Pharaoh is threatened with B. C. 1491. CHAP. X. B. C. 1491. locusts, the eighth plague. A. M. 2513. raoh, and said unto him, Thus saith | from the hail, and shall eat every A. M. 2513. the LORD God of the Hebrews, tree which groweth for you out of How long wilt thou refuse to humble thy- the field: self before me? let my people go, that they6 And they shall fill thy houses, and the may serve me; houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor, thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this 4. Else, if thou refuse to let my people, go, behold, to-morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: -h 5 And they shall' cover the face of the day. And he turned himself, and went out earth, that one cannot be able to see the from Pharaoh. earth and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you 1 Kings xxi. 29; 2 Chron, vìì. 14; xxxiv. 27; Job xlii. 6; Jer. xiii. 18; James iv. 10; 1 Pet. v. 6.- Proverbs xxx. 27; Wisd. xvi. 9; Rev. ix. 3. 'or cut. 7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be à snare unto us? f Heb. eye; ver. 15. - Chapter ix. 32; Joel i. 4; ii. 25. Chap. viii. 3, 21.- -Chap. xxiii. 33; Josh. xxiii. 13; 1 Sam. xviii. 21; Eccles. vii, 26; 1 Cor. vii. 35. Their and includes three species, crickets, grasshoppers, and Dr. Shaw, who witnessed most formidable swarms those commonly.called locusts; and as they multiply of these in Barbary in the years 1724 and 1725, gives faster than any other animal in creation, they are pro- the following account of them: "They were much perly entitled to the name arbieh, which might be larger than our grasshoppers, and had brown-spotted translated the numerous or multiplied insect: See this wings, with legs and bodies of a bright yellow. circumstance referred to, Judg. vi. 5; vii. 12; Psa. first appearance was towards the latter end of March. cv. 34; Jer. xlvi. 23; li. 144. Joel i. 6; Nahum iii. In the middle of April their numerous swarms, like a 15; Judith ii. 19, 20; where the most numerous ar-suceession of clouds, darkened the sun. In the month mies are compared to the arbeh or locust. The locust of May they retired to the adjacent plains to deposit has a large open mouth; and in its two jaws it has their eggs: these were no sooner hatched in June than four incisive teeth, which traverse each other like scis-the young brood first produced, while in their catersors, being calculated, from their mechanism, to gripe pillar or worm-like state, formed themselves into a comMr. Volney, in his Travels in Syria, gives a pact body of more than a furlong square, and, marchstriking account of this most awful scourge of God:- ing directly forward, climbed over trees, walls, and "Syria partakes together with Egypt and Persia, and houses, devouring every plant in their way.. Within almost all the whole middle part of Asia, in that terrible a day or two another brood was hatched, and advancing scourge, I mean those clouds of locusts of which travel- in the same manner, gnawed off the young branches lers have spoken; the quantity of which is incredible and bark of the trees left by the former, making a to any person who has not himself seen them, the earth complete desolation, The inhabitants, to stop their being covered by them for several leagues round. The progress, made a variety of pits and trenches all over noise they make in browsing the plants and trees may their fields and gardens, which they filled with water, be heard at a distance, like an army plundering in se- or else heaped up therein heath, stubble, &c., whichcret. Fire seems to follow their tracks. Wherever they set on fire; but to no purpose: for the trenches their legions march the verdure disappears from the were quickly filled up and the fires extinguished, by country, like a curtain drawn aside; the trees and infinite swarms succeeding one another; while the front plants, despoiled of their leaves, make the hideous ap- seemed regardless of danger, and the rear pressed on pearance of winter instantly succeed to the bright scenes so close that a retreat was altogether impossible. In of spring. When these clouds of locusts take their a month's time they threw off their worm-like state; flight, in order to surmount some obstacle, or the more and in a new form, with wings and legs, and additional rapidly to cross some desert, one may literally say that powers, returned to their former voracity.". 1."-Shaw's the sun is darkened by them." Travels, 187, 188, 4to edition. The descriptions given by these travellers show that God's army, described by the Prophet Joel, chap. ii., was innumerable swarms of locusts, to which the accounts given by Dr. Shaw and others exactly agree. Baron de Tott gives a similar account: "Clouds of locusts frequently alight on the plains of the Noguais, (the Tartars,) and giving preference to their fields of millet, ravage them in an instant. Their approach darkens the horizon, and so enormous is their multi- Verse 5. They shall cover the face of the earth] tude, it hides the light of the sun. They alight on the They sometimes cover the whole ground to the depth fields, and there form a bed of six or seven inches thick. of six or eight inches. See the preceding accounts. To the noise of their flight succeeds that of their de- Verse 6. They shall fill thy houses] Dr. Shaw vouring actively, which resembles the rattling of hail-mentions this circumstance; "they entered," says he, stones; but its consequences are infinitely more de- "into our very houses and bed-chambers, like so many structive. Fire itself eats not so fast; nor is there thieves."—Ibid. p. 187. any appearance of vegetation to be found when they again take their flight, and go elsewhere to produce new disasters." Verse 7. How long shall this man be a snare unto us?] As there is no noun in the text, the pronoun zeh may either refer to the Israelites, to the plague by Moses and Aaron are driven B. C. 1491. you B. C. 1491. A. M. 2513 let the men go, that they may serve be so with you, as I will let A. M. 2513. the LORD their God knowest thou go, and your little ones look to it; not yet that Egypt is destroyed? for evil is before you. 8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go? 9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.. 11 Not so go now ye that are met, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence. 12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and "eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left. 13 And Moses Stretched forth his rod over 10 And he said unto them, Let the LORD the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an Heb. who, and who, &c. Chap. v. 1. which they were then afflicted, or to Moses and Aaron, the instruments used by the Most High in their chastisement. The Vulgate translates, Usquequo patiemur hoc scandalum? "How long shall we suffer this scandal or reproach ?”. Let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God] Much of the energy of several passages is lost in translating Yehovah by the term Lord. The Egyptians had their gods, and they supposed that the Hebrews had a god like unto their own; that this Jehovah required their services, and would continue to afflict Egypt till his people were permitted to worship him in his own way. Egypt is destroyed?] This last plague had nearly ruined the whole land. m Chap. vii. 19.- Ver. 4, 5. I find that the ancient Egyptians called Diana Neith; this comes as near as possible to the Gaile of the Isle of Man. The moon is called yn neith or neath; and also ke-sollus, from ke, smooth or even, and sollus, light, the SMOOTH LIGHT; perhaps to distinguish her from the sun, grian, from gri-tien or cri-tien, i. e., TREMBLING FIRE; yn neith―easga, as Macpherson has it, signifies wan complexion. I should rather incline to think it may come from aise. . The Celtic nations thought that the heavenly luminaries were the residences of spirits which they distinguished by the name of aise, thus grian-ais signifies the spirit of the sun. Moses and Aaron, requesting liberty for the Hebrews to go three days' journey into the wilderness, and with them all their wives, little ones, and cattle, in order to Verse 8. Who are they that shall go ?]. Though the hold a feast unto Jehovah their God, must have at Egyptians, about fourscore years before, wished to de- least appeared as reasonable to the Egyptians as their stroy the Hebrews, yet they found them now so profit-going to the city of Bubastis with their wives, little, able to the state that they were unwilling to part with them.. Verse 9.' We will go with our young and with our old, &c.] As a feast was to be celebrated to the honour of Jehovah, all who were partakers of his bounty and providential kindness must go and perform their part in the solemnity. The men and the women must make the feast, the children must witness it, and the cattle must be taken along with them to furnish the sacrifices necessary on this occasion. This must have appeared reasonable to the Egyptians, because it was their own custom in their religious assemblies. Men, women, and children attended them, often to the amount of several hundred thousand. Herodotus informs us, in speaking of the six annual feasts celebrated by the Egyptians in honour of their deities, that they hold their chief one at the city of Bubastis in honour of Neith or Diana; that they go thither by water in boats -men, women, and children; that during their voyage some of the women play on castanets, and some of the men upon flutes, while the rest are employed in singing and clapping their hands; and that, when they arrive at Bubastis, they sacrifice a vast number of victims, and drink much wine; and that at one such festival, the inhabitants assured him, that there were not assembled fewer than 700,000 men and women, without reckoning the children.-Euterpe, chap. lix, lx. | ones, and cattle, to hold a feast to Neith or Diana, who was there worshipped. The parallel in these two cases is too striking to pass unnoticed. Verse 10. Let the Lord be so with you] This is an obscure sentence. Some suppose that Pharaoh meant' it as a curse, as if he had said, "May your God be as surely with you, as I shall let you go!" For as he purposed not to permit them to go, so he wished them as much of the Divine help as they should have of his permission. Look for evil is before you.] AÐ TAJ MÝRD INT reu ki raah neged peneychem, See ye that evil is before your faces-if you attempt to go, ye shall meet with the punishment ye deserve. Probably Pharaoh intended to insinuate that they had some sinister designs, and that they wished to go in a body that they might the better accomplish their purpose; but if they had no such designs they would be contented for the males to go, and leave their wives and children behind; for he well knew if the men went and left their families they would infallibly return, but that if he permitted them to take their families with them, they would undoubtedly make their escape; therefore he says, ver. 11, Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord. Verse 13. The Lord brought an east wind] As locusts abounded in those countries, and particularly in Æthiopia, and more especially at this time of the year, Locusts, the eighth plague, CHAP. X. and thick darkness, the ninth. B. C. 1491. A. M. 2513. east wind upon the land all that day, Į sin only this once, and "entreat A. M. 2513. B. C. 1491 and all that night; and when it was the LORD your God, that he may morning, the east wind brought the locusts. take away from me this death only. 14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; P before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. 18 And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the LORD. 19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt. 20 But the LORD y hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go. 21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may be felt. a even 16 Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste: and he said, I have sinned 22 And Moses stretched 'forth his hand against the LORD your God, and against you. toward heaven; and there was a thick dark17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, myness in all the land of Egypt three days: ▾ Psa. lxxviii. 46; cv. 34.-PJoel ii. 2.- Ver. 5. Psa. cv. 35.- - Heb. hastened to call.- Chap. ix. 27." Chap. ix. 28; 1 Kings xiii. 6.- - Chap. viii. 30. b God had no need to create new swarms for this pur-nearly central, threw out ramifications in a nearly cirpose; all that was requisite was to cause such a wind cular form measuring twenty-six feet diameter every to blow as would bring those which already existed way."-Travels, vol. ii., p. 138. In the Septuagint over the land of Egypt. The miracle in this business was the bringing the locusts at the appointed time, and causing the proper wind to blow for that purpose; and then taking them away after a similar manner. Verse 14. Before them there were no such locusts, &c.] They exceeded all that went before, or were since, in number, and in the devastations they produced. | Probably both these things are intended in the passage. See ver. 15. it is called Oaλaosa epvopa, the Red Sea, from which version we have borrowed the name; and Mr. Bruce supposes that it had this name from Edom or Esau, whose territories extended to its coasts; for it is well known that the word D Edom in Hebrew signifies red or ruddy. The Red Sea, called also the Arabic Gulf, separates Arabia from Upper Æthiopia and part of Egypt. It is computed to be three hundred and fifty leagues in length from Suez. to the Straits of Ver. 15. There remained not any green thing] See Babelmandel, and is about forty leagues in breadth. the note on ver. 4. It is not very tempestuous, and the winds usually blow Verse 17. Forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this from north to south, and from south to north, six months once] What a strange case! And what a series of in the year; and, like the monsoons of India, invariably softening and hardening, of sinning and repenting determine the seasons of sailing into or out of this sea. Had he not now another opportunity of returning to It is divided into two gulfs: that to the east called God? But the love of gain, and the gratification of the Elanilic Gulf, from the city of Elana to the north his own self-will and obstinacy, finally prevailed. end of it; and that to the west called the HeroopoliVerse 19. A mighty strong west wind] ruachtan Gulf, from the city of Heroopolis; the former of yam, literally the wind of the sea; the wind that blew from the Mediterranean Sea, which lay north-west of Egypt, which had the Red Sea on the east. Here again God works by natural means; he brought the locusts by the east wind, and took them away by the west or north-west wind, which carried them to the Red Sea where they were drowned. The Red Sea] 10 D`yam suph, the weedy sea; so called, as some suppose, from the great quantity of alga.or sea-weed which grows in it and about its shores. But Mr. Bruce, who has sailed the whole extent of it, declares that he never saw in it a weed of any kind; and supposes it has its name suph from the vast quantity of coral which grows in it, as trees and plants do on land. "One of these," he observes, " from a root The which belongs to Arabia, the latter to Egypt. Heroopolitan Gulf is called by the Arabians Bahr el Kolzum, the sea of destruction, or of Clysma, an ancient town in that quarter; and the Elanitic Gulf Bahr el Akaba, the sea of Akaba, a town situated on its most inland point. The NINTH plague-THICK DARKNESS. Verse 21. Darkness which may be felt.] Probably this was occasioned by a superabundance of aqueous vapours floating in the atmosphere, which were so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating through them; an extraordinarily thick mist supernaturally, i. e., miraculously, brought_on. An awful emblem of the darkened state of the Egyptians and their king. Moses is dismissed A. M. 2513. B. C. 1491. EXODUS. 23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. 24 And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and a said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed let your little ones also go with you." 25 And Moses said, Thou must give fus also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. B. C. 1491. by Pharaoh in wrath. shall not a hoof be left behind; for A. M. 2513. thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD until we come thither. 27 But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. 28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more'; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die. 29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, 26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there I will see thy face again no more. C Chapter viii. 22; Wisdom xviii. 1.- d Verse 8.. e Ver. 10. Verse 23. They saw not one another] So deep was the obscurity, and probably such was its nature, that no artificial light could be procured; as the thick claminy | vapours would prevent lamps, &c., from burning, or if they even could be ignited, the light through the palpable obscurity, could diffuse itself to no distance from the burning body. The author of the book of Wisdom, chap. xvii. 2-19, gives a fearful description of this plague. He says, "The Egyptians were shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness and were fettered with the bonds of a long night. They were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished and troubled with strange apparitions; for neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear; but noises as of waters falling down sound ed about them; and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances. No power of the fire could give them light-only there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself very dreadful; for being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw to be worse than the sight they saw not. For though no terrible thing did scare them, yet being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents, they died for fear: for whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, or a labourer in the field, he was overtaken; for they were all bound with one chain of darkness. Whether it were a whistling wind, or a terrible sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of tripping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains, these things made them to swoon for fear." See Psalm 1xxviii. 49. To this description nothing need be added except this circumstance, that the darkness, with its attendant horrors, lasted for three days. All the children of Israel had light] By thus distinguishing the Israelites, God showed the Egyptians that the darkness was produced by his power; that he sent it in judgment against them for their cruelty to his people; that because they trusted in him they were exempted from these plagues; that in the displeasure of such a Being his enemies had every thing to fear, and in his approbation his followers had every thing to hope. Verse 24. Only let your flocks and your herds be stayed] Pharaoh cannot get all he wishes; and as he gees it impossible to contend with Jehovah, he now Heb. into our hands. Ver. 20; chapter iv. 21; xiv. 4, 8. h Heb. xi. 27. consents to give up the Israelites, their wives and their children, provided he may keep their flocks and their herds. · The cruelty of this demand is not more evident than its avarice. Had six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, gone three days' journey into the wilderness without their cattle, they must have inevitably perished, being without milk for their little ones; and animal food for their own sustenance, in a place where little as a substitute could possibly be found. It is evident from this that Pharaoh intended the total destruction of the whole Israelitish host. Verse 26. We know not with what we must serve the Lord, &c.] The law was not yet given; the ordinances concerning the different kinds of sacrifices and offerings not known. What kind and what number of animals God should require to be sacrificed, even Moses himself could not as yet tell. He therefore very properly insists on taking the whole of their herds with them, and not leaving even one hoof behind. Verse 27. The Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart] He had yet another miracle to work for the complete conviction of the Egyptians and triumph of his people; and till that was wrought he permitted the natural obstinacy of Pharaoh's haughty heart to have its full sway, after each resistance of the gracious influence which was intended to soften and bring him to repentance. -Verse 28. See my face no more] Hitherto Pharaoh had left the way open for negotiation; but now, in wrath against Jehovah, he dismisses his ambassador, and threatens him with death if he should attempt any more to come into his presence. Verse 29. I will see thy face again no more.] It is very likely that this was the last interview that Moses had with Pharaoh, for what is related, chap. xi. 4-8, might have been spoken on this very occasion, as it is very possible that God gave Moses to understand his purpose to slay the first-born, while before Pharaoh at this time; so, in all probability, the interview mentioned here was the last which Moses had with the Egyptian king, It is true that in ver. 31 of chap. xii. it is stated that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and ordered them to leave Egypt, and to take all their substance with them, which seems to imply that there was another interview, but the words may imply no more than that Moses and Aaron received such a message from Pharaoh. If, however, this mode of interpreting these passages should not seem satisfactory to any, he may understand the words of Moses thus: I will see thy face-seek thy favour, no more in behalf of my people, which was literally true; for if Moses did appear any more before Pharaoh, it was not as a supplicant, but merely as the ambassador of God, to denounce his judgments by giving him the final determination of Jehovah relative to the destruction of the first-born. 1. To the observations at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, we may add that at first view it seems exceedingly strange that, after all the proofs Pharaoh had of the power of God, he should have acted in the manner related in this and the preceding chapters, alternately sinning and repenting; but it is really a common case, and multitudes who condemn the conduct of this miserable Egyptian king, act in a similar manner. They relent when smarting under God's judgments, but harden their hearts when these judgments are removed.. Of this kind I have witnessed numerous cases. To such God says by his prophet, Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more. Reader, are not the vows of God upon thee? Often when afflicted in thyself or family hast thou not said kke Pharaoh, (ver. 17;) Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only THIS ONCE, and take away from me this death ONLY? And yet when thou hadst respite, didst thou not harden. thy heart, and with returning gold and silver of the Egyptians. health and strength didst thou not return unto iniquity? And art thou not still in the broad road of transgression? Be not deceived; God is not mocked; he warns thee, but he will not be mocked by thee. What thou sowest, that thou must reap. Think then what a most dreadful harvest thou mayest expect from the seeds of vice which thou hast already sown! 2. Even in the face of God's judgments the spirit of avarice will make its requisitions. Only let your flocks and your herds be stayed, says Pharaoh. The love of gain was the ruling principle of this man's soul, and he chooses desperately to contend with the justice of his Maker, rather than give up his bosom sin! Reader, is this not thy own case? And art thou not ready, with Pharaoh, to say to the messenger of God, who rebukes thee for thy worldly mindedness, &c., Get thee gone from me. Take heed to thyself, and see my face no more. Esau and Pharaoh have both got a very bad name, and many persons who are repeating their crimes are the foremost to cover them with obloquy! When shall we learn to look at home? to take warning by the miscarriages of others, and thus shun the pit into which we have seen so many fall? If God were to give the history of every man who hardens himself from his fear, how many Pharaohlike cases should we have on record! But a day is coming in which the secrets of every heart. shall be revealed, and the history of every man's life laid open to an assembled world. CHAPTER XI. They God purposes to bring another plague upon Pharaoh, after which he should let the Israelites go, 1. are commanded to ask gold and silver from the Egyptians, 2. The estimation in which Moses was held among the Egyptians, 3. Moses predicts the destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians, 4-6, and Israel's protection, 7. On seeing which, Pharaoh and his servants should entreat the Hebrews to depart, 8. The prediction of his previous obstinacy, 9, 10. 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and a 4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD,. Ch. xii. 31, 33, 39. Ch. iii. 22; xii. 35.- - Ch. iii. 21; xii. 36; Psa. cvi. 46.— d 2 Sam. vii. 9; Esth. ix. 4; Eccles. xlv. 1. NOTES ON CHAP. XI. Verse 2. Let every man borrow] For a proper corVerse 1. The Lord said unto Moses] Calmet con- rection of the strange mistranslation of the word tends that this should be read in the preterpluperfect shaal in this verse, see the note on chap. iii. 22. tense, for the Lord HAD said to Moses, as the fourth, Verse 3. The man Moses was very great] The fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth verses appear to have miracles which Pharaoh and his servants had already been spoken when Moses had the interview with Pha-seen him work had doubtless impressed them with a raoh mentioned in the preceding chapter; see the note there on verse 29. If therefore this chapter be connected with the preceding, as it should be, and the first three verses not only read in the past tense but also in a parenthesis, the sense will be much more distinct and elear than it now appears. high opinion of his wisdom and power. Verse 4. About midnight will I go out] Whether |