Exodus 10:22
in Exodus 10So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and total darkness covered all the land of Egypt for three days.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days;
KJV
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:
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This verse in Exodus 10
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThe tradition of the Jews is that in this darkness they were terrified by the apparitions of evil spirits, or rather by dreadful sounds and murmurs which they made, or (which is no less frightful) by the horrors of their own consciences; and this is the plague which some think is intended (for, otherwise, it is not mentioned at all there) Ps. lxxviii.
This site's exposition
even darkness which may be felt
on Exodus 10:21-22
The ninth plague arrives with no warning and no demand attached to it, which closes the third triad the way the lice at 8:16 and the boils at 9:8 closed the first two. The phrase darkness which may be felt occurs nowhere else in Scripture, and the darkness holds for three days. Readings that match each plague to a named Egyptian god, with Ra standing behind this one, are taught by Chuck Missler and others; what Exodus itself says is at 12:12, that against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment, and it names no deity.
This site's exposition
total darkness covered all the land
Moses stretches out his hand toward heaven, and darkness covers Egypt for three days. The ninth plague comes with no warning to Pharaoh, as the third and the sixth did. Matthew Henry reports the Jewish tradition that the Egyptians were terrified in this darkness by evil spirits or by their own consciences, and he notes the view that Psalm 78 refers to it.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Isidore of SevilleQUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, EX 14:15 · Written before 636.
proposed
In the ninth plague, darkness fell. Either it means the blindness of their minds or that they should realize that the workings of the divine economy and of providence are most obscure. For God made darkness his hiding place. But they desired boldly and rashly …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness over all the land of Egypt three days. The eleventh, twelveth, and thirteenth days of the month Abib; with this compare the fifth vial, Rev 16:10.
The tradition of the Jews is that in this darkness they were terrified by the apparitions of evil spirits, or rather by dreadful sounds and murmurs which they made, or (which is no less frightful) by the horrors of their own consciences; and this is the plague which some think is intended (for, otherwise, it is not mentioned at all there) Ps. lxxviii.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
The appalling character of this calamity consisted in this, that the sun was an object of Egyptian idolatry; that the pure and serene sky of that country was never marred by the appearance of a cloud.
The words behind it
14 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֵּ֥ט | vaiyet | and he stretched out | H5186 → | 214 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֛ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יָד֖וֹ | yado | hand his | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | to | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַשָּׁמָ֑יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וַיְהִ֧י | vayhi | and it was | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| חֹֽשֶׁךְ־ | choshekh- | darkness of | H2822 → | 80 times |
| אֲפֵלָ֛ה | ʾafelah | darkness | H653 → | |
| בְּכָל־ | bekhol | in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֶ֥רֶץ | ʾeretz | [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרַ֖יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁת | sheloshet | three | H7969 → | 432 times |
| יָמִֽים׃ | yamim | days | H3117 → | 2304 times |
וַיֵּ֥טand he stretched out
vaiyetH5186 →214 times
מֹשֶׁ֛הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יָד֖וֹhand his
yadoH3027 →1618 times
עַל־to
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַשָּׁמָ֑יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וַיְהִ֧יand it was
vayhiH1961 →3559 times
חֹֽשֶׁךְ־darkness of
choshekh-H2822 →80 times
אֲפֵלָ֛הdarkness
ʾafelahH653 →
בְּכָל־in all
bekholH3605 →5413 times
אֶ֥רֶץ[the] land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרַ֖יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
שְׁלֹ֥שֶׁתthree
sheloshetH7969 →432 times
יָמִֽים׃days
yamimH3117 →2304 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Amos 4:13For behold, He who forms the mountains, who creates the wind and reveals His thoughts to man, who turns the dawn to darkness and strides on the heights of the earth—the LORD, the God…
it leads to
- Amos 5:8
He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns darkness into dawn and darkens day into night, who summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth—the LORD…
- Micah 1:3
For behold, the LORD comes forth from His dwelling place; He will come down and tread on the high places of the earth.
- Amos 9:6
He builds His upper rooms in the heavens and founds His vault upon the earth. He summons the waters of the sea and pours them over the face of the earth. The LORD is…
- Isaiah 47:4
Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—is the Holy One of Israel.
- Amos 5:8
Through
Joel 2:2a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like the dawn overspreading the mountains a great and strong army appears, such as never was of old, nor will ever be…
it leads to
- Joel 1:6
For a nation has invaded My land, powerful and without number; its teeth are the teeth of a lion, and its fangs are the fangs of a lioness.
- Zephaniah 1:14–15
The great Day of the LORD is near—near and coming quickly. Listen, the Day of the LORD! Then the cry of the mighty will be bitter.
- Joel 1:6
Through
Revelation 16:10And the fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness, and men began to gnaw their tongues in anguish
it leads to
- Revelation 9:2
The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the…
- Revelation 9:2
Through
Exodus 20:21And the people stood at a distance as Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.
it leads to
- 1 Kings 8:12
Then Solomon declared: “The LORD has said that He would dwell in the thick cloud.
- 1 Kings 8:12
About Exodus
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours; Isidore of Seville, QUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, EX 14:15; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.