Exodus 10:5
in Exodus 10They will cover the face of the land so that no one can see it. They will devour whatever is left after the hail and eat every tree that grows in your fields.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they shall cover the face of the earth, so that one shall not be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
KJV
And they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
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This verse in Exodus 10
Commentary
5 notes on this verseAnd they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the earth,.... Or, "cover the eye of the earth" (z); either the appearance and colour of the earth, so as they could not be discerned for the multitude of the locusts on it; so the word is used in Num 11:7 or the eye of man looking upon the earth, which would not be able to see it, because the locusts would be between his eye and the earth.
This site's exposition
to morrow will I bring the locusts
on Exodus 10:4-6
The word locust occurs here for the first time in Scripture, and the threat is that it will finish what the hail began, eating the residue of that which is escaped. Exodus 9:31 and 9:32 had said the flax and the barley were smitten while the wheat and the rie were not grown up, so the two plagues take the harvest in stages. Moses then uses the measure the text keeps for these last strokes, a thing which the fathers and their fathers had never seen, already spoken of the hail at 9:18 and 9:24, and he turns and walks out before Pharaoh has answered.
This site's exposition
They will cover the face of the land
The locusts will be so many that the ground disappears beneath them. They will eat whatever the hail left, including every tree in the fields, completing the ruin of Egypt's crops. John Gill notes that the Hebrew speaks of covering the eye of the earth, meaning either its visible surface or the eye of anyone looking at it.
The record, by era
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They shall cover the face of the earth - They sometimes cover the whole ground to the depth of six or eight inches. See the preceding accounts.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The face - Literally, cover “the eye of the earth,” alluding to the darkness which follows, when the whole atmosphere is filled on all sides and to a great height by an innumerable quantity of these insects. Shall eat every tree - Not only the leaves, but the branches and even the wood were attacked and devoured. The Egyptians were passionately fond of trees.
The words behind it
25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְכִסָּה֙ | vekhisah | and it will cover | H3680 → | 152 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עֵ֣ין | ʾein | [the] eye of | H5869 → | 887 times |
| הָאָ֔רֶץ | haaretz | the land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוּכַ֖ל | yukhal | anyone will be able | H3201 → | 194 times |
| לִרְאֹ֣ת | lirot | to see | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the ground | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְאָכַ֣ל׀ | veakhal | and it will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| יֶ֣תֶר | yeter | [the] remainder of | H3499 → | |
| הַפְּלֵטָ֗ה | hapeletah | the escaped thing | H6413 → | |
| הַנִּשְׁאֶ֤רֶת | hanisheret | which remains | H7604 → | 133 times |
| לָכֶם֙ | lakhem | to <the> you | ||
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַבָּרָ֔ד | habarad | the hail | H1259 → | 29 times |
| וְאָכַל֙ | veakhal | and it will eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הָעֵ֔ץ | haetz | <the> tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| הַצֹּמֵ֥חַ | hatzomeach | that is sprouting | H6779 → | |
| לָכֶ֖ם | lakhem | for <the> you | ||
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃ | hasadeh | the field | H7704 → | 334 times |
וְכִסָּה֙and it will cover
vekhisahH3680 →152 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
עֵ֣ין[the] eye of
ʾeinH5869 →887 times
הָאָ֔רֶץthe land
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יוּכַ֖לanyone will be able
yukhalH3201 →194 times
לִרְאֹ֣תto see
lirotH7200 →1300 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe ground
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְאָכַ֣ל׀and it will eat
veakhalH398 →810 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
יֶ֣תֶר[the] remainder of
yeterH3499 →
הַפְּלֵטָ֗הthe escaped thing
hapeletahH6413 →
הַנִּשְׁאֶ֤רֶתwhich remains
hanisheretH7604 →133 times
לָכֶם֙to <the> you
lakhem
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַבָּרָ֔דthe hail
habaradH1259 →29 times
וְאָכַל֙and it will eat
veakhalH398 →810 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
הָעֵ֔ץ<the> tree
haetzH6086 →328 times
הַצֹּמֵ֥חַthat is sprouting
hatzomeachH6779 →
לָכֶ֖םfor <the> you
lakhem
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַשָּׂדֶֽה׃the field
hasadehH7704 →334 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
Joel 2:25I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.
it leads to
- Zechariah 10:6
I will strengthen the house of Judah and save the house of Joseph. I will restore them because I have compassion on them, and they will be as though I had not rejected them.…
- Joel 1:4–7
What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
- Joel 2:2–11
a 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…
- Zechariah 10:6
Through
Joel 1:4What the devouring locust has left, the swarming locust has eaten; what the swarming locust has left, the young locust has eaten; and what the young locust has left, the destroying locust has eaten.
it leads to
- Joel 2:25
I will repay you for the years eaten by locusts—the swarming locust, the young locust, the destroying locust, and the devouring locust—My great army that I sent against you.
- Amos 4:9
“I struck you with blight and mildew in your growing gardens and vineyards; the locust devoured your fig and olive trees, yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Psalms 78:46
He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the fruit of their labor to the locust.
- Isaiah 33:4
Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts; like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.
- Amos 7:1
This is what the Lord GOD showed me: He was preparing swarms of locusts just after the king’s harvest, as the late spring crop was coming up.
- Joel 2:25
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch.