Exodus 10:21-24

PLAGUE IX

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days; they saw not one another, neither rose any one from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve Jehovah; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let your little ones also go with you."

This ninth wonder, like the third wonder and the sixth wonder, fell without warning. The curiosity here is the statement that it was a darkness that could be "felt." This may have a double meaning:

1. it would be taken to heart by the Egyptians, as God indicated when he promised to send his plagues "upon the heart" of Pharaoh (Exodus 9:12);
   
2. and it may mean that the darkness would be caused by something discernible in the sense of touch. We think the latter is most likely. This, and the fact of the land of Goshen being spared, almost force the conclusion that an extremely dense dust storm was the source of this darkness. If it had been a case of the sun's light failing, as in Luke 23:44, the land of Goshen also would have been darkened. If that is what caused it, it would be exactly in keeping with most of the other plagues which were intensifications of things ordinary, directed and controlled circumstantially by the word of Jehovah through Moses.
   

"Severe sandstorms occur in Egypt in the spring."[26] "At times, the wind blows off the desert to the south, producing an immense sandstorm known as Khamsin."[27] "This terrible wind, called Khamsin, prevails twenty-five days before and twenty-five days after the vernal equinox."[28]

A very dense dust storm can be a terrible and frightening thing. This writer, on May 24,1930, was teaching English and History in the high school at Abilene, Texas. The school lay only 100 feet south of the right-of-way of the Texas and Pacific railway; and that day there was so severe a dust storm that trains blowing their whistles for the crossing could be heard roaring past, but were absolutely invisible, even from the third floor of the high school. All lights in the building were turned on, for without them, students could not even see the blackboard, much less read!

The fright that fell upon the Egyptians was greatly intensified because of their worship of sun gods, Ra and Amon. The storm blacked out the sun, but left light in the land of Goshen. Of course, all of the plagues were leveled against Egypt's false gods. Previously, we listed the first four plagues and noted which gods they discredited and exposed. See under Exodus 8:24. Here are the other six:

5. The murrain of cattle. "This one struck squarely at Ptah (Apis), represented as a bull, as well as at other animals; gods like the goat, the ram, the cow, etc."[29] "Hathor, represented as a cow, nursing the king with divine nourishment,"[30] was also affected.
   
6. Boils and blains on man and beast. This also brought shame and dishonor to the gods mentioned under V, above, but also reflected most unfavorably upon the Nile itself (also personified and deified), the waters of which were believed to assure health.
   
7. The hail. This plague came out of the sky, showing that their sky-goddess, "Nut," had no ability to bless or protect the people. "She was pictured as a lanky, nude female arching across the sky, touching the horizons with her toes and fingertips."[31]
   
8. The locusts. These also, coming out the sky, were a contradiction of everything Nut was supposed to be. Besides, the insect kingdom provided several pagan deities in Egypt!
   
9. The darkness. Earth, sky, atmosphere, and the waters of the Nile - all these were shown to be, not under the control of Pharaoh and his gods, but directly and solely under the control of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews. None of them, whether gods of crops, or agriculture, or land or sea or sky were able to stand against Jehovah.
   
10. The death of the firstborn. Pharaoh himself, a pretending deity, was humbled and ultimately destroyed in this the final visitation.
    

"Only let your flocks and your herds be stayed ..." This was the final of the compromises already discussed. Moses immediately thundered God's answer: