A Prophecy of Esau and Jacob

Exodus 7

¹ And the Lord said unto Moses, “See, I have made thee a god (’ĕ·lō·hîm) to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet. — a god ’ĕ·lō·hîm to Pharaoh;

— “a god” that is, he was to act in this business as God’s representative, God’s envoy, to act and speak in His name and to perform things beyond the ordinary course of nature;

— any messenger (mal·’āḵ) is also an angel; and God gives authority for an messenger to carry God’s name, “for My name is in him;”

“Behold, I send a messenger (mal·’āḵ) before thee to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

Have regard for him, and obey his voice. Provoke him not, for he will not pardon your transgressions, for My name is in him. Exodus 23:20-21

² Thou shalt speak all that I command thee; and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

— that he send the children of Israel out of his land; this was the principal thing to be insisted upon; and all that was said or done to him was to bring about this end, the dismission of the children of Israel out of Egypt.

³ And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt. — but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go; that is, not directly, not for some time, not until all the wonders are wrought, and plagues inflicted to bring him to it;

— Pharaoh first hardening his own heart against God; leaving him to strong delusions, to believe the lying miracles of his magicians: this the Lord thought fit to acquaint Moses with, lest he should be discouraged by his refusal to dismiss Israel.

⁴ But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay My hand upon Egypt and bring forth Mine armies and My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments. — that I may ;lay mine hand upon Egypt; the inhabitants of Egypt, smiting them with one plague after another;

— and particularly with the last, slaying their firstborn; every plague was a stroke of his hand, and an effect of his mighty power and vengeance, and more especially that;

⁵ And the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I stretch forth Mine hand upon Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.” — and the Egyptians shall know; these great judgement, and Israel’s triumphant exodus, will teach the Egyptians Yehovah’s might, and His superiority to their own gods.

⁶ And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them; so did they. — their reluctance and resistance from this time ceased.

⁷ And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old when they spoke unto Pharaoh. — and Moses was eighty years old; at this time, which is observed partly to show how long Israel had been afflicted in Egypt;

— for their great troubles and miseries began about the time of the birth of Moses, or a little before, as appears from the above history;

⁸ And the Lord spoke unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

⁹ “When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, ‘Show a miracle for yourselves,’ then thou shalt say unto Aaron, ‘Take thy rod and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.’” — thy rod; this Moses ordinarily held in his hand, but the rod is now called Aaron’s, because Moses had entrusted him with it.

¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

— it became a serpent; or a “dragon” as the Septuagint says; not only to affect Pharaoh with wonder, but to strike a terror upon him, because it was also an Egyptian deity.

¹¹ Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers. Now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments. — the names of these magicians of Egypt, Janis and Jamberes, were already incorporated in the Targum, but picked up by Paul in II Timothy 3:8;

¹² For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods. — swallowed up their rods and so gave proof of Aaron’s superiority to the magicians; though this miracle made no impression upon Pharaoh.

¹³ And He hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said. — he hardened Pharaoh’s heart; or, “notwithstanding the heart of Pharaoh was hardened” though he saw the rods of his magicians devoured by rod;

— or “therefore” his heart was hardened, because he saw that the rods of his magicians became serpents as well as Aaron’s; that he hearkened not unto them; to Moses and Aaron, and comply with their demand, to dismiss the people of Israel;

¹⁴ And the Lord said unto Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; he refuseth to let the people go. — Pharaoh’s heart is hardened; or “heavy,” dull and stupid, stiff and inflexible, cannot lift up his heart, or find in his heart to obey the will of God;

¹⁵ Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning. Lo, he goeth out unto the water, and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink until he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

— and thou shall stand by against the brink of the river Nile, in order to meet him, seems rather to imply a daily custom of the Pharaoh; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand; as a terror to Pharaoh;

¹⁶ And thou shalt say unto him, ‘The Lord God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, “Let My people go, that they may serve Me in the wilderness”; and behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

— saying, let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; the demand is once more renewed, before any punishment is inflicted for refusal, that the patience and forbearance of God might be the more visible, and his judgments appear the more righteous when inflicted, as well as Pharaoh be left more inexcusable.

¹⁷ Thus saith the Lord: “In this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: Behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

— they shall be turned to blood, which was a very grievous plague to them; both because it was an eternal dishonour to their religion, and because from hence they had both their drink and their meat; and if this river was their god;

¹⁸ And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river.”’” — the water of the Nile has always been regarded by the Egyptians as a blessing unique to their land; now with the water changed into blood and stink, this was a severe calamity.

¹⁹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Take thy rod and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

— both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone; in which water were kept in private houses, fetched from the river for the use of families; all which were to be turned into blood everywhere, in all parts of the land, and in all places mentioned, immediately upon Aaron’s taking his rod, and smiting the waters with it in that part of the river that was before him.

²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded; and he lifted up the rod and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

— and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood; not only the face of the waters looked like blood, but they were really turned into it; and not only the surface of the water, but all the water that was in the river, wherever it flowed, and as far as it flowed in the land of Egypt.

²¹ And the fish that were in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. — the change in the water extended to “the streams,” or different arms of the Nile; or canals; “the ponds,” that is, every collection of water;

²² And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them, as the Lord had said. — the magicians could not act on this large scale; they could only operate, or seem to operate, on some small quantity of water;

²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also. — neither did he set his heart (that is, pay attention); Pharaoh did not lay even this to heart; he passed it over as a slight matter, unworthy of much thought, and “turned, and went into his house.

²⁴ And all the Egyptians dug round about the river for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the river. — for they could not drink of the waters of the river; it being turned into blood, and stunk so exceedingly;

— and though they might strain it, and make it in some measure, drinkable, and might make use of the juice of herbs, and other things, to extinguish their thirst, and the better sort might have a stock of wine, yet multitudes must be greatly distressed.

²⁵ And seven days were fulfilled after the Lord had smitten the river. — and seven days were fulfilled; these words seem to mark the duration of the first plague.

Exodus 8

¹ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, “Go unto Pharaoh and say unto him, ‘Thus saith the Lord: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

— again, while the main purpose of the plague was to punish the nation by which Israel had been so long oppressed, the secondary object of throwing contempt upon their, religion was main-rained. Frogs were among the Egyptian sacred animals.

² And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs. — I will smite all thy borders with frogs: fill the whole land of Egypt with them, to the utmost borders thereof on every side.

³ And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants and upon thy people, and into thine ovens and into thy kneading troughs.

— everywherea bundantly: which must be very offensive and troublesome to them, what with their ugly shape, croaking noise and filthy smell, and the disagreeable touch of them, leaping on them, and even upon their food, and all vessels used for the same, which must make it very nauseous and distasteful to them;

⁴ And the frogs shall come up both on thee and upon thy people and upon all thy servants.’” — even the king himself not excepted; his people, and servants, high and low, rich and poor, and upon the king’s ministers, courtiers, and nobles; but the children of Israel may be thought to be exempted from this plague;

⁵ And the Lord spoke unto Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.’” — say unto Aaron, stretch forth thy hand with thy rod; for Aaron was to speak and to do whatever he ordered him from the Lord;

⁶ And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. — and the frogs came and covered the land of Egypt: they came up at once, and in such multitudes everywhere, that the whole land was full of them;

⁷ And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. — the magicians would seem foolishishly to have been able to increase the plague, but not to remove it;

⁸ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.”

— Pharaoh said, entreat the Lord; this is the man, who, not long ago, proudly said, Who is the Lord? Who is Jehovah? He now begins to know something of Jehovah’s power and justice at least;

⁹ And Moses said unto Pharaoh, “Glory over me: When shall I entreat for thee and for thy servants and for thy people to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?” — when shall I entreat for thee, that they may remain in this river only?

¹⁰ And he said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, “Be it according to thy word, that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God. — and he said, be it according to thy word, as if he had said, it shall be done as thou hast desired, and at the time fixed;

¹¹ And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses and from thy servants and from thy people. They shall remain in the river only.”

¹² And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which He had brought against Pharaoh. — and Moses cried unto the Lord: prayed unto him with great fervency, and with a loud voice, most fervently entreating that the frogs might be removed on the morrow, as he had promised;

¹³ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields. — so that the land stank with the odour of their putrefaction;

¹⁴ And they gathered them together upon heaps, and the land stank. — and the land stank; with the stench of the dead frogs, which was another proof and evidence of the reality of the miracle;

¹⁵ But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said. — but when Pharaoh saw that there was respite; from his affliction, as the Targum of Jonathan adds; the plague was removed, and he found himself and his people at ease:

— or there was a “breathing” before he and his people were so oppressed, that they could scarce breathe, but now being delivered from the judgment on them with which they were straitened, were enlarged and at liberty, and in easy circumstances: he hardened his heart;

¹⁶ And the Lord said unto Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Stretch out thy rod and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’” — it is observed by Hebrew commentators that the nine plagues are divided into three groups:

— distinct warnings are given of the first two plagues in each group; the third in each is inflicted without any previous notice; namely, the third, lice, the sixth, boils, the ninth, darkness.

¹⁷ And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice on man and on beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. — that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt: not gnats, nor flies, but lice, though perhaps not of the common and ordinary sort, but new and extraordinary;

¹⁸ And the magicians so did with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not; so there were lice upon man and upon beast. — it was as easy for them to produce lice as frogs, but God forbid them, partly to confound them, and to show that what they did before was only by his consent, but to show them that even the dust of the earth obeys him.

¹⁹ Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” And Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had said. — the finger of God; the magicians meant to say, “This is beyond the power of man: it is supernatural;

²⁰ And the Lord said unto Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Lo, he cometh forth to the water, and say unto him, ‘Thus saith the Lord: Let My people go, that they may serve Me.

— cometh forth to the water; it is not improbable that on this occasion Pharaoh went to the Nile, and Moses was ordered to meet him while walking on the banks of the Nile and repeat his request for the liberation of Israel;

²¹ Else, if thou wilt not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants and upon thy people and into thy houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.

— and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of the swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are; their number would be so very great.

²² And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. — and I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell; distinguish it from other parts of the land of Egypt:

— but restricted to the place where Pharaoh lived, and to bound and limit such sort of creatures as flies, which move swiftly from place to place, and particularly to keep the land of Goshen clear of them;

²³ And I will put a division between My people and thy people. Tomorrow shall this sign be.’”

²⁴ And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies. — into the house of Pharaoh, and into the houses of his servants;

— and into all the land of Egypt: into the palace of Pharaoh, and of his nobles, ministers and courtiers, and into the dwelling places of all his subjects, throughout the whole land, excepting the land of Goshen;

²⁵ And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron and said, “Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.” — the Pharaoh gave way before this plague ended and without waiting for any remonstrance on the part of the magicians or others, he “called for Moses.”

— and said, go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land; that is, in the land of Goshen, in the place where they were; he was willing to allow them the liberty of sacrificing to their God, which it seems they had before; but then he would not consent they should go out of the land to do it.

²⁶ And Moses said, “It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the Lord our God. Lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us? — the abomination of the Egyptians; that which the Egyptians abhor to kill, or to see killed; because they worshipped them as gods, as is notoriously known.

²⁷ We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God, as He shall command us.” — we will go three days’ journey into the wilderness; as was first insisted on, and from which demand they should not depart;

²⁸ And Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away. Entreat for me.” — for the first time Pharaoh shows his real objection to letting the Israelites go: he is afraid that they will escape him;

— so he suggests the compromise: entreat or petition for me; that they shall just enter the wilderness on his eastern border, remaining near the frontier, and therefore within his reach.

²⁹ And Moses said, “Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Lord that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people tomorrow; but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.”

— let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more. God’s servants must rebuke even kings when they openly break any of their words; and told the Pharaoh not to deceive them again as he had done before;

³⁰ And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated the Lord. — entreat for me; the words seem to be spoken in haste, and with great eagerness and vehemence;

³¹ And the Lord did according to the word of Moses, and He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one. — there remained not one; the meaning is not, not one swarm of flies, but not one fly, there was not one left;

³² And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. — again, it is after being impressed, and partially relenting, that Pharaoh hardens his own heart.

~ by Joel on November 3, 2023.

Posted in Books of Moses