"Before him ; Heb. 'in the midst of him; where the person of the king stands collectively for the body of his people. See note on Gen. 14. 10. Gr. 'That yet my signs may come upon them.'

What did Moses and Aaron say to Pharaoh in the execution of this order? v. 3-6.

'Behold, to-morrow will I bring thee locusts; Heb. 'behold, I am bringing to-morrow the locust;' col. sing. for plur. The original word for 'locust,' Arbeh,' is derived from 'Râbâh,' a verb signifying to be multiplied or increased. It carries, therefore, the import of prodigious numbers, Judg. 6. 5. Jer. 46, 23, and on this account immense swarms of locusts stand in the figurative style of the prophets for multitudinous armies of men. Thus when the fifth angel sounded his trumpet, Rev. 9.3, there came out of the smoke of the bottomless pit locusts upon earth,' denoting the countless hordes of Saracens which arose in the commencement of the seventh century under Mohammed, and overran and depopulated a great portion of Christendom.-'And they shall cover the face of the earth;' Heb. 'the eye of the earth;' i. e. the sight or superfices of the earth; its visibility. A phraseology of perhaps a similar import occurs, Zech. 5. 6. in the description of the symbolical ephah; This is their resemblance through all the earth; Heb. this is their eye through all the earth;' i. e. their aspect, their visible appearance. So also possibly Zech. 3. 9. 'Upon one stone shall be seven eyes;' i. e. a seven-fold aspect; it shall have the property of presenting under different circumstances seven distinct phases."Which neither thy fathers nor thy fathers' fathers have seen;' i. e. the like of which for numbers and ravages thy fathers have never seen; not that they had never seen locusts at all before.

What did the servants of Pharaoh say upon the occasion of this message, and what passed between Moses and the king at the ensuing interview? v. 7-11.

Servants;' i. e. the nobles and counsellors of Egypt. -How long shall this man be a snare unto us?' i. e. an

occasion of calamities. Let the Lord be so with you as I will let you go;' an ironical and scoffing expression. q. d. If this be the proposed condition of your going, that you take your little ones with you, then may the God whom you serve favor you as much with his presence as I do with my consent, and no more! In this case your prospects are sorry indeed.' It is a very strong and emphatic mode of denying them the permission which they sought.-- Look to it, for evil is before you;' i. e. you are harboring an evil design and are exposing yourselves to the evil of a corresponding punishment. Chal. See how the evil which you were thinking to do shall return to your own faces. Not so;' i. e. I do not agree to your going and taking your little ones with you. Go now ye that are men; i. e. leave your women and children behind as a pledge for your safe return, and then you have my consent that the men,' all the adults of the congregation, should go, for this is the fair interpretation of your request; thus only did I understand it; thus far only will I comply with it. And they were driven out from Pharaoh's presence;' Heb. ' and he drove them out from the face of Pharaoh ;' an instance of the phraseology in which a verb active is used indefinitely in the third person singular for the plural passive. See note on Gen. 16. 14.

What were the circumstances of this bringing on of the eighth plague, and how is it described? v. 12-15.

For the locusts, that they may come up; Heb.' for the locust, that he may come up.'--' The Lord brought;' the original has the import of guiding, leading, directing one's course by word of command.--An east wind;' blowing from Arabia where locusts are often extremely numerous and destructive. Brought the locusts; Heb. brought up, supported, sustained the locusts.'-' And the locusts went up;' accompanied, as it appears from Ps. 105. 34. by countless swarms of caterpillars; He spake and the locusts came, and caterpillars, and that without number.'--'Very grievous were they; Heb. 'very heavy.' They covered the face of the whole earth;' Heb. 'the eye of the whole earth.' The account which M. Volney

gives of the devastations of these insects contains a striking illustration of this passage 'Their quantity is incredible to all who have not themselves witnessed their astonishing numbers; the whole earth is covered with them for the space of several leagues. The noise they make in browsing on the trees and herbage may be heard at a great distance, and resembles that of an army plundering in secret. The Tartars themselves are a less deOne would structive enemy than these little animals. imagine that fire had followed their progress Whereever their myriads spread, the verdure of the country disappears; trees and plants stripped of their leaves and reduced to their naked boughs and stems, cause the dreary image of winter to succeed in an instant to the rich scenery of spring. When these clouds of locusts take their flight, to surmount any obstacles, or to traverse more rapidly a desert soil, the heavens may literally be said to be obscured with them.'*

How was Pharaoh impressed with this judg ment, and what were the circumstances of its removal? v. 16–20.

'That he may take away from me this death only ;' i. e. this deadly plague. So 2 Kings, 4. 40. And said, O thou man of God, there is death in the pot;' i. e. something deadly. Pharaoh probably supposed that famine and pestilence causing a general mortality would follow in the train of the ravages of the locusts. A mighty strong west wind; Heb. 'a sea-wind, strong exceedingly.' The Hebrews denominated the West from the Mediterranean sea which lay to the west of Palestine.-' Cast them;' Heb. 'fastened them ;' i. e. they were so cast or driven into the sea, that as to the event, it was as if they had been 'fastened,' like a tent which is pitched and fast nailed to the ground.-'Into the Red Sea.' Heb. 'Sea of Suph,' or weedy sea, sea of rushes, from the great quantities of sea-weeds and flags which abound upon its shores. It is called 'Red Sea' from its bordering upon the country of Edom, which, in the Heb. tongue singnifies 'red.'

Travels in Syria, Vol. I. p. 188.

How was Moses commanded to act in bringing on the ninth plague: what was it, and how are its effects described? v. 21-23.

'Even darkness which may be felt; Heb. 'That one may feel darkness;' the same word in the original as that used to express the 'darkness' which covered the deep at the time of the six days' creation. It was a darkness consisting of thick, clammy fogs, of vapors and exhalations so condensed that they might be perceived by the organs of touch. Some commentators, supposing that human life could not be sustained an hour in such a medium, i:nagine that instead of darkness that may be felt,' the Heb. phrase may signify a darkness in which men went groping and feeling about for every thing they wanted. But something of a hyperbolical character may be allowed for expressions of this kind.-' And there was a thick darkness;' Heb. 'darkness of obscurity or gloom ;' i. e. a darkness of preternatural density. The expression in the original is peculiarly emphatic, and is, therefore, rendered in the Gr. by three words, darkness, thick blackness, and tempestuous gloom.' The description which the author of the Book of Wisdom, ch. 17. 2, 3, 21, gives of their inward terrors and consternation may not be altogether conjectural: They were not only prisoners of darkness and fettered with the bonds of a long night, but were horribly astonished likewise and troubled with strange apparitions.' Compare with Moses' account of the ninth plague, the wo of the fifth apocalyptic vial, Rev. 16. 10. And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for anguish.'-- Neither rose any one from his place.' Heb. 'neither did they arise any one from that which was under him;' Gr. 'from his bed.' The meaning probably is that no one went out of his house to attend to his usual business. It is probable that they were prevented by the heavy and humid state of the atmosphere from availing themselves of any kind of artificial light. So Wisdom, chap. 17. 5. no power of fire might give light.' -The children of Israel had light in their dwellings.' In allusion, perhaps, to this gracious discrimination we find the promise, Is. 60. 1, 2. Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For

behold darkness shall cover the earth and gross darkness the people, but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee."

To what concession was Pharaoh now prompted, what did Moses reply to it, and what was the final result? v. 24-29.

'Pharaoh called unto Moses;' i. e. after the expiration of the three days' darkness.-'Let your flocks and your herds be stayed; i. e. as a hostage or security for your return. 'Let your little ones also go with you;' including also the women whose attendance would be indispensable to the children.' Thou must give us ;' Heb. 'must give into our hands.'--'That we may sacrifice unto the Lord our God; Heb. that we may do (sacrifice).' The word sacrifice' not being expressed is to be understood.--' Not an hoof be left.' The exact and punctilious obedience of Moses to every item of the Divine commandment is here displayed, as an example from following which we should be deterred by no persecution or tyranny of men. 'not leaving an hoof behind' intimated their full and complete egress from Egyptian bondage, leaving nothing to tempt them to return. Would not let them go;' or,' was not persuaded, consented not to send them. This word, strongly indicative of the wilfulness of the king, occurs here for the first time in the whole narrative. I will see thy face again no more.' For the manner in which this is to be reconciled with the subsequent history, see note on Ex. 11. 1-3.

HEADS OF PRACTICAL REFLECTION.

The

V. 1. The wicked must be admonished though there should be no hope that they will be amended.

V. 2. One leading design of the wonderful works of God toward his enemies is, that ground may be afforded for the perpetuation of his praise from father to son through all succeeding ages of the church.

V. 3. The delay of sinners to humble themselves before God is matter of most earnest expostulation on the part his ministers.