The Tenth Plague - The Slaying of the Firstborn (Exodus 11:1 to Exodus 12:36).
This whole section is constructed on an interesting chiastic pattern:
a Israel are to ask the Egyptians for gold and jewellery, etc (Exodus 11:1-3).
b All the firstborn in Egypt are to die - there will be a great cry throughout the land - Israel will be told to go (Exodus 11:4-10).
c The preparation of the lamb - the sacrifice - the blood on the doorpost it - will be a memorial for ever (Exodus 12:1-14).
d For seven days they are to eat unleavened bread - their houses to be emptied of leaven - the observation of the feast (Exodus 12:15-17).
d The observation of the feast of unleavened bread for seven days - their houses to be emptied of leaven (Exodus 12:18-20).
c The preparation of the lamb - the sacrifice - the blood on the doorpost - to be observed as an ordinance for ever (Exodus 12:21-28).
b The firstborn in Egypt die - there is a great cry in Egypt - the children of Israel are told to go (Exodus 12:29-34).
a Israel ask the Egyptians for gold and jewellery etc. (Exodus 12:35-36).
There can be no doubt that this skilful arrangement is deliberate.
Yahweh's Deliverance About To Take Place. They Are to Ask the Egyptians for Gold and Jewellery (Exodus 10:29 to Exodus 11:3)
‘And Moses said, “You have spoken well. You will see my face no more.”
This verse belongs to the last passage but we introduce with it here again so as to maintain the continuity.
The words of Pharaoh would have struck fear into many a heart. But Moses was now too strong. He was no longer afraid of Pharaoh, for he knew that something was about to happen that would shake both Pharaoh (and the whole of Egypt) to the very core of his being, to his heart (Exodus 9:14), and he was very angry. Furthermore he alone on earth knew what was about to happen. What God had promised from the very beginning was about to come about because Pharaoh had refused to release God's firstborn son in order that they may worship Him (Exodus 4:23). Now Pharaoh's own firstborn would be smitten.
“You have spoken well.” Moses wanted Pharaoh to know that he had spoken better than he knew. This would indeed be their last meeting until a broken Pharaoh called for him to tell them to go. Little did Pharaoh know what the consequence of his rejection was going to be. It would hit at the very heart of Egyptian life, at the heart of every family, and equally at Pharaoh's very heart as well.
But Moses did not as yet leave, for he had more to say. Exodus 11:1-3 is simply an interlude explaining why Moses now had such confidence in the face of what must have seemed a great disappointment. It tells us that Yahweh had shown Moses that this was finally to be the last of the plagues, that soon all would be over, and what the consequences were going to be for the children of Israel as far as wealth was concerned. And it declared what the status was that Moses now had in Egypt, not just as a prince but as having divine powers. This being in Moses' mind the conversation would continue. It was an assurance to him and to Israel at what must have seemed their darkest moment of the certain victory that was to be theirs. They were about to leave Egypt burdened with riches. We are justified in seeing it as expressing the thoughts which were buoying him up as he faced Pharaoh,
The Command To Spoil the Egyptians (Exodus 11:1-3).
‘And Yahweh had said to Moses, “I will bring yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt, afterwards he will let you go from here. When he lets you go he will surely thrust you out from here altogether. Speak in the ears of the people and let them ask every man of his neighbour and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver and jewels of gold. And Yahweh gave the people favour in the eyes of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of Pharaoh's servants, and in the sight of the people.'
We can analyse this as follows:
a One more plague is to be brought on Egypt and on Pharaoh, and afterwards he will let Moses and Israel go (Exodus 11:1 a).
b Afterwards he will certainly let them go, indeed will thrust them out altogether (Exodus 11:1 b).
c Thus they are to speak in the ears of the people and ask for jewels of silver and jewels of gold as offerings to Yahweh (Exodus 11:2).
b And when they did so Yahweh gave them great favour in the eyes of the Egyptians (Exodus 11:3 a).
a Moreover Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the eyes of the aristocratic leadership, and in the sight of the people (Exodus 11:3 b).
Note the parallels which unite the text. In ‘a' one more devastating plague will achieve Yahweh's object through Moses, and in the parallel Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, admired by all but Pharaoh. Great in the eyes of all indeed to achieve this mighty object. In ‘b' we have the promise that they will actually be thrust out by Pharaoh, and in the parallel that they had great favour in the eyes of the Egyptians. It is now great Pharaoh who stands alone. And central to all is that Yahweh's people will not crawl out of Egypt with their tails between their legs, nor will they flee leaving everything behind, they will go out loaded with wealth and spoils.
To those who know the story, these verses break into the dramatic confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh. But they were necessary in order to demonstrate how Yahweh had prepared Moses for the final rejection by Pharaoh, how much alone Pharaoh now was in his opposition, and how Yahweh had fulfilled His own promises (Exodus 3:19-22). To the writer far more important than the drama was the necessity to keep Yahweh and not Moses as pre-eminent.
It was important that Yahweh should be seen to be the victor. To us the receiving of wealth from the Egyptians may have seemed a secondary matter. To us what would have mattered was the freedom. But in those days the spoils went to the victor, and the writer was therefore careful to demonstrate that the children of Israel were to receive the spoils of victory. This had been emphasised in Exodus 3:19-22 when God was outlining what lay ahead. Now it is described in order to show that things had now reached their climax. Here was an indication that the victory of Yahweh was now certain, and the ‘spoils of war' are given prominence. They had been told from the beginning that they would not have to flee like dogs with their tails between their legs, that they would leave as triumphant victors. Now this was to come to fulfilment. Thus the plagues come to their climax with this promise of glorious victory.
But we must not forget that Israel had been steadily impoverished by the Egyptians. They had had to work on their building projects and on their canals and irrigation systems for nothing except possibly food. Some of them had suffered terribly. Their own interests had had to be neglected. And they would be leaving behind their houses and any possessions that they could not take with them. It was therefore just that they now be reimbursed. This was not robbery. It was seeking just treatment.
And thirdly, it is brought out that Moses himself was to be vindicated, and restored to more than his former greatness. He had set aside greatness, and now no one on earth was greater than he.
“And Yahweh had said to Moses.” Hebrew verbs do not necessarily apply chronologically. They simply say that something happened, not when it happened. They had no way of representing the pluperfect. It had to be gathered from the sense. Here then we are being taken back to something Moses had been told before this ‘final interview'.
“Yet one more plague.” From the beginning Yahweh had known what it would take to bring Pharaoh to his knees (Exodus 4:23) and to such a state that he would finally seek to get rid of the children of Israel altogether once and for all. For this was always His plan (see Exodus 3:19-22). Now Moses could know that the end had been reached. At last they would be sent away to freedom.
“Thrust you out from here.” The words are forceful. Pharaoh will be made to do what Yahweh wishes and he will do it forcefully. He will be glad to let them go.
“Speak now in the ears of the people --.” From the beginning Yahweh had promised that when the children of Israel received their freedom they would leave in triumph. They would receive the ‘spoils of war'. But it was stressed that these would not have to be forced from the Egyptians they would be given freely. Such is the wonder of God's ways. They would ask for, and would receive, gold and silver jewels (compare Exodus 3:22), and these would be bestowed on them generously and given to them gladly, in order to encourage them to go. It was little recompense for all that they had suffered, but it was better than nothing and would ease their way in the future, as well as enabling them to furnish Yahweh's Dwellingplace.
The gifts came from both men and women. All would wear golden ornaments of one kind or another.
“And Yahweh gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians.” Just as He had said He would from the beginning (Exodus 3:21), He ensured that they were treated with favour. These slaves would now be treated as those who deserved great honour. Pharaoh still looked on them with a jaundiced eye, but his people would see them otherwise. Whether the gifts were to appease this dreadful God Who did such things, or whether they were given in friendship, or whether they were given in gratitude because they had heard of what was happening elsewhere and recognised that they had been saved the worst because they lived among the Israelites in Goshen, or whether they hoped that by giving the gifts they would win favour with Yahweh, does not matter. The motives were probably varied. But the point is being made that they freely gave, and loaded God's people with wealth.
“Moreover the man Moses was very great --”. Moses, who had once been a prince of Egypt and had then slipped to being a tribal princeling, had now become more than a prince, he had become like a divinity (Exodus 7:1), both to the high officials of the land and to the Egyptians and to Pharaoh. He who had once said, “Who am I?” (Exodus 3:11) was now in a position of the highest honour. So Yahweh's triumph is complete. Note the contrast, ‘the man Moses'. (This in contrast to the god Pharaoh). We are being reminded that he is only a man. ‘Was very great --'. That was how the Egyptians saw him, as one of the great ones. This was not in order to boost Moses, it was in order to boost Yahweh who had made him seem so great in their eyes. And that is a further reason why the Egyptians gave so generously and abundantly.
This mixture of humility and yet recognition in wonder of what Yahweh had of made him smacks of Moses having written it in own words. Who else would have insisted that he was but the man Moses?
And at this point we now renew the meeting with Pharaoh following Moses' words, ‘You will not see my face again' (Exodus 10:29)