Exodus 9:13-35
Summary for Exod 9:13-33: 9:13-33 a The seventh plague was a hailstorm (9:18 b). It rains in Egypt only a few days each year, and hail and thunderstorms are largely unknown, so this storm would have been terrifying. That may be why there is more theological reflection associated with it. The devastating effect of the plague was to destroy the flax and barley crops (9:31 c).Summary for Exod 9:14-17: 9:14-17 d God explained the purpose of the plagues to Pharaoh: They were revelatory, designed to demonstrate (especially to Pharaoh) that there is no one like me in all the earth (9:14 e; see also Isa 46:9 f; Jer 10:6-7 g). God had not destroyed Pharaoh and Egypt in a single blow, as he could have done. Rather he had spared them (Exod 9:16 h), giving them an opportunity to submit to his power. But Pharaoh refused to humble himself and stop lording it over the Lord’s people (9:17 i).
9:16 j In Rom 9:17 k, Paul quotes from the Greek version of this verse as he describes the sovereignty of God.
Summary for Exod 9:20-21: 9:20-21 l Some of Pharaoh’s officials were beginning to make appropriate deductions from their experiences thus far and to take precautions, while others imitated their master’s refusal to submit. Pride often dominates reason.
9:26 m The hail was not a natural event, either in extent or in selectivity (see study note on 9:1-7).
9:27 n Pharaoh was driven to a logical conclusion. In the face of such clear evidence to the contrary, pride was not merely a failure, it was a sin.
9:29 o There is no one like the Lord in all the earth (9:14 p), and all the earth belongs to the Lord. This was the inescapable message of the plagues, though the Egyptians had difficulty accepting it.
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