Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 10:15

For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

15. was darkened ] i.e. hidden (cf. v. 5) by the multitude of locusts resting upon it. Cf. the description of Thomson, cited on v. 5, ‘the whole face of the mountain was black with them’; and of the Jaffa invasion in 1865 ( Joel, p. 90), ‘in parts they covered the ground for miles to a height of several inches.’

not any green thing ] cf. the last note on v. 5.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Verse 15. There remained not any green thing] See Clarke on Ex 10:4.

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

The land was darkened; either by their flying in vast numbers, and so darkening the air, as they have ofttimes done; or by covering the green and lightsome herbs and productions of the earth with their dark and direful bodies.

They did eat every herb of the land. How could this be, when the hail had smitten every herb, and broken every tree? Exo 9:25.

Answ. 1. There seems to have been some distance of time between these two plagues, in which space new productions might be sprouting forth, both out of the ground, and from the trees.

2. The words all and every are commonly understood of the greatest part.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

For they covered the face of the whole earth,…. Of the whole land of Egypt; and this seems to be the instance in which these locusts differed from all others, that had been or would be, even in their numbers; for though there might have been before, and have been since, such vast numbers of them together as to darken the air and the sun, and by lighting first on one spot, and then on another, have destroyed whole countries; yet never was such an instance known as this, as that they should come in so large a body, and at once to light, and spread, and settle themselves over the whole country. Leo Africanus p indeed speaks of a swarm of locusts, which he himself saw at Tagtessa in Africa, A. D. 1510, which covered the whole surface of the ground; but then that was but in one place, but this was a whole country. It is in the original, “they covered the eye of the whole earth”; of which [See comments on Ex 10:5].

so that the land was darkened; the proper colour of the earth, and the green grass on it, could not be seen for them, they lay so thick upon it; and being perhaps of a brown colour, as they often are, the land seemed dark with them:

and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which the hail had left; for though every herb of the field is said to be smitten, and every tree of the field to be broke with it, Ex 9:25, yet this, as has been observed, is to be understood either hyperbolically, or of the greater part thereof, but not of the whole:

and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt; the like is said to befall the province of Carpitania, in the nineth year of Childibert, king of France; which was so wasted by locusts, that not a tree, nor a vineyard, nor a forest, nor any sort of fruit, nor any other green thing remained q. So Dr. Shaw r says of the locusts he saw as above related, that they let nothing escape them, eating up everything that was green and juicy, not only the lesser kinds of vegetables, but the vine likewise, the fig tree, the pomegranate, the palm, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field. But then such devastations are usually made gradually, by these creatures moving from place to place, whereas this destruction in Egypt was done in one day. Indeed we are told in history, that in one country one hundred and forty acres of land were destroyed in one day s; but what is this to all the land of Egypt? with this plague may be compared that of the locusts upon the sounding of the fifth trumpet, Re 9:1.

p Descriptio Africae, l. 2. p. 117. q Frantzii Hist. Animal. Sacr. par. 5. c. 4. p. 802. r Ut supra. (Travels, p. 187. Edit. 2.) s Frantz. ib. p. 800.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(15) They covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened.See the comment on Exo. 10:5, and compare also Clarkes Travels in Russia, p. 445:The steppes were literally covered with the bodies of these insects. . . . The whole face of nature seemed to be concealed as by a living veil.

They did eat every herb of the land.When these animals arrive in swarms, says Clarke, the whole vegetable produce disappears. Nothing escapes them, from the leaves of the forest to the herbs of the plain (Travels, pp. 446, 447). It is sufficient, observes a traveller in Spain, if these terrible columns stop half an hour on a spot, for everything growing on itvines, olive-trees, and cornto be entirely destroyed. After they have passed, nothing remains but the large branches and the roots, which, being underground, have escaped their voracity.

All the fruit of the trees.Egypt was famous for its fruits, which consisted of figs, grapes, olives, mulberries, pomegranates, dates, pears, plums, apples, peaches, and the produce of the persea, and the nebk, or sidr. The fruit of the nebk would be ripe in March, and the blossom-buds of the other fruit-trees would be formed, or even opening. On the damage which locusts do to fruit-trees, see the comment on Exo. 10:5, and add the following:When the weeds in the vineyards do not supply them with sufficient nutriment, they completely strip the bark and buds off the young twigs, so that these shoots remain throughout the summer as white as chalk, without producing fresh foliage (Pallas, Travels, vol. ii., p. 425).

Which the hail had left.See Exo. 9:25, and comp. Psa. 105:32-33 :He gave them hail for rain, and flaming fire in their land; he smote their vines also, and their fig trees, and brake the trees of their coasts.

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

15. They covered the face of the whole earth Literally, the eye of the whole earth; so that Egypt could not see sun or sky .

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

Observe, the prayer of this hardened sinner was not to take away his sin, but to remove the punishment of it? This forms the striking difference between true said false repentance. Thus David says, mine iniquities are too heavy for me to bear. Psa 38:4 . Cain saith my punishment is greater than I can bear. Gen 4:13 .

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

Exo 10:15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.

Ver. 15. So that the land was darkened. ] So many of them flying together, as a cloud. The like was seen in Poland and Silesia in 1575 and 1542. a

a Bucholc., Chronol.

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