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Exodus 9

YHWH demonstrates his unmatched rule over Egypt, while Pharaoh’s repeated refusal exposes the limits of confession without obedience.

Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh as YHWH sends disease on Egypt’s livestock, boils on its people and animals, and devastating hail. Israel’s livestock are spared, and Goshen escapes the hail. Before the storm, even Pharaoh’s servants receive a warning to bring people and animals into shelter; some heed it. Pharaoh confesses sin and promises release, but once Moses prays and the storm ends, he hardens his heart again and keeps Israel enslaved.

sermon or Bible study notesguilt and confessioninjustice and anger
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1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2For if you refuse to let them go, and hold them still,
3behold, the LORD’s hand is on your livestock which are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the herds, and on the flocks with a very grievous pestilence.
4The LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt; and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.”’”
5The LORD appointed a set time, saying, “Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.”
6The LORD did that thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.
7Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not so much as one of the livestock of the Israelites dead. But the heart of Pharaoh was stubborn, and he didn’t let the people go.
9It shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be boils and blisters breaking out on man and on animal, throughout all the land of Egypt.”
11The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
12The LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken to Moses.
13The LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and tell him, ‘This is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: “Let my people go, that they may serve me.
14For this time I will send all my plagues against your heart, against your officials, and against your people; that you may know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
15For now I would have stretched out my hand, and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth;
16but indeed for this cause I have made you stand: to show you my power, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth,
17because you still exalt yourself against my people, that you won’t let them go.
18Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now.
20Those who feared the LORD’s word among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their livestock flee into the houses.
21Whoever didn’t respect the LORD’s word left his servants and his livestock in the field.
22The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, on man, and on animal, and on every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.”
23Moses stretched out his rod toward the heavens, and the LORD sent thunder and hail; and lightning flashed down to the earth. The LORD rained hail on the land of Egypt.
24So there was very severe hail, and lightning mixed with the hail, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
25The hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and animal; and the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field.
26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
27Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron, and said to them, “I have sinned this time. The LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.
28Pray to the LORD; for there has been enough of mighty thunderings and hail. I will let you go, and you shall stay no longer.”
29Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands to the LORD. The thunders shall cease, and there will not be any more hail; that you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.
30But as for you and your servants, I know that you don’t yet fear the LORD God.”
31The flax and the barley were struck, for the barley had ripened and the flax was blooming.
33Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread out his hands to the LORD; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured on the earth.
34When Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Exodus 9:16God explains Pharaoh’s continued survival as serving his purpose: displaying his power and declaring his name throughout the earth.
Exodus 9:29The storm’s end will demonstrate that the earth belongs to YHWH, whose authority Pharaoh continues to resist.
Exodus 9:28Pharaoh asks for prayer and promises freedom, setting up the contrast between his words under judgment and his conduct afterward.
Where this chapter reaches

Romans quotes God’s declaration about Pharaoh to discuss divine power and mercy, while Psalm shares the claim that the earth belongs to YHWH. Revelation also depicts destructive hail as divine judgment, sharing Exodus’s imagery of a storm beyond human control.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What difference do you notice between Pharaoh’s confession and his servants’ response to the warning about hail?

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How does the warning to seek shelter shape your reading of God’s judgment in this chapter?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 9

Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 9?

Verse 12 says YHWH hardened Pharaoh’s heart, while verse 34 says Pharaoh hardened his own heart. The chapter holds God’s rule and Pharaoh’s responsibility together. God states that Pharaoh has been kept standing so that divine power will be shown and God’s name declared throughout the earth.

If all Egypt’s livestock died, how were animals left for the hail?

The warning in verse 3 concerns livestock in the field, and verse 6 says all Egypt’s livestock died. Later verses describe animals still alive. The field restriction may explain their survival, but the chapter does not spell out how the remaining livestock escaped the earlier plague.

Did Pharaoh repent in Exodus 9?

Pharaoh admits that he has sinned, calls YHWH righteous, and promises to release Israel. Moses nevertheless says Pharaoh and his servants do not yet fear God. When the storm stops, Pharaoh breaks his promise. His confession produces no lasting change in his refusal to obey.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).