Exodus 9:13-35

Plague Seven: Hail

13 And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me.
14 For at this time I [am] sending all of my plagues {to you personally} and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15 For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the plague, and you would have perished from the earth.
16 But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand--for the sake of showing you my strength and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth.
17 Still you [are] behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them.
18 Look, about [this] time tomorrow, I [am] going to cause very severe hail to rain, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now.
19 And now send [word]; bring into safety your livestock and all that [belongs] to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that is found in the field and not gathered into the house, and they will die." '"
20 Anyone from the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses.
21 But whoever did not {give regard to} the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock in the field.
22 And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field in the land of Egypt."
23 And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder and hail, and fire went [to the] earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt.
24 And there was hail, and fire [was] flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, the like of which was not in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation.
25 And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that [was] in the field, from human to animal, and the hail struck all the vegetation of the field and smashed every tree of the field.
26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the {Israelites} [were], there was no hail.
27 And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh [is] the righteous [one], and I and my people [are] the wicked [ones].
28 Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail {are enough}, and I will release you, and {you will no longer have to stay}."
29 And Moses said to him, "At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth [belongs] to Yahweh.
30 But [as for] you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of Yahweh God."
31 And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley [was in the] ear and the flax [was in] bud.
32 But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they [are] late-ripening.
33 And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain did not pour [on the] earth.
34 And Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder stopped, and {he again sinned} and made his heart {insensitive}, he and his servants.
35 And Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not release the {Israelites}, as Yahweh had said {by the agency of Moses}.

Exodus 9:13-35 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 9

This chapter relates the plague of murrain upon the cattle, and which yet was not upon the cattle of the Israelites, Ex 9:1-7 and the plague of boils and blains on man and beast, Ex 9:8-11 and Pharaoh's heart being hardened, Moses is sent to him with a message from the Lord, threatening him that all his plagues should come upon him, and particularly the pestilence, if he would not let Israel go; and signifying, that to show his power in him, and declare his name throughout the earth, had he raised him up, and a kind of amazement is expressed at his obstinacy and pride, Ex 9:12-17, and he is told that a terrible storm of hail should fall upon the land, and destroy all in the field; wherefore those that regarded the word of the Lord got their cattle within doors, but those that did not took no care of them, Ex 9:18-21 and upon Moses's stretching out his hand, when ordered by the Lord, the storm began, and destroyed every thing in the field throughout the land, excepting the land of Goshen, Ex 9:22-26 upon which Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron, acknowledged his sin, and the justice of God, begged they would entreat for him, which Moses did; but when the storm was over, Pharaoh's heart was still more hardened, and he refused to let the people go, Ex 9:27-35.

Footnotes 11

  • [a]. Literally "to your heart," that is, in a way designed to receive attention
  • [b]. Literally "heavy"
  • [c]. Literally "put his heart to"
  • [d]. The word often translated "voice" or "sound" is also used to describe thunder, as in this chapter
  • [e]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [f]. Literally "much/great from the being of the voices/thunder"
  • [g]. Literally "you will not add to stand/remain"
  • [h]. Literally "he added to sin"
  • [i]. Literally "he made his heart heavy"
  • [j]. Literally "sons/children of Israel"
  • [k]. Literally "by the hand of Moses"
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.