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THE TENTH PLAGUE-The firstborn SLAIN.]

The Death of the Firstborn threatened.

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.

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b Ch. iii. 22.

3 And the LORD gave the people favour in the sight of & xii. 55. the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great c Ecclus. xlv. in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh's servants,

and in the sight of the people.

d

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 firstborn 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.

*Or, kid.

e Heb. xi. 28.

8 And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

17 EXODUS X. VER. 28, 29.

28 And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die.

29 And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more.

EXODUS XI. VER. 9, 10.

9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

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10 And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh and the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

The Passover eaten.

EXODUS XII. VER. 21-29.

*

21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto them, Draw out and take you a lamb according to your families, and kill the passover.

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22 And ye shall take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the bason, and strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that is in the bason; and none of 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 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 land which the LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. 26 f And it shall come to pass, when your unto you, What mean ye by this service?

f Josh. iv. 6.

say

children shall

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.

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 Israel 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.

Wisd. xviii.

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29¶And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD Ch. xi. 4. smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn 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 Exodus.

EXODUS XII. 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.

of the pit.

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 jewels of a Ch. iii. 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 Now the sojourning of the children of Israel, who dwelt in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years.

b

& xi. 2.

b Gen. xv. 13. Acts vii. 6.

41 And it came to pass at the end of the four hundred Ga. i 17.

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 Egypt.

• Heb. a night of obser vations.

a Exod. xii. 37.

b Numb. xxxiii. 3.

42 It is a night to be much observed unto the LORD for bringing them out from the land of Egypt: this is that night of the LORD to be observed of all the children of Israel in their generations.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Wandering in the Wilderness.

The first Journey-From Rameses to Succoth.

18

NUMBERS XXXIII. VER. 1—6.

1 Two and forty journeys of the Israelites.

1 THESE are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron.

2 And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.

a

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 pitched in Succoth.

EXODUS XII. VER. 37-40.

37¶And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men, beside children.

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 rising 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.

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 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.

* Heb. a

great mixture.

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. John xix. 36. 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.

1 The firstborn are sanctified to God. 3 The memorial of the passover is commanded. 11 The firstlings of beasts are set apart. 17 The Israelites go out of Egypt, and carry Joseph's bones with them.

+ Heb. do it.

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever open- d Ch. xxii. 29. eth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine.

3¶ And Moses said unto the people, Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage; for by strength of hand the LORD brought you + out from this place: there shall no leavened bread be eaten. 4. This day came ye out in the month Abib.

& xxxiv. 19.

Lev.xxvii. 26

Num. iii. 13. & viii. 16.

Luke ii. 23.

Heb. ser

vants.

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