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Exodus 9-10 - Plagues Intensify and Pharaoh's Heart Hardens

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Before the hail falls, Egyptian servants can heed the warning and bring their animals indoors. Pharaoh receives the same word, but seeks relief without releasing Israel. These chapters bring disease, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness into one sustained confrontation: creation obeys its Maker while the ruler who claims it resists.

Chapters 9 and 10 remain together because the hail, locusts, and darkness carry the narrative toward the final plague. The loss of crops left by the hail becomes the warning of locusts; the darkness closes Pharaoh’s audience with Moses. The quoted verse markers in these chapters agree with the Hebrew-based references in the headings.

The cattle are struck and the sorcerers cannot stand (Exodus 9:1-12; Greek/Brenton 9:1-12)

A note on numbering. This study follows NKJV chapter and verse numbering and prints Brenton’s English Septuagint with its own verse labels. The numbered passage units here correspond in the two editions, although their wording can differ.

1: And the Lord said to Moses, Go in to Pharao, and thou shalt say to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews; Send my people away that they may serve me. 2: If however thou wilt not send my people away, but yet detainest them: 3: behold, the hand of the Lord shall be upon thy cattle in the fields, both on the horses, and on the asses, and on the camels and oxen and sheep, a very great mortality. 4: And I will make a marvellous distinction in that time between the cattle of the Egyptians, and the cattle of the children of Israel: nothing shall die of all that is of the children’s of Israel. 5: And God fixed a limit, saying, To-morrow the Lord will do this thing on the land. 6: And the Lord did this thing on the next day, and all the cattle of the Egyptians died, but of the cattle of the children of Israel there died not one. 7: And when Pharao saw, that of all the cattle of the children of Israel there died not one, the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not let the people go. 8: And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, Take you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward heaven before Pharao, and before his servants. 9: And let it become dust over all the land of Egypt, and there shall be upon men and upon beasts sore blains breaking forth both on men and on beasts, in all the land of Egypt. 10: So he took of the ashes of the furnace before Pharao, and Moses scattered it toward heaven, and it became sore blains breaking forth both on men and on beasts. 11: And the sorcerers could not stand before Moses because of the sores, for the sores were on the sorcerers, and in all the land of Egypt. 12: And the Lord hardened Pharao’s heart, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord appointed.

The command remains freedom for worship. Disease strikes the cattle in the fields, while Israel’s cattle are spared; Pharaoh verifies the distinction and still withholds release. The later command to shelter cattle before hail stands beside verse 3’s specified setting, “in the fields.” The narrative continues to speak of animals remaining in Egypt. Its emphasis here is the announced mortality and the Lord’s distinction, not a modern census of every herd.

Next Moses scatters “ashes of the furnace.” They become dust over the land and painful sores on people and beasts. The men who once stood before Pharaoh to perform signs can no longer stand before Moses. Their own bodies expose the limits of their claimed mastery. Illness itself, however, is not evidence that a sick person is a magician, idolater, or secretly condemned by God. These are specifically announced signs within Israel’s liberation, not a rule for diagnosing our neighbours.

Deuteronomy 4:20 calls Egypt “the iron furnace.” It gives the furnace image a fitting resonance with Israel’s oppression: God brings His people out of the place that consumes them. Exodus does not specify which furnace supplied these ashes, so the comparison illuminates the image without making it a proved brick-kiln detail.

The Church’s Voice in Worship: The cattle are struck and the sorcerers cannot stand

Wednesday of the fifth week of Great Lent joins Exodus 8:20-32 (Greek/Brenton 8:16-28) to Exodus 9:1-35. The dog-fly, cattle, boils, and hail are heard as a continuous call to leave bondage for worship. The discipline of Lent seeks a freedom deeper than successful bargaining with the habits that possess us.1

Preserved for revelation, warned before hail (Exodus 9:13-21; Greek/Brenton 9:13-21)

13: And the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharao; and thou shalt say to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Send away my people that they may serve me. 14: For at this present time do I send forth all my plagues into thine heart, and the heart of thy servants and of thy people; that thou mayest know that there is not another such as I in all the earth. 15: For now I will stretch forth my hand and smite thee and kill thy people, and thou shalt be consumed from off the earth. 16: And for this purpose hast thou been preserved, that I might display in thee my strength, and that my name might be published in all the earth. 17: Dost thou then yet exert thyself to hinder my people, so as not to let them go? 18: Behold, to-morrow at this hour I will rain a very great hail, such as has not been in Egypt, from the time it was created until this day. 19: Now then hasten to gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the fields; for all the men and cattle as many as shall be found in the fields, and shall not enter into a house, (but the hail shall fall upon them,) shall die. 20: He of the servants of Pharao that feared the word of the Lord, gathered his cattle into the houses. 21: And he that did not attend in his mind to the word of the Lord, left the cattle in the fields.

Brenton’s verse 16 says “for this purpose hast thou been preserved.” Pharaoh’s continued existence is itself dependent on the God he opposes. The Lord could have brought the conflict to an end, yet Pharaoh remains long enough for divine power and the divine name to be made known throughout the earth. This preservation carries responsibility: verse 17 immediately asks why he still hinders God’s people.

St. Paul cites this declaration in Romans 9:17-18, where he affirms God’s freedom to show mercy and to harden. Exodus holds that divine sovereignty together with Pharaoh’s willing resistance: the Lord hardens in 9:12, and Pharaoh continues to sin and hardens his own heart in 9:34. Romans 1:24-28 likewise speaks of God giving people over after they exchange His truth for false worship. These texts support an understanding of hardening as judgment upon chosen resistance, not God creating wickedness in an innocent person. God remains the acting Lord, not a passive spectator; Pharaoh remains answerable for what he does.

The warning before hail gives that truth a visible setting. Some of Pharaoh’s servants fear the word and shelter their cattle. Others leave them outside. Egyptian birth does not prevent obedience, and Israel’s election does not authorise contempt for Egyptians. The mixed company that leaves in Exodus 12:38 will make the breadth of the departure visible. Verse 20 already shows that a person within Pharaoh’s household can respond differently from Pharaoh.

Gems from the Fathers: Preserved for revelation, warned before hail

Origen addresses Pharaoh directly in On First Principles III.1.11. He compares the differing reception of God’s signs to the effect of the same sun on wax and mud: “the sun, by one and the same power of its heat, melts wax indeed, but dries up and hardens mud”2. His point is that the difference cannot be blamed on an evil power in the sun. The same divine action exposes Pharaoh’s settled wickedness while eliciting obedience from others who leave with Israel. Read within the Church’s confession of God’s goodness, the image gives the warning its personal edge: grace can be resisted, but the heart that receives correction need not imitate Pharaoh.

Hail, confession, and the return to sin (Exodus 9:22-35; Greek/Brenton 9:22-35)

22: And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thine hand to heaven, and there shall be hail on all the land of Egypt, both on the men and on the cattle, and on all the herbage on the land. 23: And Moses stretched forth his hand to heaven, and the Lord sent thunderings and hail; and the fire ran along upon the ground, and the Lord rained hail on all the land of Egypt. 24: So there was hail and flaming fire mingled with hail; and the hail was very great, such as was not in Egypt, from the time there was a nation upon it. 25: And the hail smote in all the land of Egypt both man and beast, and the hail smote all the grass in the field, and the hail broke in pieces all the trees in the field. 26: Only in the land of Gesem where the children of Israel were, the hail was not. 27: And Pharao sent and called Moses and Aaron, and said to them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. 28: Pray then for me to the Lord, and let him cause the thunderings of God to cease, and the hail and the fire, and I will send you forth and ye shall remain no longer. 29: And Moses said to him, When I shall have departed from the city, I will stretch out my hands to the Lord, and the thunderings shall cease, and the hail and the rain shall be no longer, that thou mayest know that the earth is the Lord’s. 30: But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye have not yet feared the Lord. 31: And the flax and the barley were smitten, for the barley was advanced, and the flax was seeding. 32: But the wheat and the rye were not smitten, for they were late. 33: And Moses went forth from Pharao out of the city, and stretched out his hands to the Lord, and the thunders ceased and the hail, and the rain did not drop on the earth. 34: And when Pharao saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders ceased, he continued to sin; and he hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants. 35: And the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he did not send forth the children of Israel, as the Lord said to Moses.

Hail and fire strike the fields and trees; Goshen is spared. The text also records what survives: the later wheat and rye have not been destroyed. This remaining food matters when the locusts are announced. The destruction is terrible, but the narrative still leaves a tomorrow in which Pharaoh could obey.

Pharaoh’s words are startlingly clear: he has sinned, the Lord is righteous, and his people are wicked. Moses prays, yet says that Pharaoh and his servants have “not yet feared the Lord” (9:30). The contrast with the servants who took shelter in verses 20-21 is exact. Fear that receives God’s word acts upon it; Pharaoh’s confession requests a changed circumstance while his conduct stays the same.

Other biblical confessions show why the words alone are insufficient. Saul admits sin in 1 Samuel 15:24 (Septuagint 1 Kingdoms 15:24), but still asks to be honoured before the elders in verse 30. Judas acknowledges innocent blood in Matthew 27:4, yet ends in despair. These accounts do not forbid hope to someone who has confessed under pressure. They warn us to let confession lead to trust, amendment, and mercy rather than self-protection or hopelessness. When the storm ends, Pharaoh continues to sin. In Christian confession we ask Christ to heal the will as well as relieve the consequence.

Children belong within the feast of the Lord (Exodus 10:1-11; Greek/Brenton 10:1-11)

1: And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Go in to Pharao: for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that these signs may come upon them; in order 2: that ye may relate in the ears of your children, and to your children’s children, in how many things I have mocked the Egyptians, and my wonders which I wrought among them; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. 3: And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and they said to him, These things saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How long dost thou refuse to reverence me? Send my people away, that they may serve me. 4: But if thou wilt not send my people away, behold, at this hour to-morrow I will bring an abundance of locusts upon all thy coasts. 5: And they shall cover the face of the earth, and thou shalt not be able to see the earth; and they shall devour all that is left of the abundance of the earth, which the hail has left you, and shall devour every tree that grows for you on the land. 6: And thy houses shall be filled, and the houses of thy servants, and all the houses in all the land of the Egyptians; things which thy fathers have never seen, nor their forefathers, from the day that they were upon the earth until this day. And Moses turned away and departed from Pharao. 7: And the servants of Pharao say to him, How long shall this be a snare to us? send away the men, that they may serve their God; wilt thou know that Egypt is destroyed? 8: And they brought back both Moses and Aaron to Pharao; and he said to them, Go and serve the Lord your God; but who are they that are going with you? 9: And Moses said, We will go with the young and the old, with our sons, and daughters, and sheep, and oxen, for it is a feast of the Lord. 10: And he said to them, So let the Lord be with you: as I will send you away, must I send away your store also? see that evil is attached to you. 11: Not so, but let the men go and serve God, for this ye yourselves seek; and they cast them out from the presence of Pharao.

The opening purpose is that Israel will tell its children and grandchildren what the Lord has done. Deliverance is to become the memory by which a family knows God. Exodus 12:26-27 will place the child’s question beside the Passover sacrifice, and 13:8 will connect the parent’s answer to what the Lord did in bringing Israel out. Catechesis, the teaching that forms a person in the faith, begins here with a remembered act of liberation, not with terror for its own sake.

Pharaoh’s servants see that Egypt is being ruined, but the king proposes that only the men should leave. Moses names young and old, sons and daughters, sheep and oxen: this is the feast of the Lord, and the whole people belongs within it. Pharaoh would preserve control by retaining the families and their livelihood. Moses refuses a worship that is allowed only to leave the next generation behind.

A Christian household receives this passage as a call to include children in prayer, explain worship patiently, and tell God’s mercies truthfully. It is no permission to force a child into frightened professions of belief. The story’s goal is that they should know the Lord who frees His people. A parent’s obedience and kindness make that testimony credible.

The Church’s Voice in Worship: Children belong within the feast of the Lord

Wednesday of the sixth week of Great Lent reads Exodus 10:1-29 with 11:1-10. The story moves from the last offers of partial freedom to the warning of the firstborn. As Pascha approaches, the words about children and the feast guard against a private religion that leaves household life unchanged.1

Locusts consume what the hail has left (Exodus 10:12-20; Greek/Brenton 10:12-20)

12: And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt, and let the locust come up on the land, and it shall devour every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which the hail left. 13: And Moses lifted up his rod towards heaven, and the Lord brought a south wind upon the earth, all that day and all that night: the morning dawned, and the south wind brought up the locusts, 14: and brought them up over all the land of Egypt. And they rested in very great abundance over all the borders of Egypt. Before them there were not such locusts, neither after them shall there be. 15: And they covered the face of the earth, and the land was wasted, and they devoured all the herbage of the land, and all the fruit of the trees, which was left by the hail: there was no green thing left on the trees, nor on all the herbage of the field, in all the land of Egypt. 16: And Pharao hasted to call Moses and Aaron, saying, I have sinned before the Lord your God, and against you; 17: pardon therefore my sin yet this time, and pray to the Lord your God, and let him take away from me this death. 18: And Moses went forth from Pharao, and prayed to God. 19: And the Lord brought in the opposite direction a strong wind from the sea, and took up the locusts and cast them into the Red Sea, and there was not one locust left in all the land of Egypt. 20: And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he did not send away the children of Israel.

The locusts eat what remained after the hail. Pharaoh is now asking for the removal of “this death,” and Moses again prays. The Lord reverses the wind and removes every locust. Such repeated intercession leaves Pharaoh no excuse to treat Moses as an enemy who simply wants Egypt’s destruction.

The quoted text says “a south wind” in verse 13. Many Hebrew-based English translations say an east wind. Brenton’s direction is retained here rather than silently replaced with the familiar wording; the claim that controls the passage is the Lord’s command over the wind that brings and removes the plague.

Psalm 78:46-48 (LXX 77:46-48) remembers the fruit given to locusts and the destruction of vines and cattle by hail. Psalm 105:32-35 (LXX 104:32-35) carries hail and fire into the coming of innumerable locusts. These prayers teach Israel to remember the giver of the land’s fruit rather than the ruler who thinks he owns it. The command to release the people is inseparable from the question of how power treats the food, work, and life of others.

Darkness closes the last audience (Exodus 10:21-29; Greek/Brenton 10:21-29)

21: And the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand to heaven, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt - darkness that may be felt. 22: And Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was darkness very black, even a storm over all the land of Egypt three days. 23: And for three days no man saw his brother, and no man rose up from his bed for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in all the places where they were. 24: And Pharao called Moses and Aaron, saying, Go, serve the Lord your God, only leave your sheep and your oxen, and let your store depart with you. 25: And Moses said, Nay, but thou shalt give to us whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices, which we will sacrifice to the Lord our God. 26: And our cattle shall go with us, and we will not leave a hoof behind, for of them we will take to serve the Lord our God: but we know not in what manner we shall serve the Lord our God, until we arrive there. 27: But the Lord hardened the heart of Pharao, and he would not let them go. 28: And Pharao says, Depart from me, beware of seeing my face again, for in what day thou shalt appear before me, thou shalt die. 29: And Moses says, Thou hast said, I will not appear in thy presence again.

“Darkness that may be felt” stops ordinary life. No one sees his brother or rises from bed for three days, while Israel has light where it dwells. Pharaoh’s final offer still withholds the cattle needed for sacrifice. Moses refuses to leave even a hoof behind, explaining that the people do not yet know everything their worship will require. Freedom includes the willingness to receive God’s command beyond what one already understands.

Wisdom 17:2-3 (Septuagint) reads the darkness as a reversal of oppression: those who shut God’s people up become prisoners of a long night. In 17:7-8 the magicians who promised to remove fear are themselves sick with it. The description reaches inward as well as outward, exposing a conscience frightened by its own wickedness. Wisdom 18:1-4 (Septuagint) then contrasts the light given to the saints and the guiding pillar with the confinement of those who had confined God’s children. Its account is not a diagnosis of every person who experiences anxiety, depression, or fear; innocent sufferers should not be burdened with Pharaoh’s guilt.

Christ gives the true Light that darkness cannot master (John 1:5), and calls the one who follows Him into the light of life (John 8:12). Colossians 1:13 speaks of deliverance from the power of darkness into the kingdom of the beloved Son. The fulfillment is a change of lordship: from captivity under destructive power to communion with Christ. Matthew 27:45 also records darkness at the Cross, but for three hours, not three days. The obedient Lord enters the Passion to redeem; Pharaoh uses the darkness to make another bargain. The Christian connection is to Christ’s saving victory, not an unsupported numerical equation between Egypt’s night and His time in the tomb.

Pharaoh finally threatens Moses with death if he returns. The audience closes because the demand has been made and rejected. The next chapter will bring the warning that can no longer be deferred.

Spiritual Fruit

Act on a warning while mercy leaves time. The servants who hear the warning of hail bring their cattle indoors. Choose one correction you already recognise, and answer it before another crisis: restore money owed, stop an abusive habit, or ask forgiveness without explaining away the injury. A small act of obedience receives the word more truly than a dramatic promise.

Let confession continue after relief. Pharaoh speaks rightly during the storm and returns to wrong when it clears. Prepare for confession by naming both the sin and the change needed in daily conduct. Receive Christ’s mercy with hope; then arrange one practical safeguard against the occasion that repeatedly defeats you.

Bring the household into remembered mercy. Exodus 10:2 gives parents a story to tell, and 10:9 gives children a place within worship. Set aside a short time for family prayer, explain one action of the Liturgy, or tell a child about a mercy received from God without embellishing it. Those without children can help the parish hand on faith through patient example and service.

Follow the Light when fear narrows the world. Wisdom shows the oppressors enclosed within fear; Christ brings captives into His kingdom. Pray for His light while also accepting appropriate help for anxiety or illness. The aim is neither shame nor pretended strength, but life before the Lord with the courage to receive truth and love a neighbour.

The people with light in their dwellings are still awaiting departure. God’s gift reaches them before the road is open. Let the room where you pray become a place of readiness: a word received, a sin confessed, a hand extended in mercy. Christ does not ask us to manufacture light. He asks us to follow Him.

Footnotes

  1. Coptic Orthodox Great Lent Katameros, Wednesday prophecy readings: 🔗 Fifth week, p. 45, Exodus 8:20-9:35; 🔗 Sixth week, p. 37, Exodus 10:1-11:10. The first Exodus 8 range corresponds to Greek/Brenton 8:16-28. Retained chapter texts: 🔗 Brenton Exodus 9, 🔗 Exodus 10. Coptic Reader, Coptic Orthodox Metropolis of the Southern United States, official app: Readings > Matins > Prophecies, printed Exodus 8:20-9:35; Readings > Matins > Prophecies, printed Exodus 10:1-11:10. The app link does not select a service; follow the named menu path. The selected dates were March 18, 2026, March 25, 2026, with the stated Great Fast occasions confirmed. The fifth-week reading begins on printed/PDF p. 45; the sixth-week reading begins on printed/PDF p. 37. ↩ ↩2

  2. Origen, On First Principles III.1.11, “From the Latin,” trans. Frederick Crombie, The Writings of Origen, vol. I (1869), p. 178. 🔗 Primary text. ↩

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