Exodus 11:1

Announcement of the Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

1 And Yahweh said to Moses, "Still one plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will release you from here. At the moment of his releasing, he will certainly drive you completely out from here.

Exodus 11:1 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 11:1

And the Lord said unto Moses
While in the presence of Pharaoh, by a secret impulse upon his mind; or he had said F13, which some refer as far back as to his appearance to him in Midian, ( Exodus 4:23 ) , which is too remote; rather it refers to the last time he went to Pharaoh, being sent for by him; and the words may be rendered, "for the Lord had said" F14; and so are a reason why Moses was so bold, and expressed himself with so much confidence and assurance to Pharaoh, that he would see his face no more: yet will I bring one plague [more] upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt;
upon him and all his subjects, for the following one would affect all the families of Egypt, in which there was a son: afterwards he will let you go hence;
out of Egypt readily, at once, and not attempt to stop or retard your going: when he shall let you go;
declare his will, give leave and orders for it: he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether;
absolutely, entirely, without any exception or limitation, them, their wives, their children, their flocks and herds, and whatsoever belonged to them, without any restraint upon them in any respect, and without any condition of return, or fixing any time for it, but the dismission should be general, unlimited, and unconditional; or, "in thrusting he shall thrust you out" F15, with force and vehemence, with urgency and in great haste.


FOOTNOTES:

F13 (rmayw) "dixerat", some in Vatablus, Ainsworth, Cartwright; so Aben Ezra.
F14 "Dixerat enim", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Rivet.
F15 (vrgy vrg) "expellendo expellet", Pagninus, Montanus, Drusius; so Fagius, Vatablus, Cartwright.

Exodus 11:1 In-Context

1 And Yahweh said to Moses, "Still one plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will release you from here. At the moment of his releasing, he will certainly drive you completely out from here.
2 Speak in the ears of the people, and let them ask, a man from his neighbor and a woman from her neighbor, [for] objects of silver and objects of gold."
3 And Yahweh gave the people favor in the eyes of Egypt. Also the man Moses [was] very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the servants of Pharaoh and in the eyes of the people.
4 And Moses said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'About the middle of the night I [will] go out through the midst of Egypt,
5 and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave woman who [is] behind the pair of millstones and every firstborn animal.
Scripture quotations marked (LEB) are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software.