Chapter 10

1 God threateneth to send locusts. 7 Pharaoh, moved by his servants, inclineth to let the Israelites go. 12 The plague of the locusts. 16 Pharaoh sueth to Moses. 21 The plague of darkness. 24 Pharaoh sueth unto Moses, 27 but yet is hardened.

1. I have hardened his heart. Literally, “I, even I, have made heavy his heart” (see on ch. 4:21). The word “I” appears twice in the original, once as an independent personal pronoun and again attached to the verb, for emphasis.

2. That thou mayest tell. A new objective of the plagues is now revealed. They were designed not only to impress Pharaoh and his servants with the greatness of God and to secure his cooperation, but to convince the children of Israel for all future generations that the Lord is the only true God. Psalms 78, 105, and 106 illustrate how the story of deliverance was handed down from generation to generation. It was God’s plan that His mercies and wondrous works be kept in perpetual remembrance. His proneness to forget God’s benefits being one of the sad facets of his sinful character, man requires constant exhortation to remember them. This is often true of his daily needs, but applies also to providential circumstances, such as those connected with conversion or recovery from severe illness.

3. How long? Pharaoh’s confession (ch. 9:27) had been a humiliating act, but this was nullified by a proud reassertion of his rebellious heart (ch. 9:34, 35). What God desired was not a mere profession of humility, but action in keeping with it. Pharaoh’s repentance would not prove genuine until it led him to release the Israelites.

4. The locusts. As further punishment upon the obstinate king God announced a plague of locusts more dreadful than any Egypt had known heretofore. Locusts, God’s “great army,” as they are called in Joel 2:25, have to the present day brought periodic calamity to countries of the Near East, generally every 10 or 15 years. Effective control is now possible through scientific methods, such as the use of flame, chemically treated trenches into which the locusts fall in droves, destruction of the eggs, and the use of arsenic, but such means did not become available until comparatively recent times. Formerly, the coming of the locusts was considered the most terrible of all judgments that could befall a country. Joel gives a vivid description of such a plague, saying, “A fire devoureth before them; and behind them a flame burneth: the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness” (Joel 2:3). They destroy every trace of vegetation, including crops, vegetables, shrubs, and thistles. They even damage the bark of trees, the smaller branches being completely peeled and made white (see Joel 1:7–12). They arrive in great swarms, their noise in flight resembling that of rain or the crackle of fire in dry grass, and their numbers darken the sky (Joel 2:2, 3).

5. Cover the face of the earth. This is literally true. Sometimes they cover the ground so thickly that over vast areas the soil cannot be seen at all.

Eat the residue. Since locusts leave no trace of verdure (see on v. 4) whatever, they would obviously devour all that survived the devastating hailstorm, especially the wheat and the spelt (see ch. 9:32). Prospects for the next harvest appeared dim indeed. No product of any kind could now be expected for the current year, and famine must inevitably result.

6. Fill thy houses. Constructed with various openings for light and ventilation, ancient houses afforded insects ready means of entrance. In a plague, swarms of locusts would fly into the houses and creep over the walls by the tens of thousands. Observers who have experienced such a plague claim that it is even difficult to keep the locusts out of one’s mouth when eating.

Neither thy fathers. Like other Near Eastern countries, Egypt occasionally suffers from devastating plagues of locusts. This visitation, however, was to exceed any such plagues in the past.

He turned himself. Moses did not wait to learn the effect of his announcement upon the king, knowing that Pharaoh would not fear the Lord.

7. Pharaoh’s servants said. Thus far the courtiers seem not to have ventured their own opinion, at least in opposition to Pharaoh. Except for the magicians, who had pointed to the lice of the third plague as “the finger of God” (ch. 8:19), the entire court had remained passive while the king made the successive fateful decisions affecting the nation. They are even said to have “hardened” their hearts like the king (ch. 9:34). But now they speak forth their fears. Having already lost most of their cattle and nearly all crops for the current season, they became genuinely alarmed, fearing that further calamities would ruin them permanently. It is significant that they interfered before the plague actually began, for this revealed that they had come to believe in the reliability of Moses’ predictions and in the power of his God. Some had already come to this point when the hailstorm was announced (ch. 9:20), but that feeling had now become more general.

8. Go, serve the Lord. Realizing that he lacked the support of his advisers, Pharaoh permitted them to call Moses and Aaron back for further questioning. The command “Go” was almost immediately qualified by a question implying that not all the people were included in it. It seems that the king was vainly looking for a minimum concession he might make to placate Moses and avert further calamities. He sought therefore to give Moses’ request the appearance of being unreasonable.

9. With our young and with our old. There was no ambiguity in Moses’ answer; the whole nation was to participate in the proposed feast. Their flocks and herds were to accompany them, not only to provide sacrifices for the celebration and food for the people, but also to be cared for during the days of absence.

10. He said. Inferring from Moses’ statement that the Israelites had no intention of returning, Pharaoh again became angry, saying, as translated more clearly, “The Lord be with you, if ever I let you and your little ones go! Look, you have some evil purpose in mind” (RSV). This answer reflects contempt not only for Moses and Aaron but also for the Lord, who had already proved by the mighty manifestations of His power that He could do with Pharaoh as He wished. After this expression of ill will the king told the messengers of God that he saw through their evil intentions. He pretended to have more concern for the Hebrew women and children than Moses and Aaron had, but was determined to hold the former as a guarantee that the men would return (PP 271).

11. Go now. Even this apparent concession was not seriously meant. This is evident from the expression “go now,” in which the irony is unmistakable, and still more so from the fact that with these words he broke off all negotiations with Moses and Aaron and drove them from his presence. This insult, which he had not previously offered them, shows that his rage increased as he saw more and more clearly that he must eventually yield.

13. An east wind. Locusts generally come with a wind, since they cannot fly far without it. An east wind would in this case have brought them from northern Arabia, a region where they often breed in large numbers. This would be somewhat exceptional, since the locusts that occasionally plague Egypt usually come from Libya or Ethiopia, to the south or southwest. The fact that the wind blew for an entire day and night before the locusts arrived suggests that they came from a considerable distance.

14. Over all the land. Ordinarily swarms of locusts are confined to certain parts of the country, but upon this occasion the plague affected a greater area than ever before. This in itself was miraculous.

Neither after them. This statement is not at variance with Joel 2:2, where centuries later another unique plague of locusts is mentioned, for the former relates to Egypt and the latter to the land of Israel.

15. The land was darkened. It is not quite clear whether the darkness here spoken of was caused by the locusts in flight or after they had settled down. Locusts usually come in such thick clouds that they obscure the light of the sun and often turn noonday into twilight. It is also true that their brownish bodies and wings darken the ground once they settle to earth. The latter explanation is more probable (see Joel 2:2).

All the fruit. Although injury to fruit by the hail is not expressly mentioned in the account of that plague, it is implied (see Ex. 9:25). Locusts generally devour green crops, plants, and leaves first and then set to work upon such harder materials as reeds, twigs, and the bark of trees. In Egypt the principal fruits would be figs, pomegranates, mulberries, grapes, and dates.

Not any green thing. Modern observers state that the settling of a swarm of locusts for but half an hour is sufficient to transform a fertile region into a temporary desert. After the locusts have passed, nothing remains but the roots, stems, and thick branches. The appearance of a region so devastated is similar to what it would be if fire had swept through it (see Joel 2:3).

16. Then Pharaoh called. The king had made similar appeals before, but never in such haste as at this time. Evidently this plague terrified him more than any of the previous seven.

18. Intreated the Lord. Moses knew that neither a word of reproach nor a demand would change the hardened heart of the monarch. Nevertheless he interceded, but not on the basis of any promise of the king, which he now knew from experience would soon be violated. The patience and magnanimity of Moses are truly remarkable. He granted the royal request the instant it was made, without either asking a favor or uttering the slightest reproach.

19. A mighty strong west wind. Literally, “a sea wind,” indicating that it came from the Mediterranean. Since it carried the locusts into the Red Sea, it must have come from the northwest. Inasmuch as the Mediterranean Sea lay to the west of Palestine, the Hebrew people commonly used “the sea” as a synonym for “west.”

The Red sea. Literally, “Sea of Reeds.” It is not certain why it should have had this name, since there are no reeds there today, nor is there any indication that there were in ancient times. However, the evidence of numerous Bible texts (see Ex. 15:4; 23:31; Num. 21:4; etc.) makes it rather certain that the Sea of Reeds was actually the Red Sea, and not one of the Bitter Lakes in the region of the Suez Canal, as some commentators have maintained.

20. Hardened Pharaoh’s heart. See on ch. 4:21.

21. Stretch out thine hand. The ninth plague, like the third and the sixth, was inflicted without prior warning. After the plague of boils, God had announced that He was about to send all His plagues upon the “heart” of the king (ch. 9:14). A succession of judgments was therefore to be expected. Apparently, this plague quickly followed the eighth.

Darkness. Some commentators have assumed that an eclipse of the sun caused the intense darkness. This interpretation, however, cannot be correct, inasmuch as an eclipse could never produce darkness lasting for three days (v. 22). The majority of interpreters have felt that the miracle was wrought through the chamsin, a desert sandstorm that occasionally blows over Egypt and covers the land with a weird darkness. This is due to dense clouds of fine sand that the wind carries with it and that intercept the light of the sun, producing darkness deeper than that of the worst fogs. The present writer once experienced such a sandstorm at the edge of the Indian Desert on a clear day, and can testify that for half an hour darkness prevailed equal to that of a moonless night. Saturated with fine particles of sand, the wind was most annoying and depressing, and men and beasts looked for cover. The fine sand penetrated every room and even the closets of the houses. A sandstorm may blow for two or three days, but it seldom has so extreme an effect for very long at a time. Even if God used swirling sand to produce the darkness, it was nonetheless miraculous, because though the entire country was enveloped in impenetrable darkness for three days, the children of Israel, living in that same country, had light (v. 23). But the Egyptians were accustomed to severe sandstorms blowing in from the desert. Furthermore, with each of the other plagues Moses describes the agency by which it was accomplished, and it would be logical here to expect him to refer to it as a sandstorm if that is what he meant.

Like the previous plagues, this one dealt a heavy blow to the Egyptian gods. The sun-god Ra had been the chief god of Egypt for centuries, and every king called himself the “son of Ra.” In the time of Moses this god was identified with Amen and bore the name Amen-Ra. The greatest temples the world has ever seen were built in his honor, and one of them, the great temple at Karnak in Upper Egypt, is still magnificent, even in a state of ruin. Another god was the sun disc Aten, which a few decades after the Exodus became, briefly, the supreme god of the Egyptian religious system. By the ninth plague the utter impotence of these gods was clearly demonstrated to their worshipers.

23. Light in their dwellings. No explanation is given as to how this was accomplished. Those who account for the darkness as the result of a sandstorm explain that it did not extend as far as the land of Goshen. But in that case Egyptians living among the Israelites, if there were any, would have shared the benefits of their neighbors, which seems not to have been the case. The record indicates that the darkness was general, but that the children of Israel were miraculously supplied with light.

24. Pharaoh called unto Moses. The intense darkness was more than the king could long endure. On the third day of its duration he sent messengers to locate Moses. Ushered into the presence of the king, Moses was informed that the Hebrews, including their families, were to be permitted to depart for the proposed religious celebration in the desert, but that they should leave their flocks and herds behind. This would ensure their return from the wilderness, since without the cattle they would be unable to live many days in the desert.

26. Not an hoof. Moses refused Pharaoh’s proposed compromise in unmistakable words. He had already declared, on a former occasion, that they would go with their families and all their beasts (v. 9), and this stipulation he would by no means retract now.

We know not. Moses offered an explanation for his refusal. The proposed feast was new and its ritual was not yet known. Exact directions could not be expected until they had reached the location God should designate. The cattle must be taken with them because the feast would certainly require the offering of sacrifices.

27. The Lord hardened. See on ch. 4:21.

28. Get thee from me. This reply indicates furious anger. The king realized that Moses would deprive him of the free labor Egypt had so long enjoyed. Greatly enraged, he lost all self-control and rudely bade Moses not to return, under penalty of death.

29. Thou hast spoken well. Moses’ reply was polite and dignified. The representative of a nation of slaves stood before their cruel master, in complete control of the situation. His words imply that Moses welcomed the royal decision, since further interviews would be useless.

I will see thy face again no more. These words simply express acquiescence to the king’s command. Moses would not voluntarily appear before Pharaoh again.

Ellen G. White comments

1-29PP 270-272

1-6PP 270

7-20PP 271

13, 21  SR 117

21-29PP 272

28   PP 273