Exodus 5:1--11:10
said <0559> [and told.]
pilgrim <02287> [a feast.]
Lord ............... Lord <03068> [Who.]
Lord ............. know ... Lord <03045 03068> [I know not.]
Israel ............. Israel <03478> [neither.]
God ........................... God <0430> [The God.]
strike <06293> [lest he.]
Moses <04872> [wherefore.]
refrain <06544> [let.]
{Taphreeoo,} from {pard,} to loose, disengage; and which we render let, from the Anglo-Saxon {lettan,} to hinder. Ye hinder the people from their work: "Get you unto your burdens." "Let religion alone and mind your work." The language not only of tyranny, but of thoughtless irreligion.
labor <05450> [burdens.]
masters <05065> [taskmasters.]
{Nogesim,} literally, exactors, oppressors. These taskmasters were Egyptians, (ch. 1:11,) but the officers were Hebrews. See ver. 14.
foremen <07860> [officers.]
{Shoterim,} from the Arabic {saytara,} to overlook, superintend, seems to denote, as {musaytar} in Arabic also does, overseers, superintendents. They may have been somewhat like the chiefs of trades, who are found in every city in the East; where every trade has a head, who is entrusted with authority over them, and is in some measure answerable for them to Government. Compare ch. 2:14.
straw ............... straw <08401> [straw.]
The straw was mixed with clay, in order to make the bricks. This is expressly affirmed by Philo, (vit. Mos.) who was himself a native of Alexandria, in Egypt. He says, describing the oppression of the Israelites, that some were obliged to work in clay, and others to gather straw for the formation of bricks, [plinthou gar achyra desmos,] because straw is the binding of the brick. Philo's account is confirmed by Dr. Shaw, who says that "some of the Egyptian pyramids are made of brick, the composition whereof is only a mixture of clay, mud, and straw, slightly blended and kneaded together, and afterwards baked in the sun. The straw, which keeps the bricks together, and still preserves its original colour, seems to be a proof that these bricks were never burnt or made in kilns." The same materials are now used for building in Egypt. Mr. Baumgarten says, "The houses are for the most part of bricks that are only hardened by the heat of the sun, and mixed with straw to make them firm."
same quota <04971> [tale.]
Tale denotes number, from the Anglo-Saxon {t‘llan,} to number, count, etc.
<07760> [ye shall lay.]
work harder <05656 03513 0582> [Let there more work be laid upon the men. Heb. Let the work be heavy upon the men. vain words.]
slave masters <05065> [taskmasters.]
<01697> [not ought.]
stubble <07179> [stubble.]
each day <01697 03117> [daily tasks. Heb. a matter of a day in his day.]
given <05414> [yet shall ye deliver.]
trouble ..... told <07451 0559> [evil case.]
Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
stink <07381> [our savour.]
stink <0887> [to be abhorred. Heb. to stink.]
returned <07725> [returned.]
send <07971> [why is it.]
name <08034> [in thy name.]
certainly ... rescued <05337> [neither hast thou delivered. Heb. delivering, thou hast not delivered.]
see <07200> [Now shalt.]
compelled ............. strong <02389> [with a strong.]
drive <01644> [drive them.]
Lord <03068> [I am the Lord. or, Jehovah.]
God Almighty <07706 0410> [God Almighty.]
{El shadday,} God Almighty; for {shadday} is evidently of affinity with the Arabic {shadid,} strong, mighty, and {shiddat,} strength, might; so the LXX. in Job render it [panto krator,] Vulgate, in Pentateuch, {Omnipotens,} and Syriac, in Job, {chasino.}
name <08034> [but by my name.]
If Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, did not know the name Jehovah, then Moses must have used it in Genesis by prolepsis, or anticipation. Mr. Locke and others read it interrogatively, for the negative particle, {lo,} not, has frequently this power in Hebrew: "I appeared unto Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, and by my name Jehovah was I not also made known unto them?"
Lord <03068> [JEHOVAH.]
[JAH.]
established <06965> [established.]
land ....... living <0776 04033> [the land of their.]
groaning <05009> [the groaning.]
remembered <02142> [I have remembered.]
Lord <03068> [I am the Lord.]
bring ... out <03318> [I will bring.]
redeem <01350> [redeem.]
take <03947> [will take.]
God ............ God <0430> [I will be.]
enslavement <05450> [from under.]
swore <05375> [swear. Heb. lift up my hand.]
The ancient mode of appealing to God was by lifting up the right hand, and was considered as a form of swearing. Hence {yamin,} in Hebrew the right hand, is in Arabic an oath, and as a verb, to take an oath. A similar custom prevailed among the heathens. See Virg. ’n. 1. xii. v. 196.
give ............ give <05414> [to give.]
Lord <03068> [I am.]
listen <08085> [hearkened.]
discouragement <07115> [anguish. Heb. shortness. or, straitness.]
Israelites <01121> [children.]
difficulty <06189> [am.]
The italics shew that this word has been supplied by our translators; hence it may be inferred by some that Moses was uncircumcised. The difficulty is in some measure cleared away, by using the word uncircumcised in the sense of unsuitable or incapacitated, see ver. 30, which agrees with ch. 4:10 where Moses complains of want of eloquence; but by substituting is for am in this place, the connection with the former part of the verse is preserved; "For if the chosen seed, the circumcised sons of Jacob, refuse to hear me," as though Moses had said, "how can I expect to make uncircumcised Pharaoh pay attention to me?"
heads <07218> [the heads.]
sons <01121> [The sons.]
heads ......................... clans <07218 04940> [these be.]
sons ............. son <01121> [sons.]
[Nemuel. Jarib. Zerah.]
sons <01121> [sons.]
Kohath <06955> [Kohath.]
137 <03967> [an hundred.]
[Shimei.]
[Laadan. Shimei.]
sons <01121> [sons.]
[Izehar.]
length ....... years <08141> [and the years.]
Amram ................. Amram's <06019> [Amram.]
length ....... years <08141> [and the years.]
The Samaritan, LXX., Syriac, and one Hebrew MS. add, "And Miriam their sister;" which some of the best critics suppose to have been originally in the text.
Korah <07141> [Korah.]
Elisheba <0472> [Elisheba.]
Amminadab <05992> [Amminadab.]
Nadab <05070> [Nadab.]
Korah <07141> [Korah.]
Elkanah <0511> [Elkanah.]
Phinehas <06372> [Phinehas.]
heads <07218> [the heads.]
Aaron <0175> [That Aaron.]
Bring <03318> [Bring.]
regiments <06635> [armies.]
speaking <01696> [spake.]
bring <03318> [to bring.]
Lord <03068> [I am the.]
said ........ Tell .......... telling <01696> [speak.]
difficulty <06189> [uncircumcised.]
See <07200> [See.]
God <0430> [a god.]
harden <07185> [And I.]
multiply <07235> [multiply.]
will <05414> [that I.]
regiments <06635> [armies.]
great <01419> [by great.]
<04714> [Egyptians.]
extend <05186> [I stretch.]
<05414> [Shew.]
Take <03947> [Take.]
snake <08577> [a serpent.]
Lord <03068> [as the Lord.]
snake <08577> [it became.]
wise men <02450> [wise men.]
sorcerers <03784> [sorcerers.]
{Mechashshaphim,} probably from the Arabic {kashapha,} to discover, reveal, signifies diviners, or those who pretended to reveal futurity, to discover things lost, or to find hidden treasures.
did <06213> [they also.]
secret arts <03858> [enchantments.]
By the word {lahatim,} from {lahat,} to burn, may be meant such incantations as required lustral fires, fumigations, etc.
Aaron's <0175> [but Aaron's.]
Pharaoh's <06547> [Pharaoh's.]
refuses <03985> [he refuseth.]
out <03318> [he goeth.]
staff <04294> [the rod.]
Lord <03068> [The Lord.]
people <05971> [Let my.]
serve <05647> [serve.]
know <03045> [thou shalt.]
turned <02015> [and they.]
Fish <01710> [the fish.]
<04714> [Egyptians.]
"The water of Egypt," says Abb‚ Mascrier, "is so delicious, that one would not wish the heat to be less, or to be delivered from the sensation of thirst. The Turks find it so exquisite, that they excite themselves to drink of it by eating salt." "A person," adds Mr. Harmer, "who never before heard of the deliciousness of the Nile water, and of the large quantities which on that account are drunk of it, will, I am sure, find an energy in those words of Moses to Pharaoh, the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river, which he never did before."
[shall loathe.]
stretch <05186> [stretch.]
reservoirs <04723> [their pools. Heb. gathering of their waters.]
raised <07311> [he lifted.]
water ................... water <04325> [all the waters.]
As the Nile was held sacred by the Egyptians, as well as the animals it contained, to which they annually sacrificed a girl, or as others say, both a boy and girl, God might have designed this plague as a punishment for such idolatry and cruelty; and to shew them the baseness of those elements which they reverenced, and the insufficiency of the gods in which they trusted. All the punishments brought upon them bore a strict analogy to their crimes.
The first miracle of Christ turned water into wine, the first plague upon Egypt turned all their water into blood.
magicians <02748> [magicians.]
Pharaoh's <06547> [and Pharaoh's.]
Lord <03068> [as the.]
pay <07896> [neither.]
could <03201> [for they.]
Go ........... Release <0935 07971> [Go.]
people <05971> [Let my.]
refuse <03986> [refuse.]
frogs <06854> [frogs.]
The Hebrew {tzephardˆim} is evidently the same with the Arabic {zafda,} Chaldaic {oordeƒnaya,} and Syriac {oordeai,} all of which denote frogs, as almost all interpreters, both ancient and modern, agree to render it; Bochart conceives, from {tzifa,} a bank, and {radƒ,} mud, because of delighting in muddy and marshy places.
kneading troughs <04863> [kneading troughs. or, dough.]
frogs <06854> [and the frogs.]
Whether the frog among the Egyptians was an object of reverence or abhorrence is uncertain. It might have been both at the same time, as many objects are known to have been among particular nations; for proof of which see the very learned Jacob Bryant, on the Plagues of Egypt, pp. 31-34.
Pray <06279> [Intreat.]
people ....... people <05971> [and I will.]
honor .... when <06286 04970> [Glory over me. or, Have this honour over me.]
when <04970> [when. or, against when. to destroy. Heb. to cut of.]
Tomorrow <04279> [To-morrow. or, against to-morrow.]
Lord <03068> [there is none.]
land <0776> [and the.]
saw <07200> [saw.]
hardened <03513> [he hardened.]
Extend <05186> [Stretch.]
gnats <03654> [lice.]
The word {kinnim} is rendered by the LXX. [skiphes, skipes,] or [skn‚phes,] and by the Vulgate {sciniphes,} Gnats; and Mr. Harmer supposes he has found out the true meaning in the word {tarrentes,} a species of worm. Bochart, however, seems to have proved that lice, and not gnats, are meant; because, 1. they sprang from the dust, and not from the waters; 2. they were on both man and beast, which cannot be said of gnats; 3. their name is derived from {koon,} to make firm, fix, establish, which cannot agree with gnats, flies, etc., which are ever changing place, and almost constantly on the wing; 4. the term {kinnah} is used by the Talmudists to express the louse. This insect must have been a very dreadful and afflicting plague to the Egyptians, and especially to the priests, who were obliged to shave all their hair off, and to wear a single linen tunic, to prevent vermin harbouring about them.
gnats ... people ............ gnats <0120 03654> [lice in man.]
magicians <02748> [the magicians.]
could <03201> [they could.]
finger <0676> [This is.]
Pharaoh ......... Pharaoh's <06547> [and Pharaoh's.]
out <03318> [lo.]
people <05971> [Let my.]
swarms of flies ......................... flies <06157> [swarms. or, a mixture of noisome beasts, etc.]
The word {arov} is rendered [kunomwea,] kunomuia,] the dog-fly, by the LXX. (who are followed by the learned Bochart,) which must have been particularly hateful to the Egyptians, because they held dogs in the highest veneration, under which form they worshipped Anubis.
mark <06395> [sever.]
know <03045> [know.]
midst <07130> [midst.]
division <06304> [a division. Heb. a redemption.]
tomorrow <04279> [to-morrow. or, by to-morrow.]
came <0935> [there.]
land ..... land <0776> [the land.]
How intolerable a plague of flies can prove, is evident from the fact that whole districts have been laid waste by them. The inhabitants have been forced to quit their cities, not being able to stand against the flies and gnats with which they were pestered. Hence different people had deities whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these may be reckoned Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, {muscarum abactor,} Hercules the expeller of flies; and hence Jupiter had the titles of [apomuios, muiagros, muiochoros,] because he was supposed to expel flies, and especially clear his temples of these insects. See Bryant.
ruined <07843> [corrupted. or destroyed.]
right <03559> [It is not.]
sacrifices ................... sacrifices <02076> [we shall.]
abomination ............ abomination <08441> [the abomination. i.e.,]
The animals which they worshipped; for an account of which, see note on ch. 9:3.
three-day <07969> [three days'.]
telling <0559> [as he shall.]
release <07971> [I will.]
pray <06279> [intreat.]
tomorrow <04279> [to-morrow.]
falsely <02048> [deal.]
[entreated.]
hand <03027> [the hand.]
plague <01698> [murrain.]
We may observe a particular scope and meaning in this calamity, if we consider it in regard to the Egyptians, which would not have existed in respect to any other people. They held in idolatrous reverence almost every animal, but some they held in particular veneration; as the ox, cow, and ram. Among these, {Apis} and {Mnevis} are well known; the former being a sacred bull, worshipped at Memphis, as the latter was at Heliopolis. A cow or heifer had the like honours at Momemphis; and the same practice seems to have been adopted in most of the Egyptian {nomes.} By the infliction of this judgment, the Egyptian deities sank before the God of the Hebrews. See Bryant, pp. 87-93.
appointed time <04150> [a set time.]
heart <03820> [the heart.]
Take handfuls <03947 02651> [Take to.]
This was a significant command; not only referring to the fiery furnace, which was a type of the slavery of the Israelites, but to a cruel rite common among the Egyptians. They had several cities styled Typhonian, in which at particular seasons they sacrificed men, who were burnt alive; and the ashes of the victim were scattered upwards in the air, with the view, probably, that where any atom of dust was carried, a blessing was entailed. The like, therefore, was done by Moses, though with a different intention, and more certain effect. See Bryant, pp. 93-106.
boils <07822> [a boil.]
boils <07822> [a boil.]
Hardness of heart is a figurative expression, denoting that insensibility of mind upon which neither judgments nor mercies make any abiding impressions; but the conscience being stupefied, the obdurate rebel persists in determined disobedience.
send .... plagues <07971 04046> [send all.]
know <03045> [that thou.]
stretched out <07971> [stretch.]
struck <05221> [that.]
destroyed <03582> [cut off.]
for ... purpose <05668> [deed.]
stand <05975> [raised thee up. Heb. made thee stand. for to.]
name <08034> [that my.]
tomorrow <04279> [to-morrow.]
rain <04305> [I will cause.]
This must have been a circumstance of all others the most incredible to an Egyptian; for in Egypt there fell no rain, the want of which was supplied by dews, and the overflowing of the Nile. The Egyptians must, therefore, have perceived themselves particularly aimed at in these fearful events, especially as they were very superstitious. There seems likewise a propriety in their being punished by fire and water, as they were guilty of the grossest idolatry towards these elements. Scarcely any thing could have distressed the Egyptians more than the destruction of the flax, as the whole nation wore linen garments. The ruin of their barley was equally fatal, both to their trade and to their private advantage. See Bryant, pp. 108-117.
gather <05756> [and gather.]
hail <01259> [the hail.]
take ... word ..... seriously <07760 01697> [regarded not. Heb. set not his heart unto.]
Lord sent ............. Lord <05414 03068> [the Lord sent.]
hail ............ hail <01259> [and hail.]
not ......... land <03808 0776> [none like.]
struck ................... struck .... grows <05221 06212> [smote every.]
sinned <02398> [I have.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
Pray <06279> [Intreat.]
mighty thunderings <06963 0430> [mighty thunderings. Heb. voices of God.]
stay <05975> [ye shall.]
spread <06566> [spread.]
earth <0776> [that the earth.]
flax ................. flax <06594> [flax.]
The word {pishteh,} flax, Mr. Parkhurst thinks may be derived from {pashat,} to strip, because the substance which we call flax is properly the filaments of the bark or rind of the vegetable, stripped off the stalks. From time immemorial, Egypt was celebrated for the production and manufacture of flax; and hence the linen and fine linen of Egypt, so often spoken of in scripture and ancient authors.
barley ......... barley <08184> [the barley.]
The Hebrew {se¢rah,} barley, in Arabic {shair,} and {shairat,} is so called from its rough, bristly beard, with which the ears are covered and defended; from {saƒr,} to stand on end as the hair of the head: hence {seƒr,} the hair of the head. So its Latin name {hordeum} is from {horreo,} to stand on end as the hair. Dr. Pococke has observed that there is a double seed time and harvest in Egypt; rice, India wheat, and a grain called the corn of Damascus, 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; whereas the wheat and barley are sown in November and December, as soon as the Nile has gone off, and reaped before May.
later crops <0648> [not grown up. Heb. hidden, or dark.]
spread out <06566> [spread.]
the <06963> [and the thunders.]
saw <07200> [saw.]
hardened <03513> [and hardened.]
hardened <03513> [I have hardened.]
display <07896> [that I.]
tell how ......... about <05608> [And that.]
know <03045> [that ye.]
How <04970> [How long.]
humble <06031> [humble.]
[tomorrow.]
locusts <0697> [locusts.]
The word {arbeh,} Locust, is derived from {ravah,} to multiply, be numerous, etc., because they are more prolific than any other insect, and because of the immense swarms of them by which different countries, especially the East, are infested. The locust, in entomology, belongs to a genus of insects known among naturalists by the name of Grylli; which includes three species, crickets, grasshoppers, and locusts. The common great brown locust is about three inches in length; has two antenn‘ about an inch long, and two pair of wings. The head and horns are brown; the mouth and inside of the larger legs bluish; the upper side of the body and upper wings brown, the former spotted with black, and the latter with dusky spots. The back is defended by a shield of a greenish hue: the under wings are of a light brown, tinctured with green, and nearly transparent. It has a large open mouth, in the two jaws of which it has four teeth, which traverse each other like scissors, being calculated, from their mechanism, to gripe or cut. The general appearance of the insect is that of the grasshopper. The Egyptians had gods in whom they trusted to deliver them from these terrible invaders; but by this judgment they were taught that it was impossible to stand before Moses, the servant of Jehovah.
surface <05869> [face. Heb. eye.]
remainder <03499> [the residue.]
fill <04390> [fill.]
fathers .... grandfathers <01> [which.]
turned <06437> [And he.]
menace <04170> [How long.]
menace <04170> [snare.]
Egypt <04714> [that Egypt.]
So <07725> [brought.]
Go .......... going <01980> [who. Heb. who, and who, etc.]
<03212> [We will go.]
sheep <06629> [our flocks.]
feast <02282> [a feast.]
release <07971> [be so.]
Watch ... Trouble <07200 07451> [look to it.]
want <01245> [for that.]
driven out <01644> [And they.]
Extend <05186> [Stretch.]
eat .... grows <0398 06212> [eat every.]
east wind ................ east wind <07307 06921> [east wind.]
locusts ........................... locusts <0697> [the locusts.]
was very severe <03966 03515> [very grievous.]
before <06440> [before.]
covered <03680> [For they.]
ate <0398> [did eat.]
summoned Moses <07121 04872> [called for. Heb. hastened to call. I have.]
forgive <05375> [forgive.]
pray <06279> [and intreat.]
death <04194> [this death.]
out <03318> [went.]
prayed <06279> [and intreated.]
very <03966> [a mighty.]
blew <08628> [cast. Heb. fastened. the Red sea.]
Extend <05186> [Stretch.]
darkness ........ darkness <02822> [darkness.]
As the Egyptians not only worshipped the light and sun, but also paid the same veneration to night and darkness, nothing could be more terrible than this punishment of palpable and coercive darkness, such as their luminary Osiris could not dispel. See Bryant, pp. 141-160.
darkness ........ darkness ....... felt <02822 04959> [even darkness which may be felt. Heb. that one may feel darkness.]
absolute darkness <02822 0653> [thick darkness.]
Israelites <01121> [but all.]
flocks <06629> [flocks.]
families <02945> [little ones.]
<03027> [us. Heb. into our hands. sacrifices.]
livestock <04735> [cattle.]
know <03045> [and we.]
Watch <03212 08104> [Get thee.]
when <03117> [for in that.]
see <07200> [I will see.]
bring <0935> [Yet will.]
after <0310> [afterwards.]
drive ..... from <01644> [thrust you.]
request <07592> [borrow.]
items <03627> [jewels.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
Moses <04872> [Moses.]
midnight <03915> [About.]
<03318> [will I go.]
firstborn ........... firstborn son ........... firstborn son ............... firstborn <01060> [the firstborn.]
<0310> [behind.]
dog <03611> [dog.]
distinguishes <06395> [a difference.]
servants .................. people <05650 05971> [And all.]
follow .... after <07272 0310> [follow thee. Heb. is at they feet.]
great anger <0639 02750> [a great anger. Heb. heat of anger.]
Pharaoh <06547> [Pharaoh.]
wonders <04159> [wonders.]
Lord <03068> [the Lord.]
