Click
here to show/hide instructions.
Instructions on how to use the page:
The commentary for the selected verse is is displayed below.
All commentary was produced against the King James, so the same verse from that translation may appear as well. Hovering your mouse over a commentary's scripture reference attempts to show those verses.
Use the browser's back button to return to the previous page.
Or you can also select a feature from the Just Verses menu appearing at the top of the page.
Selected Verse: Exodus 10:21 - Strong Concordance
Verse |
Translation |
Text |
Ex 10:21 |
Strong Concordance |
And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Stretch out [05186] thine hand [03027] toward heaven [08064], that there may be darkness [02822] over the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], even darkness [02822] which may be felt [04959]. |
|
King James |
And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
PLAGUE OF DARKNESS. (Exo 10:21-29)
Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness--Whatever secondary means were employed in producing it, whether thick clammy fogs and vapors, according to some; a sandstorm, or the chamsin, according to others; it was such that it could be almost perceived by the organs of touch, and so protracted as to continue for three days, which the chamsin does [HENGSTENBERG]. The appalling character of this calamity consisted in this, that the sun was an object of Egyptian idolatry; that the pure and serene sky of that country was never marred by the appearance of a cloud. And here, too, the Lord made a marked difference between Goshen and the rest of Egypt. |
Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
Darkness - This infliction was specially calculated to affect the spirits of the Egyptians, whose chief object of worship was the Sun-god; and its suddenness and severity in connection with the act of Moses mark it as a preternatural withdrawal of light. Yet, it has an analogy in physical phenomena. After the vernal equinox the southwest wind from the desert blows some 50 days, not however, continuously but at intervals, lasting generally some two or three days. It fills the atmosphere with dense masses of fine sand, bringing on a darkness far deeper than that of our worst fogs in winter. The consternation of Pharaoh proves that, familiar as he may have been with the phenomenon, no previous occurrence had prepared him for its intensity and duration, and that he recognized it as a supernatural visitation. |
Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78] |
Ninth plague: The Darkness. - As Pharaoh's defiant spirit was not broken yet, a continuous darkness came over all the land of Egypt, with the exception of Goshen, without any previous announcement, and came in such force that the darkness could be felt. חשׁך וימשׁ: "and one shall feel, grasp darkness." המשׁ: as in Psa 115:7; Jdg 16:26, ψηλαφητὸν σκότος (lxx); not "feel in the dark," for משׁשׁ has this meaning only in the Piel with בּ (Deu 28:29). אפלה חשׁך: darkness of obscurity, i.e., the deepest darkness. The combination of two words or synonyms gives the greatest intensity to the thought. The darkness was so great that they could not see one another, and no one rose up from his place. The Israelites alone "had light in their dwelling-places." The reference here is not to the houses; so that we must not infer that the Egyptians were unable to kindle any lights even in their houses. The cause of this darkness is not given in the text; but the analogy of the other plagues, which had all of them a natural basis, warrants us in assuming, as most commentators have done, that there was the same here - that it was in fact the Chamsin, to which the lxx evidently allude in their rendering: σκότος καὶ γνόφος καὶ θύελλα. This wind, which generally blows in Egypt before and after the vernal equinox and lasts two or three days, usually rises very suddenly, and fills the air with such a quantity of fine dust and coarse sand, that the sun loses its brightness, the sky is covered with a dense veil, and it becomes so dark that "the obscurity cause by the thickest fog in our autumn and winter days is nothing in comparison" (Schubert). Both men and animals hide themselves from this storm; and the inhabitants of the towns and villages shut themselves up in the innermost rooms and cellars of their houses till it is over, for the dust penetrates even through well-closed windows. For fuller accounts taken from travels, see Hengstenberg (pp. 120ff.) and Robinson's Palestine i. pp. 287-289. Seetzen attributes the rising of the dust to a quantity of electrical fluid contained in the air. - The fact that in this case the darkness alone is mentioned, may have arisen from its symbolical importance. "The darkness which covered the Egyptians, and the light which shone upon the Israelites, were types of the wrath and grace of God" (Hengstenberg). This occurrence, in which, according to Arabian chroniclers of the middle ages, the nations discerned a foreboding of the day of judgment or of the resurrection, filled the king with such alarm that he sent for Moses, and told him he would let the people and their children go, but the cattle must be left behind. יצּג: sistatur, let it be placed, deposited in certain places under the guard of Egyptians, as a pledge of your return. Maneat in pignus, quod reversuri sitis, as Chaskuni correctly paraphrases it. But Moses insisted upon the cattle being taken for the sake of their sacrifices and burnt-offerings. "Not a hoof shall be left behind." This was a proverbial expression for "not the smallest fraction." Bochart gives instances of a similar introduction of the "hoof" into proverbial sayings by both Arabians and Romans (Hieroz. i. p. 490). This firmness on the part of Moses he defended by saying, "We know not with what we shall serve the Lord, till we come thither;" i.e., we know not yet what kind of animals or how many we shall require for the sacrifices; our God will not make this known to us till we arrive at the place of sacrifice. עבד with a double accusative as in Gen 30:29; to serve any one with a thing. |
Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
We may observe concerning this plague. That it was a total darkness. We have reason to think, not only that the lights of heaven were clouded, but that all their fires and candles were put out by the damps or clammy vapours which were the cause of this darkness, for it is said, they saw not one another. That it was darkness which might be felt, felt in its causes by their finger - ends, so thick were the fogs, felt in its effects, (some think) by their eyes which were pricked with pain, and made the more sore by their rubbing them. Great pain is spoken of as the effect of that darkness, Rev 16:10, which alludes to this. No doubt it was very frightful and amazing. The tradition of the Jews is, that in this darkness they were terrified by the apparition of evil spirits, or rather by dreadful sounds and murmurs which they made; and this is the plague which some think is intended (for otherwise it is not mentioned at all there) Psa 78:49. He poured upon them the fierceness of his anger, by sending evil angels among them; for those to whom the devil has been a deceiver, he will at length be a terror to. It continued three days; six nights in one; so long they were imprisoned by those chains of darkness. No man rose from his place - They were all confined to their houses; and such a terror seized them, that few of them had the courage to go from the chair to the bed, or from the bed to the chair. Thus were they silent in darkness, Sa1 2:9. Now Pharaoh had time to consider, if he would have improved it. |
Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
Darkness which may be felt - Probably this was occasioned by a superabundance of aqueous vapors floating in the atmosphere, which were so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating through them; an extraordinarily thick mist supernaturally, i.e., miraculously, brought on. An awful emblem of the darkened state of the Egyptians and their king. |
21 And the LORD [03068] said [0559] unto Moses [04872], Stretch out [05186] thine hand [03027] toward heaven [08064], that there may be darkness [02822] over the land [0776] of Egypt [04714], even darkness [02822] which may be felt [04959].
22 And Moses [04872] stretched forth [05186] his hand [03027] toward heaven [08064]; and there was a thick [0653] darkness [02822] in all the land [0776] of Egypt [04714] three [07969] days [03117]:
23 They saw [07200] not one [0376] another [0251], neither rose [06965] any [0376] from his place for three [07969] days [03117]: but all the children [01121] of Israel [03478] had light [0216] in their dwellings [04186].
24 And Pharaoh [06547] called [07121] unto Moses [04872], and said [0559], Go [03212] ye, serve [05647] the LORD [03068]; only let your flocks [06629] and your herds [01241] be stayed [03322]: let your little ones [02945] also go [03212] with you.
25 And Moses [04872] said [0559], Thou must give [05414] us [03027] also sacrifices [02077] and burnt offerings [05930], that we may sacrifice [06213] unto the LORD [03068] our God [0430].
26 Our cattle [04735] also shall go [03212] with us; there shall not an hoof [06541] be left behind [07604]; for thereof must we take [03947] to serve [05647] the LORD [03068] our God [0430]; and we know [03045] not with what we must serve [05647] the LORD [03068], until we come [0935] thither.
27 But the LORD [03068] hardened [02388] Pharaoh's [06547] heart [03820], and he would [014] not let them go [07971].
28 And Pharaoh [06547] said [0559] unto him, Get [03212] thee from me, take heed [08104] to thyself, see [07200] my face [06440] no more [03254]; for in that day [03117] thou seest [07200] my face [06440] thou shalt die [04191].
29 And Moses [04872] said [0559], Thou hast spoken [01696] well [03651], I will see [07200] thy face [06440] again [03254] no more.
29 And he said [0559] unto him, Thou knowest [03045] how [0834] I have served [05647] thee, and how [0834] thy cattle [04735] was with me.
29 And thou shalt grope [04959] at noonday [06672], as the blind [05787] gropeth [04959] in darkness [0653], and thou shalt not prosper [06743] in thy ways [01870]: and thou shalt be only oppressed [06231] and spoiled [01497] evermore [03117], and no man shall save [03467] thee.
26 And Samson [08123] said [0559] unto the lad [05288] that held [02388] him by the hand [03027], Suffer [03240] me that I may feel [04184] [03237] the pillars [05982] whereupon the house [01004] standeth [03559], that I may lean [08172] upon them.
7 They have hands [03027], but they handle [04184] not: feet [07272] have they, but they walk [01980] not: neither speak [01897] they through their throat [01627].
9 He will keep [08104] the feet [07272] of his saints [02623], and the wicked [07563] shall be silent [01826] in darkness [02822]; for by strength [03581] shall no man [0376] prevail [01396].
49 He cast [07971] upon them the fierceness [02740] of his anger [0639], wrath [05678], and indignation [02195], and trouble [06869], by sending [04917] evil [07451] angels [04397] among them.
10 And [2532] the fifth [3991] angel [32] poured out [1632] his [846] vial [5357] upon [1909] the seat [2362] of the beast [2342]; and [2532] his [846] kingdom [932] was [1096] full of darkness [4656]; and [2532] they gnawed [3145] their [846] tongues [1100] for [1537] pain [4192],