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.
Ver. 5. That sitteth upon his throne.] As co-partner in the kingdom. Our Henry II crowned his eldest son Henry while he was yet alive. But this young king, through discontent, fell into a fever, whereof he died before his father; who cast him away first by his indulgence, and after by his rigour, not suffering him to be what himself had made him. Mr Knox, in his "History of Scotland," reporteth of one Sir John Hamilton, murdered by the king's means, that he appeared to him in a vision with a naked sword drawn, and struck off both his arms with these words, Take this before thou receive a final payment for all thine impieties; and within twenty-four hours two of the king's sons died.
That is behind the mill.] The hand mill which they drove before them. Jdg 16:21 Isa 47:2 Mat 24:41