EXODUS
CHAPTER 10
The Lord sends plague of locusts—This is followed by thick darkness in all Egypt for three days—Moses cast out from presence of Pharaoh.
1 AND the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for I have hardened his heart, [ Pharaoh says JST "I will harden my heart." The word in Hebrew that's used that's translated as harden. I will harden my heart or he hardens his own heart is the word for heavy. Kaved is the Hebrew word, kaved or kaved. So what the text is really having Pharaoh say is I will make my heart heavy. This plays directly into an ancient Egyptian religious practice, which is known as the weighing of the heart. This has to do with the afterlife. Candidates who wish to enjoy a life after this one , to live in the realm of the Gods are required on their deathbed to pass a series of tests. So we see this person being brought to the god, Anubis, who's the god of the dead. He's the jackal-headed god. We see another Egyptian god, who's got a slate in his hand and a stylist and he's taking notes. That's the god Thoth, who is the god of scribes. Then we see the balance scales, where the candidate for eternal life's heart is being weighed against the feather of the goddess Maat. A candidate is required to stand there but have his heart weighed on the balance scales. They viewed the world differently than we do. So he wants to enjoy eternal life with the gods, his heart is weighed. If his heart weighs heavier than the feather of Maat, it means that the accumulated deeds of his life have been evil. So things are out of balance. If his heart weighs heavier than the feather of Maat, then he's turned over to what's called the Ammit monster. The Ammit monster is represented as a creature with the head of a crocodile, the chest and pause of a lion, and the rear end of a hippopotamus. These are the three largest man-eating animals in Egypt, in the ancient world as they are today. So you stay away from those three. So he's cooked, he's done. He won't get eternal life. But if your heart weighs as light as the feather of Maat, then you are brought into the next realm, where you stand before Osiris. You go through a series of, I guess what we would call ordinances is too strong a word. We would use that word but the ancient Egyptians would say he goes through a series of in enthronement tasks. Then he's anointed for eternal life. The ankh is poured out on his head, he's robed with the robe of the gods. Then he's ushered into the presence of Osiris to live his life.
] and the heart of his servants, that I might shew these my signs before him:
2 And that thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son, what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am the LORD.
[ So we see the Lord telling Moses that these signs are not only to persuade the Pharaoh to agree and do , but just as important, no more important is the idea that God wants the children of Israel to worship him, the true and living God, and break away from the false gods of the Egyptian Pantheon. So that's the purpose of the plagues, but the audience that Jehovah has in mind is Israel. ]
3 And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, How long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my people go, that they may serve me.
4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
5 And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
6 And they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither thy fathers, nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen, since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
7 And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?
8 And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the LORD your God: but who are they that shall go?
9 And Moses said, We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the LORD.
10 And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you.
11 Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the LORD; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from Pharaoh’s presence.
12 ¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.
13 And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, [ Eighth plague of locust or grasshoppers. And these are brought in by the East wind. We all know about the devastating effects of the East wind. It's even mentioned in the Book of Mormon. A West wind would bring moisture from the Mediterranean. And so why was the East wind, why did that become an old world symbol for destruction? This intense and dense cloud of dust came with the East wind and it raised the temperature by many, many degrees and it made life unbearable. But even more than that, it destroyed the crops. It was not a pleasant thing. And in Arabic it’s called the khamsin. That has reference to a specific time of the year. 50 days after a certain period you could expect the khamsin, and it really is a very unpleasant situation. So the khamsin brings these hoards of migratory locust to devour the crops. It's getting worse and worse. ] and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts.
14 And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such.
15 For they covered the face of the whole earth, So that the land was darkened; [ A plague of darkness would have been directed at their God Ra, the great sun god, the chief of the Egyptian Pantheon from very, very early times. The sun itself became a god, and it's a prominent figure in ancient Egypt because you rarely see rain. The Egyptians believe that Ra is the creator God and were created by the tears or sweat of Ra. The sun or Ra was one of the things that Egyptians counted on as the most consistent, and now that has been challenged, attacking the very faith of the Egyptians. ] and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
16 ¶ Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and he said, I have sinned against the LORD your God, and against you.
17 Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and intreat the LORD your God, that he may take away from me this death only.
19 And the LORD turned a mighty strong west wind, which took away the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.
21 ¶ 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.
22 And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
23 They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but a ll the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
[ The children of Israel appear to be exempt from the first nine of the 10 plagues. Here the children od Israel living in Goshen have light while those in egypt are covered in darkness. see also Ex 9:3 ]
24 ¶ And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve the LORD; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you.
25 And Moses said, Thou must give us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God.
26 Our cattle also shall go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof must we take to serve the LORD our God; and we know not with what we must serve the LORD, until we come thither.