Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 9:16
And in very deed for this [cause] have I raised thee up, for to show [in] thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
16. made thee to stand ] i.e. maintained thee alive, the causative of to ‘stand’ in the sense of to continue, ch. Exo 21:21, Psa 102:28 [Heb. 27]. The same sense is expressed by the paraphrase of LXX. thou wast preserved ( ). St Paul quotes this verse in Rom 9:17, in his argument to prove the absolute sovereignty of God. He there (disregarding the LXX.) expresses the verb by , raised thee up, i.e. brought thee on to the stage of history (cf. in LXX., Hab 1:6, Zec 11:16, and , Jdg 2:16; Jdg 2:18; Jdg 3:9 al.), a sense which might have had in post-exilic Hebrew, but hardly at the date when this passage of Ex. was written 1 [126] . The difference between raised up and kept alive does not, however, affect the Apostle’s argument. He is arguing against the Jews (who strongly maintained that their national privileges were inalienable), that God, in rejecting Israel, is not arbitrary or unjust; and he quotes two passages from the OT. to shew the absolute character of the Divine sovereignty, Exo 33:19 b as proof that God can choose Himself the recipients of His mercy, and the present passage as proof that He may, if it pleases Him, be severe, in order to carry out His Divine purpose. See further p. 54.
[126] In post-exilic Heb. and acquire meanings which in early Heb. are expressed by and : see examples in the writer’s Introduction, pp. 475, 503 (ed. 6 or 7, pp. 507, 535), Nos. 16 and 4. In early Heb. would have been expressed by (as in Hab 1:6, &c., quoted above).
to shew thee, lit. to make thee see, i.e. experience, my power ] which might have had the effect of softening Pharaoh’s heart, and did in fact lead him more than once to give God the glory ( v. 27, Exo 10:16 f.).
and that my name, &c.] Pharaoh is a signal type of the power of the world, as opposed to God; and God’s victory over him will cause His name to be declared (Psa 102:21) and known far and wide in the world.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 16. But truly, on this very account, have I caused thee to SUBSIST, ( heemadticha), that I MIGHT cause thee to see my power, ( harotheca eth cochi), and that my name MIGHT be declared throughout all the earth, (or, becol haarets, in all THIS LAND). See Ainsworth and Houbigant.
Thus God gave this impious king to know that it was in consequence of his especial providence that both he and his people had not been already destroyed by means of the past plagues; but God had preserved him for this very purpose, that he might have a farther opportunity of manifesting that he, Jehovah, was the only true God for the full conviction both of the Hebrews and Egyptians, that the former might follow and the latter fear before him. Judicious critics of almost all creeds have agreed to translate the original as above, a translation which it not only can bear but requires, and which is in strict conformity to both the Septuagint and Targum. Neither the Hebrew heemadticha, I have caused thee to stand; nor the apostle’s translation of it, Ro 9:17, , I have raised thee; nor that of the Septuagint, , on this account art thou preserved, viz., in the past plagues; can countenance that most exceptionable meaning put on the words by certain commentators, viz., “That God ordained or appointed Pharaoh from all eternity, by certain means, to this end; that he made him to exist in time; that he raised him to the throne; promoted him to that high honour and dignity; that he preserved him, and did not cut him off as yet; that he strengthened and hardened his heart; irritated, provoked, and stirred him up against his people Israel, and suffered him to go all the lengths he did go in his obstinacy and rebellion; all which was done to show in him his power in destroying him in the Red Sea. The sum of which is, that this man was raised up by God in every sense for God to show his power in his destruction.” So man speaks; thus GOD hath not spoken. See Henry on the place.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Raised thee up; so the Hebrew word is translated, Rom 9:17. I have raised thee up out of thy first nothing, into thy being, and life, and kingdom; and upheld thy being and reign even in the midst of thy tyranny. Heb. I have made thee to stand, i.e. to remain alive and untouched, when thy magicians could not stand, Exo 9:11. I have preserved thee in life, not for want of power to destroy thee, as thou mayst fancy, nor for want of provocation from thee, but for my own glory.
To show in thee my power, in those mighty works which have been occasioned by thy rebellion and obstinacy. My name; my being and providence, and my manifold perfections; my patience in bearing thee so long, my justice in punishing thee, my power in conquering thee, my wisdom in overruling thy pride, and tyranny, and cruelty, to thy own destruction, and the redemption of my oppressed people, and my faithfulness in making good my promises to them, and my threatenings to thee.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And in very deed, for this cause have I raised thee up,…. Or but truly or verily c; instead of smiting thee with the pestilence, and cutting thee off out of the land of the living, “I have raised thee up”; made thee to stand d, to continue in being; I have preserved thine from perishing by the former plagues, and have reserved thee for greater judgments and sorer punishments. It may take in all that God did to him; the constitution and appointment of him to all this in his eternal mind; his bringing him into being, and raising him up to kingly dignity; preserving him from perishing by the pestilence, boils and blains, and keeping him for future evils, and all upon this account for the following reasons:
for to shew in thee my power; in working miracles, inflicting judgments one after another, and especially in destroying him and his host in the Red sea:
and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth; as it has been more by that last action than by all the rest of the plagues; though, in all, his sovereignty, wisdom, power, patience, longsuffering, and justice, are most visibly displayed and glorified.
c “veruntamen”, Junius Tremellius, Psicator, Drusius, Fagius so Ainsworth. d “stare fecite”, Pagninus, Montanus, Vatablus.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
16. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up. The word, העמדתי, hagnemadthi, is variously explained; it properly signifies “to appoint;” some, therefore, refer it to his eminent position, as if God had placed Pharaoh on the throne, for the purpose of better manifesting His glory. (109) The Greek interpreter extends the meaning, translating it ἐξήγειρά σε, “I have stirred thee up, as much as to say, that Pharaoh had been chosen by the secret counsel and providence of God that His power might be exercised upon him; as He is constantly said to stir up those whom He brings forward, to apply them to those objects for which he has destined them. Others think that this sentence depends on what has gone before, and interpret it “I have preserved thee,” or “chosen that thou shouldest survive.” For the Hebrew verb, which is transitive in Hiphil, is derived from עמד, gnamod, which means “to stand up.” Since, therefore, God had restrained Himself, He now assigns the cause of His moderation, because if Pharaoh had fallen in one trifling engagement, the glory of His victory would have been less illustrious. In fine, lest Pharaoh should flatter himself, or harden himself by vain confidence, God affirms that He does not want strength to destroy him immediately, but that He had delayed his ultimate punishment for another purpose, viz., that Pharaoh might slowly learn that he strove in vain against His incomparable power; and that thus this remarkable history should be celebrated in all ages. But although Paul follows the Greek interpreter, there is no reason why we should not embrace this latter sense; for we know that the Apostles were not so particular in quoting the words, but that they rather considered the substance. But, although we admit that by God’s long-suffering Pharaoh continued to hold out, until he became a clear and notorious proof of the madness and folly of all those who resist God, yet this also has reference to the eternal prescience of God; for therefore did God spare Pharaoh to stand for a time, because, before he was born, he had been predestinated for this purpose. Wherefore, also, Paul rightly concludes, that
“
it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth.” (Rom 9:16.)
For whether God raises up or upholds the reprobate, He wonderfully manifests His glory by their perverseness. Thus is their ignorance refuted, who, by this cavil, endeavor to overturn the eternal predestination of God; because it is not said, that He created Pharaoh with this intention, but that he suspended His judgment for a. time. For this intermediate and progressive course of proceeding arose from this source, that Pharaoh was the organ or instrument of God’s wrath.
(109) העמדתיך. By the Greek interpreter we should generally understand the LXX. to be meant, but it has διετηρήθης, which is obviously a less close rendering than ἐξήγειρά σε, the version adopted by Paul. As the root עמד, means to stand up, it is perfectly regular that the Hiphil, or causal preterite, I have made thee to stand up, should be held equivalent to I have raised thee up, as in our A.V. S. M., I have preserved thee. — W.
Calvin’s Latin is “excitavi te.” See Rev. J. Owen’s note on Calvin’s Commentary on Rom 9:17. Cal. Soc. Transl., p. 360.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(16) And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up.Rather, but truly on this account have I made thee standi.e., kept thee alive, not for thy deserts, not even in pity, but only for to show in thee My power. Thou hast provoked Me so that long since thou wouldst have been cut off from the earth, only that My glory will be the more shown forth by thy continuance in life, and by the further plagues and punishments whereto thou wilt be subjected.
That my name may be declared.Comp. Exo. 14:17; Exo. 15:14-16, &c.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
16. And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up Literally, made thee stand, kept thee standing, or preserved thee alive, after thy life was forfeited . So, substantially, the Septuagint, Targ . of Onkelos, and Palestinian, Arabic, and Syriac versions . The Palestinian Targum well paraphrases both verses thus: “Now could I send the plague of my strength by judgment to strike thee and thy people with death, and destroy thee from the earth, but verily I have spared thee alive, not that I may benefit thee, but that my power may be made manifest to thee,” etc.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
DISCOURSE: 71
PHARAOHS ELEVATION TO THE THRONE OF EGYPT
Exo 9:16. In very deed, for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
IT is justly said, in reference to evidence, that it is strong in proportion as it arises out of incidental points, which had no necessary connexion with the fact to be established. The same I may say in relation to the doctrines of our holy religion, especially those doctrines which are most controverted, and most stand in need of evidence for their support. Of this kind is the doctrine of election; which, being extremely opposed to the pride of human nature, meets with strong opposition from the carnal mind. I am far from saying that that doctrine is not extremely objectionable, if viewed as its adversaries, and not a few of its advocates also, are wont to state it; but, if viewed in its true light, and as the Scriptures themselves state it, I conceive that it cannot reasonably be doubted.
In the passage before us, there was no particular intention to establish that doctrine. Moses had laboured in vain to induce Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go to worship Jehovah in the wilderness. He had, as Gods appointed instrument, inflicted many plagues on the land of Egypt, and removed them again by his intercessions; and yet neither by the judgments nor the mercies had he prevailed on Pharaoh, who still continued to harden his heart against God. He now assumed a bolder tone; and declared, that not only should the Egyptians be smitten with pestilence, but that Pharaoh himself also should be cut off from the earth, for his obstinate resistance to Gods express commands. And then he delivers to him, from God himself, this awful declaration: In very deed, for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
This declaration it is my intention, in the present discourse,
I.
To explain
God here asserts, that he had raised up Pharaoh for a special purpose, with which his own glory was intimately connected. He had determined to bring forth his people from Egypt, in such a way as should display most remarkably his own power, and should bring glory to his name throughout all the earth. Some, by the expression raised up, understand restoring him to health from the disorder inflicted on him in common with his people and the magicians. But it does not appear that Pharaoh had been visited with that disorder: and the threatening in the verse before our text, I will smite thee, rather seems to shew, that he had not yet been smitten in his own person: but, whether we understand the words as relating to his elevation to the throne, or to a restoration to health, the main object of the declaration will be the same; namely, that God, knowing what would assuredly be the result of a further trial of his obedience, had determined so to try him, in order that by the issue of the contest Gods glory might be displayed throughout all the earth.
The substance of the declaration, then, may be considered as expressing the following truths
1.
That God allots to every man his station in life
[Nothing can be more clear, than that the time and place of every mans entrance into life is fixed by God. That we are born in this age and country has in no respect depended on ourselves: we might as well, if God had so ordained, been born of Heathen or Mahometan parents, or never have been permitted to see the light, and perished in our mothers womb. We might have been brought into the world from parents either of the highest or lowest rank, and been doomed to occupy a place in society widely different from that which we at present fill. All this was true of Pharaoh, and it is equally true of every child of man. Our times are in Gods hands [Note: Psa 31:15.], and he determines the bounds of our habitation [Note: Act 17:26.].]
2.
That he foreknows how every man will act in the situation to which he is called
[He foresaw infallibly how Pharaoh would act in resisting all the means that should be used to bring him to a compliance with the divine command. Nor is there any thing hid from his all-seeing eye: if there were, it would be impossible for him to foretell, as he has done by his Prophets, the minutest circumstances that could occur, and at the distance of many hundred years. The prophecies relating to the death of our blessed Lord specify what should be said, as well as done, by persons who were least of all aware that they were fulfilling any prediction, and who would rather, if it had been possible, have prevented its accomplishment. We may be sure, therefore, that that testimony respecting him is true, Known unto him are all things, from the beginning of the world [Note: Act 15:18.].]
3.
That, whilst he leaves to every man the free exercise of his will, he overrules the actions of all for the accomplishment of his own eternal purposes
[God, as we have observed, had decreed to magnify himself in his mode of bringing forth his people from Egypt. But, in order to this, it was necessary that his will should be opposed, and that occasion should be given for the executing of his judgments upon the oppressors of his people. He knew what Pharaoh would do under such circumstances: and he both preserved him in life, and elevated him to the throne, that he might have an opportunity of manifesting what was in his heart, and be able to carry into effect the dictates of his own depravity. In all that he did, he was perfectly a free agent: for though it is said, that God hardened Pharaohs heart, he did so, not by infusing any evil principle into him, but by giving him up to the impulse of his own inveterate corruptions. God foresaw how those corruptions would operate, and that they would lead to the accomplishment of his own eternal purpose: and he needed only to leave Pharaoh to the dictates of his own mind, to secure the final execution of all that he himself had ordained. God had determined every thing respecting the crucifixion of our blessed Lord: but he needed not to inspire the Jewish rulers with envy, or the Roman governor with timidity, or Judas with covetousness, or the populace with cruelty: it was sufficient to give them up respectively to the dominion of their own lusts; and they all infallibly concurred to do what his hand and his counsel had determined before to be done [Note: Act 4:28.]. It is precisely in the same way that we are to account for all that is done, whether it be good or evil; except that, in the effecting of what is good, he puts the desire to effect it into the heart of the agent, whilst in the perpetration of evil he merely gives up the person to the influence of his own lusts. In either case, the agent is perfectly free, and follows what is the bent of his own heart: only, in the one case, the heart is renewed, and in the other it is left under the power of its own depravity. Josiah and Cyrus both fulfilled the counsels of Heaven; the one by burning mens bones on the altar which Jeroboam had raised, and the other by liberating the Jews from Babylon. Both these events were foretold hundreds of years before they came to pass; and the very names of the agents were declared hundreds of years before any persons of their name were known in the world. Sennacherib also fulfilled the will of Heaven, in punishing Gods offending people: Howbeit he meant not so, neither did his heart think so; it was in his heart only to aggrandize himself at the expense of other nations [Note: Isa 10:7.]. But God, by all, accomplished the counsel of his own will [Note: Eph 1:11]: and in all things shall his counsel stand, and he will do all his will [Note: Isa 46:10.].]
4.
That by all, whatever their conduct be, he will eventually be glorified
[That God will be glorified in the obedience of the righteous, is a truth which needs not to be confirmed: whatever they do, it is to the praise of the glory of his grace: and at the last day the Lord Jesus will come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe. But will he be glorified in the ungodly also? Yes. He declared that he would get himself honour upon Pharaoh and all his hosts [Note: Exo 14:17.]: and this he did by overwhelming them in the sea: and so he will do, also, in the destruction of the wicked, at the last day: he will then make known the inflexibility of his justice, and the power of his wrath: and the whole universe shall be constrained to say, Even so. Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are thy judgments [Note: Rev 16:6-7; Rev 19:2.].]
Having thus explained the declaration in my text, I proceed,
II.
To improve it
All Scripture is said to be profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, or, in other words, for the establishment of sound doctrine, and for the enforcing of a holy practice. For these two ends I will endeavour to improve the subject before us. And,
1.
For the establishment of sound doctrine
[The doctrine which I hinted at, in the commencement of this discourse, is strongly insisted on by the Apostle Paul; and the words of my text are adduced by him in confirmation of his statement. He is shewing that God, in the exercise of his mercy to the Jewish nation, had acted altogether in a way of grace, according to his own sovereign will and pleasure: that he had entailed his blessings on Isaac and his seed, instead of imparting them to Ishmael and his posterity; and, in like manner, had again limited them to Jacob, the younger son of Isaac, and withheld them from Esau, the elder son. This had God done in order that his purpose according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that called. Then, knowing that the proud heart of man would rise against this doctrine, and accuse it as imputing unrighteousness to God, he further confirms his statement by express declarations of God to Moses: He saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy; and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion: and from thence he draws this conclusion; So, then, it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. To this declaration he adds another of a similar tendency, addressed to Pharaoh, even the very words of my text: For this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth: from which words he draws again this remarkable conclusion; Therefore hath God mercy on whom he will have mercy; and whom he will, he hardeneth [Note: Rom 9:7-18.].
Now here the doctrine of election is stated in the strongest and most unequivocal terms. But let not any one imagine that the doctrine of reprobation is therefore true. God has not said in my text, I have brought thee into the world on purpose to damn thee, and to get glory to myself in thine everlasting destruction: no, there is no such assertion as that in all the Holy Scriptures. There is, in the Epistle of St. Peter, an expression which in sound has that aspect; but, when properly explained, it has no such meaning. It is said by him, These stumble at the word, being disobedient; whereunto also they were appointed [Note: 1Pe 2:8.]. But to what were they appointed?to disobedience? No: but to make that word, which they would not obey, an occasion of falling. God has ordained, that they who will do his will, shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God [Note: Joh 7:17.]: but that those who will not do his will, shall stumble at his word, and find the Lord Jesus Christ, as revealed in it, a rock of offence, yea, a gin also and a snare [Note: Isa 8:14-15, compared with the fore-cited passage from St. Peter.]. This will throw the true light upon our text: God did not bring Pharaoh into the world on purpose to destroy him: but, foreseeing the inveterate pride and obstinacy of his heart, he raised him to the throne, where he would hare an opportunity of displaying with effect those malignant dispositions, and would thereby give occasion for God to glorify himself, in an extraordinary display of his justice and his power, in the punishment of sin.
Here, then, we see the electing grace of God. God chose Moses, who had been in rank and authority the second person in the kingdom of Egypt, to be the deliverer of his people. Moses, when called to the work, declined it again and again; and might well have been left to reap the bitter fruit of his folly. But God, by his Spirit, overcame his reluctance, and upheld him in the performance of his duty. To Pharaoh he gave not this grace; but left him to the power of his own lusts. In making this distinction, God did no injury to Pharaoh. Neither Pharaoh nor Moses had any claim upon God. If, when Moses declined the honour which was offered him, God had transferred that honour to Pharaoh, and given up Moses to the evil of his own heart, he would have done no injury to Moses: Moses would have brought the punishment upon himself, by his own wickedness: and God had a right to bestow his grace on whomsoever he pleased: and consequently, in leaving Pharaoh to harden his own heart and to perish m his sins, whilst he shewed mercy to Moses, and made him an honoured instrument of good to the Jewish nation, God did no injury to Pharaoh or to any one else: in the exercise of mercy, he acted as an Almighty Sovereign; and in the exercise of judgment, he acted as a righteous Judge, in perfect consistency with justice and with equity. We see at all events the fact, that God did, after much long-suffering, make known on one his wrath, as on a vessel of wrath that had fitted itself for destruction; and that toward another he made known the riches of his glory, as on a vessel of mercy which he himself had prepared unto glory [Note: Rom 9:22-23. See the Greek.]. The exercise of his mercy was gratuitous and without desert; but the exercise of his displeasure was merited and judicial.
Now what is there here to be offended with? The fact is undeniable: and, if God was at liberty to exercise his sovereignty in such a way then, he is at liberty to do it still: and if he may justly do it in any case, as that of Ishmael and Isaac, or of Esau and Jacob, or of Pharaoh and Moses, he may with equal justice do it in every case. Let us, then, not ignorantly and proudly deny to him a right, which all of us claim for ourselveseven that of dispensing our favours to whom we will. If no one has a claim on him, no one has a right to complain if a favour which he despises is withheld from him: on the other hand, the person on whom that special favour is conferred, must to all eternity adore the sovereign grace that has dispensed it to him.]
2.
For the enforcement of a holy practice
[All of us, whether high or low, rich or poor, are in the station, which God, in his infinite wisdom and goodness, has allotted to us. The rich therefore have no reason to boast; nor have the poor any reason to repine. The different members of our own body have not all the same office: but God has placed each member in the body, as it has pleased him; and for purposes which each is destined to accomplish. One great duty is common to us all; namely, that of discharging to the utmost of our power our respective offices, and of bringing to God that measure of glory of which he has made us capable. God is, in reality, as much glorified in the submission of the poor, as in the activity of the rich. The eye, and the foot, equally subserve the interests of the body, whilst discharging their respective functions; and equally display the goodness of our Creator, in so administering to our wants. Let us then simply inquire, what that service is which we are most fitted by capacity and situation to perform; and let us address ourselves to it with all diligence. If placed, like Pharaoh, in a post of great dignity and power, let us improve our influence for God, and account it our honour and happiness to advance his glory. If called, like Moses, to labour for the deliverance of Gods people from their spiritual bondage, let us execute our office with fidelity, and never rest till we have finished the work which God has given us to do [Note: If there were occasion to speak more fully to Ministers, here the subject might be amplified to advantage.]. Thus shall we acceptably fulfil the ends of our creation; and God will be glorified in us, both in time and in eternity.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this [cause] have I raised thee up, for to shew [in] thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Ver. 16. Have I raised thee up. ] Heb., I have constituted and set thee up as a butt mark: that I may let fly at thee and follow thee close with plague upon plague, till I’have beaten the very breath out of thy body. See Pro 16:4 Rom 9:17 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
raised thee up = made thee to stand, i.e., with Septuagint, “preserved thee “through all the plagues and till the end.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
deed: Exo 14:17, Psa 83:17, Psa 83:18, Pro 16:4, Rom 9:17, Rom 9:22, 1Pe 2:8, 1Pe 2:19, Jud 1:4
raised thee up: Heb. made thee stand
for to: Exo 14:4, Exo 15:11-16, Exo 18:11, Jos 2:10, Jos 2:11, 1Sa 4:8, Psa 136:10-15
that my: 1Ch 16:24, Psa 64:9, Psa 83:17, Psa 83:18, Isa 63:12-14, Mal 1:11, Mal 1:14, Rom 9:17
Reciprocal: Exo 7:3 – multiply Exo 9:15 – stretch Exo 10:1 – that I Exo 15:7 – the greatness Num 23:22 – God Jos 4:24 – all the people Jos 9:9 – we have Jos 11:20 – it was Jdg 3:12 – and the Lord 1Sa 6:6 – the Egyptians 1Sa 17:46 – all the earth 2Sa 7:23 – make him 2Sa 17:14 – the Lord 2Ki 19:19 – O Lord 2Ch 25:16 – determined Neh 9:10 – didst Job 40:11 – behold Psa 76:10 – Surely Psa 105:25 – He turned Psa 106:8 – that he Isa 33:5 – The Lord Isa 37:20 – that all Isa 41:20 – General Isa 45:9 – unto him Isa 54:16 – I have Jer 32:20 – and hast Eze 28:14 – and I Eze 28:22 – I will Eze 31:9 – made Eze 39:21 – I will set Dan 4:17 – the basest Dan 9:15 – and hast Joh 17:6 – have manifested Rom 8:39 – height 2Co 10:5 – and every 1Th 5:9 – not Rev 6:4 – power Rev 13:7 – and power
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 9:16. For this cause have I raised thee up A most dreadful message Moses is here ordered to deliver to him, whether he will hear, or whether he will forbear. He must tell him that he is marked for ruin: that he now stands as the butt at which God would shoot all the arrows of his wrath. For this cause I raised thee up To the throne, at this time; and made thee to stand The shocks of the plagues hitherto; to show in thee my power Providence so ordered it, that Moses should have a man of such a fierce and stubborn spirit to deal with, to make it a most signal and memorable instance of the power God has to bring down the proudest of his enemies. It must be observed, that the Hebrew word, here rendered raised up, never signifies to raise, or bring a person or thing into being; but to preserve, support, establish, or make to stand, as in the margin of our Bibles, and as may be seen, 1Ki 15:4; Pro 29:4. And accordingly, the Septuagint translation, the Chaldee, Samaritan, Arabic, and Junius and Tremellius, all render this place, For this cause thou hast hitherto been preserved, , Sept. The meaning therefore of this passage is, not that God brought Pharaoh into being, or made him on purpose, that he might be an example of his severity and vengeance, but that, though Pharaoh had long deserved to be destroyed, yet God had spared him, and made him subsist for a considerable time, to show his power, by the signs and wonders which he wrought in the land of Egypt, and by delivering his people at length, in spite of all the opposition of Pharaoh, with a strong hand and outstretched arm. That my name might be known My being, and providence, and manifold perfections; my patience in bearing with thee so long, my justice in punishing thee, my power in conquering thee, my wisdom in overruling thy pride, tyranny, cruelty, to thy own destruction and the redemption of my oppressed people, and my faithfulness in accomplishing my promises to them, and my threatenings to thee. Throughout all the earth Not only in all places, but throughout all ages, while the earth remains. This will infallibly be the event.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
9:16 And in very deed for this [cause] have I raised thee up, for to shew [in] thee my power; and that my {d} name may be declared throughout all the earth.
(d) That is, that all the world may magnify my power in overcoming you.