Commentary on the Holy Bible

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

this plague, {different insects laying their eggs in the bodies of those dead animals, which wouW soon be hatched, see on verse 14,) then the supposition that a multitude of different kinds of insects is meant, will seem the more probable. Though the plague of the locusts was miraculous, yet God both brought it and removed it by natural means; see chap. x. 13—19.

Bochart, who has treated this subject with his usual learning and ability, follows the Septuagint, explaining the original by MTo/iu/a, the dog-fiy; which must be particularly hateful to the Egyptians, because they held dogs in the highest veneration, and worshipped Anubis under the form of a dog. In a case of this kind the authority of the Septuagint is very high, as they translated the Pentateuch in the very place where these plagues happened. But as the Egyptians are well known to have paid religious veneration to all kinds of animals and monsters, whence the poet: —

Omnigenumque deum monstra, et latrator Anubis, I am inclined to favour the literal construction of the word: for as 3i;' ereb, chap. xii. 38, expresses that mixed multitude of different kinds of people who accompanied the Israelites in their departure from Egypt; so here the same term being used, it may have been designed to express a multitude of different kinds of insects, such as fites, wasps, hornets, &c., &c. The ancient Jewish interpreters suppose that all kinds of beasts and reptiles are intended, such as wolves, lions., bears, serpents, &c. Mr. Bate thinks the raven is meant, because the original is so understood in other places; and thus he translates it in his literal version of the Pentateuch: but the meaning already given is the most likely. As to the objection against this opinion drawn from ver. 31, there remained not one, it can have very little weight, when it is considered tliat this may as well be spoken of one of any of the different kinds, as of an individual of one species.

Verse 23. / wilt sever in that day] ■n"'73n hiphleythi, has been translated by some good critics, / wUi miraculously separate; so the Vulgate: Faciammirabilem, " I will do a marvellous thing." And the Septuagint, 7rapaioia(7u, I will render ilhtstrions Ihe land of Goshen in that day; and this he did, by exen.pting that land, and its inhabitants the Israelites, from tho plagues by which he afflicted the land of Egypt

23 And I will put ^ a division between my people and thy people: " to-morrow 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.

25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for

Verse 23. And I will put a division] ms pedulh, a redemption, between my people and thy people; God hereby showing that he had redeemed them from those plagues to which he had abandoned the others.

Verse 24. The land was corrupted] Every thing was spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed, being probably stung to death by these venomous insects. This seems to be intimated by the psalmist, " He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them," Psa. Ixxviii. 45.

In ancient times, when political, domestic, and personal cleanliness was but little attended to, and offal of different kinds permitted to corrupt in the streets and breed vermin, flies multiplied exceedingly, so that we read in ancient authors of whole districts being laid waste by them; hence different people had deities, whose ofiice it was to defend them against flies. Among these we may reckon Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, muscarum abactor, Hercules, the expeller of flies, of the Romans; the Muagrus of the Eleans, whom they invoked against pestilential swarms of flies; and hence Jupiter, the supreme god of the heathens, had the epithets of Knouvwg and MvuStk, because he was supposed to expel flies, and defend his worshippers against them. See Dodd.

Verse 25. Sacrifice to your God in the land.] That is, Ye shall not leave Egypt, but I shall cause your worship to be tolerated here.

Verse 26. We shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians] That is. The animals which they hold sacred, and will not permit to be slain, are those which our customs require us to sacrifice to our God; and should we do this in Egypt the people would rise in a mass, and stone us to death. Perhaps few people were more superstitious than the Egyptians. Almost every production of nature was an object of their religious worship: the sun, moon, planets, stars, the river Nile, animals of all sorts, from the human being to the monkey, dog, cat, and ibis, and even the onions and leeks which grew in their gardens. Jupiter was idored by them under the form of a ram, Apollo under the form of a crow, Bacchus under that of a goat, and Juno under that of a heifer. The reason why the Egyptians worshipped those animals is given by Eusebius, viz., that when the giants made war on the gods, they were obliged to take refuge in Egypt, and aesume the shapes or disguise themselves under difa

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?

27 We will go s three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord out God, as '^ he shall command us.

28 And Pharaoh said, I will let you go,

ferent kinds of animals in order to escape. Jupiter hid himself in the body of a ram, Apollo in that of a crow, Bacchus in a goat, Diana in a cat, Juno in a white heifer, Venus in a fish, and Mercury in the bird ibis; all which aure summed up by Ovid in the following lines: —

Delius in corvo, proles Semeleia capro, Fele soror Phaebi, nivea Saturnia vacca, Pisce Venus latuit, Cyllenius ibidis alis.

Maynwaring. These animals therefore became sacred to them on account of the deities, who, as the fable reports, had taken refuge in them. Others suppose that the reason why the Egyptians would not sacrifice or kill those creatures was their belief in the doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls; for they feared lest in killing an animal they should kill a relative or a friend. This doctrine is still held by the Hindoos.

Verse 27. And sacrifice to the Lord — as he shall command us.] It is very likely that neither Moses nor Aaron knew as yet in what manner God would ba worshipped; and they expected to receive a direct revelation from him relative to this subject, when they should come into the wilderness.

ye shall not go very far away: ' entreat for me 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 Pliaraoh "^ deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.

<ible to him; they were slai^es of the state, and their hard labour was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, (ver. 25;) or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and would soon return. How ready is foolish man, when the hand of God presses him sore, to compound with his Maker! He will consent to give up some sins, provided God will permit him to keep others.

Entreat for me.] Exactly similar to the case of Simon Magus, who, like Pharaoh, fearing the Divine judgments, begged an interest in the prayers of Peter, Acts viii. 24.

Verse 31. The Lord did according to the word of Mosea] How powerful is prayer! God permits his servant to prescribe even the manner and time in which he shall work.

He removed the swar>ns\ Probably by means of a strong wind, which swept them into the sea.

A'^erse 32. Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also] See ver. 15. This hardening was the mere effect of his self-determining obstinacy. He preferred his gain to the will and command of Jehovah, and God made his obstinacy the means of showing forth his own power and providence in a supereminent degree.

1. As every false religion proves there is a true one, as a copy, however marred or imperfect, shows there was an original from which it was taken, so false miracles prove that there were genuine miracles, and that God chooses at particular times, for the most important purposes, to invert the established order of nature, and thus prove his omnipotence and universal agency. That the miracles wrought at this time were real we have the fullest proof The waters, for instance, were not turned into blood in appearance merely, but were really thus changed. Hence the people could not drink of them; and as blood in a very short time, when exposed to the air, becomes putrid, 80 did the bloody waters; therefore all the fish that were in the river died.

2. No human power or ingenuity could produce such frogs as annoyed the land of Egypt. This also was a real, not an imaginary, plague. Innumcrabh; multitudes of these animals were produced for the purpose; and the heaps of their dead carcasses, which putrefied and infected the land, at once demonstrated the reality of the miracle.

30 And Moses went out from a. m. 2513. Pharaoh, and ' entreated the Lord. *

3 1 And the Lord did according to thfi word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.

32 And Pharaoh "hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.

3. The lice both on man and beast through the whole land, and the innumerable sioarms of flies, gave such proofs of their reality as to put the truth of these miracles out of question for ever. It was necessary that this point should be fully proved, that both the Egyptians and Israelites might see the finger of God in these awful works.

4. To superficial observers only do "Moses and the magicians appear to be nearly matched." The power of God was shown in producing and removing the plagues. In certain cases the magicians imitated the production of a plague, but they had no power to remove any. They could not seem to remove the bloody colour, nor the putrescency from the waters through which the fish were destroyed, though they could imitate the colour itself; they could not remove the frogs, the lice, or swarms of flies, though they could imitate the former and latter; they could by de.xterity of hand or diabolic influence produce serpents, but they could not bring one forward that could swallow up the rod of Aaron. In every respect they fall infinitely short of the power and wonderful energy evidenced in the miracles of Moses and Aaron. The opposition therefore of those men served only as a foil to set off the excellence of that power by which these messengers of God acted.

5. The courage, constancy, and faith of Moses, are worthy of the most serious consideration. Had he not been fully satisfied of the truth and certainty of his Divine mission, he could not have encountered such. a host of difliculties; had he not been certain of the issue, he could not have persevered amidst so many discouraging circumstances; and had he not had a deep acquaintance with God, his faith in every trial must have necessarily failed. So strong was this grace in him that he could even pledge his Maker to the performance of works concerning which he had not as yet consulted him! He therefore let Pharaoh fix the very time on which he would wish to have the plague removed; and when this was done, he went to God by faith and i)raycr to obtain this new miracle; and God in the most exact and circumstantial manner fulfilled the word of his servant.

6. From all this let us learn that there is a God who worketh in the earth; that universal nature is under his control; that he can alter, suspend, counteract, or invert its general laws whensoever he pleases; and that he can save or destroy by the most feeble and most contemptible instruments. We should therefnx* deeply reverence his eternal power and Godhead, and look with respect oa every creature he has made, as the meanest of them may, in his hand, become the instrument of our salvation or our ruin.

7. Let us not imagine that God has so bound himself to work by general laws, that those destructions cannot take place which designate a particular providence. Pharaoh and the Egyptians are confounded, afflicted, routed, and ruined, while the land of Goshen and the Israelites are free from every plague! No blood appears in their streams; no frogs, lice, nor flies, in all their borders! They trusted in the true God, and could not be e.-.nfounded. Reader, how secure mayest thou rest if thou hast this God for thy friend! He was the Protector and Friend of the Israelites through the blood of that covenant which is the very charter of thy salvation: trust in and pray to him as Moses did, and then Satan and his angels shall be bruised under thy feet, and thou shalt not only be preserved from every plague, but be crowned with his loving kindness and tender mercy. He is the same to-day that he was yesterday, and shall continue the same for ever. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!

The Lord sends Moses to Pharaoh to inform him that, if he did not let the Israelites depart, a destructiva pestilence should be sent among his cattle, 1—3; while the cattle of the Israelites should he preserved, 4. The next day this pestilence, lohich was the fifth plague, is sent, and all the cattle of the Egyptians die, 5, 6. Though Pharaoh finds that not one of the cattle of the Israelites had died, yet, through hardness of heart, he refuses to let the people go, 7. Moses and Aaron are commanded to sprinkle handfuls of ashes from the furnace, that the sixth plague, that o/ boils and blains, might come on man and beast, 8, 9; which having done, the plague takes place, 1 0. The magicians cannot stand before this plague, which they can neither imitate nor remove, 11. Pharaoh's heart is again hardened, 12. God's awful message to Pharaoh, with the threat of more severe plagues than before, 13-17. The seventh;)/a^e of rain, hail, and fire threatened, 18. The Egyptians commanded to house their cattle that they might not be destroyed, 19. Those who feared the word of the Lord brought home their servants and cattle, and those who did not regard that word left their cattle and servants in the fields, 20, 21. The storm of hail, thunder, and lightning takes place, 22-24. It nearly desolates the whole land of Egypt, 25, lohile the land of Goshen escapes, 26. Pharaoh confesses his sin, and begs an interest in the prayers of Moses and Aaron, 27, 28. Moses promises to intercede for him, and while he promises that the storm shall cease, he foretells the con tinuing obstinacy of both himself and his servants, 29, 30. The flax and barley, being in a state of matu rity, are destroyed by the tempest, 31; while the wheat and the rye, not being grown up, are preserved, 32. Moses obtains a cessation of the storm, 33. Pharaoh and his servants, seeing this, harden their hearts, and refuse to let the people go, 34, 35.

Verse 1. The Lord God of the Hebrews] It is very likely that the term Lord, niri' Yehovah, is used here to point out particularly his eternal power and Godhead; and that the term God, ^rhu Elohey, is intended to be understood in the sense of Supporter, Defender, Protector, &c. Thus saith the self-existent, omnipotent, and eternal Being, the Supporter and Defender of the Hebrews, " Let my people go, that they may worship me."

2 For if thou •> refuse to let them A. M. 2513. go, and wilt hold them still,

3 Behold, the "^ hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon

signifies to be active, brisk, or lively, all which are proper appellatives of the horse, especially in Arabia and Egypt. Because of their activity and swiftness they were sacrificed and dedicated to the sun, and perhaps it was principally on this account that God prohibited the use of them among the Israelites.

A very grievous murrain.] The murrain is a very contagious disease among cattle, the symptoms of which are a hanging down and swelling of the head, abundance of gum in the eyes, rattling in the throat, AiSiculty of breathing, palpitation of the heart, staggering, a hot breath, and a shining tongue; which symptoms prove that a general inflammation has taken place. The original word 131 deber is variously translated. The Septuagint have BavaToc, death; the Vulgate has pestis, a plague or pestilence; the old Saxon version, cpeaime, from cpealan, to die, any fatal disease. Our English word murrain comes either from the French

4 And "• the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel, and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the ciiildren's of Israel.

5 And the Lord appointed a set time, saying. To-morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land.

6 And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and " all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

7 And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And ^ the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

mourir, to die, or from the Greek /iapaiva maraino, to grow lean, waste away. The term mortality would be the nearest in sense to the original, as no particular disorder is specified by the Hebrew word.

Verse 5. To-morroiv the Lord shall do this] By thus foretelling the evil, he showed his prescience and power; and from this both the Egyptians and ]Iebrews must SCO that the mortality that ensued was no casualty, but the effect of a predetermined purpose in the Divine justice.

Verse 6. All the cattle of Egypt died] That is, All the cattle that did die belonged to the Egyptians, but not one died that belonged to the Israelites, ver. 4 and 6. That the whole stock of cattle belonging to the Egyptians did not die we have the fullest proof, because there were cattle both to be killed and saved alive in the ensuing plague, ver. 19-25. By this judgment the Egyptians must see the vanity of the whole of their national worship, when they found the animals which they not only held sacred but deified, slam without distinction among the common herd, by a pestilence sent from the hand of Jehovah. One might naturally suppose that after this the animal worship of the Egyptians could never more maintain its ground.

A''erse 7. And Pharaoh sent, cj-c] Finding so many of his own cattle and those of his subjects slain, he sent to see whether the mortality had reached to the cattle of the Israelites, that he might know whether this were a judgment inflicted by their God, and probably designing to replace the lost cattle of the Egyptians with those of the Israelites.

Verse 8. Handfuls nf ashes of the furnace] As «ne part of the oppression of the Israelites consisted in their labour in the brick-kilns, some have observed & congruity between the crime and the punishment. The furnaces, in the laboar of which they oppressed

8 And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses

sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.

9 And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be e a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, tluroughout all the land of Egypt.

1 0 And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became *" a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast.

1 1 And the ' magicians could not stand before Moses, because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.

the Hebrews, now yielded the instruments of their punishment; for every particle of those ashes, formed by unjust and oppressive labour, seemed to be a boil or a blain on the tyrannic king and his cruel and hardhearted people.

Verse 9. Shall be a boil] rnff shechin. This word is generally expounded, an inflammatory smelling, a burning boil; one of the most poignant afflictions, not immediately mortal, that can well affect the surface of the human body. If a single boil on any part of the body throws the whole system into a fever, what anguish must a multitude of them on the body at the same time occasion!

Breaking forth with blains] n>3i'3N ababuoth, supposed to come from n>3 baah, to swell, bulge out; any inflammatory swelling, node, or pustule, in any part of the body, but more especially in the more glandular parts, the neck, arm-pits, groin, &c. The Septuagint translate it thus: Kat earai D.kti pXvKTiSec availeovaai.' And it shall be an ulcer with burning pustules. It seems to have been a disorder of an uncommon kind, and hence it is called by way of distinction, the botch of Egypt, Deut. x.wiii. 27, perhaps never known before in that or any other country. Orosius says that in the si.xlh plague "all the people were blistered, thai the blisters burst with tormenting pain, and that worms issued out of them." Doec eall pole psej- on blffi^nan, •] Ba p.TBjion ]■pI^e hjieoplice beprcenbe, anb Ba pojinir ucponbe.^ Alfred's Oros., lib. i., c. vii.

Verse 1 1. The boil was upon the magicians] They could not produce a similar malady by throwing ashes in the air; and they could neither remove the plague from the people, nor from their own tormented flesh. Whether they perished in this plague we know not but they are no more mentioned. If they were not destroyed by this awful judgment, they at least left the field, and no longer contended with these messengers of God. The triumph of God's power was now complete, and both the Hebrews and Egyptians must see

12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened the Lord had spoken unto Moses.

1 3 And the Lord said unto Moses, ' Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

14 For I will at this time send all my plagues upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people; " that thou mayest know that there is none like me in all

and thy people with pestilence: and thou shall be cut off from the earth.

1 6 And in very deed for ° this cause have I P raised thee up, for to show in thee my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.

17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?

1 8 Behold, to-morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.

that there was neither might, nor wisdom, nor counsel against the Lord; and that, as universal nature acknowledged his power, devils and men must fail before him.

Verse 15. For now I will stretch out my hand] In the Hebrew the verbs are in the past tense, and not in the future, as our translation improperly expresses them, by which means a contradiction appears in the text; for neither Pharaoh nor his people were smitten by a pestilence, nor was he by any kind of mortality cut off from the earth. It is true the Jirst-horn were slain by a destroying angel, and Pharaoh himself was drowned in the Red Sea; but these judgments do not appear to be referred to in this place. If the words be translated, as they ought, in the subjunctive mood, or in the past instead of the future, this seeming contradiction to facts, as well as all ambiguity, will be avoided: For if noto I had stretched out {'nrhnf shalachti, had set forth) my hand, and had smitten thee ("^niN "^Nl vaach otheca) and thy people xoith the pestilence, thou shouldst have been cut off (inon ticcached) from the earth. 16. But truly, on this very account, have I caused thee to subsist, (yrno;?n heemadticha,) that J might cause thee to see my power, ("nD HN ■]nx"in harotheca eth cochi,) and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth, (or, ]'ixn '7D3 becol haarets, in all this land.) See Ainsworth and Houhiganl.

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 ynTDi'n heemadticha, I have caused thee to stand; nor the apostle's translation of it, Rom. ix. 17, eiijyeipa «, I have raised thee; nor that of the Septuagint, hiEKev TovTov SierripriBTK, 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.

Verse 17. As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people] So it appears that at this time he might have submitted, and thus prevented his own destruction.

Verse 18. To-morrow about this time] The time of this plague is marked thus circumstantially to show Pharaoh that Jehovah was Lord of heaven and earth, and that the ivater, the fre, the earth, and the air, which were all objects of Egyptian idolatry, were the creatures of his power; and subservient to his will; and that, far from being able to help them, they were now, in the hands of God, instruments of their destruction.

To rain a very grievous hail] To rain hail may appear to some superficial observers as an unphilosophical mode of expression, but nothing can be more correct. " Drops of rain falling through a cold region of the atmosphere are frozen and converted into hail;' and thus the hail is produced by rain. When it begins to fall it is ram; when it is falling it is converted into hail; thus it is literally true that it rains hail. The farther a hail-stone falls the larger it generally is, because in its descent it meets with innumerable particles of water, which, becoming attached to it, are

hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.

20 He that feared the word of the Loud among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:

21 And he that i regarded not the word of the Lord left his servants and his cattle in the field.

22 And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be ■■ hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout tlie land of Egypt.

23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and ^ the Lord sent thunder and hail,

also frozen, and thus its bulk is continually increasing till it reaches the earth. In the case in question, if natural means were at all used, we may suppose a highly electrified state of an atmosphere loaded with vapours, which, becoming condensed and frozen, and having a considerable space to fall through, were of an unusually large size. Though this was a supernatural storm, there have been many of a natunal kind, that have been exceedingly dreadful. A storm of hail fell near Liverpool, in Lancashire, in the year 1795, which greatly damaged the vegetation, broke windows, &c., &c. Many of the stones measured five inches in circumference. Dr. Halley mentions a similar etorm of hail in Lancashire, Cheshire, &c., in 1697, April 29, that for sixty miles in length and livo miles ill breadth did immense damage, by splitting trees, killing fowls and all small animals, knocking down men and horses, &c., &c. Mezeray, in his History of France, says "that in Italy, in 1510, there was for some time a horrible darkness, thicker than that of night, after which the clouds broke into thunder and lightning, and there fell a shower of hail-stones which destroyed all tlie beasts, birds, and even fish of the country. It was attended with a strong smell of sulphur, and the stones were of a bluish colour, some of them weighing one hundred pounds' weight." The Almighty says to Job: " Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war V Job, chap, xxxviii. 22, 23. \VhiIe God has such artillery at his command, how soon may he desolate a country or a world! See the account of a remarkable hailstorm in Josh. X. 11.

Verse 19. Send — now, and gather th>/ cattle] So in the midst of judgment, God remembered mercy. The miracle should be wrought that they might know

24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.

25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail ' smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

26 " Only in the land of Goshen, where th»j children of Israel were, was there no hail

27 And Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, ''I have sinned this time: " the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.

28 ^ Entreat the Lord (for it is enough) that there be no 7nore ^ mighty thunderings

he was the Lord; but all the lives both of men and beasts might have been saved, had Pharaoh and his servants taken the warning so mercifully given them. While some regarded not the word of the Lord, others feared it, and their cattle and their servants were saved. See ver. 20, 21.

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

And the fire ran along upon the ground] tfx l^rii" nSIN vatlihalac 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.

Verse 24. Hail, and fire mingled tcilh the hail] It is generally allowed that the electric fluid is essential to the formation of hail. On this occasion it was supplied in a supernatural abundance; for streams of fire seem to have accompanied the descending hail, so that herbs and trees, beasts and men, were all destroyed by them.

Averse 26. Onlij tn the land of Ooshcn — was there no haiL] What a signal proof of a most particular providence! Surely both the Hebrews and Egyptians profited by this display of the goodness and severity of

Verse 27. The Lord is righteous, and I and my people are xcicked.] The original is very emphatic: The Lord is the righteous one, (p'li'n hatstsaddik,) and I and my people arc the sinners, (D'i'nn hareshaim;) i. e.. He is alone righteous, and we alone are transgressors. Wlio could have imagined that after such an acknowledgment and confession, Pharaoh should have again hardened his heart?

Verse 28. It is enough] There is no need of any farther plague; I submit to the authority of Jehovah, and will rebel no more.

and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no longer. 29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will ^ spread abroad

my hands unto the Lord; and the A.M. 2513. thunder shall cease, neither shall — — '■

there be any more hail; that thou)nayesl know how that the " earth is the Lord's.

Mighty thunderings] DTiSn pSp koloth FAohim, voices of God; — that is, superlatively loud thunder. So mountains of God (Psa. xxxvi. 6) means exceeding high mountains. So a prince of God (Gen. xxiii. 6) means a mighty prince. See a description of thunder-, Psa. xxix. 3-8: " The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: the God of glory Ihundereth; the Lord is upon many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty. The voice of the Lord breaketh the cedars. The voice of the Lord divideth the flames of fire. The voice of the Lord shaketh the wilderness," &c. The production of rain by the electric spark is alluded to in a very beautiful manner, Jer. x. 13: When he uttcrcth his voice, there is a multitude of waters in the heavens. See the note on Gen. vii. 11, and viii. 1.

Verse 29. I will spread abroad my hands] That is, 1 will make supplication to God that he may remove this plague. This may not be an improper place to make some observations on the ancient manner of approaching the Divine Being in prayer. Kneeling down, stretching out of the hands, and lifting them up to heaven, were in frequent use among the Hebrews in their religious worship. Solomon kneeled down on his knees, and spread forth his hands to heaven; 2 Chron. vi. 13. So David, Psa. cxliii. 6: I stretch forth my hands unto thee. So EzR.4: I fell upon my knees, and spread out my hands unto the Lord my God; chap. ix. 5..See also Job xi. 13: If thou prepare thine heart, and stretch out thy hands towards him. Most nations who pretended to any kind of worship made use of the same means in approaching the objects of their adoration, viz., kneeling down and stretching out their hands; which custom it is very likely they borrowed from the people of God. Kneeling was ever considered to be the proper posture of supplication, as it expresses humility, contrition, and subjection. If the person to whom the supplication was addressed was within reach, the supplicant caught him by the knees; for as among the ancients the forehead was consecrated to genius, the ear to memory, and the right hand to faith, so the knees were consecrated to mercy. Hence those who entreated favour fell at and caught hold of the knees of the person whose kindness they supplicated. This mode of supplication is particularly referred to in the following passages in Homer: —

Tuv vvv piv fiVTiaaaa Trapc^co, Kai lajis yovvuv.

Now therefore, of these things reminding Jove, I Embrace his knees. Cowper.

1 To which the following answer is made: —

Kat tot" cTcna roi et/ii Aiof ttotc xa>.Ko:3aTes da, Kai jiiv yovvaaoiiai, Kai piv Tzeiaea^at oiu.

Then will I to Jove's brazen-floor'd abode. That I may clasp his knees; and much misdeem Of my endeavour, or my prayer shall speed. Id.

In the same manner we find our Lord accosted, Matt, xvii, 14: There came to him a certain man, kneeling down to him, yovvireTuv avrov, falling down at his knees.

As to the lifting up or stretching out of the hands, (often joined to kneeling,) of which we have seen already several instances, and of which we have a very remarkable one in this book, chap. xvii. 11, where the lifting up or stretching out of the hands of Moses was the means of Israel's prevailing over Amalek; WB find many examples of both in ancient authors Thus Homer: —

For right it is to spread abroad the hand.* To Jove for mercy.

Corripio e stratis corpus, tendoque supinas Ad cffiLUM cum voce manus, et munera libo. JEneii. iii., ver. 176.

I started from my bed, and raised on high My hands and voice in rapture to the sky; And pour libations. Pitt.

Then kneeVd the wretch, and suppliant clung around My kneeswilh tears, and grovell'd on the ground. Id.

media inter numina divum

Malta Jovem manibus supplex orasse supiNis. Ibid, iv., ver. 204.

Amidst the statues of the gods he stands.

And spreading forth to Jove his lifted hands. Id.

Et DUPLiCES cum voce manus ad sidera tendit.

And lifted both his hands and voice to heaven.

In some cases the person petitioning came forward, and either sat in the dust or kneeled on the ground, placing his left hand on the knee of him from whom he expected the favour, while he touched the person s chin with his right. We have an instance of thia also in Homer: —

Suppliant the goddess stood: one hand she placed Beneath his chin, and one his knee embraced. PoPE.

fear the Lord God. 3 1 And the flax and the barley was smitten:

32 But the wheat and the rye were not smitten: for they were ^ not grown up.

When the supplicant could not approach the person to whom he prayed, as where a ileili/ was the object of the prayer, he washed his hands, made an offering, and knechng down, either stretched out both his hands to heaven, or laid them vpon the offering or sacrifice, or upon the altar. Thus Homer represents the priest of Apollo praying: —

With ivater purify their hands, and take The sacred offering of the salted cake. While thus, with arms devoutly raised in air. And solemn voice, the priest directs his prayer.

How necessary ablutions of the whole body, and of the hands particularly, accompanied with offerings and sacrifices were, under the law, every reader of the Bible knows: see especially chap. xxix. 1—4, where Aaron and his sons were commanded to be washed, previously to their performing the priest's office; and chap. xxK. 19-21, where it is said: " Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands — that they die not." See also Lev. xvii. 15. When the high priest among the Jews blessed the people, he lifted up his hands, Lev. ix. 22. And the Israelites, when they presented a sacrifice to God, lifted up their hands and placed them on the head of the victim: " If any man of you bring an offering unto the Lord — of the cattle of the herd, and of the flock — he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt-offering, and it shall be accepted for him, to make atonement for him;" Lev. i. 2—4. To these circumstances the apostle alludes, 1 Tim. ii. 8: " I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting." In the apostle's word ei^aipovrac, lifting up, there is a manifest reference to stretching out the hands to place them either on the altar or on the head of the victim. Four things were signified by this lifting up of the hands. 1. It was the posture of supplication, and expressed a strong invitation — Come to my help; 2. It expressed the earnest desire of the person to by hold on the help he required, by bringing him who was the object of his prayer to his assistance; 3. It showed the ardour of the person to receive the blessings he expected; and 4. By this act he designated and consecrated his offering or sacrifice to his God.

From a great number of evidences and coincidences it is not unreasonable to conclude that the heathens borrowed all that was pure and rational, even in their mode of worship, from the ancient people of God; and that the preceding quotations are proofs of this.

or rind of the vegetable, pilled or stripped off the stalks. From time immemorial Egypt was celebrated for the production and manufacture of flax: hence the linen and fine linen of Egypt, so often spoken of in ancient authors.

Barley] nii't? seorah, from "l^t? soar, to stand on end, to be rough, bristly, &c.; hence -\l^\B sear, the hair of the head, and y^V! sair, a he-goat, because of its shaggy hair; and hence also barley, because of the rough and prickly beard with which the ears are covered and defended.

Dr. Pocock has observed that there is a double seedtime and harvest in Egypt: Rice, India wheat, and a grain called the corn of Damascus, and in Italian surgo rosso, are sown and reaped at a very different time from wheat, barley and flax. The first are sown in March, before the overflowing of the Nile, and reaped about October; wliereas the toheat and barley are sown in November and December, as soon as the Nile is gone off, and are reaped before May.

Pliny observes. Hist. Nat., lib. xviii., cap. 10, that in Egypt the barley is ready for reaping in six months after it is sown, and wheat in seven. In JEgypto HORDEUM sexto a satu mense, frumenta septimo, metuntur.

The flax was boiled.] Meaning, I suppose, was grown up into a stalk: the original is S;'3J gibol, podded or was in the pod. The word well expresses that globous pod on the top of the stalk of flax which succeeds the flower and contains the seed, very properly expressed by the Septuagint, to Se?.ivov a-KcpfiaTt(ov, but the flax tvas in seed or was seeding.

Verse 32. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten] Wheat, nan chittah, which Mr. Parkhurst thinks shoulil be derived from the Clialdee and Samaritan "an chati, which signifies tender, delicious, delicate, because of the superiority of ixs flavour, &c., to every other kind of grain. But this term in Scripture appears to mean any kind of bread-corn. Rye, nOD3 cussemeth, from DD3 casam, to have long hair and hence, though the particular species is not known, I the word must mean some bearded grain. The Septuagint call it oXi'pa, the Vulgate for, and Aquila fta, which signify the grain called spelt; and some suppose that rice is meant.

Mr. Ilarmer, referring to the double harvest in I Egypt mentioned by Dr. Pocock, says that the circumstance of the wheat and the rye being nT3N aphiloth, dark or hidden, as the margin renders it, (i. e., they were sown, but not grown up,) shows that it was the Indian wheat or surgo rosso mentioned ver. 31, which, with the rye, escaped, wliile the barley and flax were smitten because they were at or nearly at a state of maturity. See Harmer's Obs vol. iv., p. 11, edit. 1808. But what is intended by the words in the Hebrew text we cannot positively; say, as there is a great variety of opinions on thia abroad his hands unto tlie Lord thunders and hail ceased, and the not poured upon the eartli. 34 And when Pharaoh saw subject, both among the versions and the commentators. The Anglo-Saxon translator, probably from not knowing the meaning of the words, omits the whole verse.

Verse 33. Spread abroad his hands^ Probably with the rod of God in them. See what has been said on the spreadi7ig out of the hands in prayer, ver. 29.

Verse 34. He sinned yet more, and hardened his heart] These were merely acts of his own; " for who can deny," says Mr. Psalmanazar, " that what God did on Pharaoh was much more proper to soften than to harden his heart; especially when it is observable that it was not till after seeing each miracle, and after the ceasing of each plague, that his heart is said to have been hardened 1 The verbs here used are in the conjugations pihcl and hiphil, and often signify a bare permission, from which it is plain that the words should have been read, God suffered the heart of Pharaoh to be hardened.''^ — Universal Hist., vol. i., p. 494. Note D.

Verse 35. And the heart of Pharaoh luas hardened] In consequence of his sinning yet more, and hardening his own heart against both the judgments and mercies of God, we need not be surprised that, after God had given him the means of softening and repentance, and he had in every instance resisted and abused them, he should at last have been left to the hardness and darkness of his own obstinate heart, so as to fill up the measure of his iniquity, and rush headlong to his own destruction.

In the fifth, sixth, and seventh plagues described in this chapter, we have additional proofs of the justice and mercy of God, as well as of the stupidity, rebellion, and wickedness of Pharaoh and his courtiers. As these continued to contradict and resist, it was just that God should continue to irflict those punishments which their iniquities deserved. Yet in the midst of judgment he remembers mercy; and therefore Moses and Aaron are sent to inform the Egj'ptians that such plagues would come if they continued obstinate. Here is mercy; the cattle only are destroyed, and the people saved! Is it not evident from all these messages, and the repeated expostulations of Moses and Aaron in the name and on the authority of God, that Pharaoh was bound by no fatal necessity to continue his obstinacy; that he might have humbled himself before God, and thus prevented the disasters that fell on the land, and saved himself and his people from destruction 1 But lie would sin, and therefore he must be punished.

In the sixth plague Pharaoh had advantages which he had not before. The magicians, by their successful imitations of the miracles wrought by Moses, made

and the hail and the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.

3 5 And ^ the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel go; as the Lord had spoken?by Moses.

it doubtful to the Egyptians whether Moses himself was not a magician acting without any Divine authority; but the plague of the boils, which they could not imitate, by which they were themselves afflicted, and which they confessed to be the finger of Gorf, decided the business. Pharaoh had no longer any excuse, and must know that he had now to contend, not with Moses and Aaron, mortals like himself, but with the livLig God. How strange, then, that he should continae to resist! Many affect to be astonished at this, and think it must be attributed only to a sovereign controlling influence of God, which rendered it impossible for him to repent or take warning. But the whole conduct of God shows the improbability of this opinion: and is not the conduct of Pharaoh and his courtiers copied and reacted by thousands who are never suspected to be under any such necessitating decree? Every sinner under heaven, who has the Bible in his hand, is acting the same part. God says to the swearer and the profane, Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; and yet common swearing and profaneness are most scandalously common among multitudes who bear the Christian name, and who presume on the mercy of God to get at last to the kingdom of heaven! He says also. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy; thou shall not kill; thou shall not cotnmit adultery; thou shall not steal; thou shall not bear false witness; thou shall not covet; and sanctions all these commandments with the most awful penalties: and yet, with all these • things before them, and the professed belief that they came from God, Sabbath-breakers, men-slayers, adulterers, fornicators, thieves, dishonest men, false witnesses, liars, slanderers, backbiters, covetous men, lovers of the world more than lovers of God, are found by hundreds and thousands! What were the crimes of the poor half-blind Egyptian king when compared with these! He sinned against a comparatively unknown God; these sin against the God of their fathers — against the God and Father of Him whom they call their Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! They sin with the Bible in their hand, and a conviction of its Divine authority in their hearts. They sin against light and knowledge; against the cheeks of their consciences, the reproofs of their friends, the admonitions of the messengers of God; against Moses and Aaron in the law; against the testimony of all the prophets; against the evangelists, the apostles, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Judge of all men, and the Saviour of the world! What were Pharaoh's crimes to the crimes of these 1 On comparison, his atom of moral turpitude is lost in their world of iniquity. And yet who supposes these to be under any necessitating decree to sin on, and go to perdition! Nor are they to expostulate with Pharaoh, nor was Pharaoh. In all things God has proved both his justice and mercy to be clear in this ]iiiint. Pharaoh, through a principle of covetousncss, refused to dismiss the Israelites, whose services he found profitable to the state: thc.ic are ab8orl)C(l in the love of the world, the love of pleasure, and the love of gain; nor will they let one lust go, even in the presence i)f the thunders of.Sinai, or in sight of the agony, liloody sweat, crucifixion, and death of Jesus Christ! Alas! hovr many ate in the habit of considering Pha- Moh the worst of human beings, inevitably cut off from the possibility of being saved because cf his iniquities, who outdo him so far in the viciousness of their lives, that Pharaoh, hardening his heart against ten plagues, appears a saint when compared wish those who are hardening their hearts against ten millions of mercies. Reader, art Mo« of this number? Proceed no farther! God's judgments linger not. Desperate as thy state is, thou mayest return; and thou, even thou, find mercy through the blood of the Lamb.

See the observations at the conclusion of the next chapter.

Moses ts again sent to Pharaoh, and expostulates with him on his refusal to let the Hebrews go, 1-3. The eighth yan-ue, viz., 0/ locusts, is threatened, 4. The extent and oppressive nature of this plague, 5, 6. Pharaoli's servants counsel him to dismiss the Hebrews, 7. He calls for Moses and Aaron, and inquires who they are of the Hebrews who wish to go, 8. Moses having ansieercd that the whole people, iciVA their flocks and herds must go and hold a feast to the Lord, 9, Pharaoh is airaged, and hating granted permission only to the men, drives Moses and Aaron from his presence, 10, 11. Moses is commanded to stretch out his hand and bring the locusts, 12. Ht docs so, and an east wind is sent, which, blowing all that day and night, brings the locusts the next morn'mg, 13. The devastation occasioned by these insects, 14, 15. Pharaoh is humbled, acknowledges his sin, and hegs Moses to intercede with Jehovah for him, IG, 17. Moses docs so, and at his request a strong west mind is sent, which carries all the locusts to the Red Sea, 18, 19. Pharaoh's heart is again hardened, 20. Moses is commanded to bring the ninth plague — an extraordinary darkness over all the land of Egypt, 21. The nature, duration, and effects of this, 22, 23. Pharaoh, again humbled, consents Co ht tlic people go, provided they have their cattle behind, 24. Moses insists on having all their cattle, because of the sacrifices which they must make to the Lord, 25, 26. Pharaoh, again hardened, refuses, 27. Orders Moses from his presence, and threatens him with death should he ever return, 28. Moses departs tcith the promise of returning no more, 29.

have liardened his heart, and the heart of his servants, '^' that I might show these my signs before him: 2 And that " thou mayest tell in the ears of

Verse 1. Hardened his heart] God suffered his natural obstinacy to prevail, that he might have farther opportunities of showing forth his eternal power and Godhead.

Verse 2. That thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son\ That the miracles wrought at this time might be a record for the instruction of the latest posterity, that Jehovah alone, the God of the Hebrews, was the sole Maker, Governor, and Supporter of the heavens and the earth. Thus we find God so did his marvellous works, that they might be bad in crrrlasling remembrance. It was not to crush the poor worm, Pharaoh, that he wrought such mighty wonders, but to convince his enemies, to the end of the world, that no cunning or power can prevail against him; and to show his followers that whosoever trusted in him should never be confounded.

Verse 3. How long wilt thou refuse to humble thy-.lelf] Had it been impossible for Pharaoh, in all the preceding plagues, to have humbled himself and reft 338

Egypt, and my signs whicli I iiave done among them; that ye may know how that I am

3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pha-

pented, can we suppose that God could have addressed him in such language as the preceding? We may rest assured thai there was always a time in which he might have relented, and that it was because he hardened his heart at such times that God is said to harden him, i. e., to give him up to his own stubborn and obstinate heart; in consequence of which he refused to let the people go, so that God had afresh opportunity to work another miracle, for the very gracious purposes mentioned in ver. 2. Had Pharaoh relented before, the same gracious ends would have been accomplished by other means.

Verse 4. To-morrow tcill I bring the locusts] The word n3iX arbch, a locust, is probably from the root nsi rabah, he multiplied, became great, 'mighty, &c., because of the immense swarms of these animals by which different countries, especially the east, are infested. The locust, in entomology, belongs to a genus of insects known among naturalists by the term orvlli;

How long wilt thou refuse to '^ humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me;

4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to-morrow will I bring the " locusts into thy coast:

5 And they shall cover the ''face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and s tliey shall cat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you

and includes three species, crickets, ^asshoppers, and those commonly called locusts; and as they multiply faster than any other animal in creation, the)- are properly entitled to the name n^lN arbeh, which might he translated the numerous or multiplied insect. See this circumstance referred to, Judg. vi. 5; vii. 12; Psa. cv. 34; Jer. xlvi. 23; li. 14; Joel i. 6; Nahum iii. 15; Judith ii. 19, 20; where the most numerous armies are compared to the arbeh or locust. The locust has a large open mouth; and in its two jaws it has four incisive teeth, which traverse each other like scissors, being calculated, from their mechanism, to gripe or cut. Mr. Volney, in his Travels in Syria, gives a striking account of this most awful scourge of God: — " Syria partakes together with Egypt and Persia, and almost all the whole middle part of Asia, in that terrible scourge, I mean those clouds of locusts of which travellers have spoken; the quantity of which is incredible to any person who has not himself seen them, the earth being covered by them for several leagues round. The noise they make in browsing the plants and trees may be heard at a di.stance, like an army plundering in secret. Fire seems to follow their tracks. Wherever their legions march the verdure.disappears from the country, like a curtain drawn aside; the trees and plants, despoiled of their leaves, make the hideous appearance of winter instantly succeed to the bright scenes of spring. When these clouds of locusts take their flight, in order to surmount some obstacle, or the more rapidly to cross some desert, one may literally say that the sun, is darkened by them.''''

Baron de Tott gives a similar account: " Clouds of locusts frequently alight on the plains of the Noguais, (the Tartars,) and giving preference to their fields of millet, ravage them in an instant. Their approach darkens the horizon, and so enormous is their multitude, it hides the light of the sun. They alight on the fields, and there form a bed of six or seven inches thick. To the noise of tUeir flight succeeds that of their devouring actively, which resembles the rattling of hailstones; but its consequences are infinitely more destructive. Fire itself eats not so fast; nor is there any appearance of vegetation to be found when they again take their flight, and go elsewhere to produce new disasters."

from the hail, and shall eat every A. M. 2513.

6 And they ^ shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers' fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.

7 And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be ' a snare unto us?

Dr. Shaw, who witnessed most formidable swarms of these in Barbary in the years 1724 and 1725, gives the following account of them: " They were much larger than our grasshoppers, and had brown-spotted wings, with legs and bodies of a bright yellow. Their first appearance was towards the latter end of March. In the middle of April their numerous swarms, like a succession of clouds, darkened the sun. In the month of May they retired to the adjacent plains to deposit their eggs: these were no sooner hatclied in June than the young brood first produced, while in their caterpillar or worm-like state, formed themselves into a compact body of more than a furlong square, and, marching directly forward, climbed over trees, walls, and houses, devouring every plant in their way. Within a day or two another brood was hatched, and advancing in the same manner, gnawed off" the young branches and bark of the trees left by the former, making a complete desolation. The inhabitants, to stop their progress, made a variety of pits and trenches all over their fields and gardens, w-hich they filled with water, or else heaped up therein heath, stubble, &c., which they set on fire; but to no purpose: for the trenches were quickly filled up and the fires extinguished, by infinite swarms succeeding one another; while the front seemed regardless of danger, and the rear pressed on so close that a retreat was altogether impossible. In a month's time they threw off their worm-like state; and in a new form, with wings and legs, and additional powers, returned to their former voracity." — Shato''s Travels, 187, 188, 4to edition.

The descriptions given by these travellers show that God's army, described by the Prophet Joel, chap, ii., was innumerable swarms of locusts, to wliich the accounts given by Dr. Shaw and others exactly agree.

Verse 5. They shall cover the face of the earth] They sometimes cover the whole ground to the depth of six or eig!tt inches. See the preceding accounts.

Verse G. They shall fill thy houses] Dr. Shaw mentions this circumstance; " they entered," says he, " into our very houses and bed-chambers, like so many thieves." — Ibid. p. 187.

Verse 7. How long shall this man be a snare unto us?] As there is no noun in the text, the pronoun HT zeh may either refer to the Israelites, to the plague by

8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh; and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your God: hut ^ who are they that shall go?

9 And Moses said. We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our lierds will wc go; for ' we must hold a feast unto the Lord.

10 And he said unto them, Let the Lord

which thev were then afflicted, or to Moses and Aaron, the instruments used by the Most High in their chastisement. The Vnl^ate translates, Ilsqveijiio patiemur hoc scandalum? " How long shall we suffer this s"andal or reproach V

Let thf men go, thai they may serve the Lord their God] Mnch of the energy of several passages is lost in translating niH" Yekorah by the terra Lord. The Egyptians had their gods, and they supposed that the Hebrews had a god like unto their own; that this Jehovah required their services, and would continue to afflict Egypt till his people were permitted to worship him in his own way.

A''erse 8. Who are they that shall go.'] Though the Egyptians, about fourscore years before, wished to destroy the Hebrews, yet they found them now so profitable to the state that they were unwilling to part with

Verse 9. We will go with our young and with our old, cjc] As a feast was to be celebrated to the honour of.lehovah, all who were partakers of his bounty and providential kindness must go and perform their tiart in the solemnity. The men and the women must make the feast, the children must witness it, and \he cattle must be taken along with them to furnish the sacrifices necessary on this occasion. This must have appeared reasonable to the Egj'ptians, because it was their own custom in their religious assemblies. Men, women, and children attended them, often to the amount of several hundred thousand. Herodotus informs us. in speaking of the six annual feasts celebrated by the Egyptians in honour of their deities, that they hold their chief one at the city of Bubastis in honour of Ncilh or Diana; that they go thither by water in boats — men, women, and children; that during their voya'^e some of the women play on castanets, and some of the men upon flutes, while the rest are employed in singing and clapping their hands; and that, when they arrive at Bubastis, thev sacrifice a vast number of victims, and drink much wine; and that at one.such festival, the inliahitants assured him, that there were not assembled fewer than 700,000 men and women, without reckoning the children. — Euterpe, chap, lix., Ix.

be so with you, as I will let vou A..M. 2513.

1 1 Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the Lorj); for that yejfiid desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence.

1 2 And the Lord said unto Moses, "" Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and " eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an

I find that the ancient Egyptians called Diana Neith; this comes as near as possible to the Gaile of the Isle of Man. The moon is called yn neith or neath; and also ke-sollus, from ke, smooth or even, and sollvs, tight, the SMOOTH LIGHT; perhaps to distinguish her from the sun, grian, from gri-tien or cri-tien, i. e., tbe.mbling FIRE; yn neith — easga, as Macpherson has it, signifies toan complexion. I should rather incline to think it may come from aise. The Celtic nations thought that the heavenly luminaries were the residences of spirits which they distinguished by the name of aise, thus grian-ais signifies the spirit of the sun.

Moses and Aaron, requesting liberty for the Hebrews to go three days' journey into the wilderness, and with them all their wives, little ones, and cattle, in order to hold a feast unto Jehovah tleir God, must have at least appeared as reasonable tofhe Egyptians as their going to the city of Bubastis with their wives, little ones, and cattle, to hold a feast to Neith or Diana, who was there worshipped. The parallel in these two ca.ses is too striking to pass unnoticed.

Verse 10. Let the Lord be so with you] This is an obscure sentence. Some suppose that Phar.aoh meant it as a curse, as if he had said, " May your God be as surely with you, as I shall let you go!" For as he purposed not to permit them to go, so he wished them as much of the Divine help as they should have of his permission.

Look— for evil is before you.] D3-33 HJJ r\\n '0 INI reu ki raah neged peneychem, See ye that evil is before your faces — if you attempt to go, ye shall meet with the punishment ye deserve. Probably Pharaoh intended tu insinuate that they had some sinister designs, and that thev wished to go in a body that they might the better accomplish their purpose; but if they had no such designs they would be contented for the males to go, and leave their wives and children beliind: for he well knew if the men went and left their _/(imi7i>i they would infallibly return, but that if he permitted them to take their families with them, they would undoubtedly make their escape; therefore he says, ver. 11, Go now ye that are men, and serve the Lord.

Verse 13. The Lord brought an east wind] As locusts abounded in those countries, and particularly in.^Ethiopia, and more especially at this time of the year,

east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.

14 And " the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; p before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.

1 5 For they i 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.

16 Then Pharaoh 'called for Moses and Aaron in haste: and he said, ' I have sinned against the Lokd your God, and against you.

17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my

God had no need to create new swarms for this purpose; all that was requisite was to cause such a wind to blow as would bring those which already existed over the land of Egypt. The miracle in this business was he bringing the locusts at the appointed time, and cauoing the proper wind to blow for that purpose; and then taking them away after a similar manner.

Verse 14. Before them there were no such locusts, <^c.] They exceeded all that went before, or were Bince, in number, and in the devastations they produced. Probably both these things are intended in the passage. See ver. 15.

Verse 17. Forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once] What a strange case! And what a series of softening and hardening, of sinning and repenting! Had he not now another opportunity of returning to God? But the love of gain, and the gratification of his own self-will and obstinacy, finally prevailed.

Verse 19. A mighty strong west ivind] D' nil 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] f|lD □' yatn 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 ho 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 «A land. " One of these," he observes, " from a root

18 And he ''went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord.

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.

20 But the Lord ^ hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.

2 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, ^ Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, " even darkness which may be felt.

22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a •> thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

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 daXaaaa epvffpa, 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 D"IN Edom in Hebrew signifies red or ruddy. The Red Sea, called also the Arabic Gulf, separates Arabia from Upper Ethiopia 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 7iorth tosouth, 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. Tho Heroopolitan Gulf is called by the Arabians Bahr el Kolzum, the sea of destruction, or of Clysmre, an ancient town in that quarter; and the Elanitic GwM Bahr el Akaba, the sea of Akaba, a town situated on its most inland point.

The NINTH plague — thick darkness. Verse 21. Darkness \\\i\c\\ may be felt.] Probably this was occasioned by a superabundance of aqueous vapours floating in the atmosphere, which were so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating through them; an extraordinarily thick mist supernaturally, i. e., miraculously, brought on. An awful emblem of the darkened state of the Egyptians and their king.

23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for tliree days: " but all the cliildrcn of Israel had light in their dwellings.

24 And Pharaoli called unto Moses, and

* said, Go ye, serve the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your

25 And Moses said. Thou must give '' us also sacrifices and burnt-offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God.

26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there

Verse 23. They saw not one another] So deep was the obscurity, and probably such was its nature, that no artificial li^ht could be procured; as the thick clammy vapours woidd prevent lamps, &c., from burning, or if they even could be ignited, the light through the palpable obscurity, could diffuse itself to no distance from the burning body. The author of the book of Wisdom, chap. xvii. 2-19, gives a fearful description of this plague. He says, " The Egyptians were shut up in their houses, the prisoners of darkness: and were fettered with the bonds of a long night. They were scattered under a dark veil of forgetfulness, being horribly astonished and troubled with strange apparitions; for neither might the corner that held them keep them from fear; but noises as of tvaters falling down sounded about them; and sad visions appeared unto them with heavy countenances. No power of the fire could give them light — only there appeared unto them a fire kindled of itself very dreadful; for being much terrified, they thought the things which they saw to be worse than the sight they saw not. For though no terrible thing did scare them, yet being scared with beasts that passed by, and hissing of serpents, they died for fear: for whether he were husbandman, or shepherd, or a labourer in the field, he was overtaken; for they vvere all bound with one chain of darkness. Whether it were a whistling wind, or a terri!)le sound of stones cast down, or a running that could not be seen of tripping beasts, or a roaring voice of most savage wild beasts, or a rebounding echo from the hollow mountains, these things made them to swoon for fear." See Psalm l.xxviii. 49.

To this description nothing need be added except this circumstance, that the darkness, with its attendant horrors, lasted for three days.

All the children of Israel had light] By thus distinguishing the Israelites, God showed the Egyptians that th'. darkness was produced by his power; ahat he sent it in judgment against them for their cruelty to his people; that because they trusted in him they were exempted from these plagues; that in the displeasure of such a Being his enemies had every thing to fear, and in his approbation his followers had every thing to hope.

Verse 24. Only let ynur flocks and your herds be stayed] Pharaoh cannot get all he wishes; and as he sees it impossible to contend with Jehovah, he now

Lord our God; and we know not with what we must serve the Lord until we come thither.

27 But the Lord k hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go.

28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shall die.

29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, *" I will see thy face again no more.

consents to give up the Israelites, their wives and their children, provided he may keep their flocks and their herds. The cruelty of this demand is not more evident than its avarice. Had six hundred thousand men, besides women and children, gone three days' journey into the wilderness without their cattle, they must have inevitably perished, being without milk for their little ones, and animal food for their own sustenance, in a place where little as a substitute could possibly be found. It is evident from this that Pharaoh intended the total destruction of the whole Israelitish host.

Verse 26. We know not with what we must serve the Lord, cj-c] The laiv was not yet given; the ordinances concerning the different kinds of sacrifices and offerings not known. What kind and what number of animals God should require to be sacrificed, even Moses himself could not as yat tell. He therefore very properly insists on taking the^hole of their herds with them, and not leaving even one hoof behind.

Verse 27. The Lord hardened Pharaoh'' s heart] He had yet another miracle to work for the complete conviction of the Egyptians and triumph of his people; and till that was wrought he permitted the natural obstinacy of Pharaoh's haughty heart to have its full sway, after each resistance of the gracious influence which was intended to soften and bring liim to repentance.

Verse 28. See my face no more] Hitherto Pharaoh had left the way open for negotiation; but now, in wrath against Jehovah, he dismisses his ambassador, and threatens him with death if he should attempt any more to come into his presence.

Verse 29. I will see thy face again no more.] It is very likely that this was the last interview that Moaes had with Pharaoh, for what is related, chap. xi. 4-8, might have been spoken on this very occasion, as it is very possible that God gave Moses to understand his purpose to slay the first-born, while before Pharaoh at tliis time; so, in all probability, the mterview mentioned here was the last whicli Moses had with the Egyptian king. It is true that in ver. 31 of chap. xii. it is stated that Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron by night, and ordered them to leave Egypt, and to take all their substance with them, which seems to imply that there was another interview, but the woards may imply no more than that Moses and Aaron received such a message from Pharaoh. If, however, tliis moda of interpreting these passages should not seem satisfactory to any, he may understand the words of Moses thus: / icill see thy face — seek thy favour, 7w more in behalf of my people, which was literally true; f<ir if Moses did appear any more before Pharaoh, it was not as a supplicant, but merely as the ambassador of God, to denounce his judgments by giving him the final determination of Jehovah relative to the destruction of the first-born.

1. To the observations at the conclusion of the preceding chapter, we may add that at first view it seems exceedingly strange that, after all the proofs Pharaoh had of the power of God, he should have acted in the manner related in this and the preceding chapters, alternately siening and repenting; but it is really a common case, and multitudes who condemn the conduct of this miserable Egyptian king, act in a similar manner. They relent when smarting under God's judgments, but harden their hearts when these judgments are removed. Of this kind I have witnessed numerous cases. To such God says by his prophet. Why should ye be stricken any more? ye will revolt more and more. Reader, are not the vows of God upon thee? Often when afflicted in thyself or family hast thou not said like Pharaoh, (ver. 17,) Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin onlij this once, and ta/ce away from me this death only? And yet when thou hadst respite, didst thou not harden thy heart, and with returning health and strength didst thou not return unto iniquity 1 And art thou not still in the broad road of tiansgression 1 Be not deceived; God is not mocked; he warns thee, but be will not be mocked by thee. What thou sowest, that thou must reap. Think then what a most dreadful harvest thou mayest expect from the seeds of vice which thou hast already sown!

2. Even in the face of God's judgments the spirit of avarice will make its requisitions. Only let youi flocks and your herds be stayed, says Pharaoh. The love of gain was the ruling principle of this man's soul, and he chooses desperately to contend with the justice of his Maker, rather than give up his bosom sin I Reader, is this not thy own case 7 And art thou not ready, with Pharaoh, to say to the messenger of God, who rebukes thee for thy worldly mindedness, &c., Get thee gone from me. Take heed to thyself, and see my face no more. Esau and Pharaoh have both got a very bad name, and many persons who are repeating their crimes are the foremost to cover them with obloquy! When shall we learn to look at home? to take warning by the miscarriages of others, and thus shun the pit into which we have seen so many fall ] If God were to give the history of every man who hardens himself from his fear, how many Pharaohlike cases should we have on record! But a day is coming in which the secrets of every heart shall be revealed, and the history of every man's life laid open to an assembled world.

God purposes to bring another plague upon Pharaoh, after lohich he should let the Israelites go, 1. They are commanded to ask gold and silver from the Egyptians, 2. The estimation in tohich Moses was held among the Egyptians, 3. Moses predicts the destruction of the first-born of the Egyptians, 4-6, and Israel's protection, 7. On seeing which, Pharaoh and his servants should entreat the Hebrews to depart, 8. The prediction of his previous obstinacy, 9, 10.

more upon Pharaoli, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: '^ when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and

NOTES ON CHAP. XI. Verse I. The Lord said unto Moses'] Calmet contends that this should be read in the preterpluperfect tense, for the Lard had said to Moses, as the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventli, and eighth verses appear to have been spoken when Moses had the interview with Pharaoh mentioned in the preceding chapter; see the note there on verse 29. If therefore this chapter be connected with the preceding, as it should be, and the first three verses not only read in the past tense but also in a parenthesis, the sense will be much more distinct and jlear than it now appears.

3 " And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man ■^ Moses loas very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

4 And Moses said. Thus saith the Lord,

Verse 2. Let every man borrow^ For a proper correction of the strange mistranslation of the word IHW shaal in this verse, see the note on chap. iii. 22.

Verse 3. The man Moses was very great] The miracles which Pharaoh and his servants had already seen him work had doubtless impressed t' am with a high opinion of his wisdom and power, llad he not appeared in their sight as a very extraordinary person, whom it would have been very dangerous to molest, we m,ay naturally conclude that some violence would long ere this have been offered to his person.

" About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:

5 And ^ all the first-born in the land of Egj'pt sliall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sittelli upon his tlirone, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind tlie mill; and all the first-born of beasts.

7 *■ But against any of the children of Israel ' shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

God (lid this by tlie ministry of a good or of an evil angel is a matter of little iniportame, though some commentators have greatly magnifie I it. Both kinds of angels arc under his power and jurisdiction, and he may employ them as he pleases. Such a work of destruction as the slaying of the first-born is supposed to be more proper for a bad than for a good angel. But the works of God's justice are not less holy and pure than the works of his mercy; and the highest archangel may, with the utmost propriety, be employed in either.

Verse 5. The first-born of Pharaoh, ij-c] From the heir to the Egyptian throne to the son of the most abject slave, or the principal person in each family. See the note on chap. xii. 29.

The maid-serrmnt that is behind the mill] The meanest slaves were employed in this work. In many parts of the east they still grind all their corn with a kind of portable mill-stones, the upper one of vi'hich is turned roimd by a sort of lever fixed in the rim. A drawing of one of these machines as used in China is now before me, and the person who grinds is represented as pushing the lever before him, and thus running round with the stone. Perhaps something like this is intended by the expression behind the mill in the text. On this passage Dr. Shaw has the following observation: — " Most families grind their wheat and barley at home, having two portable mill-stnnes for that purpose, the uppermost of which is turned round by a small handle of wood or iron that is placed in the rim. When this stone is large, or expedition required, a second person is called in to assist; and as it is usual for women alono to be concerned in this employment, who seat themselves over against each other with the mill-stone between them, we may see, not only the propriety of the expression (Exod. xi. 5) of sitting behind the mill, but the force of another, (Matt. xxiv. 40,) that two tvomen shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.'" — Travels, p. 231, •Jto edit. These portable mills, under the name of querns, were used among our ancestors in this and the sister kingdoms, and some of them are in use to the present day. Both the instrument and its name our forefathers seem to have borrowed from the continent. They have long existed among the inhabitants of Shetland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, &c.

Verse 6. There shall be a great cry] Of the dying and for the dead. See more on this subject, chap. xii. 30.

Verse 7. Not a dog move his tongue] This pass.age has been generally understood as a proverbial expression, intimating that the Israelites should not only be free from this death, but that they should depart with- out any kind of molestation. For though there must be much bustle and comparative confusion in the sudden removal oi sixhundred thousand persons with their wives, children, goods, cattle, &c., yet this should produce so little alarm that even the dogs should not bark m at them, which it would be natural to expect, as the M principal stir was to be about midnight.

After giving this general explanation from others, I may be permitted to hazard a conjecture of my own. And, 1. Is it not probable that the allusion is here made to a well-known custom of dogs howling when any mortality is in a village, street, or even house, where such animals are! There are innumerable instances of the faithful house-dog howling when a death happens in a family, as if distressed on the account, feeling for the loss of his benefactor; but their apparent presaging such an event by their cries, as some will have it, may be attributed, not to any prescience, but to the exquisite keenness of their scent. If the words may be understood in this way, then the great cry through the whole land of Egypt may refer to this very circumstance: as dogA were sacred among them, and consequently religiously preserved, they must have existed in great multitudes. 2. We know that one of their principal deities was Osiris, whose son, worshipped under the form of a dog, or a man with a dog's head, was called Anubislatrator, the barhing Anubis. May he not be represented as deploring a calamity which he had no power to prevent among his worshippers, nor influence to inflict punishment upon those who J set his deity at naught? Hence while there was a ^ great cry, n'^TJ npi'S tseakah gedolah, throughout aU the land of Egypt, because of the mortality in every house, yet among the Israelites there was no death, consequently no dog moved his tongue to howl for their calamity; nor could the object of the Egyptians' worship inflict any similar punishment on the worshippers of Jehovah.

In honour of this dog-god there was a city called Anubis in Egypt, by the Greeks called Cynopolis, the city of the dog, the same that is now called Menieh; in this he had a temple, and dogs, which were sacred to him, were here fed with consecrated victuals.

Thus, as in the first plagues their magicians were confounded, so in this last their gods were put to flight..\nd may not this be referred to in chap. xii. 12, when Jehovah says: Against all the gods of Egypt I mill execute judgment? Should it be objected, that to consider the passage in this light would be to acknowledge the being and deity of the fictitious.\nubis, it may be answered, that in the sacred writings it is not an un-

8 And ^ all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying. Get thee out, and all the people ' that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out;rom Pharaoh in ™ a great anger. 9 And the Lord said unto Moses, " Pharaoh

common thing to see the idol acknowledged in order to show its nullity, and the more forcibly to express contempt for it, for its worshippers, and for its worship. Thus Isaiah represents the Babylonish idols as being endued with sense, bowing down under the judgments of God, utterly unable to help themselves or their worshippers, and being a burden to the beasts that carried them: Bel boweth down, Nebo sloopeth; their idols were upon the beasts and upon the cattle: your carriages were heavy laden; they are a burden to the weary beast. Thev stoop, they boio down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity; chap. xlvi. 1, 2. The case of Elijah and the prophets of Baal should not be forgotten here; this prophet, by seeming to acknowledge the reality of BaaVs being, though by a strong irony, poured the most sovereign contempt upon him, his worshippers, and his worship: And Elijah mocked them, and said. Cry aloud; fob he is A god: either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, orperadventure he sleepeth and must be awaked; 1 Kings xviii. 27. See the observations at the end of chap..xii.

The Lord doth put a difference^ See on chap. viii. 22. And for the variations between the Hebrew and Samaritan Pentateuch in this place, see at the end of the chapter.

Verse 8. And all these thy servants shall come] A. prediction of what actually took place. See chap, xii. 31-33.

Verse 9. Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you] Though shall and will are both reputed signs of the future tense, and by many indiscriminately used, yet they make a most essential difference in composition in a variety of cases. For instance, if we translate ynV)^ nh lo yishma, Pharaoh shall not hearken, as in our text, the word shall strongly intimates that it was impossible for Pharaoh to hearken, and that God had placed him under that impossibility: but if we translate as we should do, Pharaoh will not hearken, it alters the case most essentially, and agrees with the many passages in the preceding chapters, where he is said to have hardened his own heart; as this proves that he, without any impulsive necessity, obstinately refused to attend to what Moses said or threatened; and that God took the advantage of this obstinacy to work another miracle, and thus multiply his wonders in the land.

Pharaoh will not hearken unto you; and because te would not God hardened his heart — ^left him to his own obstinacy.

To most critics it is well known that there are in several parts of the Pentateuch considerable differences

shall not hearken unto you; that " my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: p and the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

between the Hebrew and Samaritan copies of this work. In this chapter the variations are of considerable importance, and competent critics have allowed that the Samaritan text, especially in this chapter, is fuller and better connected than that of the Hebrew. 1. It is evident that the eighth verse in the present Hebrew text has no natural connection with the seventh. For in the seventh verse Moses delivers to the Israelites what God had commanded him to say; and in the eighth he appears to continue a direct discour.se unto Pharaoh, though it does not appear when this discourse was begun. This is quite contrary to the custom of Moses, who always particularly notes the commencement of his discourses.

2. It is not likely that the Samaritans have added these portions, as they could have no private interest to serve by so doing; and therefore it is likely that these additions were originally parts of the sacred text, and might have been omitted, because an ancient copyist found the substance of them in other places. It must however be granted, that the principal additions in the Samaritan are repetitions of speeches which exist in the Hebrew text.

3. The principal part of these additions do not appear to have been borrowed from any other quarter. Interpolations in general are easily discerned from the confusion they introduce; but instead of deranging the sense, the additions here make it much more apparent; for should these not be admitted it is evident that something is wanting, without which the connection is incomplete. — See Calmet. But the reader is still requested to observe, that the supplementary matter in the Samaritan is collected from other parts of the Hebrew text; and that the principal merit of the Samaritan is, that it preserves the words in a better arrangement.

Dr. Kennicott has entered into this subject at large, and by printing the two texts in parallel columns, the supplementary matter in the Samaritan and the hiatus in the Hebrew text will be at once perceived. It is well known that he preferred the Samaritan to the Hebrew Pentateuch; and his reasons for that preference in this case I shall subjoin. As the work is extremely scarce from which I select them, one class of readers especially wlU be glad to meet with them in this place.

"Within these _/!ue chapters, vii., viii., ix., x., and xi., are seven very great differences between the Hebrew and Samaritan Pentateuchs, relating to the speeches which denounced seven out of the ten judgments upon the Egyptians, viz., waters into blood, frogs, flies, murrain, hail, locusts, and destruction of the first-bom. The Hebrew text gives the speeches concerning these judgments only once at each; but the Samaritan givea 345 >-^ each speech twioe. In the Hebrew we have the speeches concerniiifj the Jive first as in command from God to Moses, without reading that Mosrs delivered them; and concerning the two last, as delivered by Moses to Pharaoh, without reading that God had commanded them. Whereas in the Samaritan we find every speech twice: God commands Moses to go and speak thus or thus before Pharaoh; Moses goes and denounces the judgment; Pharaoh disobeys, and the judgment takes place. All this is perfectly regular, and exactly agreeable to the double speeches of Homer in very ancient times. I have not the least doubt that the Hebrew text now wants many words in each of the seven following places: ch.ip. vii., between verses 18 and 19: end of chap. vii.; chap, viii., between 19 and 20; chap, x., between 2 and 3; chap, xi., at verses 3 and 4. The reader will permit me to refer him (for all the words thus omitted) to my own edition of the Hebrew Bible, (Oxford 1780, 2 vols, fol.,) where the whole difTerences are most clearly described. As this is a matter of very extensive consequence, I cannot but observe here, that the present Hebrew text of Exod. xi. did formerly, and does still appear to me to furnish a demonstration against itself, in proof of the double speech being formerly recorded there, as it is now in the Samaritan. And some very learned men have confessed the impossibility of explaining this chapter without the assistance of the Samaritan Pentateuch. I shall now give this important chapter as I presume it stood originally, distinguishing by italics all such words as are added to or differ from our present translation. And before this chapter must be placed the two 'last verses of the chapter preceding, E.xod..\. 28: And Pharaoh said unto him. Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shall die. 29: Atid Moses said, Thou hast well spoken, I will see thy face again no more.

1. And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt, afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

2. Speak now in the ears of the people; and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, a.nd jewels of gold.

3. And the Lord oave the people favour in the aight of the Egyptians.

1. Then Jehovah said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt, and afterwards he will send you out hence; when he will send you away, he will surely drive you hence altogether.

2. Speak now in the ears of the people; and let every man ask of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold and raiment.

3. And I will give this people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they shall give them what they ask.

Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

4. And Moses said,Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst

5. And all the first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sittetli upon his throne, even unto the first-born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and all the first-born of beasts.

6. And there shall be a great cry through all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

5. And every first-bom in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-bom of Pharaoh who sitteth upon his throne, unto the firstbom of the maid-servant that IS behind the mill, and even unto the firstborn of every beast.

6. And there shall be a great cry through all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

7. But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or even against beast; that thou mayest know that Jehovah doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

8. And thou also shalt be greatly honoured in the land of Eg)pt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.

9. Then Moses said unto Pharaoh, Thus saith Jehovah, Israel is my son, my first-born; and I said unto thee. Let my son go that he may serve me.

10. But thou hast refused to let him go; behold, Jehovah slayeth thy son, thy first-born.

11. And Moses said, Thus saith Jehovah, About midnight will I go lorth into the midst of the land

12. And every first-born in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, unto the first born of the maid-servant that is behind the mill; and even unto the firstborn of every beast.

13. And there shall be a great cry through all the lantl of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

17. And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall unto Moses, Pharaoh doth not hearken unto you, that not hearken unto you, that my wonders may be multi- ray wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt, plied in the land of Egypt.

and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in great anger.

the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he

would not let the chil- he would not,et the children of Israel go out of dren of Israel go out of his land. his land.

"The reader has now the whole of this chapter before him. When, therefore, he has first read the 28th and 29th verses of the preceding chapter, and has then observed with due surprise the confusion of the Hebrew text in chap, xi., he will be prepared to acknowledge with due gratitude the regularity and truth of the Samaritan text, through these many and very considerable differences." — Remarks on select passages in the Old Testament, 8vo., Oxford, 1787.

The reader will pass his own judgment on the weight of this reasoning, and the importance of the additions preserved in the Samaritan text; a conviction of their utility has induced me to insert them

The month Abib is to be considered as the commencement of the year, 1,2. The Passover instituted; the lamb or kid to be used on the occasion to be taken from the flock the tenth day of the month, and each family to provide one, 3, 4. The lamb or kid to be a male of the first year without blemish, 5. To be killed on the fourteenth day, 6, and the blood to he sprinkled on the side posts and lintels of the doors, 7. The flesh to be prepared by roasting, and not to be eaten either sodden or raw, 8, 9; and no part of it to be left till the morning, 10. The people to eat it with their loins girded, Sfc, as persons prepared for a journey, 11. Why called the Passover, 12. The blood sprinkled on the door posts, cf-c, to be a token to them of preservation from the destroying angel, 13. The fourteenth day of the month Abib to be a feast for ever, 14. Unleavened bread to be eaten seveti days, 15. This also to be observed in all their generations for ever, 17-20. Moses instructs the elders of Israel how they are to offer the lamb and sprinkle his blood, and for lohat purpose, 2 1-23. He binds them to instruct their children in the nature of this rite, 24-27. The children of Israel act as commanded, 28. All the first-born of Egypt slain, 29, 30. Pharaoh and the Egyptians urge Moses, Aaron, and the Israelites to depart, 31—33. They prepare for their departure, and get gold, silver, and raiment /rom the Egyptians, 34—36. They journey from Rameses to Succoth, in number si.v hundred thousand men, besides women and children, and a mixed multitude, 37, 38. They bake unleavened cakes of the dough they brought with them out of Egypt, 39. The time in which they sojourned in Egypt, 40-42. Different ordinances concerning the Passover, 43-49; which are all punctually observed by the people, loho are brought out of Egypt the same day, 50, 51.

NOTES ON CHAP. XII. Verse 2. This month shall be unto you the begin- ■tmg of?nonlhs] It is supposed that God now changed the commencement of the Jewish year. The month to which this verse refers, the month Abib, answers to a part of our March and April; whereas it is supposed that previously to this the year began with Tisri, which answers to a part of our September; for in this month the Jews suppose God created the world, when

beginning of months: it shall be the first month of the year to you. 3 Speak ye unto all the congregation

the earth appeared at once with all its fruits in perfection. From this circumstance the Jews have formed a twofold commencement of the year, which has given rise to a twofold denomination of the year itself, to which they afterwards attended in all their reckonings: that which began with Tisri or September was called their civil year; that which began with Abib or March was called the sacred or ecclesiastical year. As the exodus of the Israelites formed a particulai

A. M. 2513. Israel, saying, In the tenth day An. Exod. isr. 1. of this niontli tliey shall lake to

*''''' "'•^''"'"- them every man a "lamb, according to tlie house of their fathers, a lamb for a house:

4 And if the household be too little for the lamb, let him and his neighbour next unto his house take it, according to the number of the

era, which is referred to in Jewish reckonings down to the building of the temple, I have marked it as such in the chronology in the margin; and shall carry it down to the time in which it ceased to be acknowledged.

Some very eminently learned men dispute this; and especially Houbigant, who contends with great plausibility of argument that no new commencement of the year is noted in this place; for that the year had always begun in tliis month, and that the words shall be, which are inserted by different versions, have nothing answering to them in the Hebrew, which he renders literally thus: Hic inctisis vobis est caput mensium; hic vobis primus est anni mensis. " This month is to you the head or chief of the months; it is to you the first month of the year." And he observes farther that God only marks it thus, as is evident from the context, to show the people that this month, which was the beginning of their year, should be so designated as to point out to their posterity on what month and on what day of the month they v,.re to celebrate the passover and the feast of unleavened bread. His words are these: " Ergo superest, et Hebr. ipso ex contextu efficitur, non hic novi ordinis annum constitui, sed eum anni mensem, qui esset primus, ideo commemorari, ut posteris constaret, quo mense, et quo die mensis pascha et azyma celebranda essent."