Exodus 10:21

Darkness covers Egypt

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Raise your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over the land of Egypt, a darkness that you can feel."

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 turned the wind into a very strong west wind that lifted the locusts and drove them into the Reed Sea. Not a single locust was left in the whole country of Egypt.

20 But the LORD made Pharaoh stubborn so that he wouldn't let the Israelites go.

21 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Raise your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over the land of Egypt, a darkness that you can feel."

22 So Moses raised his hand toward the sky, and an intense darkness fell on the whole land of Egypt for three days.

23 People couldn't see each other, and they couldn't go anywhere for three days. But the Israelites all had light where they lived.