[[2026-02-24]] - [[Exodus 9]], [[Exodus 10]] # What I remember from before - this is the final set of three we'll be looking at - good chance to tie things together thematically # My notes ## General notes - we could play a game -- I print out a deck of plagues - Split into 3 groups - Each group draws 3 plagues - Each group has to: 1. put the plagues in the correct order 2. make a unifying observation. This could be either: - something they have in common - something that has progressed across the three plagues 3. answer how their three plagues advanced [[Yahweh]]'s goals ## Plague 7: Hail - once again [[Moses]] greets [[Pharaoh]] early in the morning, much like plague 1 and 4 - [[Exodus 9]]:15 -- [[God]] makes explicit what we've talked about in the past, and answers the question "Why not just teleport them out?": *for this purpose I have caused you to stand; to show my strength, and so that my name may be declared in all the earth* - this time, [[Yahweh]] gives people a choice and instructions on how to mitigate the plague if they choose to do so - we see a greater number of [[Egypt]]ians heeding his word than before - at the same time, it also explicitly avoids the [[Israel]]ites - first of the "unprecedented" plagues, where nothing like this has occurred before - [[Moses]] leaves the city before praying to end the plague -- precedented? why? ## Plague 8: Locusts - fourth and final plague involving summoning pests (frogs, gnats, flies) - this plague is the most destructive to property of all - you start to see [[Egypt]]ians pleading with their own [[Pharaoh]] on behalf of the [[Israel]]ites - and yet, they still attribute it to "this man", not [[Yahweh]] - this plague is explicitly tied together with the hail; intended to finish the job - second of the "unprecedented" plagues, where nothing like this has occurred before - first of the "unpostcedented" plagues, where nothing like this will occur since - no explicit mention of [[Israel]]ites treated differently - this time, [[Pharaoh]] confesses that he has sinned, and asks for forgiveness -- progress? ## Plague 9: Darkness - just like plague 3 and 6, this one comes without warning - unlike the others, plague ends on its own without intervention from [[Pharaoh]] - similar to 3 and 6 in that none of these have [[Pharaoh]] pleading. but this one is different in that it explicitly specifies an end - this plague ends with a final confrontation between [[Moses]] and [[Pharaoh]] that capstones these triplet plagues # [[NET Bible]] - darkness plague comparable to [[Revelation 8]]:1 "silence in heaven" - notable that the head of the [[Egypt]]ian pantheon is [[Ra]], a sun god - [[Exodus 10]]:21 "let there be darkness" mirroring [[Genesis 1]]:3