Exodus 9 explained: Dead Livestock, Boils, and Hail

Disease kills Egypt's animals (vv. 1-7)

A deadly disease kills Egypt's farm animals but spares the Israelites' animals, and Pharaoh sends people to check that this is true. "All" probably means a massive loss rather than every last animal, since Egyptian livestock appear again in verse 19.

Painful boils (vv. 8-12)

Moses throws soot from a kiln into the air, and it spreads as festering sores on people and animals. Many readers see irony here, since brick kilns were part of the Israelites' forced labor, and Pharaoh's magicians, covered in boils themselves, cannot stand before Moses.

A warning before the hail (vv. 13-21)

The LORD says he could already have wiped Egypt out but has let Pharaoh remain so that his power would become known everywhere. The warning gives people time to shelter workers and animals, and some officials heed it while others leave their slaves and livestock in the open.

The worst storm in memory (vv. 22-26)

Thunder, lightning and hail kill people and animals caught outside and wreck crops and trees, a shocking event in a land where such storms are rare. Goshen, the area where the Israelites lived, gets no hail at all.

A confession that doesn't last (vv. 27-35)

Pharaoh admits he was wrong and promises to free the people, but once Moses prays and the storm stops, he and his officials turn stubborn again. The detail that barley and flax were ruined while wheat survived fits Egypt's farming year and points to early spring.

Key verse: Exodus 9:16

Where Christians differ

Christians differ over what it means that the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart when Pharaoh also hardened his own, especially since Paul quotes verse 16 in Romans 9 and then says God hardens whom he chooses: some see God confirming a choice Pharaoh had already made, while others see God's own choice as the deeper cause.

Something to think about

When someone admits they were wrong only while things are going badly for them, how much is that admission worth?