Exodus 9 Plague, Ashen Boil, Bombing Hail, Voices, Lightning, Rain QA

Plague, Ashen Boil, Bombing Hail, Voices, Lightning, Rain

With Questions and Proposed Answers Supplied

Background and Printed Text: Exodus chapter 9

Exodus 9:1 And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Come unto Pharaoh. And thou shalt speak unto him: ‘So said Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews, “Send my people, and he has served me!” ²For if thou art refusing to send, and thou art yet gripping into them, ³behold the Hand of Yehovah is being in thy cattle that is in the field—in horses, in asses, in camels, in herd and in flock, a very heavy plague! ⁴And Yehovah will segregate between the cattle of Israel and between the cattle of Egypt. And not a thing will die from all to the sons of Israel!’”

⁵And Yehovah put an appointment to say, “Tomorrow Yehovah will do this speech in the land.” ⁶And Yehovah did this speech from tomorrow. And every cattle of Egypt died. And not one from the cattle of the children of Israel died. ⁷And Pharaoh sent. And behold, not unto one from the cattle of Israel died. And the heart of Pharaoh weighted. And he did not send the people.

Ashen Boil

⁸And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe] and unto Aharon, “Take ye to you a fullness of your fists of ash of a furnace. And Draw [Moshe] shall sprinkle him heavens-ward to the eyes of Pharaoh. ⁹And he shall become to powder over all the land of Egypt. And he shall be upon the adam and upon the beast for a boil flowering eruptions-eruptions in all the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰And they took the ash of the furnace. And they stood to the faces of Pharaoh. And Draw [Moshe] sprinkled him heavens-ward. And the boil of the eruptions-eruptions flowered in adam and in beast. ¹¹And the diviners were not able to stand to the faces of Draw [Moshe] from the faces of the boil. For the boil is in their diviner and in all Egypt. ¹²And Yehovah gripped the heart of Pharaoh. And he did not hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke unto Draw [Moshe].

Bombing Hail, Voices, Lightning, Rain

¹³And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Early-rise in the morning. And position thyself to the faces of Pharaoh. And thou shalt say unto him, ‘So said Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews, “Send my people, and he has served me! ¹⁴For in this stroke I am sending all my plagues unto thine heart and into thy slaves and into thy people for the sake that thou shalt know that there is not like me in all the land! ¹⁵For now I sent my hand and I smote thee and thy people via pestilence. And thou hast been expunged from the land! ¹⁶And silently for the sake of this I ‘stood’ thee—for the sake of showing thee my power and in order to publish my Name in all the land! ¹⁷Thou art yet building-up thyself via my people to not send them! ¹⁸Behold I am raining very heavy hail as a time tomorrow, that there was not like him in Egypt from the day of her being founded and unto now! ¹⁹And now, send! Firm thy cattle and all that is to thee in the field. All the adam and the beast that he will find in the field, and he will not be gathered to the house, and the hail will descend upon them, and they shall die!”’”

²⁰The fearer of the speech of Yehovah from the slaves of Pharaoh made his slaves and his cattle flee unto the houses. ²¹And who did not put his heart unto the speech of Yehovah, and he forsook his slaves and his cattle in the field.

²²And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Stretch thine hand upon the heavens! And hail was in all the land of Egypt—upon the adam and upon the beast and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt!” ²³And Draw [Moshe] stretched his rod upon the heavens. And Yehovah gave voices and hail! And fire walked landward! And Yehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt!

²⁴And hail was very heavy, and fire taking herself in the midst of the hail—that there wasn’t like him in all the land of Egypt from then, her becoming to a race!²⁵And the hail smote all that is in the field from adam and unto beast in all the land of Egypt. And the hail smote every herb of the field. And he broke every tree of the field. ²⁶Only in the land of Goshen where the sons of Israel are there, hail wasn’t.

²⁷And Pharaoh sent. And he called to Draw [Moshe] and to Aharon. And he said unto them, “I sinned the stroke! Yehovah is the righteous! And I and my people are the culpable-ones! ²⁸Entreat-ye unto Yehovah, and multiply from there being voices of gods and hail. And I have sent you. And ye shall not add to stand!”²⁹And Draw [Moshe] said unto him, “As my going out of the city, I will spread my palms unto Yehovah. The voices shall cease and the hail will not be any more, so that thou shalt know that the land is to Yehovah! ³⁰And thou and thy slaves—I knew! For before ye will fear from the faces of Yehovah Gods, ³¹and the flax and the barley—she was smitten!” For the barley is spring, and the flax is exalted-above. ³²And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for they are darkened.

³³And Draw [Moshe] exited the city from with Pharaoh. And he spread his palms unto Yehovah. And the voices ceased, and the hail and rain. And he did not pour-forth landward. ³⁴And Pharaoh saw that the rain ceased, and the hail and the voices. And he added to sin. And his heart heavied—he and his slaves. ³⁵And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not send the children of Israel just as Yehovah spoke via the hand of Draw [Moshe].

I. The Threat to Herd and Flock (verses 1-4)

Yehovah commanded Moshe to come unto Pharaoh. Moshe introduced whom he was quoting: “So said Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews.” Yehovah’s command to Pharaoh was the same as it had previously been: “Send my people, and he has served me!” Moshe then gave Yehovah’s threat: “For if thou art refusing to send, and thou art yet gripping into them, behold the Hand of Yehovah is being in thy cattle that is in the field—in horses, in asses, in camels, in herd and in flock, a very heavy plague!”

Moshe then declared the segregation that Yehovah will perform: “And Yehovah will segregate between the cattle of Israel and between the cattle of Egypt. And not a thing will die from all to the sons of Israel!”

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah insist that Pharaoh send Yehovah’s people (instead of just leading them out, and stopping Pharaoh from stopping them)? Before answering this, the reader needs to know a practice of the cultures in the Bible. If a visitor comes to lodge with someone, that person who opens his home normally must send the guest on his/her way. If the guest just leaves, that is considered improper, and could result in harm to the friendship (or even the accusation of stealing, since a guest is like a gift to the person). Thus, when the person said that it was time to leave, the host would sometimes try to convince the guest to stay another day. Once the host sent the visitor, the departure was in peace. If you read the book of the Judges of Israel, you will see this type of interaction.

With this in mind, I propose that this type of interaction among cultures is directly related to why Yehovah told Pharaoh to send the people of Israel. This people had been a guest in Egypt for these centuries. Yehovah desired the departure to be in peace and not with hatred. Since the Egyptian leaders were now holding on to this people as if the Israelis were their property, Yehovah sent to these leaders to tell them to send His people. Yehovah began to force Egypt’s ‘hand’ to do this so that the Israelis could leave in peace, and not just sneak away. Yehovah truly had no desire to harm Egypt and Egyptians, but He was more than willing to kill Egyptians if they insisted upon holding Yehovah’s property. Once they sent the Israelis, Yehovah would not harm them (as long as they didn’t try to do a reversal and re-kidnap them).

2. Does Yehovah ever threaten anyone? He obviously does!

3. What is the Hand of Yehovah, and how does this hand differ from Yehovah? In the Bible, a hand is always a picture of power. The hand is used in expressions that refer to power. Think of the view that a very young child has of an adult’s hand. The child knows that the hand can do anything. That is why the child places items that need to be fixed or assembled into an adult’s hand.

The same thing is true in this case. Yehovah’s Hand can do anything, and will do what is necessary to accomplish what Yehovah has set out to do. The Arm of Yehovah is the Messiah; the Hand, then, will be the power of the Messiah of Yehovah!

4. Yehovah threatened the horses, asses, camels, herd and flock of Pharaoh and all Egypt (except for the Israeli herds and flocks) if Pharaoh didn’t send the people of Israel. Why was Yehovah willing to harm animals that couldn’t do anything about what Pharaoh chose to do? Pharaoh owned those animals and made money from them. Yehovah owned the people of Israel, and desired to be profited by them through their good works! If Pharaoh refused to send Yehovah’s property, Yehovah would attack Pharaoh’s property. Yehovah gave humans the use of animals for profit (making money) so that they can understand Yehovah’s use of humans—also for profit, but in an ethical and moral sense of doing what the Bible calls good works. Humans can slaughter their innocent animals for food. If you like hamburgers, you are eating from a slaughtered innocent cow. This is fine before Yehovah. Thus, Yehovah can also slaughter such animals to show His power to Pharaoh and Egypt.

5. Why did Yehovah segregate between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt? Define segregation: Segregation is the act of separating, withdrawing, or go apart from another group; separating one group from a flock; isolating, dividing out.

Yehovah did this so that Pharaoh, the Egyptians, and the Israelis will know Yehovah’s power. Yehovah desires His own property, the people of Israel! He will force the hand of Egypt!

6. How many animals of the Israelis normally died on a daily basis in Egypt? While deaths of cattle, sheep and goats were not common, animals still normally occasionally died. Thus, an animal would be found dead somewhere in Egypt. Yehovah kept all of the Israeli animals from dying during this plague!

II. One Day’s Notice (verses 5-7)

Yehovah Himself set the appointment for this event, and Moshe told Pharaoh this: “Tomorrow Yehovah will do this speech in the land.”

The text then explained that Yehovah did this speech (what He said) from tomorrow—that is, it began starting the next day. Every cattle of Egypt died. Not even one of the Israelis’ cattle died!

Pharaoh sent investigators to see if any of the Israelis’ cattle died, and they found that not a single animal died. How did Pharaoh respond? His heart (mind) weighted—he became concerned about what would happen if he sent the Israelis. He didn’t send the people.

Questions

1. What is an appointment in the Bible, and why is this word so important? An appointment is normally a meeting at a declared time with a specific purpose. The Bible uses this word in a different way. In the Bible, it is a specific event promised by Yehovah/Yeshua that will occur at a declared or an undeclared time with a purpose to miraculously harm or to miraculously benefit, or both miraculously harm one group and miraculously benefit another.

This word is so important because the hope (expectation) in the Bible is all about Yehovah’s appointments. The following are examples of what the Bible teaches that those who believe the Bible can expect:

Israel will become entirely righteous, including every Israeli without an exception
The Messiah of Israel, now named Yeshua (Salvation), will personally come from the heavens to earth with all the Saints who have lived and died so that He will reign over all kings and lords of the earth from Mount Zion in Israel.
There will be a time of seven years of Tribulation (many centuries from now) during which Yehovah will furiously attack Israel for Israeli unbelief and paganism, and then Israel will be saved from all enemies. During the same Tribulation, but later, Yeshua will furiously attack the races for attacking Israel and for violence against Israel, while individuals from those races who fear Yehovah/Yeshua and who do heroism to save the lives of Israelis will experience the good will and power of God on their behalves and on the behalves of those whom they are saving.
The Kingdom of God/Kingdom of Israel will be permanently established in Jerusalem and will reign over the entire planet.
There will be a judgment of every individual who is still alive to determine whether he/she was willing to benefit others at the risk of his/her own life.
There will be a judgment of every individual who has lived to determine his/her permanent placement according to his/her words and works.
There will be two resurrections of the dead: one resurrection for those who died in Biblical faith, and thus have Salvation, and anther resurrection for those who died without Biblical faith.
There will be a slaughter of the entire armies of six races that come to attack Israel, and Yehovah will attack many cities throughout the world by fire-bombing them with burning sulfur after this attempted attack on Israel (many centuries from now).
There will be at least two Temples rebuilt in Israel with animal sacrifices again being offered.

If I can describe these appointments, I can describe a much, much longer list of appointments given in the Bible. The Bible is based on such appointments. Those appointments are what readers of the Bible who believe the Bible expect to occur. When the Bible uses the word hope, it means those things expected to occur by the appointments of God. Every miracle that is described in the Bible is also a future appointment that is guaranteed to occur again unless the Bible explains that it won’t happen again. Thus, since Yeshua walked on water, others will likewise walk on water when a need to do so arises during the Tribulation. The plagues in Egypt were attacks against gods of the Egyptians; Yehovah will again use such methods to attack false gods of the races, and He will then stop all demonic empowering of the false gods (so that they just won’t work any more).

The appointments are that important in the Bible.

2. Verse 5 states, “Tomorrow Yehovah will do this speech in the land.” What speech will He do? He will do the speech that describes how He will slam Egypt with a very heavy plague on its livestock (horses, asses, camels, sheep, goats, etc.), and He will not permit any Israeli livestock to die.

3. The next statement says, “And Yehovah did this speech from tomorrow.” What does from tomorrow mean? This means that He did what He said starting with tomorrow, and continuing to the next day and the next day, etc.

4. How many of the Egyptian cattle died in this plague? All of the Egyptian cattle died!

5. How many died from the Israeli cattle? Not even one died.

6. For what purpose did Pharaoh send, and whom did he send? He sent his slaves to find out what the losses were among the Israelis’ cattle.

7. Why did Pharaoh’s heart weigh, this time, and what does this mean? It means that Pharaoh’s mind got heavy, and considered (weighed) the situations that would occur if the Israelis left. He now saw that the Israelis would leave Egypt with all the cattle that was in Egypt! Egypt needed the cattle, and therefore Pharaoh refused to send the Israelis so that Egypt could obtain cattle from them.

III. Boils with Eruptions (verses 8-12)

Yehovah now directed both Moshe and Aharon: “Take ye to you a fullness of your fists of ash of a furnace.” Thus, they filled their four fists with furnace ash. Yehovah told only Moshe to sprinkle the ash toward the heavens directly in the sight of Pharaoh. When Moshe does this, the ash shall become a powder over all the land of Egypt! The powder will land upon ‘the adam’ (the human, referring to every human) and upon the beast (referring to every beast). It will then become a boil that flowers and erupts over again over all the land of Egypt.

Moshe and Aharon did as they were told, taking ash of the furnace. They then stood directly in front of Pharaoh. Moshe sprinkled the ash toward the heavens. The boils flowered with eruptions in man and animal.

The diviners couldn’t stand directly in front of Moshe because of the faces of the boil! The diviners erupted with boils, as well as all Egypt.

This time, Yehovah gripped the heart (mind) of Pharaoh! Pharaoh didn’t hearken unto them, which is what Yehovah had said Pharaoh wouldn’t do.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah command both Aharon and Moshe to take a fistful of ash from a furnace when only Moshe was commanded to sprinkle the ash toward the heavens? If Moshe alone sprinkled the ash, and it became powder over all the land of Egypt, what could Aharon do if he later sprinkled the powder? I propose that the purpose was to show Pharaoh that if even half the ash did this, he needed to fear what the whole amount would do!

2. What does “upon the adam” mean (when ‘adam’ isn’t capitalized)? This refers to man—that is, to the human population (in Egypt, in this case). The word adam refers to a colour: to red, since the first human was red, the same colour as red soil.

3. What is a boil? A boil is a painful, round and raised inflammation of the skin with a dead inner core that gives off a yellowish-white and stinking liquid caused by an infection.

4. What does “a boil flowering eruptions-eruptions” mean? This means that they will rise up on the skin and will open to give off the stinking liquid (known as pus). They will also be flowering “eruptions-eruptions,” meaning that they will spread to other places so that one person or animal will have quite a few of these boils!

5. What beasts were there since so many of the cattle of the Egyptians died? The text didn’t say that all the cattle and animals died. The Egyptians also acquired livestock from the Israelis.

6. Why did Yehovah also put boils on Egyptian cattle? The cattle also suffered, and made noise night and day to haunt the Egyptians from the pain. Yehovah used psychological warfare on the Egyptians. Since the cattle were so important to them, and since they had a cattle god, Yehovah again attacked their cattle god.

7. Did the Israelis’ cattle also suffer with boils? No. Once the third plague had occurred, Yehovah put a distinction between the Israelis and their property, and the Egyptians and their property. The Israelis’ cattle were safe.

8. Would Egyptian cattle that was temporarily grazing on Israeli lands and in the hands of the Israelis be safe from the boil? I propose that it would have been safe!

9. Why weren’t the diviners able to stand in front of Moshe? They must have had boils on the bottoms of their feet! Or, they may have had boils up their tuchases (their rear ends) and between their legs! Such boils would have made walking very painful!

10. What does “For the boil is in their diviner and in all Egypt” mean? This treats all the diviners as if they are one diviner! The entire group of diviners has this boil in the group! There was no exception; every diviner had boils!

11. How long did the boils and the ‘boil plague’ last? The text doesn’t say! It could have lasted for quite a while!

12. Did Pharaoh get hit with the boils? Though the text doesn’t mention if Pharaoh himself broke out with boils, since he is the one who needs to be convinced, I would think that he was afflicted with them. If he was, the text also doesn’t describe his asking Moshe to call upon Yehovah to remove the boils. If, on the other hand, Pharaoh had no boils, this would have brought resentment against him; his slaves, who were tortured with the boils would have seen that Pharaoh doesn’t care enough to ask Moshe’s God to stop this plague!

IV. Yehovah’s Threat and Editorial (verses 13-19)

Yehovah had new orders for Moshe: “Early-rise in the morning. And position thyself to the faces of Pharaoh.” Yehovah identified Himself in the normal way: “So said Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews.” Yehovah commanded Pharaoh in the usual way: “Send my people, and he has served me!”

Yehovah then followed this with a direct threat: “For in this stroke I am sending all my plagues unto thine heart and into thy slaves and into thy people for the sake that thou shalt know that there is not like me in all the land!”

Yehovah then gave the result of this threat being carried out: “For now I sent my hand and I smote thee and thy people via pestilence. And thou hast been expunged from the land!”

Why did Yehovah tolerate Pharaoh? He explained: “And silently for the sake of this I ‘stood’ thee—for the sake of showing thee my power and in order to publish my Name in all the land!”

Yehovah openly stated Pharaoh’s motives: “Thou art yet building-up thyself via my people to not send them!”

Thus, Yehovah told Pharaoh what was next coming: “Behold I am raining very heavy hail as a time tomorrow, that there was not like him in Egypt from the day of her being founded and unto now!”

Yet, Yehovah told Pharaoh what to do to save the humans and the cattle: “And now, send! Firm thy cattle and all that is to thee in the field.”

He gave the results of not doing this: “All the adam and the beast that he will find in the field, and he will not be gathered to the house, and the hail will descend upon them, and they shall die!”

Questions

1. Did Pharaoh enjoy seeing Moshe early in the morning? By now, Pharaoh must have dreaded seeing him! Yet, he didn’t touch him.

2. Why did Yehovah use the very same wording over and over again when He said, “Send my people, and he has served me”? Yehovah kept the command simple. The threats after the command changed. Yehovah doesn’t need to improve on His actions and communications; they are right the first time.

3. What does stroke mean in, “For in this stroke, I am sending…”? It refers to a point in time, as if it were the ticking of a wind-up watch or the clicks of a wind-up grandfather clock. Long before clocks made sounds, Yehovah spoke of time in terms of strokes as if they are rhythmic beats (like heartbeats). Thus, “in this stroke” is like “at this time.”

4. What did Yehovah mean by, “in this stroke, I am sending all my plagues unto thine heart”? Yehovah is explaining to Pharaoh why He keeps sending all these plagues, and where he is sending them: unto Pharaoh’s heart, into Pharaoh’s slaves, and into Pharaoh’s people.

5. What was the purpose for sending all these plagues? It was “for the sake that [Pharaoh] shall know that there is not like [Yehovah] in all the land!” Yehovah didn’t send the plagues to force Pharaoh to do something, but rather so that Pharaoh would know that no other being is like Yehovah!

6. Yehovah said, “For now I sent my hand.” What does this mean? Anyone’s hand is that person’s (or group’s) power, and the hand is the means by which anyone does what he/she does. Yehovah sent His hand, as if His hand had either been disconnected from Him or as if His hand hadn’t been in motion just before this occurred. Later in the Bible, the Arm of Yehovah will be described as a person. The hand is connected to the arm! Yehovah’s hand will act as a messenger of Yehovah.

7. What will the hand be doing, according to verse 15? The hand will smite! This sounds like it will form a fist to strike Pharaoh and Pharaoh’s people!

8. What does smite mean? This means to hit, to strike hard, as if to kill or wound. The past tense of smite is smote.

9. What does pestilence mean? This is a disease outbreak. (It doesn’t refer to a pest problem.)

10. What does expunged mean? It means to be cut off, destroyed, completely removed, completely erased.

11. Who will be expunged from the land? Pharaoh will be expunged!

12. Wouldn’t this be a direct threat to Pharaoh’s life from Yehovah? Wouldn’t Pharaoh become very angry being threatened in this way? It was a direct threat! If Pharaoh became angry, the text doesn’t tell us readers. He didn’t respond as if he felt threatened.

13. What does stood mean in, “And silently for the sake of this I ‘stood’ thee”? Here, it means to cause to stand; to raise to rank and power; to set into a higher position of rank and responsibility.

14. Why did Yehovah use silently in, “And silently for the sake of this I ‘stood’ thee”? Yehovah raised Pharaoh to his position without Yehovah’s saying a word to anyone. (He sometimes announces when He is raising someone to a position.)

15. What two reasons did Yehovah give for ‘standing’ Pharaoh? He gave the following two reasons:

for the sake of showing Pharaoh His power
in order to publish His Name in all the land

16. What land did Yehovah have in mind when He said, “in order to publish my Name in all the land”? I propose that this goes back to Genesis 1:1 when Yehovah created the heavens and the land. I propose that this goes far beyond the land of Egypt, instead including all the land that is above water!

17. What would be accomplished if Yehovah published His Name in all the land? Since His Name is Salvation, Yehovah did all these things in order to cause His Salvation to be scrolled—the word behind published, meaning to place it on a scroll in writing, or to communicate it as if one is reading a scroll—so that all humans will know of Yehovah and of His Salvation (whether they believe in Him or not!).

18. Yehovah said through Moshe, “Thou art yet building-up thyself via my people to not send them.” What was Pharaoh doing, according to this description? Pharaoh was still using the Israeli slaves to build for him in order to build up his own fame and majesty before the world. He therefore wasn’t sending the Israelis, desiring to keep them for himself.

19. How heavy is heavy hail? The hail must have weighed a lot—not enough to destroy the sturdy houses in Egypt, but enough to kill humans and animals.

20. Had there been hail in Egypt before this time? There had been, since this hailstorm is compared with prior hailstorms. This will be the worst there has ever been!

21. When Yehovah gave the command, “And now, send,” whom was Pharaoh to send, and for what purpose? Yehovah commanded Pharaoh to immediately send all his slaves to gather both the slaves and the cattle from the fields. He only gave him one day to send word to the entire land of Egypt! Everyone in the fields and all cattle in the fields will die! (This did not include the fields where the Israelis were located.)

22. What does “Firm thy cattle” mean? This is like saying, “Secure thy cattle.” It is also like saying, “Confirm that thy cattle” has been gathered.

23. What is an ‘adam’? This is a human—anyone who descended from Adam’s lineage.

24. How many of the animals and humans that remain in the fields will die? They will all die!

V. The Fearer and the Ignorer (verses 20-21)

Pharaoh’s slaves heard these words. Every slave who feared the speech of Yehovah made his slaves and his cattle flee unto (toward) the houses. Every slave who didn’t put his heart (mind) unto the speech of Yehovah abandoned his slaves and his cattle in the field.

Questions

1. What is a “fearer of the speech of Yehovah,” and does that person have faith in Yehovah? This is a person who took Yehovah’s words very seriously, and feared the consequences of not obeying them! This doesn’t mean that the person has faith in Yehovah. Folks can fear the words of other gods while refusing to place their faith in those gods; they can do the same toward Yehovah.

2. What does “And who did not put his heart unto the speech of Yehovah” mean? This means that this person didn’t set his mind to hearken to what Yehovah said. Folks can make up their minds to listen and do, and they can make up their minds to ignore. Most humans will ignore the speeches of Yehovah the Gods of Israel, including most Israelis.

3. Why does the text state, “and he forsook his slaves and his cattle in the field” instead of stating, “and he left his slaves and his cattle in the field”? The act of not warning them was abandoning them to death. They didn’t just leave them in the field; they forsook them to die. Thus, they were at fault for their deaths according to the justice of Yehovah.

VI. Hail, Thunder, Lightning (verses 22-23)

Yehovah commanded just Moshe to: “Stretch thine hand upon the heavens.” Yehovah told Moshe the results: “And hail was in all the land of Egypt—upon the adam and upon the beast and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt!”

Moshe did as he was commanded, stretching his rod upon the heavens. Yehovah gave voices and hail! Fire walked toward the land! Yehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt.

Questions

1. How can Moshe stretch his hand upon the heavens when Moshe just isn’t that big? Yehovah made Moshe into a god! Thus, in Pharaoh’s eyes, Moshe was very large! If Moshe can do this, what can the God (Yehovah) Who is behind these miracles do?

2. When did Moshe stretch his hand upon the heavens? He did this the next day after warning Pharaoh and his slaves to get their slaves and cattle out of the field. When Moshe did this, the hail immediately came.

3. Wasn’t Moshe outside when this occurred? If so, wasn’t Moshe in danger of being hit by the hail and being killed? He was outside, since he stretched his hand upon the heavens! He was not in any danger, since Yehovah always is able to direct His judgments toward their intended targets and away from those whom He isn’t targeting. There is no such thing as Collateral Damage when Yehovah judges. He only goes after His intended targets. When humans fight in wars, Collateral Damage almost always occurs.

4. What else besides humans and cattle was destroyed? Every herb of the field was destroyed! Thus, the crops were destroyed!

5. In what danger was the land of Egypt because of this hail, besides those who were killed by it? Since the cattle and the herbs, as well as the slaves who worked the fields, were killed, the rest of the Egyptians who counted on them for food were in danger of starvation! Thus, this plague made food scarce.

6. Yehovah told Moshe to stretch his hand upon the heavens; Moshe stretched his rod upon the heavens. Did Moshe do wrong? Moshe didn’t do wrong. However, because he didn’t do exactly as Yehovah said, he set himself up for a later problem. Yehovah will tell Moshe to speak to a Rock in a text much later than our texts, and Moshe will strike the Rock instead of speaking to it. This will result in Yehovah being furious with Moshe, and giving him a delayed death sentence. One must do exactly as Yehovah says; one must take what He says very literally. Yehovah is very strict about these things because they are the difference between life and death.

7. What does “Yehovah gave voices” mean? This means that Yehovah caused voices to be heard in the heavens. Now, hearers of these voices heard thunder. The same Hebrew word that means thunder means a voice. Yehovah sometimes spoke sentences using thunder! (He will do this later in the Torah.)

8. What causes these voices? They are normally the result of lightning.

9. What does “fire walked landward” describe? This describes the very beautiful and quite frightening ball lightning (which I have seen). This form of lightning isn’t like the jagged streaks that are so long; it is lightning that starts with a very pretty and round explosion of light that stays on, rolls through the air, and rolls along the ground! It looks like a large ball. If it runs into something, it can set it on fire. It can go through windows. When it doesn’t come down, it rolls through the air. It causes quite a beautiful show!

In this case, the ball lightning walked (we would say, rolled) along the land, striking persons, cattle, objects, and other things. If it struck a person or a cow, that person or cow would probably die right away from the fire and electricity.

10. The text doesn’t describe any rain. Did it rain? I can’t tell whether the hail, lightning and thunder were accompanied by rain. I propose that the rain (if any) wasn’t so strong as to block the view of the lightning or to drown the sound of the thunder (voices).

VII. Devastation (verses 24-26)

The hail was very heavy (both in the amount of hail and in the size of the hail). Fire took herself in the midst of the hail! That is fire and ice at the same time! This kind of a hailstorm never occurred from the time that Egypt (the original person) became a race! The hail smote (attacked with the force to kill) everything in the field including man and animal. The hail smote every herb of the field. It also broke every tree of the field! There was no hail, however, in the land of Goshen where the sons of Israel are.

Questions

1. How heavy was the hail? If the text states that it was heavy, that can mean two things: that the hailstones were very large (big enough to kill humans and cattle, but not big enough to destroy the buildings into which the obedient slaves took refuge with their cattle); it can also mean that the amount of the hail was very great so that there were perhaps feet of hail, if not a number of inches of hail stacked on the ground. In either case, or in both cases, humans and cattle were not able to survive if they were outside.

2. What does “fire taking herself in the midst of the hail” describe? That fire was from the ball lightning! Thus, fiery explosions of lightning that rolled were interspersed (were mixed in) with the hail! This is so strange, because fire and ice seem so opposite to each other! Some must have been hit by the hail at the same time they were hit by the lightning balls!

3. What does “there wasn’t like him in all the land of Egypt from then, her becoming to a race” mean? This means that a storm like this never occurred in Egyptian history. The race of Egyptians started with one man whose name was Mitzraim. (Mitzraim is the Hebrew word for Egypt, too.) The man named Mitzraim had children; his children had children, and this process continued until there was a race of Egyptians. During this entire time, there were storms in the land of Egypt. There was never a storm like this one, however!

4. What does smote mean? It means to strike, often with a force to kill (as in this case).

5. How many herbs of the field survived this hail? No herbs survived!

6. How many trees survived this hail? The text states that the hail broke every tree of the field. That doesn’t mean that it killed every tree. The damage was very great. Thus, the timber in Egypt was temporarily ruined!

7. Did the Israelis see the hail? If they were near the border of Goshen, they saw the hail beyond Goshen’s borders. The Israelis were perfectly safe during this storm; they were in Goshen.

8. Were the Israelis being slave-driven during this time? I have wondered this. I know that Yehovah brought the projects of the Egyptians to a halt; those projects included construction using bricks. If the projects were stopped, the need for the bricks also ceased. I propose that the Israelis had far fewer taskmasters and slave drivers commanding them to do anything. Many of them were now dead! Others were ruined from previous losses.

VIII. False Repentance (verses 27-30)

Pharaoh sent and called Moshe and Aharon. He admitted that he had sinned this time, and that Yehovah is righteous. He then stated that he and his people are the culpable ones.

He told them to entreat unto Yehovah, and multiply from their beings voices of gods and hail. On this condition, Pharaoh stated, “I have sent you. And ye shall not add to stand!”

Moshe responded, “As my going out of the city, I will spread my palms unto Yehovah. The voices shall cease and the hail will not be any more, so that thou shalt know that the land is to Yehovah!”

Moshe then added, “And thou and thy slaves—I knew! For before ye will fear from the faces of Yehovah Gods, and the flax and the barley—she was smitten!”

Moshe explained, “For the barley is spring,” that is, the barley is coming up well, as it does in the spring of the year. “And the flax is exalted-above,” meaning that it is already several inches high. “And the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for they are darkened,” meaning that the tender plants haven’t yet broken aboveground.

Questions

1. When did Pharaoh send for Moshe and Aharon? He sent for them during the storm.

2. Where were Moshe and Aharon located during the storm? They either were still where Pharaoh was located or they went to Goshen. If they were in Goshen, Pharaoh’s slaves might have been killed trying to get to Goshen during this storm. If they were where Pharaoh was, they were not very far away.

3. What does “I sinned the stroke” mean? The stroke means at this time. The stroke describes the ticking of a clock or the rhythm of time. (They didn’t have ticking clocks at this time.) Thus, “I sinned the stroke” means “I sinned this time!”

4. Pharaoh also said, “Yehovah is righteous!” Did he mean it? He truly meant it … for about one minute! He was speaking words to get Moshe and Aharon to stop this devastating storm.

5. Was “I and my people are the culpable-ones” true? Pharaoh’s people had no control over these plagues and devastating storms. They were not the ones stopping the Israelis; Pharaoh was. Yet, they supported Pharaoh and his policies. Thus, they were guilty, too!

6. What does entreat mean? It means to request with urgency; it almost means to beg.

7. What does “multiply from there being voices” mean? Multiply from in Hebrew means to do the opposite of multiplying. (We think of dividing as being the opposite of multiplying, but that isn’t the same.) Pharaoh is asking Moshe and Aharon to ask Yehovah to stop the voices and the hail.

8. Pharaoh called the thunder voices of gods. Was he right? He was! Yehovah was indeed speaking to him! He was making Pharaoh very fearful.

9. Pharaoh promised that if Moshe and Aharon entreated unto Yehovah, and if Yehovah stopped the voices of gods and the hail, he would send the Israelis. Was this true? A reader by now will now that it isn’t true!

10. Pharaoh also said, “And ye shall not add to stand.” What does that mean? That means that the Israelis won’t wait any longer to leave. Since standing means remaining where one is without going, they won’t add (do again or increase the reasons they have) to stand—that is, they won’t stay any longer.

11. Did Moshe believe him? Moshe knew better than to believe him!

12. Moshe told Pharaoh that he was going out of the city, at which time he would spread his palms unto Yehovah. Wasn’t he afraid of being hit by the hail or struck by the lightning? Moshe didn’t fear this. He knew that Yehovah had sent him on this mission, and thus that Yehovah would make certain that Moshe was able to complete it. If Moshe were struck by hail and hurt or killed, that would make a joke out of Yehovah’s power.

13. What was the point of this terrible destruction, according to verse 29? This was to cause Pharaoh to know that the land (that is, the land of Egypt, as well as all the land on the planet) “is to Yehovah”—it both belongs to Him and is for His use. Pharaoh thought that the land of Egypt belonged to him and to his people.

14. Who is ‘I’ in, “And thou and thy slaves—I knew”? This is Moshe since he is the one who will spread his palms in verse 29.

15. What did he know? He knew that Pharaoh and his slaves still would not fear from the faces of Yehovah until the flax and the barley were smitten, and thus were destroyed.

16. What is flax? It is a plant with two important purposes. Its seeds can be crushed to give linseed oil that can be used in making paints and other products. Its fibres can be used to make linen! Linen becomes very soft after being washed a number of times.

17. What is barley? It is a cereal grain (used to make cereals and bread), and is also used in making beer.

18. What does “barley is spring” mean? This means that the barley crop had come above ground and was now producing green shoots. It is very vulnerable—susceptible to being hurt at this point.

19. What does “the flax is exalted above” mean? This means that the flax is at least several inches high, if not even higher, and is growing quite well.

20. What does being darkened mean in verse 32? This means that the wheat and the spelt were not yet aboveground. Their seeds may have germinated, but they were still under the soil, and were thus safe from the terrible force of the hail.

IX. Sinning More (verses 33-35)

Moshe left the city and Pharaoh. He spread the palms of his hands unto Yehovah. The voices ceased, as well as the hail and the rain. The rain didn’t pour down on the land.

Pharaoh saw that the rain ceased, as well as the hail and the voices. He sinned even more! His heart (mind) heavied, and so did the heart of his slaves!

Pharaoh’s heart gripped, hanging on to his views from before. He didn’t send the children of Israel, exactly as Yehovah spoke by means of the hand of Moshe!

Questions

1. Verse 34 states that Pharaoh “added to sin.” What did he do that was sin? He didn’t keep his promise to send the Israelis out of his land!

2. What does “his heart heavied” mean, and why did the heart of his slaves do the same thing? The mind of Pharaoh and his slaves (as if they had one mind) thought about what would happen to the land of Egypt if the Israeli slaves left; their economy would be ruined, and they would be vulnerable to attack (that would be open to another group attacking them while they were struggling to plant new crops and to do work for themselves). These things weighed heavily on their mind (‘heart’), and they made sure that their thought was about this result.

3. The next text states that the heart of Pharaoh gripped. What does this mean? This means that Pharaoh’s mind clung to the thought of keeping the Israelis as Egypt’s labour force, and to the thought of refusing to send them. He held on to what he believed was necessary for Egypt’s survival.

September 13, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 7:26-8 Frog, Louse, and the Swarm Q&A

Frog, Louse, and the Swarm

Background and Printed Text: Exodus chapter 8 [Starting at 7:26 in Hebrew]

Note: I give the verse references for both the Hebrew Bible and the King James Version Bible. Please use the verse reference that matches the Bible you are using so that you won’t get lost. The chapters differ because translators and copyists chose to break up the chapters at different points. The choice made by the Hebrew copyists makes more sense in this case.

Frog

Exodus 7:26 [Hebrew Bible]; Exodus 8:1, [KJV] And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Come unto Pharaoh! And thou shalt say unto him, ‘So said Yehovah! “Send my people! And he has served me! ^{27 [8:2, KJV]} And if thou art refusing to send, behold I am scourging all thy border via Tzfardeem [frogs]! ^{28 [8:3, KJV]} And the canal shall swarm Tzfardeem [frogs]. And they shall ascend. And they shall come into thine house and into the chamber of thy bed and upon thy recliner and into the house of thy slaves and into thy people and into thine ovens and into thy kneadingtroughs! ^{29 [8:4, KJV]} And the Tzfardeem [frogs] will ascend into thee and into thy people and into all thy slaves. The Tzfardeem [frogs] shall ascend!”’”

^{8:1 [8:5, KJV]} And Yehovah said unto Moshe, “Say unto Aharon, ‘Stretch thine hand via thy rod upon the rivers, upon the canals and upon the pools. And make the Tzfardeem [frogs] ascend upon the land of Egypt!’” ^{2 [8:6, KJV]} And Aharon stretched his hand upon waters of Egypt. And the Tzfardaya [frog] ascended. And she covered the land of Egypt. ^{3 [8:7, KJV]} And the diviners did so via their flames. And they made-ascend the Tzfardeem [frogs] upon the land of Egypt.

^{4 [8:8, KJV]} And Pharaoh called to Moshe and to Aharon. And he said, “Entreat unto Yehovah, and He has turned-away the Tzfardeem [frogs] from me and from my people! And I will send the people. And they have sacrificed to Yehovah.” ^{5 [8:9, KJV]} And Moshe said to Pharaoh, “Make thyself bright concerning me! When shall I entreat for thee and for thy slaves and for thy people to cut-off the Tzfardeem [frogs] from thee and from thy houses? They will remain only in the canal.” ^{6 [8:10, KJV]} And he said, “Tomorrow!” And he said, “According to thy speech so that thou shalt know that there isn’t as Yehovah our Gods! ^{7 [8:11, KJV]} And the Tzfardeem [frogs] shall turn-away from thee and from thy houses and from thy slaves and from thy people. They will remain only in the canal.” ^{8 [8:12, KJV]} And Moshe exited, and Aharon, from with Pharaoh.

And Moshe shouted unto Yehovah concerning the speech of the Tzfardeem [frogs] that He put to Pharaoh. ^{9 [8:13, KJV]} And Yehovah did according to the speech of Moshe. And the Tzfardeem [frogs] died from the houses, from the courtyards and from the fields. ^{10 [8:14, KJV]} And they heaped them, their bubbling, their bubbling. And the land stank.

^{11 [8:15, KJV]} And Pharaoh saw that the breather was. And he weighted his heart. And he didn’t hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke.

Dusty Louse

Exodus 8:12 [Hebrew], 8:16 [KJV] And Yehovah said unto Moshe, “Say unto Aharon, ‘Stretch thy rod! And smite dust of the land. And he will become to their louse in all the land of Egypt.’” ^{13 [8:17, KJV]} And they did so. And Aharon stretched his hand via his rod. And he smote dust of the land. And she became their louse in adam and in beast—all dust of the land became lice in all the land of Egypt. ^{14 [8:18, KJV]} And the diviners did so via their flames to send-out the lice—and they weren’t able!

And their louse became in adam and in beast. ^{15 [8:19, KJV]} And the diviners said unto Pharaoh, “He is the finger of gods!” And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke.

The Swarm

Exodus 8:16 [Hebrew], 8:20 [KJV] And Yehovah said unto Moshe, “Early-rise in the morning. And position-thyself to the faces of Pharaoh. Behold he will exit to the water. And thou shalt say unto him, ‘So said Yehovah, “Send my people, and he has served me! ^{17 [8:21, KJV]} For if thou aren’t sending my people, behold I am sending the swarm into thee and into thy slaves and into thy people and into thy houses! And they shall fill the houses of Egypt with the swarm, and also the soil that they are upon her! ^{18 [8:22, KJV]} And in that day, I will segregate the land of Goshen upon which my people is standing so that the swarm is not being there, so that thou wilt know that I am Yehovah in the midst of the land! ^{19 [8:23, KJV]} And I will put a redemption between my people and between thy people! This sign shall be tomorrow!”’” ^{20 [8:24, KJV]} And Yehovah did so. And a heavy swarm came toward the house of Pharaoh and the house of his slaves, and in all the land of Egypt. The land was ruined from the faces of the swarm!

^{21 [8:25, KJV]} And Pharaoh called unto Moshe and to Aharon. And he said, “Walk ye! Sacrifice ye to your gods in the land!” ^{22 [8:26, KJV]} And Moshe said, “Not established to do so! For we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to Yehovah our Gods! Behold, we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to their eyes, and he won’t stone us? ^{23 [8:27, KJV]} We will walk a way of three days into the desert. And we will sacrifice to Yehovah our Gods just as He said unto us.” ^{24 [8:28, KJV]} And Pharaoh said, “I, I am sending you! And ye shall sacrifice to Yehovah your gods in the desert! Only making distance, ye shall not make distance to walk! Entreat ye for my sake!” ^{25 [8:29, KJV]} And Moshe said, “Behold, I am exiting from thy people. And I will entreat unto Yehovah. And He will turn-away the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people tomorrow. Only, Pharaoh shall not again keep-hanging to not send the people to sacrifice to Yehovah!” ^{26 [8:30, KJV]} And Moshe exited from with Pharaoh. And he entreated unto Yehovah.

^{27 [8:31, KJV]} And Yehovah did according to the speech of Moshe. And He expelled the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people. One did not remain. ^{28 [8:32, KJV]} And Pharaoh also weighted his heart in this stroke. And he didn’t send the people.

I. Frog Threat (verses 1-4)

Yehovah commanded Moshe to come unto Pharaoh and to say unto him, “So said Yehovah! ‘Send my people! And he has served me!’” This was a command; it wasn’t a suggestion.

Yehovah continued, “And if thou art refusing to send, behold I am scourging all thy border via frogs! And the canal shall swarm frogs. And they shall ascend. And they shall come into thine house and into the chamber of thy bed and upon thy recliner and into the house of thy slaves and into thy people and into thine ovens and into thy kneadingtroughs! And the frogs will ascend into thee and into thy people and into all thy slaves. The frogs shall ascend!”

Questions

1.    Why does Yehovah say to Moshe, “Come unto Pharaoh,” instead of, “Go unto Pharaoh”? Yehovah is already there!

2.    Could Pharaoh have sent the Israelis so that they could serve Yehovah, and then have them come back? Pharaoh could have tried this, but he never would. Thus, this option will never be known.

3.    What did Yehovah desire the Israelis to do in order to serve Him? He desired the Israelis to obey Him. The first commands included doing a sacrifice to Him.

4.    Frogs in Hebrew are tzfardeem. One frog is called a tzfardaya. Why is this such a good name for a frog? If this is properly pronounced, it sounds like the sounds that a frog makes: tzfarday-a, tzfarday-a, tzfarday-a… This word is onomatopoetic, meaning that it sounds like what it describes! English words that are onomatopoetic include crash, smash, pop, crunch, and screech.

5.    What is the name of this canal (verse 3, KJV)? The canal is either the Nile River itself or a tributary (that is, a small section of the main river that goes in a different direction away from the river or to the river). The description gave me the impression that it is a side-waterway that connects to the Nile.

6.    How will the canal swarm frogs? Frogs produce tadpoles. Most of the tadpoles become dinner for fish and other creatures. If Yehovah caused nearly all the tadpoles to survive, the number of frogs would very great! That is one way that the canal will swarm frogs. If Yehovah desired, He could easily create the huge number of frogs in the river.

7.    To where will they ascend (go up)? They will ascend (go up) the banks of the canal, and will continue going up so that they can fill the entire land of Egypt!

8.    List all the places where all the frogs will come. They will come:

into Pharaoh’s house

into Pharaoh’s bedchamber

upon Pharaoh’s recliner

into the house of Pharaoh’s slaves

into Pharaoh’s people

into Pharaoh’s ovens

into Pharaoh’s kneadingtroughs

9.    How will the frogs come into Pharaoh’s people? A people is a group. The frogs will become part of the group that makes up all the Egyptians! They will have frogs everywhere!

10. What will happen when the frogs come into Pharaoh’s ovens? Bakers will find dead, cooked frogs in the ovens when they had no plans to cook frogs! The burnt frog smells will ruin the foods that they were cooking, and the bodies of dead, burnt frogs will be found in the foods that they are cooking!

11. What are kneadingtroughs? They are shallow boxes used for hand-mixing dough with other ingredients for making breads and cakes so that the dough won’t get dirt and other unwanted items mixed in. The following is a picture of a kneading trough:

12. How would you feel about being totally surrounded by hopping, loud frogs day and night? (Answers will vary.)

II. Aharon’s Function (verses 5-7)

Yehovah next commanded Moshe to say unto Aharon to “Stretch thine hand via thy rod upon the rivers, upon the canals and upon the pools. And make the frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt!” Aharon did this, and the frog ascended. She was everywhere, covering the land of Egypt!

Pharaoh’s diviners did the very same thing using their flames: they made frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt.

Questions

1.    Who was assigned to use the rod to bring up the frogs? Yehovah assigned Aharon to do this! Thus, Aharon will be Moshe’s ‘magician!’

2.    Who caused the frogs to ascend, according to this text? Aharon did! Yehovah told Moshe to tell Aharon to make the frogs ascend using the rod! Thus, Yehovah gave credit to Aharon for doing this, since he was obedient!

3.    Why does the text in verse 2 refer to the Tzfardaya—to the frog, as if there is only one frog? In Biblical Hebrew, often when the numbers become huge, the use of the singular, as if the masses are just one creature, is used! It is as if there was one giant frog over the entire land of Egypt!

4.    Why is the frog feminine in gender (referring to, “And she covered the land of Egypt”)? Yehovah assigned the feminine gender to this particular creature. Every type of creature is either masculine or feminine in Hebrew. The human is masculine; the being of every human is always feminine!

5.    What did the diviners do in response to Aharon’s miracle? They did the very same thing; they used their flames and their powers to make more frogs ascend from the waters! Thus, they helped Moshe and Aharon by causing Egypt more trouble!

6.    What didn’t the diviners do? They didn’t make the frogs go away!

III. Tomorrow (verses 8-12)

Pharaoh now called to Moshe and Aharon. He said, “Entreat unto Yehovah, and He has turned-away the frogs from me and from my people!” (Apparently his diviners had the power to bring the frogs on, but not to stop them!)

Pharaoh continued, “And I will send the people. And they have sacrificed to Yehovah.”

Moshe responded to Pharaoh: “Make thyself bright concerning me! When shall I entreat for thee and for thy slaves and for thy people to cut-off the frogs from thee and from thy houses? They will remain only in the canal.”

Pharaoh’s answer was: “Tomorrow!” Moshe said, “According to thy speech so that thou shalt know that there isn’t as Yehovah our Gods! And the frogs shall turn-away from thee and from thine houses and from thy slaves and from thy people. They will remain only in the canal.”

Moshe then exited from being with Pharaoh, along with Aharon.

Questions

1.    Pharaoh called to Moshe and to Aharon. How long was this after the frogs came? I don’t see where the text gives this information. It could have been several days; it could have been several weeks! It was long enough that the frogs did terrible damage to the land, and the frogs also did some damage to the mental health of the Egyptians and the Israelis! (They truly got on their nerves!)

2.    Why didn’t Pharaoh call to his diviners to stop the frogs? While the text doesn’t say whether he did or not, I am personally convinced that he did, and that they weren’t able to do anything.

3.    Did Pharaoh show faith in Yehovah when he said, “Entreat unto Yehovah, and He has turned away the frogs from me and from my people”? Though it sounds like he now had faith in Yehovah, he didn’t! He was beginning to believe in the powers of Aharon and Moshe!

4.    Did Pharaoh now agree to send the people of Israel to sacrifice to Yehovah? He did! He agreed to this!

5.    What did Moshe mean by, “Make thyself bright concerning me”? I propose that this means that Pharaoh can cheer up on account of Moshe, since Moshe will relieve Pharaoh and all of Egypt from the frogs, their noise, and their destructivity.

6.    Why did Moshe ask Pharaoh when Moshe should entreat for him, for his slaves and for his people, the Egyptians? Another miracle will occur if Moshe can say exactly when the frogs will leave! Since the Egyptians worshipped the frog god, this will show that Moshe is a god greater than the frog god! (It will also show that Yehovah is certainly stronger than the frog god.)

7.    Why did Moshe add, “They will remain only in the canal”? He needed to say this lest some Egyptian later claimed that Moshe truly didn’t remove all the frogs from the land; the frogs just retreated into the waters on their own.

8.    Why did Pharaoh answer, “Tomorrow!” instead of, “In an hour!”? I have wondered this. I propose that Pharaoh was trying to show to Moshe and Aharon that the frogs didn’t humble him, but that he was asking Moshe and Aharon to do a favour for Pharaoh’s slaves and his people.

9.    What was the purpose of being so specific about when the frogs would leave, according to verse 10, KJV? This way, Moshe was doing according to Pharaoh’s speech! Pharaoh could know from this that there isn’t any god as Yehovah our Gods!

10. Who is our in, “there isn’t any god as Yehovah our Gods”? Our refers to the Israelis! They have the greatest Gods of all!

11. Why is Gods plural? Yehovah is all the Gods there are! He is even God over frogs!

IV. Moshe’s Shout (verses 12-14)

Moshe then shouted unto Yehovah regarding the issue of the frogs that Yehovah had put to Pharaoh. Yehovah did just as Moshe had said that He would, and the frogs that were in the houses, courtyards and fields died. The Egyptians and the Israelis heaped them into piles. They rotted, bubbling and bubbling. The land of Egypt stank!

Questions

1.    Why did Moshe shout unto Yehovah? The frogs were so noisy, that he had to shout to even hear himself!

2.    What did Yehovah ‘put’ to Pharaoh? He ‘put’ to Pharaoh the speech of the frogs—Yehovah caused the frogs to speak to Pharaoh. Since the frog was one of the gods of the Egyptians, Yehovah caused a huge number of them to speak at the same time! (Rivet—uh, I mean, Tzfardaya!)

3.    The text states, “And Yehovah did according to the speech of Moshe.” What did Yehovah do? Yehovah removed the frogs from the land the next day.

4.    Why did Yehovah cause the frogs to die instead of causing them to return back to the waters and just leave? Yehovah wanted their gods to stink so that they would not worship those gods any more. He also wanted the Israelis (who suffered with the same frog troubles) to quit using the Egyptian gods. Had the frogs just disappeared, the Egyptians and Israelis might have worshipped them even more, fearing their return. By having them die and just stink, the Egyptians and the Israelis would realize that Yehovah must have killed the frogs. (Frogs don’t die all at once like that.)

       Yehovah also brought the terrible smell into the land because the Egyptians were focused on great beauty and excellent smells as part of their culture. Thus, Yehovah gave them a smell that they never forgot while they lived!

5.    Why did they heap the frogs? They had to remove them from their homes, from their beds, from their ovens, etc., and put them somewhere. They didn’t have time or energy to bury them because there were too many. They collected them and threw them into huge piles.

6.    What does their bubbling, their bubbling mean? This means that the frogs in huge piles rotted, liquefied, gave off terrible-smelling gasses, and produced huge bubbles—like soap bubbles, but terrible-smelling!

7.    Where could the Egyptians and Israelis go to avoid the terrible smell? They would have had to leave the land of Egypt and go many miles away!

V. Pharaoh’s Breather (verse 15)

Pharaoh saw that there was a breather. He weighted his own heart! He didn’t hearken to Moshe and Aharon, which was exactly what Yehovah had said would happen.

Questions

1.    What does “And Pharaoh saw that the breather was” mean? A breather is a time to take a breath. Yehovah kept hitting the land of Egypt with these terrible attacks. Now, Yehovah have Pharaoh and Egypt a little time to recuperate. Pharaoh saw this as a time to get back to normalcy, as if he were catching his breath.

2.    Did Pharaoh use this ‘breather’ time to believe and to learn to fear Yehovah? No! Instead, he “weighted his heart!”

3.    What does weighted his heart mean? Since the heart is the mind, and since heaviness of mind has to do with worrying and being anxious about things, Pharaoh used this time to worry and be anxious about how Egypt would survive without the Israelis. He figured that Egypt wouldn’t survive. These thoughts were so strong in his mind, that he again didn’t hearken unto Moshe, Aharon and Yehovah.

VI. Dusty Louse (verses 16-19)

Yehovah next commanded Moshe to say unto Aharon, “Stretch thy rod! And smite dust of the land. And he will become to their louse in all the land of Egypt.” Moshe and Aharon did as Yehovah said. Aharon stretched his hand by means of his rod, and he smote dust of the land. The dust turned into Moshe’s and Aharon’s louse in man and in animal! All the dust of the land of Egypt became lice in all the land of Egypt!

Pharaoh’s diviners also struck the dust of the land using their flames in order to send out lice, and they weren’t able to do this!

Moshe’s and Aharon’s louse became in man and animal. The diviners said unto Pharaoh, “He is the finger of gods!” Pharaoh’s heart gripped! He refused to hearken unto Moshe and to Aharon, which is what Yehovah had said would happen.

Questions

1.    How can someone smite dust of the land with a rod? The person takes the rod and hits the ground very hard!

2.    What is a louse?

(Picture from web.sssd.k12.ar.us/northside/headliceinfo.shtml, showing adult and nymph lice)

       It is a small, wingless, flat insect that is a parasite that likes to live on the human scalp, and makes the head itch. It sucks blood. Once it finds a human scalp as a good home, it is very catchy and not very easily removed. The plural form of louse is lice!

3.    What did Yehovah say would become lice? He said that all the dust of the land would become lice! That means that everywhere humans and animals walked, they would stir up huge numbers of lice that would get on their skin and would start sucking blood!

4.    Why would Aharon want to do this? Wouldn’t Aharon also be attacked by the lice? I suspect that Aharon and Moshe also were attacked by the lice! I suspect that they suffered with all the Israelis and Egyptians. Yet, they knew that they must obey in order to free the Israelis from slavery. Sometimes, doing right for others will mean suffering!

5.    Why weren’t the diviners able to send out the lice? Yehovah did not give them the power to imitate this miracle. He now began to limit them so that they would know that Yehovah is the greatest of all the gods.

6.    Where Yehovah and the diviners holding a competition? Yes, they were! Yehovah designed it this way! That is why He gave the diviners power to do the same things at first. Yehovah doesn’t mind it if humans compare Him to their gods; that is one way that humans can come to Truth, if they are willing!

7.    What was the response of the diviners to their inability to do the same miracle? They told Pharaoh, “He is the finger of gods!”

8.    What did they mean by, “He is the finger of gods”? He referred to the miracle of the lice. They told Pharaoh that this miracle was the finger of gods to warn him that this was small compared to what the gods could do. If this was the finger, what would the entire hand of gods be like? If the hand was much worse, what would the arm of gods be like?

9.    Did the diviners now believe in Yehovah? They didn’t believe in Yehovah in a way that did them or anyone else any good. They saw these things as being from ‘gods,’ and not from Yehovah. Had they said, “He is the finger of Yehovah,” that would have been different.

10. To what did Pharaoh’s heart (mind) grip? His mind gripped to the idea of holding on to the Israeli slaves! He couldn’t bring himself to send them out of the land of Egypt.

VII. The Swarm, and Segregation (verses 20-24)

Now, Yehovah gave Moshe another assignment: “Early-rise in the morning. And position-thyself to the faces of Pharaoh. Behold he will exit to the water.”

Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh while Pharaoh was at the water in the morning, “So said Yehovah, ‘Send my people, and he has served me! For if thou aren’t sending my people, behold I am sending the swarm into thee and into thy slaves and into thy people and into thy houses! And they shall fill the houses of Egypt with the swarm, and also the soil that they are upon her!’”

Yehovah added one new and different part to this threat: “And in that day, I will segregate the land of Goshen upon which my people is standing so that the swarm is not being there, so that thou wilt know that I am Yehovah in the midst of the land! And I will put a redemption between my people and between thy people! This sign shall be tomorrow!”

Yehovah did exactly as He threatened. A heavy swarm came toward the house of Pharaoh and the house of his slaves, and in all the land of Egypt. This resulted in the ruination of the land of Egypt as the swarm faced every part of the land!

Questions

1.    Why did Yehovah tell Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Send my people, and he has served me” instead of something like this: “Thou hard-headed fool, send my people this time, and he has served me”? Yehovah used calm repetition instead of insults in order to terrorize Pharaoh and the Egyptians! Had He told Moshe to use harsh words, those words might have prodded Pharaoh and the Egyptians to attack Moshe, Aharon and the Israelis out of anger and vengeance. Instead, He commanded soft but commanding words to bring terror.

2.    What is this swarm? It is a very large group of creatures (usually insects, as in this case) that act as one creature! A swarm seems to have one brain even if the swarm gets split up!

3.    Where will this swarm be located? It will fill the houses of Egypt and will be over all the soil!

4.    What problems will this cause? No matter where the Egyptians go, they won’t be able to get away from this swarm of insects! When they move, the insects will be right there around them!

5.    Will this swarm attack humans that move through it? It don’t get the impression that the swarm stung; that would kill the Egyptians. My impression is that the swarm was just everywhere so that the Egyptians stepped on these bugs, crushing some onto the floors and making them slippery, they ended up eating some of the bugs because they were on their food, they found them in their clothing and under their clothing, they found them in their beds and in their mouths if they slept with their mouths open, they found them in their drinks when they went to drink, they found them on the waters when they went to bathe, they found them in and on everything! This had to be more frightening than being attacked by birds!

6.    Yehovah said that He would segregate the land of Goshen so that the swarm won’t be there. What is segregation, and does Yehovah practice segregation? Segregation is the separation or isolation of any group for special or bad treatment from another group. Thus, segregation can be bad (as it often is), or it can be good (when special treatment doesn’t do harm, but only benefits and does good). Your Sunday School class is segregated from other Sunday School classes in the same church.

       Yehovah always practices segregation, showing special treatment to one group over another; He segregates the group of those who fear Him from the groups that don’t fear Him. He also commands segregation—that the group that He owns and/or that fears Him must be separate from the groups that don’t fear Him and that He doesn’t own. That separation is so that the segregated group can serve Yehovah and the other groups! He segregated Israel from all other races so that Israel will serve (slave for) the other races to benefit them! Thus, the segregation isn’t physical—that is, the Israelis won’t live as separated from the other races; the separation will be in faith and in righteousness! They will instead live among the other races and cultures, working with them as they work, but teaching them the ways of the Gods of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob! For example, when the Israelis live among the Chinese who grow rice in water-filled fields and who weed with their feet and toes, the Israelis who are with them will likewise weed with their feet and toes while teaching them the character, ways and righteousnesses of Yehovah. The Israelis who live with tribes in Africa that make beautiful and complex baskets for transporting goods will work with them weaving the baskets while teaching them the same things about Yehovah, speaking in their languages and working within their cultures. Every different cultural group will have expertise in some area or areas. The Israelis will live among them, participating both in work and in instruction in righteousness.

7.    What is the purpose of this segregation that keeps the swarm out of the land of Goshen where the Israelis (Hebrews) are located? The purpose is so that Pharaoh will know that He is Yehovah (Who is causing these miracles) in the midst of the land! This will also stop the Israelis from suffering with the rest of the plagues!

8.    Yehovah said, “I will put a redemption between my people and between thy people.” What is a redemption, and what did He mean? Hebrew has two different words for redemption, each having a different meaning. The one not used here means to rescue from captivity by paying a ransom. The one that is used here means to rescue from captivity by force.

       Since Yehovah will put a redemption between His people and the Egyptians, Yehovah will force a rescue of the Israelis from captivity to the plagues, and eventually from captivity to the Egyptians!

9.    What did the swarm do to the land of Egypt? It ruined the land! All those insects ate the crops and stopped the Egyptians from doing any work or enjoying any leisure! The Egyptians couldn’t get any rest or sleep. They must have been terrorized, not knowing when this would end!

10. Could the Egyptians go anywhere to get away from the swarm? Yes! They could go into Goshen where the Israelis were located! No swarms were there! If an Egyptian had moved into Goshen, the Egyptian would not have been plagued by the swarm!

11. Suppose that a man stood twelve inches within the border of the land of Goshen, and another man stood twelve inches outside of the land of Goshen in Egypt. Would one have been attacked by the swarm, and the other have been unbothered? That is what would have happened! The swarm would have obeyed the commands of Yehovah, and wouldn’t have gone over the border!

12. If an Israeli had gone out of Goshen and into Egypt, would he have been attacked by the swarm? Yehovah put a redemption (by force) between the Egyptians and the Israelis. I propose that this would have kept the Israeli from being bothered by the swarm, though the swarm would have been in the rest of Egypt.

13. Over what period of time did these devastating signs occur? They had to be separated by enough time for the land to almost fully recover. This way, the next sign (plague, destruction) would be more convincing to all involved! If they were too close together, Egypt would have been destroyed. If they were too far apart, they wouldn’t have been as convincing!

14. Were the Israelis still slaves during this time, having to go and obtain straw to make bricks? They were still slaves, but these devastations were so distracting, that I propose that the taskmasters and the Egyptian leaders were not so concerned about brick making. They also began to really fear the God of the Israelis who was tearing up their land!

VIII. Concession and Abomination (verses 25-30)

Pharaoh called unto Moshe and Aharon. He said to them, “Walk ye! Sacrifice ye to your gods in the land!”

Moshe replied, “Not established to do so! For we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to Yehovah our Gods! Behold, we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to their eyes, and he won’t stone us?”

Moshe had a counterproposal: “We will walk a way of three days into the desert. And we will sacrifice to Yehovah our Gods just as He said unto us.”

Pharaoh now stated, “I, I am sending you! And ye shall sacrifice to Yehovah your gods in the desert! Only making distance, ye shall not make distance to walk! Entreat for my sake!”

This wasn’t what Moshe had proposed. Moshe responded: “Behold, I am exiting from thy people. And I will entreat unto Yehovah. And He will turn-away the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people tomorrow. Only, Pharaoh shall not again keep-hanging to not send the people to sacrifice to Yehovah!” Moshe knew that Pharaoh’s counterproposal was a refusal.

Moshe then exited from Pharaoh, and he entreated unto Yehovah.

Questions

1.    When Pharaoh said, “Walk ye! Sacrifice ye to your gods in the land,” was he finally doing what Yehovah told him to do? No. Pharaoh said, “in the land.” Yehovah insisted that the Hebrews go out of the land a three-days-journey.

2.    What did Moshe mean by, “Not established to do so”? Moshe knew that this was not permitted in Egypt! He explained why in the next statement. The Egyptians didn’t permit sacrificing an animal that is an abomination in their land. (Sheep were considered abominations.) Moshe knew that Pharaoh was setting a trap by telling the Israelis to sacrifice in the land, after which the Egyptians would attack all who participated in that sacrifice.

3.    Who is he in, “and he won’t stone us?” He refers to Egypt! The entire people of Egypt will come together to stone the Israelis for such a sacrifice.

4.    After Moshe said, “We will walk a way of three days into the desert. And we will sacrifice to Yehovah our Gods just as He said unto us,” Pharaoh said, “I, I am sending you!” What did he mean? Pharaoh meant that he was finally sending the Israelis to do the sacrifice. No one would harm the Israelis if they do this sacrifice in Pharaoh’s way.

5.    Did Pharaoh finally give them permission to walk and do the sacrifice? He gave them permission on one condition: that they won’t make distance. That means that they cannot go the three-days journey; they can only go a short distance.

6.    What did Pharaoh then command Moshe and Aharon to do? He commanded them to entreat (to urgently request) for Pharaoh’s sake (so that this swarm will go away).

7.    Did Moshe agree to this deal? No! He agreed to entreat unto Yehovah, and he guaranteed that Yehovah will turn away the swarm from Pharaoh, his slaves and his people tomorrow, but that is all that he agreed to do.

8.    What did Moshe mean by, “Only, Pharaoh shall not again keep-hanging to not send the people to sacrifice to Yehovah”? To keep handing is to keep in suspense. Pharaoh kept everyone in suspense while he went back and forth (vacillated) between sending and not sending the Israelis to sacrifice to Yehovah.

9.    How did Moshe feel when he left Pharaoh? He was angry at Pharaoh.

10. Why did Moshe entreat Yehovah regardless of how he felt? Moshe knew that the Egyptians greatly suffered under these plagues. He was not hardened against the Egyptians, and he wasn’t bitter against them.

IX. Pharaoh Lied (verses 31-32)

Yehovah did exactly what Moshe said Yehovah would do. He expelled the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people. Not a single bug from the swarm remained.

Pharaoh also weighted his heart ‘in this stroke’—during this time. He didn’t send the people.

Questions

1.    How many of the creatures that made up the swarm remained in the land of Egypt the next day? Not even one of them remained!

2.    Why did Pharaoh keep weighting down his heart (mind)? Did Yehovah cause him to do this? He kept doing this because he didn’t want to send the Israelis! He had his fears and expectations, and he was the leader of Egypt. He didn’t want to go down in history as the one who sent an entire slave population out of Egypt to the ruin of the entire Egyptian country. He was also a proud man, thinking more of himself than what was true. He had many reasons for a heavy mind and for refusing to change, just as many others do today.

       Yehovah never caused him to weigh down his mind and refuse to change. Yehovah doesn’t do that. If Yehovah had done that, Pharaoh would have been completely innocent!

3.    Is Pharaoh an example of a rare type of individual who refuses the truth in the obvious face of the truth, or is Pharaoh a common type of person? Are there any among modern Christians who are like Pharaoh? The type of person Pharaoh was is common today all over the world! Most folks believe what they want to believe, and many promise to change without fulfilling their promises.

       Modern Christians include a majority of folks who are just like Pharaoh. They claim faith in the God of the Bible, but they believe what they want to believe, picking and choosing from the Bible as if the Bible is a restaurant menu. They won’t change their minds and do what the Bible really says, always weighing down their minds with reasons why they can’t and won’t.

August 25, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 7:8 The First Plague: Blood QA

The First Plague: Blood

With Questions and Proposed Answers Supplied

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 7:8-25

Exodus 7:8 And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe] and unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] to say, ⁹ “Because Pharaoh will speak unto you to say, ‘Give ye a wonder for yourselves,’ and thou shalt say unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], ‘Take thy rod! And throw to the faces of Pharaoh.’ He will become to a taneen!” ¹⁰And Draw [Moshe] came, and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], unto Pharaoh. And they did established—just as Yehovah commanded. And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] threw his rod to the faces of Pharaoh and to the faces of his slaves. And he became to a ‘taneen’! ¹¹And Pharaoh also called to wise-[ones] and to warlocks. And the diviners of Egypt—they also did via their flames. Established! ¹²And they threw—a man his rod! And they became to ‘taneeneem’! And the rod of Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] swallowed their rods! ¹³And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them, just as Yehovah spoke!

¹⁴And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People. ¹⁵Walk unto Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he will exit waterward. And be positioned to meet him upon the lip of the river. And thou shalt take the rod that flipped-over to a serpent in thine hand. ¹⁶And thou shalt say unto him, ‘Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, “Send my People! And he has served me in the desert!” And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so!’” ¹⁷ “So said Yehovah, ‘Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this! Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river! And they shall be flipped-over to blood! ¹⁸The fish that is in the river will die, and the river shall stink! And the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river!’”

¹⁹And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Say unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], ‘Take thy rod. And stretch thine hand upon waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their canals and upon their pools, and upon every gathering of their waters. And they shall be blood! And the blood shall be in all the land of Egypt, and in the trees and in the rocks!” ²⁰And Draw [Moshe] and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] did so, just as Yehovah commanded. And he elevated via the rod. And he smote the waters that are in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and to the eyes of his slaves. And all the waters that are in the canal flipped-over to blood! ²¹And the fish that is in the canal died. And the canal stank. And Egyptians were not able to drink water from the canal. And the blood was in all the land of Egypt! ²²And the diviners of Egypt did so via their flames. And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke. ²³And Pharaoh turned. And he came unto his house. And he did not put his heart also to this. ²⁴And all Egyptians dug water around the canal to drink, for they were not able to drink from the waters of the canal. ²⁵And He fulfilled seven of the days after Yehovah’s smiting the canal.

I. Serpents (verses 8-13)

Yehovah gave directions to Moshe and Aharon: “Because Pharaoh will speak unto you to say, ‘Give ye a wonder for yourselves…’” He then told them what to do: “…and thou shalt say unto Aharon, ‘Take thy rod! And throw to the faces of Pharaoh.’ He will become to a taneen!” (See the questions to learn what a taneen is.)

Moshe and Aharon came unto Pharaoh. They did exactly what Yehovah commanded. Aaron threw his rod directly in front of Pharaoh and directly in front of his slaves. The rod turned into a taneen!

Pharaoh wasn’t satisfied; he also called to wise ones and to warlocks. These diviners of Egypt also certainly did via their flames! Everyone threw his rod, and they turned into taneeneem! Then something happened: Aharon’s rod swallowed their rods!

Pharaoh’s heart (his mind) gripped. Pharaoh didn’t hearken to them; that was just what Yehovah had spoken.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah speak unto both Moshe and Aharon? They both had to hear the commands of Yehovah since they would both be obeying those commands in detail. This established to Aharon that Yehovah was truly speaking to Moshe.

2. Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would say, “Give ye a wonder for yourselves.” Why would Pharaoh do this? He was used to doing this with his diviners! They had convinced Pharaoh of their power and of their communications with the gods. Pharaoh greatly enjoyed their shows that they did for him.

3. Yehovah then said to Moshe, “Thou shalt say unto Aharon…” Didn’t Aharon hear Yehovah for himself? Yes, he did. I propose that Yehovah spoke to Moshe in Aharon’s hearing so that Aharon would later believe Moshe when Moshe will tell Aharon that Yehovah said something.

4. Yehovah told Aharon to take his rod and throw it in front of Pharaoh. How frightening would this act be? Pharaoh was a king. He sometimes commanded his slaves to kill folks who offended him just a little. Aharon was not young, but he had been a slave under Pharaoh all his life. Throwing a rod in front of Pharaoh took much boldness.

5. What is a taneen? This animal has the following features: it can be very large, dangerous, rod-like in shape like a snake; poisonous; it is drawn in pictures in Israel; folks watch (for) them; it can dwell in the sea or live on land, it can swallow a human, and it breastfeeds its young. I could not find what this animal is beyond this, nor could I guess what it was. I knew it was a frightening animal, and is not mythical. Yet, scientists don’t know of such an animal today. (It will again be present in the End Times.)

6. What are wise ones (verse 11)? They are astrologers. Astrologers read constellations to determine what will happen in the future. Since nearly all astrologers alive today don’t know how to read the constellations, they make things up (and therefore lie to folks). A true astrologer will fear Yehovah, the Gods of the Bible, and will believe the Bible literally.

7. What are warlocks? Warlock is the masculine form of witch. Both warlocks and witches make drugs—not for medicinal usage, but in order for others to obtain lusts that they have. Some like the drugs for personal highs and pleasures, for seeing weird sights, and for temporarily soothing addictions, while others like the drugs in order to manipulate others into doing what they otherwise would not do, including becoming unable to stop another from sexual advances. Folks who set up ‘meth’ labs are warlocks and witches. Drug dealers are also warlocks and witches.

8. What are diviners? They practice divination—that is, they write information obtained by occult (hidden) means, making contact with spirits (demons playing the role of dead folks, etc.). The word itself seems to combine three Hebrew words: rx, meaning hot, jjr, meaning tremble, and amj, meaning unclean. If these are correct, such a person is hot, trembling and unclean.

9. Were the diviners successful in doing the same miracle? Yes.

10. Why did Yehovah permit them to be successful in doing the same miracle? This way, readers of the Bible could realize that those who follow demons can also do miracles! Doing a miracle doesn’t prove that a person is given power by Yehovah.

11. What does “via their flames” mean? This means that they did some action that caused flames to suddenly erupt, after which the miracle had been done. This is usually done to distract an audience from a clever switch or trick, but these men truly did the same miracle.

12. What does “Established!” mean? This means that the action was certainly performed and done as described.

13. What are taneeneem? This word is the plural form of taneen.

14. How many of these diviners were able to cause their rods to become taneeneem? They all were able!

15. What happened to the rods/taneeneem of the diviners? They became meals for the taneen of Aharon! His one taneen swallowed their taneeneem!

16. What does “And the heart of Pharaoh gripped” mean, and why did this happen? Since the heart is the mind, Pharaoh’s mind gripped—it tightly held on to his earlier decision to not hearken to Aharon and Moshe. Pharaoh determined to refuse to change his mind.

Why did this happen? Pharaoh did not desire to change his mind no matter what he saw. He wanted all things to remain as they were.

17. Did Yehovah’s knowing that Pharaoh wouldn’t change his mind cause Pharaoh to not change his mind? No! Just because Yehovah knows something doesn’t mean that He causes it to occur. Yehovah knows all things that occur. If He caused all things that He knows to occur, He would be responsible for sin and evil! He isn’t responsible for sin or evil, and He will make certain that all humans are judged.

II. Blood Warning (verses 14-18)

Yehovah further said to Moshe, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People.”

Yehovah told Moshe to meet him: “Walk unto Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he will exit waterward. And be positioned to meet him upon the lip of the river. And thou shalt take the rod that flipped-over to a serpent in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, ‘Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, “Send my People! And he has served me in the desert!”’”

Yehovah then began to threaten Pharaoh: “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so!” Yehovah continued, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this! Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river! And they shall be flipped-over to blood! The fish that is in the river will die, and the river shall stink! And the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river!”

Questions

1. What did Yehovah mean by, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy”? Since the heart is the mind, this tells the reader that Pharaoh’s mind was heavy—that is, that it was loaded with troubling thoughts, fears and anxieties (especially about the Israeli slaves and their desire to leave Egypt). Pharaoh feared what was occurring. He knew he had to be very careful lest the Israelis entirely revolt from Egypt’s grip. This God of Aharon and Moshe was also scaring him.

Since his mind was heavily loaded, he refused to send the Israelis.

2. Identify this People (verse 14): This People is Israel.

3. Yehovah told Moshe to walk unto Pharaoh, telling Moshe where Pharaoh will be located. Didn’t Pharaoh have bodyguards? If he did, they didn’t stop folks from approaching Pharaoh. I suspect that the fear of Pharaoh was great enough that only very brave persons approached him without an invitation.

4. What is the lip of the river? That is the shoreline, where the river waters the sand. It is like the lips of a human, being regularly watered from inside the mouth.

5. Why should Moshe take the rod that had become a serpent? Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would understand that the power that Moshe (and Aharon) had was in the rod; so Moshe must take that rod.

6. Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, ‘Send my People!’” Was this a nice request? No, it wasn’t a request. It was a demand. It was an order. Yehovah had no interest in asking Pharaoh to send Yehovah’s property, the Israelis.

In many translations, the wording is something like this: “Let my people go.” This isn’t even close to what Yehovah told Moshe to say. He said, “Send my People!” That is what Yehovah meant.

7. Why didn’t Yehovah request (ask) Pharaoh to send the Israelis? Might Pharaoh have done so, had He asked nicely? Yehovah is God. He tells humans what to do, and He holds them responsible for what they do or refuse to do. Pharaoh wouldn’t have complied had Yehovah begged him to send the Israelis, and that would have lowered Yehovah’s rank!

8. Who is he in, “And he has served me in the desert”? He is Yehovah’s People (Israel). Yehovah views the People of Israel as one being. The word people in Hebrew is singular, just as a group is singular—that is, it is one thing.

9. Why would Pharaoh desire to send the Israeli people to serve Yehovah (another god) in the desert? He wouldn’t! Yehovah knew this. Yehovah will do some ‘arm twisting;’ Pharaoh will become willing.

10. Who said, “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so,” and to whom did he say this? Yehovah said this to Pharaoh! Pharaoh must hearken to Yehovah!

11. What was Yehovah doing when He said to Pharaoh, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this”? He was threatening Pharaoh!

12. Why did Pharaoh tolerate being addressed by to low-ranking persons—one who was still a slave, and the other who was an outsider? I propose that Pharaoh (up to this point) was entertained by them, figuring that he would have them put to death for their insolence (for their arrogant, smart-mouthed responses) very shortly.

13. Right after Moshe said, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this,” he said, “Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand (referring to Moshe’s hand) upon the waters that are in the river.” Was Moshe acting as if he, Moshe, is Yehovah? Yehovah designed it this way so that Pharaoh will view Moshe as Yehovah Himself! This is what Yehovah commanded Moshe to say. Since Pharaoh is supposed to be a god, Yehovah is making Moshe into a god—into Yehovah Himself before Pharaoh!

14. What does “they shall be flipped-over to blood” mean? This means that the waters will churn, and they will become blood as they turn and churn in the river. Once they have turned over, they will be blood.

15. Why did Yehovah attack the river? Every attack that Yehovah is about to do will be against one of Egypt’s gods. The Egyptians worshipped that river as a god! That river gave Egypt life. Egypt would have dried up and died without it.

16. What does “the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river” mean? This means that they will hate to drink from it; they will be disgusted at the thought of drinking from it; they will do whatever is necessary to avoid drinking from it.

III. The Bloody Act (verses 19-25)

Yehovah continued to command Moshe. This time, the orders were for Aharon: Take thy rod. And stretch thine hand upon waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their canals and upon their pools, and upon every gathering of their waters. And they shall be blood! And the blood shall be in all the land of Egypt, and in the trees and in the rocks!”

Moshe and Aharon did exactly as Yehovah commanded them. He (Aharon) lifted over the water with his rod. He smote the waters in the canal directly in front of Pharaoh and all Pharaoh’s slaves. The waters in the canal immediately turned over, and they became blood!

This resulted in the canal’s fish dying. The smell came next: the canal stank with the smell of dead fish. The Egytians had normally drunk water from the canal, but they just couldn’t drink it; it was blood, and it stank.

The blood wasn’t only in the canal; it was in all the land of Egypt.

The diviners of Egypt obtained water that wasn’t blood, and they did the same miracle using their flames. The heart (mind) of Pharaoh gripped—that is, his mind stood firm. He didn’t hearken to Moshe and to Aharon about sending the Israelis. This was exactly what Yehovah said he would do.

Pharaoh turned from Moshe and Aharon, and he came to his house. He refused to put his heart (mind) to this miracle (as well as the other miracles).

The Egyptians dug for water around the canal in order to drink water; the canal was useless for this.

For a full seven days after Yehovah smote the canal, it was in this condition.

Questions

1. Yehovah again told Moshe to command Aharon to take up the rod and to do the miracle. Why did Yehovah desire Aharon to do this? Yehovah desired to establish Aharon as Moshe’s prophet, leaving Moshe as being God to Pharaoh! This is very important since gods normally send prophets.

2. What places where waters are found in Egypt were attacked, according to verse 19?

The rivers (plural) of Egypt
The canals (plural) of Egypt
The pools (whether made for swimming and washing, or where waters would ‘pool up’ from rivers and canals) of Egypt
Every gathering of their waters, including in their water pots and wells

3. What is the difference between water and blood? List the distinctions.

Water is clear; blood is red and not clear.
Water is runny; blood is thick.
When water dries, it evaporates (and disappears). When blood dries, it becomes brown and hard.
Water has very little smell; blood becomes very bad-smelling in large amounts when it is left in the air.
Drinking water is not harmful; drinking blood will affect the way folks think.
Drinking water will quench thirst; drinking blood will not work in the same way.
Water usually doesn’t make folks sick; having to drink blood will make many sick at the thought.
Water doesn’t stain any normal fabric (except ones like silk) if the water is clean. Blood, on the other hand, tends to stain almost everything.

4. How can blood be in the trees? Some of the trees that grow in Egypt grow in the water. Some of those trees have hollow places where water can collect. Blood will replace that water in those trees.

5. How can water be in rocks? It can collect in crevices and in craters in rocks. Some rocks are very big and are hollowed out. Those rocks that previously had water will now have blood.

6. Why did Yehovah choose blood to attack the waters (instead of something else, like bitter-tasting liquid, poison, or something of that nature)? Blood is very visual, and it represents life and death. The Egyptians were (and are) highly superstitious. This affected their minds (like seeing zombies would affect some today). The purity of water and the uncleanness of blood (as if it came from corpses) were so opposite and so terrible to the Egyptians. They prided themselves on being clean and smelling good. Blood stains clothing. It will ruin the Egyptian garments that it touches. Besides these things, Yehovah used the blood to threaten the Egyptians.

7. Who is he who elevated via the rod? Aharon elevated via the rod. Pictures showing Moshe doing this regarding the blood are wrong.

8. What does smite mean? To smite is to hit with an intensity that can potentially kill. It isn’t a slap, and it isn’t a light punch; it is with great force.

9. Why did Aharon have to smite the waters in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and his slaves? He had to do these miracles straight in front of these men and in their sight so that they couldn’t claim that someone else or some other god had done this.

10. Why did the fish die? The fish died because gills are not designed to obtain oxygen from blood, but rather from water. The fish couldn’t breathe.

11. What made the canal stink? The combination of the smell of rotting blood and dead fish made the canal stink.

(If you desire to see what this is like, obtain some blood from a butcher and some fish; let them sit out in the sun in a plastic bag for a few days. Then sniff.)

12. What does “the blood was in all the land of Egypt” mean? The blood was everywhere in Egypt where waters gathered. It was not in the soil where folks could dig; had blood been there, the Egyptians would have died. They were able to obtain fresh water, but they had to dig for it. (Do you dig?)

13. What does “he did not put his heart also to this” mean? It means that Pharaoh made sure to not think about this event. He avoided thinking about it, because if he thought about it, he might do as Yehovah commanded!

14. How many of the Egyptians dug water to drink? All Egyptians did this. (The very old and the very young could not dig, but they could stand there while others dug for them.) They had to have water because the climate is very hot and dry; going without water or something to drink for day or two in such a climate can dehydrate a person (cause them to become sick and even die from too little water).

15. Who is He in, “And He fulfilled seven of the days…”? I propose that this is Yehovah; He made certain that a full seven days in this water crisis occurred throughout Egypt.

16. Did the Israelis also suffer? Yes! They had to learn to fear Yehovah; they were pagans just like the Egyptians! Thus, they also had to dig for water!

17. Wasn’t the water muddy if they dug for it? I expect that it was muddy! When folks are thirsty, they will even drink muddy water. They could filter the water through cloth and get some of the mud out, but the water would still taste muddy.

August 25, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 7:8 The First Plague: Blood

The First Plague: Blood

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 7:8-25

I. Serpents (verses 8-13)

Moshe and Aharon came unto Pharaoh. They did exactly what Yehovah commanded. Aaron threw his rod directly in front of Pharaoh and directly in front of his slaves. The rod turned into a taneen!

Pharaoh’s heart (his mind) gripped. Pharaoh didn’t hearken to them; that was just what Yehovah had spoken.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah speak unto both Moshe and Aharon?

2. Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would say, “Give ye a wonder for yourselves.” Why would Pharaoh do this?

3. Yehovah then said to Moshe, “Thou shalt say unto Aharon…” Didn’t Aharon hear Yehovah for himself?

4. Yehovah told Aharon to take his rod and throw it in front of Pharaoh. How frightening would this act be?

5. What is a taneen?

6. What are wise ones (verse 11)?

7. What are warlocks?

8. What are diviners?

9. Were the diviners successful in doing the same miracle?

10. Why did Yehovah permit them to be successful in doing the same miracle?

11. What does “via their flames” mean?

12. What does “Established!” mean?

13. What are taneeneem?

14. How many of these diviners were able to cause their rods to become taneeneem?

15. What happened to the rods/taneeneem of the diviners?

16. What does “And the heart of Pharaoh gripped” mean, and why did this happen?

17. Did Yehovah’s knowing that Pharaoh wouldn’t change his mind cause Pharaoh to not change his mind?

II. Blood Warning (verses 14-18)

Yehovah further said to Moshe, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People.”

Questions

1. What did Yehovah mean by, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy?

2. Identify this People (verse 14):

3. Yehovah told Moshe to walk unto Pharaoh, telling Moshe where Pharaoh will be located. Didn’t Pharaoh have bodyguards?

4. What is the lip of the river?

5. Why should Moshe take the rod that had become a serpent?

6. Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, ‘Send my People!’” Was this a nice request?

7. Why didn’t Yehovah request (ask) Pharaoh to send the Israelis? Might Pharaoh have done so, had He asked nicely?

8. Who is he in, “And he has served me in the desert”?

9. Why would Pharaoh desire to send the Israeli people to serve Yehovah (another god) in the desert?

10. Who said, “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so,” and to whom did he say this?

11. What was Yehovah doing when He said to Pharaoh, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this”?

12. Why did Pharaoh tolerate being addressed by to low-ranking persons—one who was still a slave, and the other who was an outsider?

14. What does “they shall be flipped-over to blood” mean?

15. Why did Yehovah attack the river?

16. What does “the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river” mean?

III. The Bloody Act (verses 19-25)

The blood wasn’t only in the canal; it was in all the land of Egypt.

Pharaoh turned from Moshe and Aharon, and he came to his house. He refused to put his heart (mind) to this miracle (as well as the other miracles).

The Egyptians dug for water around the canal in order to drink water; the canal was useless for this.

For a full seven days after Yehovah smote the canal, it was in this condition.

Questions

1. Yehovah again told Moshe to command Aharon to take up the rod and to do the miracle. Why did Yehovah desire Aharon to do this?

2. What places where waters are found in Egypt were attacked, according to verse 19?

3. What is the difference between water and blood? List the distinctions.

4. How can blood be in the trees?

5. How can water be in rocks?

6. Why did Yehovah choose blood to attack the waters (instead of something else, like bitter-tasting liquid, poison, or something of that nature)?

7. Who is he who elevated via the rod?

8. What does smite mean?

9. Why did Aharon have to smite the waters in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and his slaves?

10. Why did the fish die?

11. What made the canal stink?

12. What does “the blood was in all the land of Egypt” mean?

13. What does “he did not put his heart also to this” mean?

14. How many of the Egyptians dug water to drink?

15. Who is He in, “And He fulfilled seven of the days…”?

16. Did the Israelis also suffer?

17. Wasn’t the water muddy if they dug for it?

August 9, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 6_10 Orders and Heads QA Supplied

Orders and Heads

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 6:10-7:7

Exodus 6:10 And Yehovah spoke unto Draw [Moshe] to say, ¹¹ “Come! Speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt! And he sent the children of Israel from his land.” ¹²And Draw [Moshe] spoke to the faces of Yehovah to say, “Behold, the children of Israel didn’t hearken unto me. And how shall Pharaoh hearken-to me? And I am foreskin lips!”

¹³And Yehovah spoke unto Draw [Moshe] and unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon]. And He commanded them unto the children of Israel and unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt to exit the children of Israel from the land of Egypt.

¹⁴These are heads of the house of their fathers:

The sons of They-Saw-A-Son [Reuben] the firstborn of Israel:
Dedicated [Hanoch] and
Miracled [Pallu],
Trumpet-Blast/Walled [Hezron] and
My-Vineyard [Carmi].

These are the families of They-Saw-A-Son [Reuben].

¹⁵And the sons of Hearkening [Shimon]:

A-Day-And-A-Mighty-[One] [Yemuel] and
Right [Yamin] and
Attack-[or Victory]-Shout [Ohad] and
He-Will-Establish [Yachin] and
Dazzling-Heat [Zohar] and
Asked [Shaul], son of the Merchantess [Canaanitess].

These are the families of Hearkening [Shimon].

¹⁶And these are the names of the sons of My-Joined-[one] [Levi] to their childings:

Expelling [Gershon] and
Thou-Hast-Dulled [Kohath] and
My-Bitterness [Merari].

And the years of the lives of My-Joined-[one] [Levi] are seven and thirty and a hundred year.

¹⁷Sons of Expelling [Gershon]:

To-My-Son [Libni] and
Hearken-Thou [fem.] [Shimi]

to their families.

¹⁸And sons of Thou-Hast-Dulled [Kohath]:

Elevated-People [Amram] and
He-Will-Press-Oil [Izhar] and
Friendship [Hevron] and
My-Strength-Is-A-Mighty-[One] [Uzziel].

And the years of the lives of Thou-Hast-Dulled [Kohath] are three and thirty and a hundred year.

¹⁹And sons of My-Bitterness [Merari]:

My-Piercer [Mahali] and
He-Groped-Me [Mushi].

These are the families of the My-Joined-[one] [Levi] to their childings.

²⁰And Elevated-People [Amram] took Yehovah-Glorified [Yocheved] his aunt to him for a woman. And she childed Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] and Draw [Moshe] to him.

And the years of the lives of Elevated-People [Amram] are seven and thirty and a hundred year.

²¹And the sons of He-Will-Press-Oil [Izhar]:

Bald [Korah] and
Tottered-Feebled [Nepheg] and
He-Remembered-Me [Zichri].

²²And the sons of My-Strength-Is-A-Mighty-[One] [Uzziel]:

Who-Asked [Mishael] and
My-Mighty-[One]-Hid [Elzaphan] and
He-Secreted-Me [Zithri].

²³And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] took My-Mighty-[One]-Vowed [Elisheva], daughter of My-People-Was-Generous [Amminadab], sister of Enchantment [Naashon], to him for a woman. And she childed:

He-Was-Generous [Nadav] and
He-Is-My-Father [Avihu],
A-Mighty-[One]-Helped [Eleazar] and
Where-Is-A-Palm-[Tree] [Ithamar]

to him.

²⁴And the sons of Bald [Korah]:

Prisoner [Assir] and
A-Mighty-[One]-Acquired [Elkanah] and
My-Father-Gathered [Aviasaph].

These are the families of the My-Bald-[ones] Korahites.

²⁵And A-Mighty-[One]-Helped [Eleazar] Oy!-Conception!’s [Aharon’s] son took to him from the daughters of My-Bow-Is-A-Mighty-[One] [Putiel] to him for a woman. And she childed:

My-Mouth-He-Rested-Refuge [Pinkhas]

to him.

These are the heads of the fathers of the My-Joined-[ones] [Levites] to their families. ²⁶He is Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] and Draw [Moshe] to whom Yehovah said, “Exit-ye the children of Israel from the land of Egypt upon their armies!” ²⁷These are the speakers unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt to exit the children of Israel from Egypt. He is Draw [Moshe] and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon]. ²⁸And he was in the day Yehovah spoke unto Draw [Moshe] in the land of Egypt. ²⁹And Yehovah spoke unto Draw [Moshe] to say, “I am Yehovah! Speak thou unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt all that I say unto thee!” ³⁰And Draw [Moshe] said to the faces of Yehovah, “Behold I am foreskin lips! And how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?”

Exodus 7:1 And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “See, I gave thee, gods to Pharaoh. And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] thy brother will be thy prophet! ²Thou—thou shalt speak all that I will command thee. And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] thy brother will speak unto Pharaoh. And he will send the sons of Israel from his land! ³And I—I will harden the heart of Pharaoh. And I will multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt! ⁴And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you. And I will give my hand into Egypt. And I will exit my armies—my People the childrenof Israel—from the land of Egypt via big justices! ⁵And the Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah in my stretching my hand upon Egypt. And I will exit the children of Israel from their midst!”

⁶And Draw [Moshe] did, and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], just as Yehovah commanded them. Established, they did! ⁷And Draw [Moshe] is a son of 80 year! And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] is a son of 3 and 80 year during their speaking unto Pharaoh!

I. Yehovah’s Orders (verses 10-12)

Yehovah had more to say to Moshe. He told Moshe to come and to speak unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Yehovah indicated to Moshe that this will result in Pharaoh sending the children of Israel from his land!

Moshe spoke face to face with Yehovah, saying, “Behold, the children of Israel didn’t hearken unto me. And how shall Pharaoh hearken-to me? And I am foreskin lips!”

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah say, “Come!” instead of, “Go!” when He told Moshe to travel to speak unto Pharaoh? Yehovah told Moshe to come because Yehovah was already there. He wasn’t sending Moshe into territory where Yehovah wasn’t located; instead, Yehovah had prepared the way for this assignment to work!

2. How could Moshe speak unto a king when kings choose who will come before them, and when Moshe is merely a poor shepherd (which is an abomination to the Egyptians)? Yehovah will make certain that Pharaoh will see Moshe.

Proverbs 21:1 The heart of a king is splittings of waters in the hand of Yehovah! He inclines him upon all that He will desire!

3. After the command to come and to speak to Pharaoh, Yehovah next states, “And he sent the children of Israel from his land.” What is that in the past tense? It is in the past tense because it will be the result of coming and speaking to Pharaoh. When a result is certain in Hebrew, the wording of the result is in the past tense as if it already happened.

4. When the Bible uses the word children, does that imply that they are young? No! It almost never implies this. The children of Israel are the offspring of Israel/Jacob. Their ages will include the old, the young, and the in-between!

5. Why does the text include, “And Moshe spoke to the faces of Yehovah”? This tells the reader that Moshe and Yehovah were speaking together as if both were humans. Moshe was looking at Yehovah, and Yehovah was physically right there for Moshe to see.

6. Was Moshe scared while speaking directly to Yehovah? Moshe had been scared at first, but now the assignment that Yehovah was giving him was what was on his mind. Another text states,

Exodus 33:11 And Yehovah will speak unto Moshe faces unto faces just-as a man will speak unto his neighbour.

7. Why didn’t the children of Israel hearken unto Moshe?

Exodus 6:9 And they didn’t hearken unto Moshe from shortness of spirit/wind and from hard slavery.

They were too out of breath from the hard work, and they were dispirited (meaning that they didn’t feel that anything would do any good; they didn’t feel like trying).

8. Why should Pharaoh hearken to Moshe if the Israelis didn’t? Yehovah can be very convincing, as a reader will see.

9. What does “I am foreskin lips” mean? A foreskin is a very thin strip of skin found on the male’s penis that hides the head of the penis. Yehovah used this strip of skin as a type—as a teaching picture of something else more important. The foreskin typifies (pictures) the lusts of the flesh—truly sinful desires that a person intends to do or does (not desires that aren’t sinful). Desires that are sinful include prostitution, rape, murder, kidnapping, idolatry (including all forms of pornography), using addictive drugs and medications without medical need for them, committing fornication (participating in sexual practices with one to whom one isn’t married or given in marriage), stealing (when there is no need to obtain food, and the person isn’t involved in war or being a spy), lying (when that isn’t being done to save lives, and the person isn’t a spy), etc. Since the foreskin pictures these lusts, Yehovah commanded Avraham and all of his male offspring to circumcise the foreskin—that is, to remove this, and especially to do this on the eighth day of the baby’s life.

The word lip in the Bible refers to a person’s accent. How one uses his or her lips is how one speaks a language—with which accent the person speaks.

If a person is described as being foreskin lips, the person’s accent is considered crude and vulgar, and not something that an educated and high-ranking person would consider a good and trustable source of information. Pharaoh and those around Pharaoh spoke a very high form of Egyptian. Moshe had been away from Egypt and Egyptian society for forty years. He spoke the language of the area where he lived and used the lip (accent) of the area where he lived. The Egyptian Pharaoh would view him as being foreskin lipped, and wouldn’t hearken to him (according to what Moshe thought).

II. Yehovah Speaks to Both (verse 13)

Yehovah spoke to both Moshe and Aharon. He commanded them unto the children of Isdrael and unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt to exit the Israelis from the land of Egypt.

Questions

1. Did Aharon also see Yehovah? The text indicates that he did, since Yehovah also spoke to him.

2. Why did Yehovah command them unto the children of Israel when they couldn’t do anything about leaving? The Israelis had to become prepared to leave. Therefore, they had to experience what Pharaoh and the Egyptians experienced so that they would believe at least enough to leave.

3. What does “commanded them unto” mean? This means that they were commanded to both go unto them and to do what Yehovah had described for them to do.

III. Heads of Houses (verses 14-30)

The next number of verses gives the heads of the houses of the sons of Jacob:

Sons of Reuben (Reuben being the firstborn of Israel): Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, Carmi.

Sons of Shimon: Yemuel, Yamin, Ohad, Yachin, Zohar, Shaul (Shaul being the son of a Canaanite woman).

Sons Levi: Gershon, Kohath, Merari.

Levi lived to be 137 years old.

Grandsons of Levi, sons of Gershon: Libni, Shimi.

Grandsons of Levi, sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hevron, Uzziel.

Kohath lived to be 133.

Grandsons of Levi, sons of Marari: Mahali, Mushi.

Amram took his Aunt Yocheved for his own woman (wife). She childed Aharon and Moshe.

Amram lived for 137 years.

Great Grandsons of Levi, Grandsons of Kohath, sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, Zichri.

Great Grandsons of Levi, Grandsons of Kohath, sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, Zithri.

Aharon took Amminadab’s daughter, Elisheva (she was sister of Naashon) for a woman (wife). Elisheva childed Nadav, Avihu, Eleazar, Ithamar.

The great great grandsons of Levi, great grandsons of Kohath, grandsons of Izhar, sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, Aviasaph.

Aharon’s son Eleazar took a daughter of Putiel for a woman (wife). She childed Pinkhas to Eleazar.

This is a listing of the heads of the fathers of the Levites to their families. This lineage leads to Aharon and Moshe, the two to whom Yehovah said, “Exit-ye the children of Israel from the land of Egypt upon their armies!” These are the very same two who spoke unto Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to exit the children of Israel from Egypt! This is Moshe, along with Aharon!

This occurred in the day Yehovah spoke unto Moshe in the land of Egypt. Yehovah spoke unto Moshe saying, “I am Yehovah! Speak thou unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt all that I say unto thee!”

This occurred in the day that Moshe responded to the faces of Yehovah, “Behold I am foreskin lips! And how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?”

Questions

1. If you place all the meanings of the names together, do they give information? They do, indeed! This depends on how the names are joined. Take verses 14-25, and take all the names listed. Repeat any names if they are repeated. See what you find. I have what I found listed next, and it seems to tell a story:

They saw a dedicated, miracled Son. A trumpet blast/walled my hearkening vineyard. A day—a Mighty One—Right—will establish an attack or victory shout! Dazzling heat!

Merchantess asked my joined one. Expelling, Thou hast dulled my bitterness to my Son! Hearken thou [fem.]! Thou hast dulled! An elevated people will press oil of friendship.

My strength is a Mighty One!

My piercer groped me. An elevated people took! Yehovah glorified!

Oy! Conception! Draw! Bald, tottered, feebled, He remembered me.

My strength is a Mighty One! Who asked my Mighty One? He hid, secreted me!

Oy! Conception! My Mighty One took; He vowed!

A daughter of my people was generous—sister of enchantment.

He was generous! He is my Father! A Mighty One helped!

Where is a palm tree?

Bald, a prisoner, Mighty One acquired. My Father gathered!

A Mighty One helped my bald ones!

Oy! Conception! My bow is a Mighty One!

My mouth rested; refuge!

In order for this to make sense, you need to know the following information:

The Mighty One is also known as the Mighty One of Israel. If a mighty one is the Mighty One of Israel, that is the Messiah (Yeshua).
The word Right refers to the right-hand position. The Messiah is known for being at the right of Yehovah the Father. Therefore, this also refers to the Messiah.
The events being discussed are during the Tribulation. That is why the Messiah will establish an attack shout, and will give a victory shout. He will also use dazzling heat to slaughter His enemies.
A merchantess is a female merchant.
A joined one is a person to whom another is very attached. That can be like a mother is to a baby or young child whom she greatly loves.
Israel has long had a bitterness toward Israel’s Son, the Messiah.
An elevated people is a people (a group with a common culture) that started out very low in rank, very poor, and considered worthless, that Yehovah has raised in rank and in importance before others.
I propose that pressing oil of friendship pictures working very hard (like pressing olive oil from olives) to be a friend.
I also propose that this piercer refers to an enemy. If this enemy groped the speaker, it was to feel for identification (like Isaac did with Jacob) in order to expose the read identity of the one being groped. (Being found out during the Tribulation can be deadly.)
To glorify is to demonstrate as being very important!
The expression, “Oy! Conception!” shows that this is a time when becoming pregnant is almost the worst thing that can happen, since it can hinder the woman from doing what she must do to survive.
Being bald can occur from several terrible situations besides the normal loss of hair that is genetic (normal baldness). It can show intense mourning and frustration in some cultures, and it can be the result of being starved, or being put into a concentration camp where the hair is cut off.
The question, “Who asked my Mighty One?” Shows that the speaker didn’t ask the Mighty One to do anything; yet He did do some things: He hid and He secreted the speaker.
The question, “Where is a palm tree?” Shows that the speaker is traveling in a desert. Palm trees in the desert provide food, and are located where there is some water.
If anyone’s bow is a Mighty One, and if that Mighty One is the Messiah, the arrow that the bow shoots will always go straight to the target and will never miss its mark.

If a mouth rests, it no longer is expressing fears, frustrations, callings for help, etc.

2. In verse 20, Amram took Yocheved his aunt for a woman (for a wife). Was this wrong? No, it wasn’t wrong at this time. Adam’s and Eve’s children married each other. Later, Yehovah gave commands against incest; before that time, taking close relatives in marriage wasn’t incest.

3. What does “Exit-ye the children of Israel from the land of Egypt upon their armies” mean (verse 26)? Yehovah viewed the Israelis as consisting of armies—not just one army, but more than one! That is what Israel will be during the End Times!

4. Why did Yehovah say, “These are the speakers unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt to exit the children of Israel from Egypt. He is Moshe and Aharon,” as if some readers might get Moshe and Aharon confused with another Moshe and another Aharon? There will be others named Moshe and Aharon between the time of these men and the End Times. Yehovah knew that some might get confused about them, so He specifically identified them to keep that from happening.

5. Who is he in, “And he was in the day Yehovah spoke unto Moshe in the land of Egypt”? He refers to the commandment for Moshe and Aharon to go to Pharaoh. Yehovah did not give Moshe or Aharon time to prepare anything. They were to go, and to go right away. Moshe still had to get his family, and that was fine.

6. How much of what Yehovah told Moshe was Moshe commanded to tell Pharaoh, according to verse 29? Moshe had to say all that Yehovah told him to say to Pharaoh. (Moshe didn’t tell Pharaoh that Yehovah knew Pharaoh wouldn’t hearken.)

7. Why did Yehovah repeat Moshe’s declaration that Moshe is “foreskin lips”? Yehovah desired for readers to know that Moshe thought Pharaoh would never hearken to him. He therefore repeated it so that future persons to whom Yehovah will give assignments that are impossible will remember this, and will have faith in Yehovah to do the impossible assignments.

8. Why did Yehovah mention that Shaul was the son of a Canaanite woman (verse 15)? Why was this so important? Yehovah will later command the annihilation of the Canaanites. At this time, they can still obtain Truth directly from the Israelis. They won’t take Truth, however, as a people.

9. The males in the lineage are normally the only ones mentioned. Why are the females normally ignored, and why was Yocheved (verse 20) specially mentioned? The main purpose of lineages in the Bible include the following:

One lineage tells the genealogy from Adam to Yeshua.
Other genealogies tell how other important groups came into being.
Genealogies have names; those names have meanings; they give information when they are put together.

Just because males are mentioned in genealogies doesn’t mean that they are important in themselves. Only a few were righteous. When females are mentioned, they are important!

Yocheved was mentioned because this is the place where Moshe’s and Aharon’s mother is named! If it weren’t for this text and Numbers 26:59, readers wouldn’t know the name of this brave woman!

IV. Yehovah’s Plans (chapter 7, verses 1-5)

Yehovah next told what He had done to make these things work. Yehovah said to Moshe, “See, I gave thee, gods to Pharaoh.”

Yehovah continued, “And Aharon thy brother will be thy prophet!”

Yehovah commanded Moshe, “Thou—thou shalt speak all that I will command thee.”

He also stated, “And Aharon thy brother will speak unto Pharaoh.”

Yehovah then gave the results: “And he will send the sons of Israel from his land!”

Yet, Yehovah had plans before that exit (exodus) from the land: “And I—I will harden the heart of Pharaoh. And I will multiply my signs and my miracles in the land of Egypt! And Pharaoh will not hearken unto you.”

Yehovah’s response to Pharaoh’s not hearkening will be this: “And I will give my hand into Egypt.” After He has done this for quite a while, Yehovah will do the next step: “And I will exit my armies—my People the children of Israel—from the land of Egypt via big justices!”

How will the Egyptians respond and react? “And the Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah in my stretching my hand upon Egypt.”

Finally, Yehovah will “exit the children of Israel from their midst!”

Questions

1. What does “See, I gave thee, gods to Pharaoh” mean? This means that Yehovah caused Pharaoh to see Moshe as gods—as Elohim! That is why Pharaoh didn’t try to kill Moshe. He didn’t hearken to Moshe, but he feared him.

2. Why would Yehovah cause one person to see another as gods if He commanded against idols? Yehovah even gave parents to babies as gods. If Yehovah does this, it is right and good. If persons make their own gods and goddesses, that is very bad, and it leads to death!

3. If Aharon will be Moshe’s prophet, whose words will Aharon speak as a prophet? Aharon will infallibly speak the words of Moshe! (Those, of course, will be the words of Yehovah, since Moshe is Yehovah’s prophet!)

4. Wasn’t Aharon sent along because of Moshe’s inability to speak right? He was! Yet, Yehovah will command Moshe to speak, along with Aharon! Thus, Yehovah will make certain that Moshe can speak.

5. Yehovah said in verse 2, “And he will send the sons of Israel from his land.” Will he do this right away? No! At first, Pharaoh will refuse to send the sons of Israel from his land. Yehovah often declares what will occur without indicating when it will occur. When readers of the Bible assume that what He says will happen right away, or will happen in their lifetimes, they almost always assume what isn’t true. If Yehovah tells when He will do something, He will do it at that time.

6. Why would Yehovah harden the heart of Pharaoh (verse 3) so that Pharaoh will not hearken unto Moshe and Aharon (verse 4)? Isn’t that forcing Pharaoh to do wrong? No; it isn’t forcing Pharaoh to do anything. Hardening the heart (mind) of a person helps the person to become absolutely firm (resolute) in whatever the person has decided to do! If the person desires to do right, hardening the person’s heart (mind) will give the person more determination to do right! If the person desires to do wrong, hardening the person’s heart (mind) will give the person more determination in that direction. This hardening forces a person only in one way: to decide and to act. It doesn’t determine what to decide or which way to act. The person is responsible for that.

7. What is the benefit of multiplying signs and miracles in the land of Egypt? Signs and miracles will give both the Egyptians and the Israelis more reason to think and to consider the following:

Who is doing this?
Why is he doing this?
What kind of power does he have?
How will I respond to him? What should I do?

Yehovah gave them opportunity to think.

8. Why won’t Pharaoh hearken to Moshe and Aharon? It isn’t because Yehovah hardened his heart; it is because Pharaoh didn’t want to hearken. The reasons will be shown later in the text.

9. What does “I will give my hand into Egypt” mean? Yehovah’s hand is His power, just as the hand of any human is the power of that human. Yehovah will directly and personally cause things to occur in Egypt.

10. What are big justices? If justice is rendering a right decision based on all available facts, big justices are rendering (carrying out) big decisions, and thus doing big things that are right to do.

Yehovah will do very big miracles that will cause His People, the children of Israel, to leave Egypt.

11. Who are God’s people, according to this text? The children of Israel (Jacob) are God’s people. A people is a group of individuals with a common culture (and thus, a common way of speaking to each other, as well as conducting business and relationships). Saints throughout the world don’t have a common culture; they are not a people.

12. How will the Egyptians come to know that He is Yehovah, according to verse 5? Does this mean that the Egyptians will believe? They will come to know this during Yehovah’s stretching His hand upon Egypt! It means that the Egyptians will believe that Yehovah is doing all of this, but it doesn’t mean that they will believe—as in, putting their faith in Yehovah. Miracles never produce faith that lasts. Faith that lasts must come from hearkening (hearing and obeying), and hearkening must come from a speech of someone trusted.

13. What does stretching His hand upon anything mean? This normally means wrath. Egypt has taken possession of Yehovah’s property, dealing with them in slavery. Yehovah desires to have His property back. If Egypt doesn’t comply, Yehovah will hurt Egypt until Egypt does comply.

14. Who will ‘exit’ the children of Israel from the midst of the Egyptians, according to this text? Yehovah will do this!

V. Obedience and Age (verses 6-7)

Moshe didn’t ask more questions. He did just as Yehovah commanded, and Aharon did the same. They were firmly established in their goal; they now knew what would happen, and why.

Moshe is 80 years old at the time of speaking unto Pharaoh, and Aharon is 83 years old!

Questions

1. The text states that they did. What did they do? They did what Yehovah commanded them! They went to Pharaoh, and they both spoke what Yehovah told them to speak.

2. Why does the text add, “Established, they did”? This lets readers know that they did every detail that Yehovah commanded no matter how they felt about this mission.

3. What is so significant about Moshe being 80 and Aharon being 83 when they went on this mission?

They were two old men!
They were sent on an impossible mission!
They were sent to tell a very strong king what to do!
They were totally powerless as two old men.
They had Yehovah behind them to give them power!
They had no country backing them.
They were sent as two old men to rescue very muscular Israeli slaves from very well-armed Egyptian soldiers!
No person is too old to be very valuable for the work of Yehovah. No person is too young to be very valuable for the work of Yehovah.

August 9, 2010July 5, 2017

Exodus 6_10 Orders and Heads

Orders and Heads

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 6:10-7:7

¹⁴These are heads of the house of their fathers:

The sons of They-Saw-A-Son [Reuben] the firstborn of Israel:
Dedicated [Hanoch] and
Miracled [Pallu],
Trumpet-Blast/Walled [Hezron] and
My-Vineyard [Carmi].

These are the families of They-Saw-A-Son [Reuben].

¹⁵And the sons of Hearkening [Shimon]:

A-Day-And-A-Mighty-[One] [Yemuel] and
Right [Yamin] and
Attack-[or Victory]-Shout [Ohad] and
He-Will-Establish [Yachin] and
Dazzling-Heat [Zohar] and
Asked [Shaul], son of the Merchantess [Canaanitess].

These are the families of Hearkening [Shimon].

¹⁶And these are the names of the sons of My-Joined-[one] [Levi] to their childings:

Expelling [Gershon] and
Thou-Hast-Dulled [Kohath] and
My-Bitterness [Merari].

And the years of the lives of My-Joined-[one] [Levi] are seven and thirty and a hundred year.

¹⁷Sons of Expelling [Gershon]:

To-My-Son [Libni] and
Hearken-Thou [fem.] [Shimi]

to their families.

¹⁸And sons of Thou-Hast-Dulled [Kohath]:

Elevated-People [Amram] and
He-Will-Press-Oil [Izhar] and
Friendship [Hevron] and
My-Strength-Is-A-Mighty-[One] [Uzziel].

And the years of the lives of Thou-Hast-Dulled [Kohath] are three and thirty and a hundred year.

¹⁹And sons of My-Bitterness [Merari]:

My-Piercer [Mahali] and
He-Groped-Me [Mushi].

These are the families of the My-Joined-[one] [Levi] to their childings.

²⁰And Elevated-People [Amram] took Yehovah-Glorified [Yocheved] his aunt to him for a woman. And she childed Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] and Draw [Moshe] to him.

And the years of the lives of Elevated-People [Amram] are seven and thirty and a hundred year.

²¹And the sons of He-Will-Press-Oil [Izhar]:

Bald [Korah] and
Tottered-Feebled [Nepheg] and
He-Remembered-Me [Zichri].

²²And the sons of My-Strength-Is-A-Mighty-[One] [Uzziel]:

Who-Asked [Mishael] and
My-Mighty-[One]-Hid [Elzaphan] and
He-Secreted-Me [Zithri].

²³And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] took My-Mighty-[One]-Vowed [Elisheva], daughter of My-People-Was-Generous [Amminadab], sister of Enchantment [Naashon], to him for a woman. And she childed:

He-Was-Generous [Nadav] and
He-Is-My-Father [Avihu],
A-Mighty-[One]-Helped [Eleazar] and
Where-Is-A-Palm-[Tree] [Ithamar]

to him.

²⁴And the sons of Bald [Korah]:

Prisoner [Assir] and
A-Mighty-[One]-Acquired [Elkanah] and
My-Father-Gathered [Aviasaph].

These are the families of the My-Bald-[ones] Korahites.

²⁵And A-Mighty-[One]-Helped [Eleazar] Oy!-Conception!’s [Aharon’s] son took to him from the daughters of My-Bow-Is-A-Mighty-[One] [Putiel] to him for a woman. And she childed:

My-Mouth-He-Rested-Refuge [Pinkhas]

to him.

I. Yehovah’s Orders (verses 10-12)

Moshe spoke face to face with Yehovah, saying, “Behold, the children of Israel didn’t hearken unto me. And how shall Pharaoh hearken-to me? And I am foreskin lips!”

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah say, “Come!” instead of, “Go!” when He told Moshe to travel to speak unto Pharaoh?

2. How could Moshe speak unto a king when kings choose who will come before them, and when Moshe is merely a poor shepherd (which is an abomination to the Egyptians)?

3. After the command to come and to speak to Pharaoh, Yehovah next states, “And he sent the children of Israel from his land.” What is that in the past tense?

4. When the Bible uses the word children, does that imply that they are young?

5. Why does the text include, “And Moshe spoke to the faces of Yehovah”?

6. Was Moshe scared while speaking directly to Yehovah?

7. Why didn’t the children of Israel hearken unto Moshe?

8. Why should Pharaoh hearken to Moshe if the Israelis didn’t?

9. What does “I am foreskin lips” mean?

II. Yehovah Speaks to Both (verse 13)

Yehovah spoke to both Moshe and Aharon. He commanded them unto the children of Isdrael and unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt to exit the Israelis from the land of Egypt.

Questions

1. Did Aharon also see Yehovah?

2. Why did Yehovah command them unto the children of Israel when they couldn’t do anything about leaving?

3. What does “commanded them unto” mean?

III. Heads of Houses (verses 14-30)

The next number of verses gives the heads of the houses of the sons of Jacob:

Sons of Reuben (Reuben being the firstborn of Israel): Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, Carmi.

Sons of Shimon: Yemuel, Yamin, Ohad, Yachin, Zohar, Shaul (Shaul being the son of a Canaanite woman).

Sons Levi: Gershon, Kohath, Merari.

Levi lived to be 137 years old.

Grandsons of Levi, sons of Gershon: Libni, Shimi.

Grandsons of Levi, sons of Kohath: Amram, Izhar, Hevron, Uzziel.

Kohath lived to be 133.

Grandsons of Levi, sons of Marari: Mahali, Mushi.

Amram took his Aunt Yocheved for his own woman (wife). She childed Aharon and Moshe.

Amram lived for 137 years.

Great Grandsons of Levi, Grandsons of Kohath, sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, Zichri.

Great Grandsons of Levi, Grandsons of Kohath, sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Elzaphan, Zithri.

Aharon took Amminadab’s daughter, Elisheva (she was sister of Naashon) for a woman (wife). Elisheva childed Nadav, Avihu, Eleazar, Ithamar.

The great great grandsons of Levi, great grandsons of Kohath, grandsons of Izhar, sons of Korah: Assir, Elkanah, Aviasaph.

Aharon’s son Eleazar took a daughter of Putiel for a woman (wife). She childed Pinkhas to Eleazar.

This occurred in the day Yehovah spoke unto Moshe in the land of Egypt. Yehovah spoke unto Moshe saying, “I am Yehovah! Speak thou unto Pharaoh, king of Egypt all that I say unto thee!”

This occurred in the day that Moshe responded to the faces of Yehovah, “Behold I am foreskin lips! And how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?”

Questions

1. If you place all the meanings of the names together, do they give information?

2. In verse 20, Amram took Yocheved his aunt for a woman (for a wife). Was this wrong?

3. What does “Exit-ye the children of Israel from the land of Egypt upon their armies” mean (verse 26)?

5. Who is he in, “And he was in the day Yehovah spoke unto Moshe in the land of Egypt”?

6. How much of what Yehovah told Moshe was Moshe commanded to tell Pharaoh, according to verse 29?

7. Why did Yehovah repeat Moshe’s declaration that Moshe is “foreskin lips”?

8. Why did Yehovah mention that Shaul was the son of a Canaanite woman (verse 15)? Why was this so important?

9. The males in the lineage are normally the only ones mentioned. Why are the females normally ignored, and why was Yocheved (verse 20) specially mentioned?

IV. Yehovah’s Plans (chapter 7, verses 1-5)

Yehovah next told what He had done to make these things work. Yehovah said to Moshe, “See, I gave thee, gods to Pharaoh.”

Yehovah continued, “And Aharon thy brother will be thy prophet!”

Yehovah commanded Moshe, “Thou—thou shalt speak all that I will command thee.”

He also stated, “And Aharon thy brother will speak unto Pharaoh.”

Yehovah then gave the results: “And he will send the sons of Israel from his land!”

How will the Egyptians respond and react? “And the Egyptians shall know that I am Yehovah in my stretching my hand upon Egypt.”

Finally, Yehovah will “exit the children of Israel from their midst!”

Questions

1. What does “See, I gave thee, gods to Pharaoh” mean?

2. Why would Yehovah cause one person to see another as gods if He commanded against idols?

3. If Aharon will be Moshe’s prophet, whose words will Aharon speak as a prophet?

4. Wasn’t Aharon sent along because of Moshe’s inability to speak right?

5. Yehovah said in verse 2, “And he will send the sons of Israel from his land.” Will he do this right away?

6. Why would Yehovah harden the heart of Pharaoh (verse 3) so that Pharaoh will not hearken unto Moshe and Aharon (verse 4)? Isn’t that forcing Pharaoh to do wrong?

7. What is the benefit of multiplying signs and miracles in the land of Egypt?

8. Why won’t Pharaoh hearken to Moshe and Aharon?

9. What does “I will give my hand into Egypt” mean?

10. What are big justices?

11. Who are God’s people, according to this text?

12. How will the Egyptians come to know that He is Yehovah, according to verse 5? Does this mean that the Egyptians will believe?

13. What does stretching His hand upon anything mean?

14. Who will ‘exit’ the children of Israel from the midst of the Egyptians, according to this text?

V. Obedience and Age (verses 6-7)

Moshe didn’t ask more questions. He did just as Yehovah commanded, and Aharon did the same. They were firmly established in their goal; they now knew what would happen, and why.

Moshe is 80 years old at the time of speaking unto Pharaoh, and Aharon is 83 years old!

Questions

1. The text states that they did. What did they do?

2. Why does the text add, “Established, they did”?

3. What is so significant about Moshe being 80 and Aharon being 83 when they went on this mission?