b Ch. ii. 22. & xii. 35. THE TENTH PLAGUE-THE FIRSTBORN SLAIN. 16 EXODUS XI. VER. 1-9. 1 And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one A.C. 1491. plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence : when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. 2 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold. 3 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great ç Ecclus. xbo. in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people. 4 And Moses said, Thus saith the LORD, About mid-d Ch. xii. 29. night will I go out into the midst of Egypt: 5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts. 6 And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more. 7 But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast : that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel. 16 The tenth plague was an assertion of the right of Jehovah to the firstborn. In the patriarchal dispensation, which the Egyptians had perverted, the firstbora were devoted to God; in addition to which, Moses had declared Israel to be the firstborn of Jehovah. The true God therefore demanded those of the children of the Egyptians who ought to have been dedicated to his service. He destroyed them in a moment, at midnight. The Israelites were saved, by eating the god whom the Egyptians worshipped. The terrors of that moment have never been equalled by any scene of distress which has since been recorded in history. It was the custom of the Egyptians to rush from the house into the street, to bewail the dead with loud and bitter outcries; and every member of the family united in the expression of sorrow : what must the scene have been, when, at midnight, the Lord smote all the firstborn of the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh on the throne, to the firstborn of the captive in the dungeon: when the king, and his servants, and all the people, rose up in the night: and “there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead!" -Bryant on the Plagues, &c.; Bishop Gleig's Dissertation, in Stackhouse, vol. i. p. 472; Hales’ Analysis, vol. ii. p. 186–199. A.C. 1491. 17 8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, EXODUS X. VER. 28, 29. face thou shalt die. EXODUS X1. VER. 9, 10. 10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before The Passover eaten. EXODUS XII. VER. 21-29. 22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in you shall go out at the door of his house until the morning 23 For the LORD will pass through to smite the Egyptians; and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to * Or, kid. e Heb. xi. 28. smite you, 24 And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for ever. 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the 26 And it shall come to pass, when your children shall you, What mean ye by this service ? f Josh, iv. 6. 17 These two verses are inserted here on the authority of Dr. Hales, (Anal. vol. ii. p. 197.) the rest of the arrangement of this chapter is made on the authority of Lightfoot. Wisd. xviii. of the pit. 27 That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's A.C. 1491. passover, who passed over the houses of the children of İsrael in Egypt, when he smote the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head and worshipped. 28 And the children of Israel went away, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. The Firstborn slain. EXODUS XII. VER. 29, 30. 29 | And it came to pass, that at midnight 5 the LORD Ch. xi. 1 smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the first- 11. born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the * dungeon; and all the first- Heb. house born of cattle. 30 And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not one dead. CHAPTER VII. The Erodus. EXODUS XIJ. VER. 31–37. 31 | And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel ; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. 32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone : and bless me also. 33 And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they might send them out of the land in haste ; for they said, We be all dead men. 34 And the people took their dough before it was leavened, their * kneading troughs being bound up in their clothes * Or, dough. upon their shoulders. 35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of Moses ; and they borrowed of the Egyptians a jewels of a Ch. ii. 22. silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment. 36 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled the Egyptians. EXODUS XII. VER. 40–43. 40 g Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was " foúr hundred and thirty years. 41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred as the mos. & xi. 2. b Gen. xv. 13. • Heb. a night of obser vations. 18 A.C. 1491. and thirty years, even the selfsame day it came to pass, that all the hosts of the LORD went out from the land of 42 It is * a night to be much observed unto the LORD CHAPTER VIII. NUMBERS XXXIll. VER. 1-6. 1 Two and forty journeys of the Israelites. 2 And Moses wrote their goings out according to their 3 And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. . 5 And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and EXODUS XII, ver. 37-40. a Exod. xii. 37. b Numb. xxxiii. 3. 18 For the sake of greater clearness, the wanderings of the Israelites in the wilderness are arranged according to the itinerary of Moses, (Numb. xxxiii.) in forty-two journeyings. The Israelites might have entered Canaan within the space of forty days, instead of forty years. They were however commanded to wander in the wilderness during that length of time for the wisest purposes. They were by this means gradually inured to war, and prepared for obtaining possession of the promised land--they were not in so much danger of relapsing into idolatry—the old generation, which had been corrupted by Egyptian superstition would have died away-and the generation, supported by continued miracles, would be trained up in obedience to the God of their fathers.Burnet's Boyle's Lecture, vol. ii. p. 193. * Heb. a + Heb. do it, 38 And * a mixed multitude went up also with them ; A.C. 1491. and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. 39 And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough which great mixture. they brought forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened ; because they were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had they prepared for themselves any victual. EXODUS XII. VER. 43, TO THE END. The Command for observing the Passover is renewed. 43 | And the LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There shall no stranger eat thereof: 44 But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. 45 A foreigner and an hired servant shall not eat thereof. 46 In one house shall it be eaten; thou shalt not carry forth ought of the flesh abroad out of the house; neither c Num. ix. 12. shall ye break a bone thereof. 47 All the congregation of Israel shall + keep it. 48 And when a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will keep the passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land : for no uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. 49 One law shall be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among you. 50 Thus did all the children of Israel ; as the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron, so did they. 51 And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies. EXODUS XIII. VER. 1-20. manded. 11 The firstlings of beasts are set apart. 17 The Israelites go out 2 * Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever open- a Ch. xxii. 29. eth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man Lev. xxvii. 2. and of beast: it is mine. 3 | And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, Luke ii. 23. in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of | bondage; for by strength of hand the Lord brought you Heb. ser. out from this place : there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4. This day came ye out in the month Abib. Num. iii. 13. & viii. 16. vants. |