Flies come over all the land. CHAP. VIII. Pharaoh desires their removal. A. M. 2513. the LORD in the midst of the Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice A. M. 2513. B. C. 1491. earth, to your God in the land. 23 And I will put b division between my people and thy people; to-morrow shall this sign be. a 24 And the LORD did so and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. e 25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for B. C. 1491. 26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? 27 We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us. 28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, b Heb. a redemption. Le Or, by to-morrow. d Psa. lxxviii. 45; Gen. xliii. 32; xlvi. 34; Deut. vii. 25,26; xii. 31.- Verse 23. And I will put a division] peduth, ferent kinds of animals in order to escape. Jupiter a redemption, between my people and thy people; God | hid himself in the body of a ram, Apollo in that of a hereby showing that he had redeemed them from those plagues to which he had abandoned the others. Verse 24. The land was corrupted] Every thing was spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed, being probably stung to death by these venomous insects. This seems to be intimated by the psalmist, "He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which DEVOURED them," Psa. lxxviii. 45. In ancient times, when political, domestic, and personal cleanliness was but little attended to, and offal of different kinds permitted to corrupt in the streets. and breed vermin, flies multiplied exceedingly, so that we read in ancient authors of whole districts being laid waste by them; hence different people had deities, whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these we may reckon Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, muscarum abactor, Hercules, the expeller of flies, of the Romans; the Muagrus of the Eleans, whom they invoked against pestilential swarms of flies; and hence Jupiter, the supreme god of the heathens, had the epithets of Απομυιος and Μυώδης, because he was supposed to expel flies, and defend his worshippers against them. See Dodd. Verse 25. Sacrifice to your God in the land.] That is, Ye shall not leave Egypt, but I shall cause your worship to be tolerated here. Verse 26. We shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians] That is, The animals which they hold sacred, and will not permit to be slain, are those which our customs require us to sacrifice to our God; and should we do this in Egypt the people would rise in a mass, and stone us to death. Perhaps few people were more superstitious than the Egyptians. Almost every production of nature was an object of their religious worship: the sun, moon, planets, stars, the river Nile, animals of all sorts, from the human being to the monkey, dog, cat, and ibis, and even the onions and leeks which grew in their gardens. Jupiter was adored by them under the form of a ram, Apollo under the form of a crow, Bacchus under that of a goat, and Junc under that of a heifer. The reason why the Egyptians worshipped those animals is given by Eusebius, viz., that when the giants made war on the gods, they were obliged to take refuge in Egypt, and assume the shapes or disguise themselves under dif crow, Bacchus in a goat, Diana in a cat, Juno in a white heifer, Venus in a fish, and Mercury in the bird ibis; all which are summed up by Ovid in the following lines:— Duxque gregis fit Jupiter Delius in corvo, proles Semeleïa capro, METAM., 1. v., fab. v., 1. 326. How the gods fled to Egypt's slimy soil, The change obscene, afraid of Typhon mourn'd, These animals therefore became sacred to them on account of the deities, who, as the fable reports, had taken refuge in them. Others suppose that the reason why the Egyptians would not sacfifice or kill those creatures was their belief in the doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls; for they feared lest in killing an animal they should kill a relative or a friend. This doctrine is still held by the Hindoos. Verse 27. And sacrifice to the Lord-as he shall command us.] It is very likely that neither Moses nor Aaron knew as yet in what manner God would be worshipped; and they expected to receive a direct revelation from him relative to this subject, when they should come into the wilderness. Verse 28. I will let you go—only ye shall not go very far away] Pharaoh relented because the hand of God was heavy upon him; but he was not willing to give up his gain. The Israelites were very profit The flies are removed; and B. C. 1491. B. C. 1491. A. M. 2513. that ye may sacrifice to the LORD 30 And Moses went out from A. M. 2513. your God in the wilderness; only Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. ye shall not go very far away: i entreat for me. 31 And the LORD did according to the word 29 And Moses said, Behold, I go out from of Moses; and he removed the swarms thee, and I will entreat the LORD that the of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, and from his people; there remained not from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD. k Ver. 8; chap. ix. 28; 1 Kings xiii. 6. able to him; they were slaves of the state, and their hard labour was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, (ver. 25;) or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and would soon return. How ready is foolish man, when the hand of God presses him sore, to compound with his Maker! He will consent to give up some sins, provided God will permit him to keep others. Entreat for me.] Exactly similar to the case of Simon Magus, who, like Pharaoh, fearing the Divine judgments, begged an interest in the prayers of Peter, Acts viii. 24. Verse 31. The Lord did according to the word of Moses] How powerful is prayer! God permits his servant to prescribe even the manner and time in which he shall work. one. 32 And Pharaoh m hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. 3. The lice both on man and beast through the whole land, and the innumerable swarms of flies, gave such proofs of their reality as to put the truth of these miracles out of question for ever. It was necessary that this point should be fully proved, that both the Egyptians and Israelites might see the finger of God in these awful works. 4. To superficial observers only do "Moses and the magicians appear to be nearly matched." The power of God was shown in producing and removing the plagues. In certain cases the magicians imitated the production of a plague, but they had no power to remove any. They could not seem to remove the bloody colour, nor the putrescency from the waters through which the fish were destroyed, though they could imitate the colour itself; they could not remove the frogs, the lice, or swarms of flies, though they He removed the swarms] Probably by means of a could imitate the former and latter; they could by strong wind, which swept them into the sea. Verse 32. Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also] See ver. 15. This hardening was the mere effect of his self-determining obstinacy. He preferred his gain to the will and command of Jehovah, and God made his obstinacy the means of showing forth his own power and providence in a supereminent degree. 1. As every false religion proves there is a true one, as a copy, however marred or imperfect, shows there was an original from which it was taken, so false miracles prove that there were genuine miracles, and that God chooses at particular times, for the most important purposes, to invert the established order of nature, and thus prove his omnipotence and universal agency. That the miracles wrought at this time were real we have the fullest proof. The waters, for instance, were not turned into blood in appearance merely, but were really thus changed. Hence the people could not drink of them; and as blood in a very short time, when exposed to the air, becomes putrid, so did the bloody waters; therefore all the fish that were in the river died. 2. No human power or ingenuity could produce such frogs as annoyed the land of Egypt. This also was a real, not an imaginary, plague. Innumerable multitudes of these animals were produced for the purpose; and the heaps of their dead carcasses, which putrefied and infected the land, at once demonstrated the reality of the miracle. dexterity of hand or diabolic influence produce serpents, but. they could not bring one forward that could swallow up the rod of Aaron. In every respect they fall infinitely short of the power and wonderful energy evidenced in the miracles of Moses and Aaron. The opposition therefore of those men served only as a foil to set off the excellence of that power by which these messengers of God acted. 5. The courage, constancy, and faith of Moses, are worthy of the most serious consideration. Had he not been fully satisfied of the truth and certainty of his Divine mission, he could not have encountered such a host of difficulties; had he not been certain of the issue, he could not have persevered amidst so many discouraging circumstances; and had he not had a deep acquaintance with God, his faith in every trial must have necessarily failed. So strong was this grace in him that he could even pledge his Maker to the performance of works concerning which he had not as yet consulted him! He therefore let Pharaoh fix the very time on which he would wish to have the plague removed; and when this was done, he went to God by faith and prayer to obtain this new miracle; and God in the most exact and circumstantial manner fulfilled the word of his servant. 6. From all this let us learn that there is a God who worketh in the earth; that universal nature is under his control; that he can alter, suspend, counteract, or invert its general laws whensoever he pleases; and that he can save or destroy by the most feeble and most contemptible instruments. We should therefore A pestilence among the cattle CHAP. IX. of Pharaoh is threatened. deeply reverence his eternal power and Godhead, and | and could, not be confounded. Reader, how secure look with respect on every creature he has made, as the meanest of them may, in his hand, become the instrument of our salvation or our ruin. mayest thou rest if thou hast this God for thy friend! He was the Protector and Friend of the Israelites through the blood of that covenant which is the very 7. Let us not imagine that God has so bound him-charter of thy salvation: trust in and pray to him as self to work by general laws, that those destructions Moses did, and then Satan and his angels shall be cannot take place which designate a particular providence. Pharaoh and the Egyptians are confounded, afflicted, routed, and ruined, while the land of Goshen and the Israelites are free from every plague! No blood appears in their streams; no frogs, lice, nor flies, in all their borders! They trusted in the true God, bruised under thy feet, and thou shalt not only be preserved from every plague, but be crowned with his loving kindness and tender mercy. He is the same to-day that he was yesterday, and shall continue the same for ever. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth! CHAPTER IX. The Lord sends Moses to Pharaoh to inform him that, if he did not let the Israelites depart, a destructive pestilence should be sent among his cattle, 1-3; while the cattle of the Israelites should be preserved, 4. The next day this pestilence, which was the fifth plague, is sent, and all the cattle of the Egyptians die, 5, 6. Though Pharaoh finds that not one of the cattle of the Israelites had died, yet, through hardness, of heart, he refuses to let the people go, 7. Moses and Aaron are commanded to sprinkle handfuls of ashes from the furnace, that the sixth plague, that of boils and blains, might come on man and beast, 8, 9; which having done, the plague takes place, 10. The magicians cannot stand before this plague, which they can neither imitate nor remove, 11. Pharaoh's heart is again hardened, 12. God's awful message to Pharaoh, with the threat of more severe plagues than before, 13-17. The seventh plague of rain, hail, and fire threatened, 18. The Egyptians commanded to house their cattle that they might not be destroyed, 19. Those who feared the word of the Lord brought home their servants and cattle, and those who did not regard that word left their cattle and servants in the fields, 20, 21. The storm of hail, thunder, and. lightning takes place, 22-24. It nearly desolates the whole land of Egypt, 25, while the land of Gosken escapes, 26. Pharaoh confesses his sin, and begs an interest in the prayers of Moses and Aaron, 27, 28. Moses promises to intercede for him, and while he promises that the storm shall cease, he foretells the con tinuing obstinacy of both himself and his servants, 29, 30. The flax and barley, being in a state of matu rity, are destroyed by the tempest, 31; while the wheat and the rye, not being grown up, are preserved, 32. Moses obtains a cessation of the storm, 33. Pharaoh and his servants, seeing this, harden their hearts, and refuse to let the people go, 34, 35. B. C. 1491. go, and wilt hold A. M. 2513. THEN the LORD said unto 2 For if thou NOTES ON CHAP. IX. 3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses; upon the camels, upon Chap. vii. 4. signifies to be active, brisk, or lively, all which are proVerse 1. The LORD God of the Hebrews] It is very per appellatives of the horse, especially in Arabia and likely that the term Lord, Yehovah, is used.here | Egypt. Because of their activity and swiftness they to point out particularly his eternal power and God- were sacrificed and dedicated to the sun, and perhaps head; and that the term God, Elohey, is intended it was principally on this account that God prohibited to be understood in the sense of Supporter, Defender, the use of them among the Israelites. Protector, &c. Thus saith the self-existent, omnipotent, and eternal Being, the Supporter and Defender of the Hebrews, "Let my people go, that they may worship me." The FIFTH plague-the MURRAIN. A very grievous murrain.] The murrain is a very contagious disease among cattle, the symptoms of which are a hanging down and swelling of the head, abundance of gum in the eyes, rattling in the throat, difficulty of breathing, palpitation of the heart, staggering, a hot breath, and a shining tongue; which symptoms Verse 3. The hand of the Lord] The power of God prove that a general inflammation has taken place. manifested in judgment. · Upon the horses] D'OID susim. This is the first place the horse is mentioned; a creature for which Egypt and Arabia were always famous. DD sus is supposed to have the same meaning with w sas, which The original word 27 deber is variously translated. The Septuagint have lavaros, death; the Vulgate has pestis, a plague or pestilence; the old Saxon version, cpealme, from cpealan, to die, any fatal disease. Our English word murrain comes either from the French Boils, the sixth plague. 8 And the LORD said unto Moses A. M. 2513. B. C. 1491. and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. 9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. h 10 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast. 11 And the magicians could not stand before Moses, because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. Deuteronomy xxviii. 27.- i Chapter viii. 18, 19; 2 Tim. iii. 9. the Hebrews, now yielded the instruments of their punishment; for every particle of those ashes, formed by unjust and oppressive labour, seemed to be a boil or a blain on the tyrannic king and his cruel and hardhearted people. Verse 9. Shall be a boil] n shechin. This word Verse 4. The Lord shall sever] See on chap. viii. 22. Verse 5. To-morrow the Lord shall do this] By thus foretelling the evil, he showed his prescience and pow-is generally expounded, an inflammatory swelling, a er; and from this both the Egyptians and Hebrews must see that the mortality that ensued was no casualty, but the effect of a predetermined purpose in the Divine justice. Verse 6. All the cattle of Egypt died] That is, All the cattle that did die belonged to the Egyptians, but not one died that belonged to the Israelites, ver. 4 and 6. That the whole stock of cattle belonging to the Egyptians did not die we have the fullest proof, because there were cattle both to be killed and saved alive in the ensuing plague, ver. 19-25. By this judgment the Egyptians must see the vanity of the whole of their national worship, when they found the animals which they not only held sacred but deified, slain without distinction among the common herd, by a pestilence 'sent from the hand of Jehovah. One might naturally suppose that after this the animal worship of the Egyptians could never more maintain its ground. Verse 7. And Pharaoh sent, &c.] Finding so many of his own cattle and those of his subjects slain, he sent to see whether the mortality had reached to the cattle of the Israelites, that he might know whether this were a judgment inflicted by their God, and probably designing to replace the lost cattle of the Egyptians with those of the Israelites. burning boil; one of the most poignant afflictions, not Verse 11. The boil was upon the magicians] They could not produce a similar malady by throwing ashes in the air; and they could neither remove the plague from the people, nor from their own tormented flesh. The SIXTH plague-the BOILS and BLAINS. Whether they perished in this plague we know not, Verse 8. Handfuls of ashes of the furnace] As but they are no more mentioned. If they were not one part of the oppression of the Israelites consisted destroyed by this awful judgment, they at least left the in their labour in the brick-kilns, some have observed field, and no longer contended with these messengers a congruity between the crime and the punishment. of God: The triumph of God's power was now comThe furnaces, in the labour of which they oppressed plete, and both the Hebrews and Egyptians must see Hail, fire, and thunder, the A. M. 2513. CHAP. IX. B. C. 1491. seventh plague, threatened. 12 And the LORD hardened the 15 For now I will n stretch out A. M. 2513. heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened my hand, that I may smite thee not unto them; as the LORD had spoken and thy people with pestilence: and thou unto Moses. shalt be cut off from the earth. 13 And the LORD said unto Moses, 1Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. 14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all the earth. Chap. iv. 21. m 16 And in very deed for this cause have I Praised thee up, for to show in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. 17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?. 18 Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Chapter viii. 20.- Chapter viii. 10. • Rom. ix. 17; see chap. xiv. 17; Prov. xvi. 4; 1 Peter ii. 9. n P Heb. made thee stand. that there was neither might, nor wisdom, nor counsel évekev Tovtov dietnpnons, on this account art thou preagainst the Lord; and that, as universal nature acknow- served, viz., in the past plagues; can countenance that ledged his power, devils and men must fail before him. most exceptionable meaning put on the words by cerVerse 15. For now I will stretch out my hand] In tain commentators, viz., That God ordained or apthe Hebrew the verbs are in the past tense, and not pointed Pharaoh from all eternity, by certain means, in the future, as our translation improperly expresses to this end; that he made him to exist in time; that them, by which means a contradiction appears in the he raised him to the throne; promoted him to that text; for neither Pharaoh nor his people were smitten high honour and dignity; that he preserved him, and by a pestilence, nor was he by any kind of mortality did not cut him off as yet; that he strengthened and cut off from the earth. It is true the first-born were hardened his heart; irritated, provoked, and stirred slain by a destroying angel, and Pharaoh himself was him up against his people Israel, and suffered him to drowned in the Red Sea; but these judgments do not go all the lengths he did go in his obstinacy and reappear to be referred to in this place. If the words bellion; all which was done to show in him his power be translated, as they ought, in the subjunctive mood, in destroying him in the Red Sea. The sum of or in the past instead of the future, this seeming con- which is, that this man was raised up by God in every tradiction to facts, as well as all ambiguity, will be sense for God to show his power in his destruction." avoided: For if now I HAD STRETCHED OUT (So man speaks; thus God hath not spoken. See shalachti, had set forth) my hand, and had smitten thee (vaach otheca) and thy people with the pestilence, thou SHOULDST HAVE BEEN cut off (on ticcached) from the earth. 16. But truly, on this very account, have I caused thee to SUBSIST, ('n' heemadticha,) that I MIGHT cause thee to see power, (sharotheca eth cochi,) and that my name MIGHT be declared throughout all the earth, (or, becol haarets, in all THIS LAND.) See Ainsworth and Houbigant. my Henry on the place... Verse 17. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people] So it appears that at this time he might have submitted, and thus prevented his own destruction. The SEVENTH plague—the HAIL. Verse 18. To-morrow about this time] The time of this plague is marked thus circumstantially to show Pharaoh that Jehovah was Lord of heaven and earth, and that the water, the fire, the earth, and the air, which were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, were the creatures of his power; and subservient to his will; and that, far from being able to help them, they were now, in the hands of God, instruments of their destruction. Thus God gave this impious king to know that it was in consequence of his especial providence that both he and his people had not been already destroyed by means of the past plagues; but God had preserved him for this very purpose, that he might have a farther opportunity of manifesting that he, Jehovah, was the To rain a very grievous hail] To rain hail may only true God, for the full conviction both of the He- appear to some superficial observers as an unphilobrews and Egyptians, that the former might follow sophical mode of expression, but nothing can be more and the latter fear before him. Judicious critics of correct. "Drops of rain falling through a cold region almost all creeds have agreed to translate the origi- of the atmosphere are frozen and converted into hail;" nal as above, a translation which it not only can bear and thus the hail is produced by rain. When it bebut requires, and which is in strict conformity to both gins to fall it is rain; when it is falling it is converted the Septuagint and Targum. Neither the Hebrew into hail; thus it is literally true that it rains hail. Theemadiicha, I have caused thee to stand; The farther a hail-stone falls the larger it generally nor the apostle's translation of it, Rom. ix. 17, enyeipais, because in its descent it meets with innumerable σe, I have raised thee; nor that of the Septuagint, particles of water, which, becoming attached to it, are |