Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 10:19
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.
19. turned, &c.] i.e. caused by a change a west wind to blow.
west wind ] Heb. a sea-wind. The ‘west’ is regularly in Heb. the sea (Gen 12:8; Gen 13:14, &c.). The idiom must have formed itself in Palestine, where the ‘sea’ was on the west. It is a common fate of locust swarms to be driven away by the wind, and to perish in the sea. Cf. Joe 2:20, with the writer’s note (p. 60). Pliny ( H.N. xi. 35) writes, ‘Gregatim sublatae vento in maria aut stagna decidunt.’ The swarm described by Denon (on v. 4) was driven back by a change of wind into the desert on the East.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
West wind – Literally, a sea wind, a wind blowing from the sea on the northwest of Egypt.
Red sea – The Hebrew has the Sea of Suph: the exact meaning of which is disputed. Gesenius renders it rush or seaweed; but it is probably an Egyptian word. A sea-weed resembling wood is thrown up abundantly on the shores of the Red Sea. The origin of the name Red Sea is uncertain: (naturalists have connected it with the presence of red infusoria, Exo 7:17).
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 19. A mighty strong west wind] ruach 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] 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 nearly central, threw out ramifications in a nearly circular form measuring twenty-six feet diameter every way.” – Travels, vol. ii., p. 138. In the Septuagint it is called , 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 Edom in Hebrew signifies red or ruddy. The Red Sea, called also the Arabic Gulf, separates Arabia from Upper AEthiopia and part of Egypt. It is computed to be three hundred and fifty leagues in length from Suez to the Straits of Babelmandel, and is about forty leagues in breadth. It is not very tempestuous, and the winds usually blow from north to south, and from south to north, six months in the year; and, like the monsoons of India, invariably determine the seasons of sailing into or out of this sea. It is divided into two gulfs: that to the east called the Elanitic Gulf, from the city of Elana to the north end of it; and that to the west called the Heroopolitan Gulf, from the city of Heroopolis; the former of which belongs to Arabia, the latter to Egypt. The Heroopolitan Gulf is called by the Arabians Bahr el Kolzum, the sea of destruction, or of Clysmae, 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.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
A mighty strong west wind; Heb. a wind of the sea, i.e. coming from the sea, called there the great sea, and the Mediterranean Sea, from whence came the north-west wind, which did blow the locusts directly into the Red Sea.
Cast them, as the Hebrew word signifies, with a great noise, and with great force, so as they should never rise again to molest them.
The Red Sea; Heb. the sea of bulrushes, so called from the great number of bulrushes near its shore; or, the sea of bounds or limits, q.d. the narrow sea, whereas they could see no bounds nor shore beyond the Mediterranean Sea. It was called the Arabian Gulf, and by others the Red Sea, either from its red sand, or rather from Esau, called also Edom, which signifies red, Gen 25:30, from whom as the adjoining country was called Edom, or red, so this was called the Red Sea.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind,…. He turned the wind the contrary way it before blew; it was an east wind that brought the locusts, but now it was changed into a west wind, or “a wind of the sea” u, of the Mediterranean sea; a wind which blew from thence, which lay to the west of Egypt, as the Red sea did to the east of it, to which the locusts were carried by the wind as follows: which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; and as it is usual for locusts to be brought by winds, so to be carried away with them, and to be let fall into seas, lakes, and pools, and there perish. So Pliny says w of locusts, that being taken up and carried with the wind in flocks or swarms, they fell into seas and lakes; and Jerom observes x in his time, that they had seen swarms of locusts cover the land of Judea, which upon the wind rising have been driven into the first and last seas; that is, into the Dead sea, and into the Mediterranean sea; see Joe 2:20. This sea here called the Red sea is the same which is now called the Arabian gulf; in the original text it is the sea of Suph; that is, the sea of flags or rushes; as the word is rendered, Ex 2:3 from the great numbers of these growing on the banks of it, which are full of them, as Thevenot y says; or the “sea of weeds” z, from the multitude of them in the bottom of it, or floating on it. So Columbus found in the Spanish West Indies, on the coast of Paria, a sea full of herbs, or weeds a, which grew so thick, that they sometimes in a manner stopped the ships. Some render Yam Suph, the sea of bushes; and some late travellers b observe, that though, in the dreadful wilds along this lake, one sees neither tree, shrub, nor vegetable, except a kind of bramble, yet it is remarkable that they are found in the sea growing on its bottom, where we behold with astonishment whole groves of trees blossoming and bearing fruit, as if nature by these marine vegetables meant to compensate for the extreme sterility reigning in all the deserts of Arabia; and with this agrees the account that Pliny c gives of the Red sea, that in it olives and green fruit trees grow; yea, he says that that and all the Eastern ocean is full of woods; and adds, it is wonderful that in the Red sea woods live, especially the laurel, and the olive bearing berries. Hillerus d thinks this sea here has the name of the sea of Suph from a city of the same name near unto it. It is often called the Red sea in profane authors as here, not from the coral that grew in it, or the red sand at the bottom of it, or red mountains near it; though Thevenot e says, there are some mountains all over red on the sides of it; nor from the shade of those mountains upon it; nor from the appearance of it through the rays of the sun upon it; and much less from the natural colour of it; which, as Curtius f observes, does not differ from others; though a late traveller says g, that
“on several parts of this sea (the Red sea) we observed abundance of reddish spots made by a weed resembling “cargaco” (or Sargosso) rooted in the bottom, and floating in some places: upon strict examination, it proved to be that which we found the Ethiopians call Sufo (as here Suph), used up and down for dying their stuffs and clothes of a red colour,”
but the Greeks called it so from Erythras or Erythrus, a king that reigned in those parts h, whose name signifies red; and it is highly probable the same with Esau, who is called Edom, that is, red, from the red pottage he sold his birthright for to Jacob; and this sea washing his country, Idumea or Edom, was called the Red sea from thence; and here the locusts were cast by the wind, or “fixed” i, as a tent is fixed, as the word signifies, and there continued, and never appeared more:
there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt; so that the removal of them was as great a miracle as the bringing them at first: this was done about the nineth day of the month Abib.
u “venture maris”, Montanus, Drusius. w Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 29. x Comment. in Joel, ii. 20. y Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 33. p. 175. z “in mare algosum”, Junius Tremellius, Piscator “in mare carectosum”, Tigurine version. a P. Martyr. de Angleria, Decad. 1. l. 6. Vide Decad. 3. 5. b Egmont and Heyman’s Travels, vol. 2. p. 158. c Nat. Hist. l. 2. c. 103. l. 13. c. 25. d Onomastic. Sacr. p. 128. e Ut supra. (Travels into the Levant, B. 2. ch. 33. p. 175.) f Hist. l. 8. sect. 9. g Hieronymo Lobo’s Observations, c. in Ray’s Travels, vol. 2. p. 489. h Curtius ut supra. (Hist. l. 8. sect. 9.). Mela de Situ Orbis, l. 3. c. 8. Strabo, l. 16. p. 535, 536. i “et fixit eam”, Montanus so Tigurine version, Junius & Tremellius, Piscator, Drusius, Ainsworth.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(19) The Lord turned a mighty strong west wind . . . As locusts come, so they commonly go, with a wind. They cannot fly far without one. It often happens that a wind blows them into the sea. Pallas says, speaking of Crimean locusts in the year 1799:Great numbers of them were carried [from the Crimea] by northerly winds into the sea, where they perished, and were afterwards washed on shore in heaps (Travels, vol. ii., p. 424).
The Red sea.Heb., the sea of weeds, or of rushes. The Red Sea probably acquired this name among the Hebrews from the fact that in the time of Moses its north-western recess communicated with a marshy tract, extending as far as the Bitter Lakes, and abounding in aquatic plants of a luxuriant growth. (Comp. Exo. 2:3, where the same term designates the water-plants of the Nile.)
There remained not one locust . . . Niebuhr says of locusts in Arabia:Souvent il en reste beaucoup aprs le dpart gnral (Description de l Arabie, p. 153). But, on the other hand, there are times when the whole swarm takes its departure at once. A wind from the south-west, says Morier, which had brought them, so completely drove them forwards that not a vestige of them was to be seen two hours afterwards (Second Journey, p. 98).
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. A mighty strong west wind Literally, wind of the sea, that is, the Mediterranean, which is west from Palestine, but northwest from the Egyptian Delta, which is the scene of this history. This wind would sweep the locusts into the Red Sea.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 10:19. A mighty strong west-wind A wind of the sea, according to the Hebrew. Thus Jehovah rendered obedient to his pleasure, either of punishment or mercy, those winds, and that element of air, which the Egyptians idly adored as their gods. Many naturalists have observed, that locusts are often destroyed, by winds driving their swarms into seas and lakes. The providence of God hath often used the same means to destroy and to save. This strong west-wind, or wind of the sea, most probably, blew from the Mediterranean, which, in respect of Canaan, is west: but, as Moses is here speaking of Egypt, it may mean any wind between the north and west. The Red-sea, or Arabian gulph, lies east of Egypt. But of this we shall have occasion to say more on ch. 14:
REFLECTIONS.The locusts come, the sky is darkened, the earth covered, and the little which the hail had left utterly consumed. How soon can God, by the most contemptible insects, make our land a wilderness! Hereupon,
1. Pharaoh returns to submission and entreaty, begs pardon of God and his servants, and promises very largely. Note; (1.) They who despise God’s ministers, had well ask their pardon, before they stand to accuse them at the bar of God. (2.)
They who are more solicitous to remove the threatened death, than their sin which is the cause of it, are certainly hypocritical penitents.
2. Moses prays, and a west-wind carries the locusts away. No sooner is the plague removed, than Pharaoh returns as the dog to his vomit again. Frequent relapses into sin usually end in final apostasy.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Exo 10:19 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.
Ver. 19. A mighty strong west wind. ] Rupertus calls the winds mundi scopas, the besoms wherewith God sweeps his great house of this world. Like as his spiritual house – the hearts of his people – he sweeps off all foul lusts, those hellish locusts, with that rushing mighty wind spoken of in Act 2:2 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
mighty strong. Figure of speech Synonymia. App-6. Locusts are always brought by east wind and carried away by west wind.
coasts = bounds, or borders.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
a mighty: Exo 10:13
cast: Heb. fastened
the Red sea: Exo 13:18, Exo 15:4, Joe 2:20, Heb 11:29
Reciprocal: Exo 9:33 – and the thunders Num 11:31 – a wind Psa 109:23 – I am tossed Psa 148:8 – stormy Jer 51:16 – bringeth Jon 1:4 – the Lord
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 10:19. An east wind brought the locusts, and now a west wind carried them off. Whatever point of the compass the wind is in, it is fulfilling Gods word, and turns about by his counsel; the wind blows where it listeth for us, but not where it listeth for him; he directeth it under the whole heaven.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
10:19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the {g} Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.
(g) The water seemed red, because the sand or gravel is red: the Hebrews call it the Sea of bulrushes.