Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 9:23

And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

Verse 23. The Lord sent thunder] koloth, voices; but loud, repeated peals of thunder are meant.

And the fire ran along upon the ground] vattihalac esh aretsah, and the fire walked upon the earth. It was not a sudden flash of lightning, but a devouring fire, walking through every part, destroying both animals and vegetables; and its progress was irresistible.

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

The fire ran along upon the ground, devouring both herbs and cattle which were upon it, Psa 78:47,48; 105:32,33

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven,…. The same which Aaron had made use of before, but was now in the hand of Moses, and whose rod it properly was:

and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground, hot thunderbolts, which struck their flocks, Ps 78:48 and hail which fell so thick and weighty as to destroy both men and cattle, and break trees in pieces, and spoil the corn, the grass, and the tender herb; and fire, that is lightning, which descended so low, and in such quantities, as ran along the ground, and consumed all it met with. Artapanus g, an Heathen writer, who speaks of this storm of hail, says, that Moses, besides the hail, caused earthquakes by night, so that those that escaped the earthquakes were taken away by the hail, and those that escaped the hail perished by the earthquakes, which he says overthrew all the houses, and most of the temples:

and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt; upon Egypt, where rain was not common, and on all the land of Egypt, when in some parts of it it was scarce known, and hail as thick as rain; ice, snow, and hail, are most rarely if ever seen there, the air not being cold enough for the production of them h. This was the Lord’s immediate doing, when there was no likelihood of it, nor any appearance of second causes concurring to produce it, and came at the exact time he had foretold it should; all which were very extraordinary.

g Apud Euseb. Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 435, 436. h Vid. Scheuchzer. Physica Sacra, vol. 1. p. 139.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(23) The fire ran along upon the ground.Heb., fire walked earthwards. Kalisch and Knobel understand by this mere ordinary lightning, but Aben-Ezra, Canon Cook, and others think that the phenomenon was such as our Version well expresses. There is no doubt that the electric fluid occasionally takes a form which has something of permanency, continuing several seconds, or even minutes, either stationary or with a slow motion. Appearances of this kind have been called fire-balls, and indicate an excessive electrical disturbance, involving great peril to life and property. If the expression fire walked earthwards does not imply anything of this kind, yet the peculiar phrase of Exo. 9:24 would seem to do so.

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

Exo 9:23. The fire ran along upon the ground Like a fiery whirlwind, scorching up and beating down all before it. In the Wisdom of Solomon, Exo 16:16-17 this plague is strongly described: “for the ungodly that denied to know thee were scourged by the strength of thine arm; with strange rains, hails, and showers were they persecuted, which they could not avoid; and through fire were they confirmed. For, which is most to be wondered at, the fire had more force in the water that quencheth all things.” To this seventh plague of Egypt the seventh plague upon the spiritual Egypt corresponds. Rev 17:18.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Doth not David refer to this? Psa 78:47-48 . And again: Psa 18:12-13 ; Job 38:22-23 .

Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

Exo 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

Ver. 23. And the fire ran along upon the ground. ] Such “hailstones and coals of fire” we also read of in Psa 18:13-15 Isa 30:30-31 ; and in the Roman history, when Marcus Antonius the philosopher fought with the Quades, and by the prayers of the thundering legion – , as they were afterwards called – of the Christians, rain was obtained to the refreshing of the Roman army, ingens grando compluraque fulmina in hostes ceciderunt: Itaque licebat videre in eodem loco aquam ignemque simul de coelo cadere, atque ob eam causam, Romanos valere ac bibere. Quados exuri et penitus interire. i.e., A huge hail and many lightening bolts fell upon the enemy; fire and water fell at once from heaven; the Romans drank of the water and were relieved; the Quades were burnt by the fire, and perished. a

a Dio, in Vita M. Ant. Phil.

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