke, and insects came- gnats throughout their country.
He spoke, and insects came- gnats throughout their country. He gave them hail for rain, and lightning throughout their land. read more. He struck their vines and fig trees and shattered the trees of their territory. He spoke and locusts came- young locusts without number. They devoured all the vegetation in their land and consumed the produce of their soil. He struck all the firstborn in their land, all their first progeny.
I fade away like a lengthening shadow; I am shaken off like a locust.
I will drive the northerner far from you and banish him to a dry and desolate land, his front ranks into the Dead Sea, and his rear guard into the Mediterranean Sea. His stench will rise; yes, his rotten smell will rise, for he has done catastrophic things.
What should we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not! For He tells Moses: I will show mercy to whom I show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. read more. So then it does not depend on human will or effort, but on God who shows mercy. For the Scripture tells Pharaoh: For this reason I raised you up: so that I may display My power in you, and that My name may be proclaimed in all the earth. So then, He shows mercy to whom He wills, and He hardens whom He wills. You will say to me, therefore, "Why then does He still find fault? For who can resist His will?" But who are you-anyone who talks back to God? Will what is formed say to the one who formed it, "Why did you make me like this?" Or has the potter no right over His clay, to make from the same lump one piece of pottery for honor and another for dishonor? And what if God, desiring to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath ready for destruction? And [what if] He did this to make known the riches of His glory on objects of mercy that He prepared beforehand for glory- on us whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?
The first [angel] blew his trumpet, and hail and fire, mixed with blood, were hurled to the earth. So a third of the earth was burned up, a third of the trees were burned up, and all the green grass was burned up. The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain ablaze with fire was hurled into the sea. So a third of the sea became blood,
The fourth angel blew his trumpet, and a third of the sun was struck, a third of the moon, and a third of the stars, so that a third of them were darkened. A third of the day was without light, and the night as well.
The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. The key to the shaft of the abyss was given to him. He opened the shaft of the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft. read more. Then out of the smoke locusts came to the earth, and power was given to them like the power that scorpions have on the earth. They were told not to harm the grass of the earth, or any green plant, or any tree, but only people who do not have God's seal on their foreheads. They were not permitted to kill them, but were to torment [them] for five months; their torment is like the torment caused by a scorpion when it strikes a man. In those days people will seek death and will not find it; they will long to die, but death will flee from them. The appearance of the locusts was like horses equipped for battle. On their heads were something like gold crowns; their faces were like men's faces; they had hair like women's hair; their teeth were like lions' teeth; they had chests like iron breastplates; the sound of their wings was like the sound of chariots with many horses rushing into battle; and they had tails with stingers, like scorpions, so that with their tails they had the power to harm people for five months. They had as their king the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
The first went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and severely painful sores broke out on the people who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped his image. The second poured out his bowl into the sea. It turned to blood like a dead man's, and all life in the sea died.
The fifth poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and his kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues from pain
Then I saw three unclean spirits like frogs [coming] from the dragon's mouth, from the beast's mouth, and from the mouth of the false prophet.
Then the seventh poured out his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the sanctuary, from the throne, saying, "It is done!"
Morish
These were wrought by God to show to Pharaoh and to the Egyptians His great power, and that all the elements of creation were at His disposal. Ex. 7
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"As you've said," Moses replied, "I will never see your face again."
So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt and every firstborn [male] in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is behind the millstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. read more. Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before, or ever will be again. But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not [even] a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.' " And he left Pharaoh's presence in fierce anger.
He sent among them swarms of flies, which fed on them, and frogs, which devastated them.
Watsons
PLAGUES OF EGYPT. The design of these visitations, growing more awful and tremendous in their progress, was to make Pharaoh know, and confess, that the God of the Hebrews was the supreme Lord, and to exhibit his power and his justice in the strongest light to all the nations of the earth, Ex 9:16; 1Sa 4:8, &c; to execute judgment upon the Egyptians and upon all their gods, inanimate and bestial, for their cruelty to the Israelites, and for their grovelling polytheism and idolatry, Ex 7:14-17; 12:12. The Nile was the principal divinity of the Egyptians. According to Heliodorus, they paid divine honours to this river, and revered it as the first of their gods. They declared him to be the rival of heaven, since he watered the country without the aid of the clouds and rain. His principal festival was at the summer solstice, when the inundation commenced; at which season, in the dog days, by a cruel idolatrous rite, they sacrificed red-haired persons, principally foreigners, to Typhon, or the power that presided over tempests, at Busiris, Heliopolis, &c, by burning them alive, and scattering their ashes in the air, for the good of the people, as we learn from Plutarch. Hence Bryant infers the probability, that these victims were chosen from among the Israelites, during their residence in Egypt. The judgment then inflicted upon the river, and all the waters of Egypt, in the presence of Pharaoh and of his servants, as foretold,
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However, I will judge the nation they serve, and afterwards they will go out with many possessions.
Let us deal shrewdly with them; otherwise they will multiply [further], and if war breaks out, they may join our enemies, fight against us, and leave the country."
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh is unresponsive: he refuses to let the people go. Go to Pharaoh in the morning. When you see him walking out to the water, stand ready to meet him by the bank of the Nile. Take in your hand the staff that turned into a snake. read more. Tell him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness, but so far you have not listened. This is what the Lord says: Here is how you will know that I am the Lord. Watch. I will strike the water in the Nile with the staff in my hand, and it will turn to blood.
The Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh when you see him going out to the water. Tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. But if you will not let My people go, then I will send swarms of flies against you, your officials, your people, and your houses. The Egyptians' houses will swarm with flies, and so will the land where they live. read more. But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people are living; no flies will be there. This way you will know that I, the Lord, am in the land. I will make a distinction between My people and your people. This sign will take place tomorrow."
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. But if you refuse to let [them] go and keep holding them, read more. then the Lord's hand will bring a severe plague against your livestock in the field-the horses, donkeys, camels, herds, and flocks. But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that the Israelites own will die." And the Lord set a time, saying, "Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land." The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died.
The Lord did this the next day. All the Egyptian livestock died, but none among the Israelite livestock died. Pharaoh sent [messengers] who saw that not a single one of the Israelite livestock was dead. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not let the people go. read more. Then the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, "Take handfuls of furnace soot, and Moses is to throw it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. It will become fine dust over the entire land of Egypt. It will become festering boils on people and animals throughout the land of Egypt." So they took furnace soot and stood before Pharaoh. Moses threw it toward heaven, and it became festering boils on man and beast. The magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils were on the magicians as well as on all the Egyptians. But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had told Moses. Then the Lord said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh. Tell him: This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me. Otherwise, I am going to send all My plagues against you, your officials, and your people. Then you will know there is no one like Me in all the earth. By now I could have stretched out My hand and struck you and your people with a plague, and you would have been obliterated from the earth. However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth.
However, I have let you live for this purpose: to show you My power and to make My name known in all the earth. You are still acting arrogantly against My people by not letting them go. read more. Tomorrow at this time I will rain down the worst hail that has ever occurred in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Therefore give orders to bring your livestock and all that you have in the field into shelters. Every person and animal that is in the field and not brought inside will die when the hail falls on them." Those among Pharaoh's officials who feared the word of the Lord made their servants and livestock flee to shelters, but those who didn't take the Lord's word seriously left their servants and livestock in the field.
Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron. "I have sinned this time," he said to them. "The Lord is the Righteous One, and I and my people are the guilty ones. Make an appeal to the Lord. There has been enough of God's thunder and hail. I will let you go; you don't need to stay any longer." read more. Moses said to him, "When I have left the city, I will extend my hands to the Lord. The thunder will cease, and there will be no more hail, so that you may know the earth is the Lord's. But as for you and your officials, I know that you still do not fear the Lord God." The flax and the barley were destroyed because the barley was ripe and the flax was budding, but the wheat and the spelt were not destroyed since they are later crops. Moses went out from Pharaoh and the city, and extended his hands to the Lord. Then the thunder and hail ceased, and rain no longer poured down on the land. When Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, he sinned again and hardened his heart, he and his officials. So Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he did not let the Israelites go, as the Lord had said through Moses.
So Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh and told him, "This is what the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, says: How long will you refuse to humble yourself before Me? Let My people go, that they may worship Me. But if you refuse to let My people go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your territory. read more. They will cover the surface of the land so that no one will be able to see the land. They will eat the remainder left to you that escaped the hail; they will eat every tree you have growing in the fields. They will fill your houses, all your officials' houses, and the houses of all the Egyptians-something your fathers and ancestors never saw since the time they occupied the land until today." Then he turned and left Pharaoh's presence. Pharaoh's officials asked him, "How long must this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Don't you realize yet that Egypt is devastated?" So Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh. "Go, worship the Lord your God," Pharaoh said. "But exactly who will be going?" Moses replied, "We will go with our young and our old; we will go with our sons and daughters and with our flocks and herds because we must hold the Lord's festival." He said to them, "May the Lord be with you if I [ever] let you and your families go! Look out-you are planning evil. No, only the men may go and worship the Lord, for that is what you have been asking for." And they were driven from Pharaoh's presence. The Lord then said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt and the locusts will come up over it and eat every plant in the land, everything that the hail left." So Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and the Lord sent an east wind over the land all that day and through the night. By morning the east wind had brought in the locusts. The locusts went up over the entire land of Egypt and settled on the whole territory of Egypt. Never before had there been such a large number of locusts, and there will never be again. They covered the surface of the whole land so that the land was black, and they consumed all the plants on the ground and all the fruit on the trees that the hail had left. Nothing green was left on the trees or the plants in the field throughout the land of Egypt.
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt." So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt for three days. read more. One person could not see another, and for three days they did not move from where they were. Yet all the Israelites had light where they lived. Pharaoh summoned Moses and said, "Go, worship the Lord. Even your families may go with you; only your flocks and your herds must stay behind." Moses responded, "You must also let us have sacrifices and burnt offerings to prepare for the Lord our God. Even our livestock must go with us; not a hoof will be left behind because we will take some of them to worship the Lord our God. We will not know what we will use to worship the Lord until we get there." But the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was unwilling to let them go. Pharaoh said to him, "Leave me! Make sure you never see my face again, for on the day you see my face, you will die." "As you've said," Moses replied, "I will never see your face again."
The Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets [you] go, he will drive you out of here.
So Moses said, "This is what the Lord says: 'About midnight I will go throughout Egypt and every firstborn [male] in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who is behind the millstones, as well as every firstborn of the livestock. read more. Then there will be a great cry of anguish through all the land of Egypt such as never was before, or ever will be again. But against all the Israelites, whether man or beast, not [even] a dog will snarl, so that you may know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel. All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.' " And he left Pharaoh's presence in fierce anger.
All these officials of yours will come down to me and bow before me, saying: Leave, you and all the people who follow you. After that, I will leave.' " And he left Pharaoh's presence in fierce anger. The Lord said to Moses, "Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt." read more. Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh, but the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let the Israelites go out of his land.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: "This month is to be the beginning of months for you; it is the first month of your year. read more. Tell the whole community of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they must each select an animal of the flock according to [their] fathers' households, one animal per household. If the household is too small for a [whole] animal, that person and the neighbor nearest his house are to select one based on the combined number of people; you should apportion the animal according to what each person will eat. You must have an unblemished animal, a year-old male; you may take it from either the sheep or the goats. You are to keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembly of the community of Israel will slaughter the animals at twilight. They must take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They are to eat the meat that night; they should eat it, roasted over the fire along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. Do not eat any of it raw or cooked in boiling water, but only roasted over fire-its head as well as its legs and inner organs. Do not let any of it remain until morning; you must burn up any part of it that does remain until morning. Here is how you must eat it: dressed for travel, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. You are to eat it in a hurry; it is the Lord's Passover. "I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn [male] in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt.
"I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and strike every firstborn [male] in the land of Egypt, both man and beast. I am the Lord; I will execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt. The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a distinguishing mark for you; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will be among you to destroy [you] when I strike the land of Egypt. read more. "This day is to be a memorial for you, and you must celebrate it as a festival to the Lord. You are to celebrate it throughout your generations as a permanent statute. You must eat unleavened bread for seven days. On the first day you must remove yeast from your houses. Whoever eats what is leavened from the first day through the seventh day must be cut off from Israel. You are to hold a sacred assembly on the first day and another sacred assembly on the seventh day. No work may be done on those [days] except for preparing what people need to eat-you may do only that. "You are to observe the [Festival of] Unleavened Bread because on this very day I brought your ranks out of the land of Egypt. You must observe this day throughout your generations as a permanent statute. You are to eat unleavened bread in the first [month], from the evening of the fourteenth day of the month until the evening of the twenty-first day. Yeast must not be found in your houses for seven days. If anyone eats something leavened, that person, whether a foreign resident or native of the land, must be cut off from the community of Israel. Do not eat anything leavened; eat unleavened bread in all your homes." Then Moses summoned all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Go, select an animal from the flock according to your families, and slaughter the Passover lamb. Take a cluster of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and brush the lintel and the two doorposts with some of the blood in the basin. None of you may go out the door of his house until morning. When the Lord passes through to strike Egypt and sees the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts, He will pass over the door and not let the destroyer enter your houses to strike [you]. "Keep this command permanently as a statute for you and your descendants. When you enter the land that the Lord will give you as He promised, you are to observe this ritual. When your children ask you, 'What does this ritual mean to you?' you are to reply, 'It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, for He passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck the Egyptians and spared our homes.' " So the people bowed down and worshiped. Then the Israelites went and did [this]; they did just as the Lord had commanded Moses and Aaron. Now at midnight the Lord struck every firstborn [male] in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the prisoner who was in the dungeon, and every firstborn of the livestock. During the night Pharaoh got up, he along with all his officials and all the Egyptians, and there was a loud wailing throughout Egypt because there wasn't a house without someone dead. He summoned Moses and Aaron during the night and said, "Get up, leave my people, both you and the Israelites, and go, worship the Lord as you have asked. Take even your flocks and your herds as you asked, and leave, and this will also be a blessing to me." Now the Egyptians pressured the people in order to send them quickly out of the country, for they said, "We're all going to die!" So the people took their dough before it was leavened, with their kneading bowls wrapped up in their clothes on their shoulders. The Israelites acted on Moses' word and asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the Lord gave the people such favor in the Egyptians' sight that they gave them what they requested. In this way they plundered the Egyptians. The Israelites traveled from Rameses to Succoth, about 600,000 soldiers on foot, besides their families. An ethnically diverse crowd also went up with them, along with a huge number of livestock, both flocks and herds.
The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
I will send the hornet in front of you, and it will drive the Hivites, Canaanites, and Hittites away from you.
On the day the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony, and it appeared like fire above the tabernacle from evening until morning. It remained that way continuously: the cloud would cover it, appearing like fire at night. read more. Whenever the cloud was lifted up above the tent, the Israelites would set out; at the place where the cloud stopped, there the Israelites camped. At the Lord's command the Israelites set out, and at the Lord's command they camped. As long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle, they camped. Even when the cloud stayed over the tabernacle many days, the Israelites carried out the Lord's requirement and did not set out. Sometimes the cloud remained over the tabernacle for [only] a few days. They would camp at the Lord's command and set out at the Lord's command. Sometimes the cloud remained [only] from evening until morning; when the cloud lifted in the morning, they set out. Or if it remained a day and a night, they moved out when the cloud lifted. Whether it was two days, a month, or longer, the Israelites camped and did not set out as long as the cloud stayed over the tabernacle. But when it was lifted, they set out. They camped at the Lord's command, and they set out at the Lord's command. They carried out the Lord's requirement according to His command through Moses.
They set out from the mountain of the Lord on a three-day journey to seek a resting place for them, with the ark of the Lord's covenant traveling ahead of them for the three days. Meanwhile, the cloud of the Lord was over them by day when they set out from the camp. read more. Whenever the ark set out, Moses would say: Arise, Lord! Let Your enemies be scattered, and those who hate You flee from Your presence. When it came to rest, he would say: Return, Lord, to the countless thousands of Israel.
Contemptible people among them had a strong craving [for other food]. The Israelites cried again and said, "Who will feed us meat?
They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the month. On the day after the Passover the Israelites went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians.
But the Lord selected you and brought you out of Egypt's iron furnace to be a people for His inheritance, as you are today.
The Lord your God will also send the hornet against them until all the survivors and those hiding from you perish.
I sent the hornet ahead of you, and it drove out the two Amorite kings before you. It was not by your sword or bow.
After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers instructing them: "Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury."
Many pains come to the wicked, but the one who trusts in the Lord will have faithful love surrounding him.
He sent His burning anger against them: fury, indignation, and calamity- a band of deadly messengers.
And because they did not think it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong.
And what if God, desiring to display His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much patience objects of wrath ready for destruction?
Therefore, consider God's kindness and severity: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's kindness toward you-if you remain in His kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off.
For if we deliberately sin after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins,