Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 9:18

Behold, tomorrow 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.

18. to-morrow ] as vv. 5, 6. Comp. on Exo 8:23.

grievous ] i.e. severe: see on Exo 8:24.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Exo 9:18-26

The hail shall come down upon them.

Brought home

I. God is the true home of the soul. Everything the soul needs is to be found in Him: nowhere else. Here is inviolable security, and everlasting peace.

II. Christ has come to bring us home to God.

III. The eternal blessedness of all who are brought home to God by christ. This is seen in two ways.

1. By what is escaped. The hail. Gods judgments. We have all been solemnly warned. The voice of God cries gather, (Exo 9:19). If we slight the call, our blood be upon our own heads! (Heb 12:25).

2. By what is enjoyed (Exo 9:26). The security of the children of Israel in Goshen, while the storm raged so terribly all around them, touchingly represents the peace of Gods people in time and in eternity (Isa 32:18).

IV. The subject suggests solemn questions.

1. Where art thou? In the field, exposed, and defenceless, or, at home?

2. Dost thou fear God? (Exo 9:20-21). True fear leads to obedience. But many are heedless of counsel and warning, and Gods judgments are put out of sight (Psa 10:5).

3. What are you doing to bring others home? If we believe in the wrath to come, we cannot rest in inaction. (W. Forsyth, M. A.)

Lessons

1. Human faith of Gods threatenings may make men fear and tremble at Gods word. Human it may be called in respect of the principle, though the testimony on which it was grounded were Divine.

2. Such fear may make men careful to shun temporal judgments.

3. Wicked men, through fear, may flee from temporal plagues but not eternal (Exo 9:20).

4. Among wicked men some may refuse human faith which some embrace.

5. Unbelief will not suffer men to lay any of Gods words to heart.

6. Regardless of Gods threatenings, maketh men leave them and theirs to vengeance (Exo 9:21). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

Lessons

1. Gods warnings of judgments being not regarded, He quickly gives the word for execution.

2. To encourage faith, God calleth His servants to assist in working vengeance.

3. God makes use of signals to induce judgments sometimes by the hand of His instruments.

4. Gods word maketh such signs effectual that they may be feared.

5. Gods word creates hail for vengeance, as sometimes in mercy.

6. Man and beast, herbs and all to the utmost extent, are subjected to Gods hail at His command (Exo 9:22). (G. Hughes, B. D.)

Salutary fears

Threatened judgments test men. Some are more susceptible to the presence of God than others.

I. These men feared Gods threatened judgment. Fear often arises from faith in Gods word. Fear is the alarum of the soul. It is often the first emotion in a new life. It often brings in love, as the needle draws in the thread.

II. Their fear led to appropriate action. They prepared for the coming storm. There is shelter for all in Christ, and in Him alone.

III. Their fear led to welcome safety. Obedience brought its reward. Mens property would be safer if they had greater respect for the word of God. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Belief of the word of God

1. Makes men tremble.

2. Makes men wise.

3. Makes men safe.

4. Makes men singular. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Disregard of God

1. Ruinous.

2. Presumptuous.

3. Foolish.

4. Common.

5. Inexcusable. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)

Gods command over the elements

I. That the material universe is gifted with numerous and contrary agencies and elements.

1. The elements of nature called into exercise by this plague were numerous. There was rain, hail, fire and thunder.

2. The elements of nature called into existence by this plague were contrary. The rain was contrary to the fire. There are very opposite elements in the great universe around us; yet all exist in harmony. One element counteracts and yet co-operates with another. The elements of nature blend in one glorious ministry for man; though sin often turns them into messengers of justice.

3. The elements of nature called into existence by this plague were emphatic. When the elements of the material universe are arrayed against man they are emphatic in their message. The thunder speaks in loud voice. It has a message to the soul. There is a moral significance in the storm.

II. That God has complete control over all the elements of the material universe.

1. So that He can commission His servants to use them according to His will.

2. So that He can make them rebuke the sin of man. He can arm the universe against a wicked soul.

3. God can prevent them from working injury to the good. The heathen imagined that divers Gods were over divers things; some ruling the air, some the fire, some the water, some the mountains, and some the plains. But God here demonstrates to the Egyptians His complete authority over the whole of nature. This truth is consoling to the good.

III. That the material prosperity of a nation is greatly dependent upon the elements of nature, and that therefore God alone can give true prosperity to a people.

1. The fields and gardens of Egypt were ruined.

2. The flax and barley of Egypt were ruined. Egypt was from early times the granary of the world (Gen 41:57). And thus we see how the prosperity of a nation is dependent upon the natural government of God in the material world. Let rulers remember this. And let not the people forget it. Sin is a curse to any nation. National righteousness is national prosperity and elevation.

Lessons:

1. That the material universe is under the rule of God.

2. That the good are Divinely protected in danger.

3. The national prosperity is the gift of heaven. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)

The plague of hail

A plague of hail, with lightning and thunder, must have been far more awful and portentous in Egypt than in any other country; for there rain was almost unknown, thunderstorms were of rare occurrence, and lightning, when it appeared, was generally of a harmless kind. Modern travellers, indeed, speak of snowstorms, and of thunder and lightning happening occasionally in lower Egypt; but such phenomena appear to have been almost unknown in earlier times. Herodotus says–During the reign of Psammenitus, Egypt beheld a most remarkable prodigy. There was rain at the Egyptian Thebes, a circumstance which never happened before, and which, as the Thebans themselves assert, has never occurred since. In the higher parts of Egypt it never rains; but at that period it rained in distinct drops (1. iii, c. 10). Plutarch also observes that In Egypt no moisture of the air is ever condensed into showers (de facie, c. 25). Pococke mentions a storm of hail followed by rain in the province of Arsinoe, which the natives were so far from considering as a blessing, that they observed rain was productive of scarcity, and that the inundation of the Nile alone was serviceable. The Egyptians were much given to the observance of all unusual phenomena, and looked upon them as portentous. According to Herodotus, Whenever any unusual circumstance occurs they commit the particulars of it to writing, and mark the events which follow (1. 2, c. 38). If distinct drops of rain were regarded as a prodigy worthy of being thus recorded, what must have been the effect of a storm like this, when the hail fell with sufficient violence to destroy both man and beast, and the fire also ran along the ground? The Egyptians, says Diodorus, denominated fire Hephaistos, esteeming it a mighty deity, which contributed largely towards the generation and ultimate perfection of to Lucian, The Persians sacrifice to fire and the Egyptians to water (de Jove trag. c. 24). Porphyry says–Even to this day, at the opening of the temple of Serapis, the worship is made by fire and water, for they reverence water and fire above all the elements. These deities now came down upon Egypt with destruction and terror; the very gods in which they trusted turned against them. (T. S. Millington.)

Folly of disregarding warning

Foolhardiness is not bravery! it is wicked waste of life. At one of the naval engagements between the Federal and Confederate forces, the officer in charge kept ordering the men at the ships guns to Look out! and when a shot came bursting near them to Lie down! Most of them obeyed; but some, either from a spirit of bravado or a belief in the doctrine of fatalism, disregarded, saying it was useless to dodge a cannon-ball, and they would chance the risks. By and by a shot came, glanced on the gun, taking off the gunners cap and the heads of three of the young men who defied the order. It came with a hissing sound, three sharp spats and a heavy report told their sad fate. (H. O. Mackey.)

A warning disregarded

A gentleman was travelling in Italy in the summer months. As he left Rome he was warned of the danger of sleeping at Baccano. He was told to travel all night rather than stop at that place, as a malignant fever prevailed there. He arrived there about bed-time. The air was balmy and the accommodation inviting. He concluded to stop for the night. Those whose interests would be promoted by his doing so told him there was no danger. He rose in the morning and proceeded on his journey. Some days after he had reached Florence the fever developed itself, and he was soon in his grave. Sinners are warned of the consequences of sinful acts. They are persuaded to disregard the warning. They sin, and the threatened consequences do not immediately appear. They think they shall escape; but ere long Gods immutable law overtakes them, and they perish. The soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Safe amidst danger

A walk along our New York streets has an occasional surprise for the man who keeps his eyes open. Not often, however, does he meet one so pleasant as that which greeted the eye of a pedestrian hurrying along a block near the North River. A brilliant scarlet spot in the cobble stone pavement constantly trodden by horses feet, and worn by wheels of ice waggons, ash carts and heavy business trucks, drew the passer to a nearer look; and, behold, there, from the scorching sand of a crevice in the pavement had sprung up a thin stem of the portulaca; a single flower had opened its scarlet petals, and was lifting its orange tinted stamens to the sun. There seemed not one chance in a million that the tender plant could have escaped the crushing hoofs and wheels and the tools of the workmen at that moment repairing the pavement; yet there was the lovely blossom, and there at sunset it folded its tiny wings to sleep. Could one fail to learn a lesson of implicit trust in an ever-watchful Father above?

Gods regard for His own

Miss Gordon Cumming tells the following thrilling story of a Chinese convert at Oiong, whose piety had obtained for him the sobriquet of Praise the Lord. Miss Cumming says: A fire broke out in one of the streets of the town, and at first it was not expected to reach as far as where Praise the Lord lived. As it spread, however, it neared the street where his house stood, and it was evident to the onlookers that all the buildings were doomed. His heathen neighbours hastily collected all their idols, and placed them as a barricade against the approaching flames. The zealous old Christian, seizing his mattock, and swinging it round him, soon reduced the gods of wood and clay to a mass of fragments. Then, having denounced the folly which could trust in senseless images, he lifted up his hands to heaven, and in the hearing of the already wildly excited mob he called upon the great Creator, the true God, his heavenly Father, to save the homes of himself and his neighbours from the threatening fire. It was not the first time that he had proved the promise, While they are yet speaking I will hear, and now he looked for an immediate answer, which would show to the heathen that the God who could stay the fire was the true God. Nor was he disappointed; almost before they could note any physical reason for the change the flames seemed blown back upon themselves–the wind had suddenly veered round, and though many of the houses close by had been scorched, those of the old man and his neighbours escaped unharmed, and the marvelling crowd saw the conflagration recede as swiftly as it had approached.

The flax and barley of Egypt

Herodotus says–The manufacture of linen is peculiar to the Colchians and the Egyptians. The linen which comes from Colchis, the Greeks call Sardonian; the linen of Egypt, Egyptian (1. 2, c. 105). Plinys account of it is–The flax of Egypt, though the least strong of all as a tissue, is that from which the greatest profits are derived. There is no tissue known that is superior to those made from the thread of the Egyptian xylon, either for whiteness and softness, or dressing; the most esteemed vestments worn by the priests of Egypt are made by it (Hist. Nat. 1. 19, c. 2). Pliny mentions four varieties of flax, and first among them the Tanaitic, growing in the lower district of Egypt, Zoan, which was the seat of Pharaohs government. The destruction of the flax deprived the people of the material for their chief manufacture, and put a stop to the trade which they carried on with neighbouring nations, who sent their treasure into the country to pay for it. The ruin of the barley was equally injurious. Egypt appears to have been from a very early period the granary of the world. Thither Abraham went down to sojourn when the land in which he dwelt was visited with famine; and thither the sons of Jacob, under similar necessity, naturally turned for help. (T. S. Millington.)

Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell

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.

To rain a very grievous hail] To rain hail may appear to some superficial observers as an unphilosophical mode of expression, but nothing can be more correct. “Drops of rain falling through a cold region of the atmosphere are frozen and converted into hail;” and thus the hail is produced by rain. When it begins to fall it is rain; when it is falling it is converted into hail; thus it is literally true that it rains hail. The farther a hail-stone falls the larger it generally is, because in its descent it meets with innumerable particles of water, which, becoming attached to it, are also frozen, and thus its bulk is continualy increasing till it reaches the earth. In the case in question, if natural means were at all used, we may suppose a highly electrified state of an atmosphere loaded with vapours, which, becoming condensed and frozen, and having a considerable space to fall through, were of an unusually large size. Though this was a supernatural storm, there have been many of a natural kind, that have been exceedingly dreadful. A storm of hail fell near Liverpool, in Lancashire, in the year 1795, which greatly damaged the vegetation, broke windows, c., &c. Many of the stones measured five inches in circumference. Dr. Halley mentions a similar storm of hail in Lancashire, Cheshire, &c., in 1697, April 29, that for sixty miles in length and two miles in breadth did immense damage, by splitting trees, killing fowls and all small animals, knocking down men and horses, &c., &c. Mezeray, in his History of France, says “that in Italy, in 1510, there was for some time a horrible darkness, thicker than that of night, after which the clouds broke into thunder and lightning, and there fell a shower of hail-stones which destroyed all the beasts, birds, and even fish of the country. It was attended with a strong smell of sulphur, and the stones were of a bluish colour, some of them weighing one hundred pounds’ weight.” The Almighty says to Job: “Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?” Job 38:22-23. While God has such artillery at his command, how soon may he desolate a country or a world! See the account of a remarkable hail-storm in Jos 10:11.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

Since they were a kingdom or a nation.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

18. I will cause it to rain a verygrievous hail, &c.The seventh plague which Pharaoh’shardened heart provoked was that of hail, a phenomenon which musthave produced the greatest astonishment and consternation in Egypt asrain and hailstones, accompanied by thunder and lightning, were veryrare occurrences.

such as hath not been inEgyptIn the Delta, or lower Egypt, where the scene is laid,rain occasionally falls between January and Marchhail is notunknown, and thunder sometimes heard. But a storm, not onlyexhibiting all these elements, but so terrific that hailstones ofimmense size fell, thunder pealed in awful volleys, and lightningswept the ground like fire, was an unexampled calamity.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

Behold, tomorrow about this time,…. It was now the fourth day of the month Abib, and the fifth when the following was inflicted:

I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail; which should fall very thick, and the hailstones be very numerous and heavy, and the storm last long:

such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof, even until now; not since the earth or land itself was founded, for that was founded when the rest of the world was, and the sense then would be the same as since the foundation of the world; and so the Targum of Jonathan seems to understand it, paraphrasing the words,

“from the day that men were made, even until now.”

And a like expression is used of a storm of hail, thunder, and lightning, and earthquakes yet to come, which will be such as has not been since men were upon the earth, with which this plague may be compared, Re 16:19, but here is meant since Egypt was inhabited, or rather formed into a kingdom, and founded as such, which had been many hundreds of years before this time; there was a king of Egypt in Abraham’s time; the first founder of this empire, and king of it, was Mizraim, the son of Ham, from whom it had its name, by which it is usually called in Scripture. This supposes that it did sometimes rain in Egypt, contrary to a vulgar notion, or otherwise there would have been no room for the comparison; though it must be owned that rain is rare in Egypt, especially in some parts of it; [See comments on Zec 14:18].

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

18. Behold, tomorrow about this time. God now indicates the kind of punishment which He was prepared to inflict, viz., that He would smite with hail both man and beast, and a part of the crops. It sometimes, indeed, happens that the corn is destroyed by hail, and occasionally that great injury is thus inflicted even on men and beasts; nay, it is regarded as an unusual blessing if ten or fifteen years pass by without such a calamity. But God makes it apparent by certain signs in the judgment, which he has determined to execute, that the hail did not arise from natural causes, but that the atmosphere was manifestly armed by Him for the battle. First, the morrow is fixed; nor is this enough, the hour also is added. But what astronomer or philosopher could thus measure the moments for storms and tempests? Then again, its unusual violence, such as had never been seen before, is appointed. Fourthly, its extent, from the extreme boundaries of Egypt, from the one side to the other, as well as its expansion over its whole breadth. Scarcely once in twenty years will a storm so widely prevail, flying, as this did, like an arrow; but, restrained within narrow limits, it; will not thus diffuse itself far and wide. Lastly, the distinction is added between Goshen and the rest of Egypt. Hence it is plain, that this hail was not produced by an accidental impulse, but made to fall by God’s hand; in a word, that it was not the drops of moisture frozen in mid air, but a portent which transcended the bounds of nature.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(18) Such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof.Rain, and even hail, are not unknown at the present day in Lower Egypt, though they are, comparatively speaking, rare phenomena. Thunderstorms are especially uncommon, and when they occur are for the most part mild and harmless. A thunderstorm which killed a man in Thevenots time (Voyages, vol. i., p. 344) was regarded as most extraordinary, and spread universal consternation. There is hail from time to time between November and March; but it very seldom does any considerable damage.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

18. A very grievous hail Hail is rare in Egypt, although it sometimes occurs . Thunderstorms are seldom experienced, and do no damage except washing away the mud walls of the poorer sort of dwellings .

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

Exo 9:18. Behold to-morrow about this time, &c. The Almighty marks the time of this terrible event in the most exact manner, to shew his supremacy over all the parts of Nature; to shew that fire and hail, snow and vapour, stormy winds and thunders, were ready to fulfil his word. Psa 148:8. The goodness of God, who, in the midst of judgment, remembers mercy, is very remarkable in the notice he gives the Egyptians, Exo 9:19 to preserve their cattle and servants; and we find, that though Pharaoh and his courtiers disregarded these admonitions, yet there were some among the people who feared the word of the Lord, Exo 9:20 and accordingly profited by that fear, as every man certainly will do who regards the word of God. We may just observe, that the energy of the 19th verse is much weakened by the additional words which our translators have thrown into the text, as will be evident by reading the verse without them. Send therefore now, gather thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field: every man and beast which shall be found in the fieldshall die.

REFLECTIONS. Did ever any man harden his heart against God and prosper? Let us read and tremble.

1. A new demand is made, and a more terrible judgment threatened. Bodily plagues are grievous, but heart-plagues the worst of miseries. God will be glorified wherever he contends. The wrath and furiousness of man shall praise him.
2. To those who have any fear of God, time is given to prepare for and avoid the stroke, by taking in their cattle. Mercy here mingles with judgment. Note; If a man hear and fear, he may escape; for there is in Jesus Christ a covert from the storm for the chief of sinners. Some, like the master, despised the warning. Wickedness in high places affords a most pernicious and prevalent example. Some feared, and brought in their cattle. God hath his secret ones in the worst days.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Exo 9:18 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.

Ver. 18. Such as hath not been in Egypt. ] Dio maketh mention of a shower of blood and of water, that fell in Egypt a little before it was subjected by Augustus, in quae loca ne stilla quidem aquae ante ceciderat, saith he; where never any drop of water, much less of blood, ever fell before. a

a Dio, in Aug.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)