CPCC Bible Study - Exodus 10.

Produced by TheMediaDesk, ©2026
Posted on CCPC's website 2026

"And the Lord said vnto Moses, Goe in vnto Pharaoh: for I haue hardned his heart, and the heart of his seruants, that I might shew these my signes before him: And that thou mayest tell in the eares of thy sonne, and of thy sonnes sonne, what things I haue wrought in Egypt, and my signes which I haue done amongst them, that ye may know how that I am the Lord."
- 10 : 1 - 2, The 1611 King James Version, see link below.

Again, there is no time significant time period between the end of the hailstorm at the end of chapter nine and this message from God to Moses:
1 - 2 Summary:
      .... And said YHWH ro Moses, go to Pharaoh... I have hardened his heart, and the "leb" (heart / mind) of his "ebed" (servants), that I may show "oth" (sign / miracle) of Mine before him, that you may "saphar" (recount / declare) in the "ozen" (ears / hearing) of your "ben" (son / child) and the 'child of your child', the 'mighty things' I did in Egypt, and the signs I did before them, that you may know that "'ani YHWH" (I Am YHWH).
      In 9 : 30 Moses said that the king and his 'staff' didn't fear God. Now it is GOD that is saying it. And then at the end of two we have another "I AM" statement.

3 - 4 Summary:
      So Moses and Aaron went to the king and said, so says YHWH 'Elohim of the Hebrews, how long will you "maen" (refuse) to "anah" (humble / respond) before Me? 'let My people go....' or 'locusts tomorrow'.

5 - 6 Paraphrased Summary:
      they will cover the land so you can't see the ground under them, and eat whatever survived the hail. And .... 'they'll move in with you', the likes of which nobody here has ever seen. Then Moses left.
      The core of the statement is that, just like with the frogs, the locusts will do things that they usually don't, one of which is finding their way into the king's bedroom.

7
      And said the servants of Pharaoh to him, "'ad mathay" (until when / how long) "hayah" (to be / exist / etc) "zeh" (this / these) 'to us' a "moqesh" (stumbling block / trap), "shalach" (send) "ish" (men (the word is also used for husband, meaning 'males')), they may "abad" (serve) the YHWH their God. "terem" (before / yet) "yada" that "abad" (perish / ruined / etc (first use of this form of that word in OT)) is Egypt.
      This isn't the 'yes men', these are probably the ones that ran out to save their own cattle before the hailstorm, and they know what is coming if they don't do something.

8 Summary:
      Moses and Aaron are brought back in. Pharaoh says, "go serve your God" then he asks "who's going?"

9 Summary:
      Moses answers "everybody, including our livestock, for the feast".

10
      "way yomer" (and he said) to them, "hayah" (to be / happen / etc) YHWH "im" (with / together / among) you, when I let you go 'with' your "taph" (children) - "raah" (see / look / watch) "ki" (for) "ra'" (evil / bad / wicked) is "neged" (before / in front) of your "panim" (face / presence).
      This statement is a bit rough in the Hebrew, but clearly Pharaoh suspects something is up, and that if he lets them all go, they'll all go, and never come back. So he makes a counter offer.

11
      "lo ken" (not thus/so (no way)). "halak" (go / proceed) now "geber" (men / warrior (implies adult males)) and "abad" (serve) YHWH - "ki" (for) 'that is what' "attah" (you) "baqash" (request / desire). And "garash" (expelled / cast out /driven forth) they from "panim" (presence / before) Pharaoh.

12
      And said YHWH to Moses, "natah" (stretch out / extend) your "yad" (hand) over the land of Egypt for the "arbeh" (locusts), that they may come to the land of Egypt, and "akal" (eat / consume) "kol" (all / every) "eseb" (vegetation / herb) of the land all that the hail left.

13 Summary:
      Moses does so. YHWH sends the east wind all day and all night. And in the morning- locusts.

The Khamsin, and friends, an overview.
      The east wind in the Egypt is now known as the Khamsin, and is a wind from the east, or southeast, which blows in from the Arabian desert, and can last for a very long time. The word "Khamsin" means "fifty" in Arabic and refers to how long that wind can blow, and bring with it extreme heat, very low humidity, and dust that gets into everything and cause respiratory problems for people and bring vehicles to a halt. And, according to Exodus, it can bring in locusts. At that time the east wind was represented by the minor deity Henkhisesui, a ram-headed man with wings.
      The Egyptian grasshopper, also known as Anacridium aegyptium, is a wide ranging species that has been found from Morocco and Portugal throughout Europe, including Britain (see BBC link below), well into Asia, and down throughout central and well into southern Africa. The females of the species are larger than the males and can reach over two and a half inches (70mm) in length. And there can be A LOT of them in a swarm:

"Tens of millions of square kilometers of crops and rangeland in northern Africa, the Middle East, and Asia are within the reach of the desert locust. The livelihood of at least one-tenth of the world’s population can be affected by the small insect with its voracious appetite. A single swarm can cover 1200 square kilometers (460 square miles) and can contain between 40 and 80 million locusts per square kilometer. With each insect capable of eating its own body weight (about 2 grams, or .07 ounces) in vegetation each day, a swarm that size could consume 192 million kilograms of vegetation each day, or more than 423 million pounds. Now consider that in the last century alone, there were seven periods of numerous plagues, the longest of which lasted intermittently for 13 years."
https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/locust/ (see link below)

      As for the Egyptian gods that would have had an interest in this event, we'll start with the two we mentioned in during the hailstorm, Osiris and Bastet.
      Osiris comes into play with both the hailstorm of the seventh plague and the locusts of the eighth because both destroyed the crops that he helped grow as the patron of agriculture. Other items on his job description included being part of the nine god panel of the Ennead of ancient deities and the ruler of the Duat (underworld), as well as having a hand in the resurrection of the dead. His sister, and his wife, was Isis, who we met earlier.
      Besides being part house cat, Bastet protected the crops in the fields as part of her duties as a goddess of fertility. She also played one of the Egyptian's musical instruments, the sistrum (a forked stick with chimes that is played by shaking or tapping, much like a tambourine, see link below).
      And innumerable other minor gods may have been part of it as well, but we'll end our overview with one that most other researchers include: Set / Seth.
      As the god of disorder and storms, he's probably right in the middle of a swarm of locusts. There's links below for a good bit of the above.... including the cooking of locusts with a flame thrower by the National Guard. Something that Set probably thought was funny.
end overview

14 - 15 Paraphrased Summary:
      The locusts arrived and settled in, and it was worse than it had ever been..... they ate EVERYTHING.
      As we saw in the overview, a healthy swarm of locusts will decimate everything green in a huge area in a short period of time.

16 Summary:
      and "mahar" (haste / hurry / quickly) Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and says, I "chata" (sin / wrong / guilt) against YHWH your 'Elohim (God) and against you.
      He's said this before, see verse 27 of chapter 9.

17
      and "attah" (now / at present) "nasah" (lift / forgive) "na" (pray / please) my sin "'ak" (only / indeed) this "paam" (occurrence / time), and "athar" (supplicate / entreat) YHWH your 'Elohim, that he may "sur" (remove) from me "raq" (only / even). "maveth" (death) "zeh" (this).
      Pharaoh doesn't seem to be worried about the people whose crops just vanished, but only about his own skin... or perhaps keeping his job.

18 - 19 Summary:
      Moses goes out from Pharaoh and prays to YHWH. And YHWH changed the wind into a "chazaq" (powerful / mighty) west wind which blew all the locusts into the Red Sea.
      The west wind was known as Hutchai, and as with the other winds, it was a winged man, this time with a snake's head. Apparently, Isis, when she wasn't doing anything else, also played a role with the west wind.

20
      YHWH hardened Pharaoh's heart and he did not let the people go.

      Once again, there is no break in the action. The bugs blow away, Pharaoh changes his mind, and then...
21
      And said YHWH to Moses, stretch out your hand "al" (to / toward) "shamyim" (heaven / sky) "hayah" (to come to pass / happen) "choshek" (darkness / dark fog (same word as in Genesis 1 : 2)) over land of Egypt, "mashash" (to feel / to grope) darkness.

22 Summary:
      Moses did so, and there was "choshek" (darkness...) "aphelah" (gloom / thick / dark) in all Egypt "shalosh yom" (three days).

A tangent in the dark.
      As we mentioned in verse 21, this is more than just a lack of light. This is the same unlit fog that we saw, or rather didn't see, at the Beginning. As that verse said, the darkness was so thick people were groping around, unable to see, at all. And as we'll see in a moment, it appears that that thick black fog even invaded their houses.
      The primary Egyptian deity this one is aimed at is one of the major gods in their pantheon. The Sun. There were several individuals associated with various aspects of the sun, so we'll look at a couple of them, and move on. And, of course, there are links below to resources on them.
      The main sun god was Ra / Re. It was his 'solar boat' that traveled across the sky in the day and then was reborn to do it again the next day. Which is why the fact that the darkness lasted for several days is important. In the figure of Amun-Ra the power of the Pharaoh as a descendant of the Sun is part of the story.
      Atum, one of the creator gods, and Khepri the scarab beetle god we met earlier, both had roles to play. Khepri, with his involvement in resurrection brought the sun to life every morning, and Atum saw to it that it set at the end of the day.
      We mentioned that the word for the dark fog was the same as was used in Genesis at creation. This was also the attribute of one of the Ogdoad gods of the older Egyptian beliefs from the pre-dynastic period, which was still held in some areas of Egypt. The ancient god Kek / Kuk was the god of the primordial darkness.... and had the head of a frog.
      One that you never see mentioned is the other side of this. And was the sister of Isis and the wife of Set: Nephthys. She was the goddess of the dark, and of the darker side of the afterlife.
      Another darkness related god is Apophis who was the enemy of Ra and fought with him every night. We saw him in the throne room when the staff became a snake, and, unfortunately, we'll run into him again before we get out of Egypt.
      One of the gods that is listed in other studies that it probably wasn't related to was Nut, whose body was the arcing belt of the Milky Way in the sky at night. The only way she was related to this plague was when the locals looked up and wondered why they couldn't see her.
end tangent

23
      "lo" (not) 'they' "raah" (see / saw) one another, "we lo" (and not) "qum" (arise / stand / perform) "ish" (any man / any one) from "tachath" (place / room) for three days. But all the Sons of Israel had "or" (light) in their "moshab" (dwelling / place).

24
      And called Pharaoh to Moses and said, "halak" (go / proceed) "abad" (serve) YHWH - "raq" (however / only / but) your "tson" (flock / sheep / goats) and "baqar" (cattle) "yatsag" (leave / present / place). "gam" (also / even...) your "taph" (children) 'can go with you'.
      This makes sense. Most of the livestock in Egypt has already come to a bad end. If Israel skips town and leaves for good without their animals, then Egypt has replacements.

25 Summary:
      But said Moses, then you have to give us sacrifices for burnt offerings to YHWH 'Elohim.

26
      "we gam" (and indeed / also) our "miqneh" (livestock / possessions) "halak" (go / proceed / walk) with us - "lo" (not) "shaar" (remain / left) a "parsah" (hoof), for some we must take to serve YHWH 'Elohim - and we "lo yada" (don't know) how we must serve YHWH until we "bo" (come / 'get') there.

27
      "way" (and) "chazaq" (harden / strengthen) "leb" (heart / mind) Pharaoh, and "lo" (not) "abah" (consent / willing) let them go.

28
      And said to him Pharaoh, "halak" (go / move / etc) "al" (forth / away) me. "shamar" (listen / take heed) you "al" (no / not) "yasaph" (more / again) "raah" (see / seen) "panim" (face / presence). "ki" (for / because) the "yom" (day) you do "raah" (see) my face "ta" (you) will "muth" (die).
      Pharaoh just told them to get out, and if they ever came back, he'd have them killed.

29
      "way yomer" Moses "ken" (so / thus) you "dabar" (spoke / declare), "lo" (not / never) "yasaph" (more / again) "od" (more) I "raah" (see) "panim" (face).
      Remember these last two statements by Pharaoh and Moses. They come up again later.

End Chapter 10

Selected Resources:
All links will open in a new tab/window, all were working as of original date of posting:

Interlinear English / Hebrew: Chapter 10 https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/10.htm

https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Exodus-Chapter-10/

The 1611 King James Version https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Exodus-Chapter-10/

"Locust!" https://science.nasa.gov/earth/earth-observatory/locust/

"An Egyptian locust has been spotted in a Cornwall garden." https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/clyvegmjl61o

Magazine article about a modern swarm in Egypt: https://time.com/archive/6744881/egypt-plague-of-locusts/

"In 1937, Colorado Guard used flamethrowers and explosives against plague of locusts." https://www.nationalguard.mil/News/Article-View/article/575751/in-1937-colorado-guard-used-flamethrowers-and-explosives-against-plague-of-locu/

The Migratory Locust in North America; ... a post mortem https://wildaboututah.org/the-migratory-locust-in-north-america-a-post-mortem/

A brief retelling of the myth surrounding:Osiris https://fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/explore-our-collection/highlights/context/stories-and-histories/osiris

Osiris: https://egyptianmuseum.org/deities-osiris
(others are also available, see links on page)

Before her transformation from lion to a house cat, she played a dual role in Egyptian mythology: Bastet https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/social-sciences-and-humanities/bastet-deity

An ancient musical instrument: "Arc sistrum of Tapenu, chantress of Sobek of Khenyt" https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/553814

Seth, Egyptian god https://www.britannica.com/topic/Seth-Egyptian-god

Apep / Apophis https://www.worldhistory.org/Apophis/

"...in Egyptian religion, a goddess of the sky, vault of the heavens:" Nut https://www.britannica.com/topic/Nut-Egyptian-goddess

NOTE: The Bible Study Lesson presented above is posted as a reference document to begin a conversation of the topic. And that's it. Please accept it at such.

http://centralparkchurchofchrist.org