Exodus 9:13-35

Exodus 9:13 to Exodus 35:7°. A Devastating Hailstorm (Exodus 9:13 J, Exodus 9:22 f. E, Exodus 9:24 J, Exodus 9:31 f. E, Exodus 9:33 f. J, Exodus 9:35 ab E, Exodus 9:35 c R). Into the announcement of the coming storm a short passage (Exodus 9:14) has been with impressive effect inserted by an early expander of J. It accounts for the series of partial judgments, instead of one overwhelming doom, by the Divine purpose to illustrate more at length the object lesson of the vanity of human pride and resolution. Since Yahweh speaks of all my plagues, it may have been originally written for some other connexion, and probably should be read, I will. send all these my plagues upon thee, and upon., thine head being a misreading of a letter by a scribe. In Exodus 9:15 it would be clearer to render with Driver, For else I should now have put forth. and thou wouldst have been cut off. In Exodus 9:16 I made thee to stand means I preserved thee, not as Paul, possibly following a late meaning of the Heb. verb, took it, I raised thee up, though the difference does not affect the argument in Romans 9:17. The very power of the Pharaoh makes his subjection to Yahweh's purpose more impressive, and the fame of it more widespread. In Exodus 9:19 the idea is rather, As yet standest thou in the way of my people. A new feature about this plague is the chance given to Pharaoh and his servants of averting its perils by fearing the word of Yahweh, and hastening in the cattle. The repetitions in the description of the hailstorm are due to the combination of sources, as the suggested analysis shows. It was peculiarly the function of Yahweh to send thunder, Exodus 9:23 (Heb. give voices, see Exodus 9:28 mg.), cf. Psalms 29:3, etc.: the cloud was His chariot, the lightning His dazzling robe, and the thunder His mighty voice. The fire was mingled with or flashing right through (cf. mg.) the hail, Exodus 9:24. Goshen again escaped. Pharaoh's admission (Exodus 9:27) that he and his were wicked was a politic approach to a powerful but unfriendly deity. He anticipated Nietzsche in the doctrine that weakness is wickedness. Moses in promising to spread abroad his hands in prayer for removal of the plague (Exodus 9:29; Exodus 9:35 *), was under no illusions: Pharaoh had but half learned his lesson. From Exodus 9:31 f. it may be inferred that the hailstorm was dated in January, the flax being in bud and the barley ripe, but the wheat and spelt still immature. Egyptian flax was often very fine; linen was much used by those who could afford it. Sayce refers to a desolating thunderstorm with hail in the Nile valley in the spring of 1895. The presence of the cattle in the field would agree with the January date.