Exodus 9:8

"Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he didn’t let the people go."

Key Reflection

This verse illustrates Pharaoh's hardened heart despite clear evidence of divine judgment, as no harm came to the livestock of the Israelites even after the plague affected Egypt's animals. It underscores both God’s protection of His people and Pharaoh’s unyielding defiance against divine will.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

This marks a distinct advance and change in the character of the visitations. Hitherto, the Egyptians had not been attacked directly in their persons. It is the second plague which was not preceded by a demand and warning, probably on account of the special hardness shown by Pharaoh in reference to the murrain. Ashes of the furnace -The act was evidently symbolic: the ashes were to be sprinkled toward heaven, challenging, so to speak, the Egyptian deities. There may possibly be a reference to an Egyptian custom of scattering to the winds ashes of victims offered to Typhon.

More from Exodus 9

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