Exodus 9:23-24
Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, very heavy hail, such as had never been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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This wasn't just a storm; the description of "fire ran down to the earth" suggests a terrifying, unnatural phenomenon beyond ordinary lightning, implying God's direct, active presence. It’s also significant that thunder was sent, a sound often associated with God's voice and power in Scripture, emphasizing this wasn't just weather but a divine pronouncement.
Pharaoh has repeatedly refused to let the Israelites go, hardening his heart despite nine devastating plagues. Now, God warns Moses to tell Pharaoh that a destructive hailstorm, unlike any seen before, is coming upon all of Egypt, except for the land of Goshen where the Israelites live. This seventh plague combines thunder, hail, and fire that sweeps the ground, aimed at finally breaking Pharaoh's defiance and demonstrating God's unparalleled power.
Imagine the sky cracking open with an unearthly roar, followed by ice shards the size of stones. This wasn't just a storm; it was a divine declaration.
Exodus 9:23 describes a plague unlike any other Egypt had seen. It wasn't simply rain and ice, but a terrifying display of God's raw power. Notice the vivid descriptions:
This wasn't a random act of nature. The text emphasizes that this was God, the LORD, who sent these elements. It was a calculated and targeted display of power, designed to demonstrate His absolute authority over creation and His specific judgment against Egypt's defiance. The unique combination of phenomena underscores that this was supernatural intervention, not natural weather.
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Amidst the terrifying storm, people reacted differently. Some scrambled for safety, while others remained exposed to destruction. What divided them?
The commentary highlights a crucial distinction in how people responded to God's warnings and plagues:
This wasn't just about seeking shelter; it was about recognizing the authority behind the message. Those who 'feared the word of the Lord' (Exodus 9:20) acted. Those who 'regarded not the word of the Lord' (Exodus 9:21) perished. This shows that God's judgment, while devastating, often revealed the heart's true disposition towards Him. The plague served as a test, exposing the difference between those who respected God's power and those who dismissed it.
Understand the original words
matteh · Hebrew Noun
A rod or walking stick carried by a leader or shepherd, symbolizing delegated authority and power from God. It serves as an instrument through which God's miraculous works are performed.
ra'am · Hebrew Noun
A manifestation of the voice or presence of God, often associated with His power, judgment, and majesty. It frequently signals divine intervention in human affairs.
esh · Hebrew Noun
A symbol of divine presence, purity, judgment, or the glory of God. In judgment contexts, it represents the consuming nature of God's holiness against sin.
This plague was a unique display of God's power, combining natural phenomena like hail and thunder with supernatural elements like fire moving across the ground, demonstrating His control over creation itself to judge an unyielding oppressor.
c. 1446 BC
Israel's Sojourn in Egypt
For centuries, the Israelites lived and multiplied in Egypt, eventually becoming enslaved.
c. 1446 BC
Moses Called by God
God appeared to Moses in the burning bush and commissioned him to lead the Israelites out of Egypt.
c. 1446 BC
The First Eight Plagues
God sent a series of escalating plagues upon Egypt to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites go.
c. 1446 BC— this verse
Pharaoh's Hardened Heart
Despite the devastating plagues, Pharaoh repeatedly refused to release the Israelites, leading to further divine judgment.
c. 1446 BC
The Seventh Plague: Hail and Fire
God sent a terrifying storm of hail and lightning, devastating unprotected crops, livestock, and people across Egypt, sparing only Goshen.
c. 1446 BC
Pharaoh's Temporary Repentance
Overwhelmed by the plague, Pharaoh relented and promised to let the people go, but his heart hardened again once the threat passed.
This psalm recounts God's mighty acts for Israel and specifically mentions God turning their rivers into blood, and their fish died, and then describes the plague of hail, showing a consistent pattern of God's judgment manifesting through natural elements turned destructive.
Psalm 78:47-48This passage also reflects on God's judgment against Egypt and the Egyptians, detailing how God destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamore-trees with frost, and gave their cattle to the hail, and their flocks to thunderbolts, paralleling the destructive power unleashed in Exodus 9.
Ezekiel 13:11The prophet Ezekiel speaks of God's judgment against false prophets, describing a day when 'a pouring rain, great hailstones, and terrible thunder will fall,' which echoes the terrifying and destructive nature of the hail storm sent upon Egypt as a divine judgment.
Revelation 16:21In the eschatological vision of Revelation, a great hail, each stone about the weight of a talent, falls from heaven upon men as a part of God's final judgment, illustrating that such catastrophic hailstorms have a precedent as instruments of divine wrath.
calvinExodus 9:13-26: "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."
Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou 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.
Nunc igitur mitte, collige pecus tuum, et quicquid tibi…
gillExodus 9:23: "And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt."
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven,.... The same which Aaron had made use of before, but was now in the hand of Moses, and whose rod it properly was: and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground, hot thunderbolts, which struck their flocks, Psalm 78:48 and hail which…
This wasn't just a storm; the description of "fire ran down to the earth" suggests a terrifying, unnatural phenomenon beyond ordinary lightning, implying God's direct, active presence. It’s also significant that thunder was sent, a sound often associated with God's voice and power in Scripture, emphasizing this wasn't just weather but a divine pronouncement.
Pharaoh has repeatedly refused to let the Israelites go, hardening his heart despite nine devastating plagues. Now, God warns Moses to tell Pharaoh that a destructive hailstorm, unlike any seen before, is coming upon all of Egypt, except for the land of Goshen where the Israelites live. This seventh plague combines thunder, hail, and fire that sweeps the ground, aimed at finally breaking Pharaoh's defiance and demonstrating God's unparalleled power.
Pharaoh has repeatedly refused to let the Israelites go, hardening his heart despite nine devastating plagues. Now, God warns Moses to tell Pharaoh that a destructive hailstorm, unlike any seen before, is coming upon all of Egypt, except for the land of Goshen where the Israelites live. This seventh plague combines thunder, hail, and fire that sweeps the ground, aimed at finally breaking Pharaoh's defiance and demonstrating God's unparalleled power.
"Then Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and fire ran down to the earth. And the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. There was hail and fire flashing continually in the midst of the hail, v…" — This wasn't just a storm; the description of "fire ran down to the earth" suggests a terrifying, unnatural phenomenon beyond ordinary lightning, implying God's direct, active presence. It’s also sign…
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