Bible Commentaries
Go deeper in Scripture
Browse trusted public-domain commentary alongside DiscipleDeck Bible study. References inside each commentary open Bible previews in place.
35,156 commentary entries
All active commentary sources
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:15
For now I will stretch out my hand. It is generally agreed by modern writers that this translation fails to give the true sense of the original God does not here announce what he is going to do, but what he might have d…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:16
The road to ruin. "And in very deed for this cause," etc. (Exodus 9:16). The character and conduct of Pharaoh as a probationer under the moral government of the Ever Living God is worthy of special and separate consider…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:16
And in very deed, etc. Rather, "But truly for this cause have I caused thee to stand," i.e; "kept thee alive and sustained thee in the position thou occupiest" for to shew to thee my power—i.e; to impress thee, if it is…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:17-35
The seventh plague-the hail mingled with fire. I. CONSIDER THE PLAGUE ITSELF, 1. God has his "to-morrow"(Exodus 9:18) as well as Pharaoh (Exodus 8:10). Only when Pharaoh's "to-morrow" comes, there comes with it the evid…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:17
As yet. Rather "still." And the whole verse should be rendered—"Dost thou still oppose thyself against my people, so as not to let them go." The verb translated "oppose"—("exalt" in the A.V.)—is strictly "to raise a mou…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:18
To-morrow about this time. As it might have been thought that Moses had done nothing very extraordinary in predicting a storm for the next day, a more exact note of time than usual was here given. Compare Exodus 8:23; E…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:19
Thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field. During winter and early spring, the Egyptians kept their cattle "in the field," as other nations commonly do. When the inundation began, they were obliged to bring them i…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:20
He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh. It is a new fact that any of the Egyptians had been brought to "fear the word of Jehovah." Probably, the effect of the plagues had been gradually to con…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:21
He that regarded not. If there were men who believed in the power and truthfulness of Jehovah, there were probably more who did not believe. As Lot "seemed as one that mocked unto his sons-in-law" (Genesis 19:14), so Mo…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 9:22-35
Woful havoc this hail made: it killed both men and cattle; the corn above ground was destroyed, and that only preserved which as yet was not come up. The land of Goshen was preserved. God causes rain or hail on one city…
Matthew Henry on Exodus 9:22-35
The threatened plague of hail is here summoned by the powerful hand and rod of Moses (Exodus 9:22-23), and it obeys the summons, or rather the divine command; for fire and hail fulfil God's word, Psalm 148:8. And here w…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:22-35
I. THE TERRORS OF GOD'S MIGHT. In that awful war of elements any moment might have been his last, and Pharaoh trembled. This plague evoked from him the first confession of sin. Hitherto he had reluctantly granted the re…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:22
Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven. The action was appropriate, as the plague was to come from the heaven. Similarly, in the first and second plagues, Aaron's hand had been stretched out upon the waters (Exodus 7:19…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:23
Moses stretched forth his rod. In the last set of three plagues, the earthly agent was Moses (Exodus 9:10; Exodus 10:13, Exodus 10:22), whose diffidence seems to have worn off as time went on, and he became accustomed t…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:24
Fire mingled with the hail. Rather, "There was hail, and in the midst of the hail a fire infolding itself." The expression used is the same which occurs in Ezekiel 1:4. It seems to mean a fire that was not a mere flash,…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:25
The hall smote. It is to the hail and not to the lightning that the great destruction of men and beasts is attributed. Such lightning, however, as is spoken of, would probably kill some. All that was in the field. Accor…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:26
Only in the land of Goshen, etc. Compare Exodus 8:22; Exodus 9:4; Exodus 10:23. HOMILETICS
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:27-30
The mock repentance of a half-awakened sinner counterfeits the true, but has features by which it may be known. It is not always easy to distinguish between a true and a mock repentance. Here was the Pharaoh at this tim…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:27
And Pharaoh sent. Compare Exodus 8:8, and Exodus 8:25-28. Pharaoh had been driven to entreat only twice before. I have sinned this time. The meaning is, "I acknowledge this time that I have sinned" (Kaliseh, Cook). "I d…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:27-35
EXPOSITION The plague of hail impressed the Pharaoh more than any previous one. It was the first which had inflicted death on men. It was a most striking and terrible manifestation. It was quite unlike anything which th…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:28
Mighty thunderings. Literally, as in the margin, "voices of God." Thunder was regarded by many nations of antiquity as the actual voice of a god. In the Vedic theology, Indra spoke in thunder. The Egyptian view on the s…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:29
As soon as I am gone out of the city. "The city" is probably Tanis (Zoan). We may gather from the expression of this verse, and again of Exodus 9:33, that Moses and Aaron did not live in the city, but in the country wit…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:30
I know that ye will not yet fear the Lord. True fear of God is shown by obedience to his commands. Pharaoh and his servants had the sort of fear which devils have—" they believed and trembled." But they had not yet that…
The Pulpit Commentary on Exodus 9:31
The flax and the barley was smitten. Flax was largely cultivated by the Egyptians, who preferred linen garments to any other (Herod. 2:37), and allowed the priests to wear nothing but linen. Several kinds of flax are me…