Exodus 10

Introduction

Exodus 10 records the eighth and ninth plagues against Egypt — locusts and darkness — and marks the final escalation before the death of the firstborn. The chapter opens with a remarkable theological statement: God has hardened Pharaoh's heart not merely as punishment but for a pedagogical purpose — so that Israel will recount these events to their children and grandchildren across generations. The plagues are not only acts of judgment but acts of revelation, designed to produce a story that will be told and retold forever. This chapter also contains one of the most dramatic political moments in the narrative: Pharaoh's own officials turn against him, pleading with him to let Israel go and asking, "Do you not yet realize that Egypt is destroyed?" The cracks in Pharaoh's power structure are now visible.

The two plagues in this chapter strike at the heart of Egyptian life and religion. The locusts devour everything the hail of the previous plague left standing, completing the agricultural devastation of the land. The darkness — described as so thick it can be felt — plunges Egypt into three days of total blackness, while Israel enjoys light in their dwellings. In Egyptian theology, the sun god Ra was the supreme deity, and the Pharaoh himself was considered Ra's son and earthly representative. A darkness that extinguishes the sun is a direct assault on the legitimacy of both Ra and Pharaoh. The chapter culminates in a dramatic face-to-face confrontation: Pharaoh threatens Moses with death if he ever appears before him again, and Moses — with devastating calm — agrees. The next time Pharaoh summons Moses, it will be in the middle of the night, begging Israel to leave (Exodus 12:31-32).

God's Purpose in the Plagues (vv. 1-2)

Notes

• הִכְבַּדְתִּי ("I have made heavy") — The Hiphil perfect of כָּבֵד ("to be heavy, weighty, honored"). This is a different verb from the one used elsewhere for hardening Pharaoh's heart. While חָזַק ("to strengthen, make firm") appears in vv. 20 and 27 of this chapter, here the root is כבד, which carries the sense of making heavy, dull, or unresponsive. The same root gives us the word כָּבוֹד ("glory, weight, honor"). There is a grim irony: God makes Pharaoh's heart "heavy" so that God's own "glory" — his weighty, visible splendor — will be displayed through the plagues. The BSB footnote notes the alternative "made heavy."

• לְמַעַן שִׁתִי אֹתֹתַי אֵלֶּה בְּקִרְבּוֹ ("so that I may set these signs of mine in his midst") — The verb שִׁית ("to set, place, put") treats the plagues as objects deliberately placed within Egypt's borders. God is not reacting to Pharaoh's stubbornness; he is orchestrating a sequence of signs with a specific purpose.

• תְּסַפֵּר בְּאָזְנֵי בִנְךָ וּבֶן בִּנְךָ ("you may recount in the hearing of your son and your son's son") — The verb סִפֵּר (Piel of סָפַר) means "to tell, recount, narrate." The Piel stem intensifies the action — this is not casual mention but deliberate, detailed storytelling. God's purpose in the plagues extends beyond the immediate liberation; he is creating a narrative to be passed down through generations. This same pedagogical impulse shapes the Passover liturgy: "You shall tell your son on that day" (Exodus 13:8), and the four questions of the Passover Seder derive from this impulse to teach through storytelling.

• הִתְעַלַּלְתִּי ("I dealt harshly with") — The Hitpael of עָלַל, a verb that can mean "to act severely, deal ruthlessly with, make a fool of." The Hitpael form suggests repeated or intensive action — God has thoroughly humiliated Egypt. Some scholars translate it "how I made a mockery of," capturing the sense that the plagues have exposed the emptiness of Egypt's gods and the impotence of Pharaoh's power. The ESV renders it "how I have dealt harshly with the Egyptians."

Interpretations

The theological claim that God hardened Pharaoh's heart "so that" these signs might occur has generated extensive discussion. Calvinist interpreters point to this text as evidence of God's sovereign control over human decisions — God actively hardens Pharaoh for his own redemptive purposes, and Pharaoh's resistance is itself part of the divine plan. Arminian interpreters typically note that earlier in the plague narrative, Pharaoh hardened his own heart first (e.g., Exodus 8:15, Exodus 8:32), and God's hardening is a judicial confirmation of a choice Pharaoh had already made freely. Paul cites this pattern in Romans 9:17-18 as evidence of God's absolute sovereignty in mercy and judgment, which has further fueled the debate. Both traditions agree that the text presents God as purposeful in the plagues and Pharaoh as genuinely culpable for his resistance.

The Threat of Locusts and Pharaoh's Officials Break Ranks (vv. 3-11)

Notes

• עַד מָתַי מֵאַנְתָּ לֵעָנֹת מִפָּנָי ("How long will you refuse to humble yourself before me?") — The verb עָנָה (here in the Niphal infinitive construct לֵעָנֹת) means "to humble oneself, be humbled, be afflicted." This is the same root used for the oppression of Israel in Exodus 1:11-12. There is pointed irony: Pharaoh has been afflicting (same root) Israel, and now God demands that Pharaoh humble himself (same root). The oppressor is called to experience what he has inflicted.

• אַרְבֶּה ("locusts") — The word comes from the root רָבָה ("to be many, to multiply"), emphasizing the sheer number of these creatures. Locust swarms were among the most devastating natural phenomena in the ancient Near East, capable of stripping entire regions bare in hours. The prophet Joel uses locust imagery to describe the coming Day of the LORD (Joel 1:4, Joel 2:1-11), and Revelation 9:3-7 draws on the Exodus locust plague for its apocalyptic imagery.

• עֵין הָאָרֶץ ("the surface of the land") — Literally "the eye of the land." The Hebrew עַיִן can mean "eye," "appearance," or "surface." The image is vivid: the locusts will cover the land's "eye" — its visible face — so completely that the ground itself will be hidden from sight. This phrase also appears in v. 15, where it is fulfilled.

• לְמוֹקֵשׁ ("a snare") — Pharaoh's officials use the word מוֹקֵשׁ ("snare, trap") to describe Moses. This is a hunting term — a device that catches and holds an animal. The officials see Moses as someone who has trapped them in a cycle of disaster. Their question echoes Moses' own earlier question to Pharaoh: עַד מָתַי ("how long?"). The same words God puts in Moses' mouth (v. 3) now come from Pharaoh's own courtiers.

• הֲטֶרֶם תֵּדַע כִּי אָבְדָה מִצְרָיִם ("Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed?") — The verb אָבַד ("to perish, be destroyed, be lost") is in the perfect tense — Egypt has already perished in their assessment. This is a stunning moment: Pharaoh's own advisors publicly challenge him, declaring the nation already ruined. The text portrays the collapse of Pharaoh's authority from within his own court.

• מִי וָמִי הַהֹלְכִים ("Who exactly are the ones going?") — The doubled interrogative מִי וָמִי ("who and who?") is a way of pressing for specifics. Pharaoh is willing to grant a concession but wants to control the terms — a pattern of negotiation that runs throughout the plague narrative.

• יְהִי כֵן יְהוָה עִמָּכֶם כַּאֲשֶׁר אֲשַׁלַּח אֶתְכֶם וְאֶת טַפְּכֶם ("May the LORD indeed be with you — as if I would ever send you out along with your little ones!") — This is dripping with sarcasm. Pharaoh invokes the LORD's name in a mock blessing, using the jussive יְהִי ("let it be") ironically. He is saying, in effect, "Sure, may God be with you — the same day I let your children go, which will be never." The word טַף ("little ones, children") is what Pharaoh refuses to release. His strategy is to keep the families hostage to guarantee the men's return.

• רְאוּ כִּי רָעָה נֶגֶד פְּנֵיכֶם ("Look, evil is before your faces") — The word רָעָה ("evil, calamity, wickedness") is ambiguous. Pharaoh may be accusing Moses and Aaron of plotting evil — "you have wicked intentions" — or warning them that calamity awaits if they persist. Most interpreters take it as an accusation: Pharaoh claims that the request to take women and children proves that Moses intends a permanent departure, not a temporary religious pilgrimage.

• הַגְּבָרִים ("the men") — Pharaoh uses גֶּבֶר ("man, strong man, warrior"), not the more general אִישׁ. He restricts permission to adult males only — the demographic capable of performing religious sacrifice in the ancient Near Eastern understanding. This is Pharaoh's first attempted compromise: worship is fine, but only for the men, and the families stay behind as collateral.

• וַיְגָרֶשׁ אֹתָם ("and they were driven out") — The verb גָּרַשׁ ("to drive out, expel") is a strong term. Moses and Aaron are not politely dismissed; they are forcibly expelled from the royal presence. Ironically, this same verb will be used for what Pharaoh does to all Israel after the final plague: "he will drive you out completely" (Exodus 11:1).

The Eighth Plague: Locusts (vv. 12-20)

Notes

• נִהַג רוּחַ קָדִים ("drove an east wind") — The verb נָהַג means "to drive, lead, guide," often used for driving livestock or leading a flock. God "drives" the wind as a shepherd drives sheep. The רוּחַ קָדִים ("east wind") blows from the Arabian desert and is associated with scorching heat and destruction throughout the Old Testament (Psalm 48:7, Jonah 4:8, Hosea 13:15). In the ancient Near East, the east wind (the khamsin or sirocco) was dreaded. Here it serves as God's instrument to carry the locust swarm from the desert into the Nile Delta.

• כָּבֵד מְאֹד ("very severe") — The same root כבד used of Pharaoh's heart in v. 1 now describes the locust swarm. The heaviness of Pharaoh's heart has produced a "heavy" plague upon his land. The wordplay reinforces the correspondence between Pharaoh's stubbornness and Egypt's suffering.

• לְפָנָיו לֹא הָיָה כֵן אַרְבֶּה כָּמֹהוּ וְאַחֲרָיו לֹא יִהְיֶה כֵּן ("before them there had never been such locusts, and after them there will never be the like") — This superlative formula marks the plague as uniquely devastating. The prophet Joel uses nearly identical language for a later locust invasion: "Has anything like this happened in your days or in the days of your ancestors?" (Joel 1:2). Some scholars reconcile the two passages by noting that Joel's locusts serve a different theological function (eschatological rather than historical) or that the comparison in Joel is rhetorical rather than absolute.

• וַתֶּחְשַׁךְ הָאָרֶץ ("the land was darkened") — The verb חָשַׁךְ ("to be dark, grow dark") anticipates the ninth plague of total darkness. The locusts are so dense that they block out sunlight, creating a preliminary darkening that foreshadows what is to come. This detail links the eighth and ninth plagues thematically.

• וַיְמַהֵר פַּרְעֹה ("Pharaoh hurried") — The Piel of מָהַר ("to hasten, hurry") conveys urgency. For the first time Pharaoh does not wait; he rushes to summon Moses. The locusts have done what no previous plague accomplished — they have shaken Pharaoh's composure.

• חָטָאתִי ("I have sinned") — Pharaoh's confession uses the standard verb for sin, חָטָא ("to miss the mark, sin, offend"). He acknowledges sin against both "the LORD your God" and "you" (Moses and Aaron). Yet the confession is strategic rather than genuine — Pharaoh confesses only when the plague is unbearable and recants the moment relief comes. He has made a similar confession before (Exodus 9:27) with equally temporary results.

• הַמָּוֶת הַזֶּה ("this death") — Pharaoh calls the locust plague "this death." The word מָוֶת ("death") is striking — the locusts are not merely a nuisance but a sentence of death by starvation. With the crops and trees destroyed, famine is certain. Pharaoh understands the plague's lethal implications.

• וַיֶּעְתַּר אֶל יְהוָה ("and pleaded with the LORD") — The verb עָתַר ("to pray, plead, entreat") is used specifically for intercessory prayer. Moses serves as mediator between Pharaoh and God — a role that anticipates the priestly and prophetic mediation that will characterize Israel's relationship with God.

• רוּחַ יָם ("a sea wind") — Literally "a wind of the sea," meaning a wind blowing from the Mediterranean (the sea to Egypt's west and north). The BSB translates this as "west wind," which captures the directional meaning. The contrast is deliberate: God used an east wind to bring the locusts and a sea wind to remove them. Both winds are under God's sovereign direction.

• יָמָּה סוּף ("the Sea of Reeds") — The BSB translates this as "Red Sea" with a footnote offering "Sea of Reeds." The Hebrew יַם סוּף literally means "Sea of Reeds" (from סוּף, "reed, rush"). The identification of this body of water is debated — it may refer to one of the marshy lakes between the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Suez, or to the Gulf of Suez itself. This is the same body of water that Israel will later cross in the decisive act of deliverance (Exodus 13:18, Exodus 15:4).

• וַיְחַזֵּק יְהוָה אֶת לֵב פַּרְעֹה ("the LORD strengthened the heart of Pharaoh") — Here the verb is חָזַק (Piel, "to strengthen, make firm, harden"), distinct from the כבד language in v. 1. Three different verbs are used across the Exodus narrative for the hardening of Pharaoh's heart: כָּבֵד ("make heavy"), חָזַק ("strengthen, harden"), and קָשָׁה ("make stiff, obstinate"). The variety suggests that the hardening is complex — it involves dulling sensitivity, reinforcing resolve, and stiffening resistance.

The Ninth Plague: Darkness (vv. 21-23)

Notes

• וְיָמֵשׁ חֹשֶׁךְ ("a darkness one can feel") — This is one of the most striking phrases in the plague narrative. The verb מָשַׁשׁ means "to feel, grope, touch." The darkness is so dense and oppressive that it has a physical, tactile quality — it can be felt or groped through. The same verb is used in Deuteronomy 28:29 to describe the blind groping in darkness that will befall Israel if they disobey the covenant. The BSB renders it "a palpable darkness"; the KJV famously reads "darkness which may be felt." My translation attempts to capture the visceral, sensory quality of the Hebrew.

• חֹשֶׁךְ אֲפֵלָה ("thick darkness") — The word אֲפֵלָה ("deep darkness, gloom") intensifies the already absolute חֹשֶׁךְ ("darkness"). The combination describes not merely the absence of light but a positive, aggressive darkness — darkness as a substance. This language echoes the primordial darkness of Genesis 1:2, before God spoke light into being. The ninth plague is, in a sense, a reversal of creation — Egypt is returned to the pre-creation state of darkness and formlessness.

• The darkness lasted שְׁלֹשֶׁת יָמִים ("three days"), during which לֹא רָאוּ אִישׁ אֶת אָחִיו ("no one could see his brother") and וְלֹא קָמוּ אִישׁ מִתַּחְתָּיו ("no one rose from his place"). The darkness is not merely visual but paralyzing — it immobilizes the entire Egyptian population. Daily life, commerce, worship, and governance all cease. For a civilization that organized its calendar and religion around the daily rising of the sun, three days of impenetrable darkness would have been psychologically devastating.

• וּלְכָל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הָיָה אוֹר בְּמוֹשְׁבֹתָם ("but for all the sons of Israel there was light in their dwellings") — The contrast is total. The word אוֹר ("light") is the same word used in Genesis 1:3 when God said "Let there be light." While Egypt experiences the undoing of creation, Israel dwells in the light of God's creative word. The distinction between darkness for Egypt and light for Israel recalls the separation God made between light and darkness on the first day of creation, and it foreshadows the pillar of fire that will guide Israel by night and the cloud that will darken the Egyptians at the Sea (Exodus 14:20).

• The plague of darkness strikes directly at Ra (also called Amon-Ra), the Egyptian sun god and the chief deity of the Egyptian pantheon. Pharaoh bore the title "Son of Ra" and was considered the earthly manifestation of the sun god's power. When the sun fails to rise for three days, it is a public demonstration that the LORD is sovereign over the very deity that legitimizes Pharaoh's rule. Other Egyptian deities associated with the sun — Atum, Khepri, Horus — are equally impotent against this darkness. The theological message is unmistakable: the God of enslaved Israel commands the sun.

Pharaoh's Final Compromise and the Breaking Point (vv. 24-29)

Notes

• Pharaoh's concessions have escalated across the plague cycle. First he offered to let Israel worship within Egypt (Exodus 8:25). Then he allowed them to go, but not far (Exodus 8:28). Then only the men could go (v. 11). Now the people may go, including children, but the livestock must stay. Each concession reveals the same strategy: Pharaoh tries to keep enough collateral — first the location, then the families, now the herds — to ensure Israel's return. Moses refuses every compromise.

• גַּם אַתָּה תִּתֵּן בְּיָדֵנוּ זְבָחִים וְעֹלוֹת ("you yourself must also put in our hands sacrifices and burnt offerings") — Moses makes an audacious demand: not only will Israel take their own animals, but Pharaoh must contribute animals for sacrifice as well. The word גַּם ("also, even") is emphatic. Moses demands זְבָחִים ("sacrifices" — animals slaughtered for communal meals) and עֹלוֹת ("burnt offerings" — animals entirely consumed on the altar). These are two distinct categories of offering in Israelite worship.

• לֹא תִשָּׁאֵר פַּרְסָה ("not a hoof will be left behind") — The word פַּרְסָה ("hoof") is a vivid synecdoche — not even the smallest part of a single animal will remain in Egypt. Moses' language is maximalist and uncompromising. It stands in sharp contrast to Pharaoh's strategy of incremental concession.

• וַאֲנַחְנוּ לֹא נֵדַע מַה נַּעֲבֹד אֶת יְהוָה עַד בֹּאֵנוּ שָׁמָּה ("we ourselves do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there") — This statement is theologically rich. Moses claims that the requirements of worship will be revealed at the destination, not in advance. This is an expression of faith: Israel must depart first and learn the details of God's requirements only upon arrival. It also makes practical negotiation impossible — one cannot agree to leave behind what might be needed if the need is not yet known.

• וְלֹא אָבָה לְשַׁלְּחָם ("he was not willing to send them out") — The verb אָבָה ("to be willing, consent") adds a nuance beyond mere hardening. Even with a hardened heart, Pharaoh's refusal is expressed as an act of will — he was "unwilling." The text holds together divine sovereignty (God strengthens his heart) and human agency (Pharaoh refuses to consent).

• לֵךְ מֵעָלָי הִשָּׁמֶר לְךָ אֶל תֹּסֶף רְאוֹת פָּנַי ("Get away from me! Guard yourself — do not see my face again") — Pharaoh's words drip with royal rage. The Niphal imperative הִשָּׁמֶר ("guard yourself, beware, take heed") is a solemn warning formula. The threat is explicit: seeing Pharaoh's face again means death. In the ancient Near Eastern court, access to the king's face was a privilege; being barred from the king's face was a form of exile or condemnation. Pharaoh revokes Moses' right of audience permanently.

• כֵּן דִּבַּרְתָּ ("you have spoken rightly") — Moses' response is extraordinary in its calm finality. The word כֵּן ("so, rightly, correctly") affirms Pharaoh's own words. Moses agrees: he will indeed never see Pharaoh's face again. But the dramatic irony is devastating. Pharaoh thinks he is the one ending the relationship, issuing a threat from a position of power. In reality, Moses needs no further audience with Pharaoh, because the next plague — the death of the firstborn — will bring Pharaoh to Moses, in the middle of the night, begging Israel to leave (Exodus 12:31). Pharaoh's threat is hollow because it is Moses, not Pharaoh, who holds the power in this exchange. The one who says "never see my face again" will soon be the one crying out in the darkness.

• Note that Exodus 11:4-8 records Moses delivering the warning of the final plague apparently still in Pharaoh's presence, departing "hot with anger." Some interpreters place Moses' speech in Exodus 11:4-8 as occurring before Pharaoh's dismissal in 10:28 (the narrative being arranged thematically rather than strictly chronologically). Others understand it as a continuation of the same audience — Moses delivers God's final warning about the firstborn as his parting words before the door slams shut permanently.

Interpretations

The relationship between Exodus 10:29 ("I will never see your face again") and Exodus 11:4-8 (where Moses apparently speaks to Pharaoh about the coming plague on the firstborn) has been discussed since antiquity. Rabbinic tradition (Midrash Rabbah) holds that Moses received the prophecy of the tenth plague while still in Pharaoh's presence and delivered it before departing — making 11:4-8 the conclusion of the conversation in chapter 10, with 10:29 understood as Moses' closing words after the prophecy. Other scholars suggest a minor chronological rearrangement: Moses' declaration in 10:29 is the final word of the encounter, and 11:1-3 is a parenthetical flashback to an earlier divine instruction. The theological point in either reading is the same: the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh has reached its irreversible conclusion, and only the death of the firstborn remains.