Exodus 10:21

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”

Exodus 10:21 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 10:21

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 10:21 In-Context

19 The LORD responded by shifting the wind, and the strong west wind blew the locusts into the Red Sea. Not a single locust remained in all the land of Egypt.

20 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart again, so he refused to let the people go.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.”

22 So Moses lifted his hand to the sky, and a deep darkness covered the entire land of Egypt for three days.

23 During all that time the people could not see each other, and no one moved. But there was light as usual where the people of Israel lived.