Preface: The chapter is the setup for the final plague, the death of the firstborn. God will first tell Moses about this judgment and then Moses will tell Pharaoh.

The Bible Summary of Exodus 11 (in 140 characters or less): The LORD said that he would send one more plague, and then Pharaoh would let the Israelites go: all the firstborn Egyptians would die.

There are many chapter commentaries on the book of Exodus. This will be the most extensive examination of Exodus 11, where you will be able to examine in depth every word of the original text. Every attempt has been made to make this both a complete and self-contained study. Therefore, all references, vocabulary, and related concepts should be found within this extensive study. Easy access links to more in-depth studies of some vocabulary words, concepts and doctrines are also provided.

Outline of Chapter 11:

Introduction

         vv.     1–3           God Speaks to Moses; Speaking of the Death of the Firstborn

         vv.     4–8           Moses Speaks to Pharaoh, Warning of the Death of the Firstborn

         vv.     9–10         Because Pharaoh Will Not Listen to Moses, God’s Wonders Will Increase

Chapter Summary

Addendum

Charts, Graphics and Short Doctrines:

         Preface               Quotations

         Introduction         Titles and/or Brief Descriptions of Exodus 11 (by various commentators)

         Introduction         Brief, but insightful observations of Exodus 11 (various commentators)

         Introduction         Fundamental Questions About Exodus 11

         Introduction         The Prequel of Exodus 11

         Introduction         The Principals of Exodus 11

         Introduction         The Places of Exodus 11

         Introduction         By the Numbers

         Introduction         Timeline for Exodus 11

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 11

         Introduction         Outlines of Exodus 11 (Various Commentators)

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Exodus 11 from the Summarized Bible

         Introduction         The Big Picture (Exodus 10–14)

         Introduction         Paragraph Divisions of Modern Translation for Exodus 11

         Introduction         Changes—additions and subtractions (for Exodus 11)

         Introduction 

         v. 

         v. 

         v.       1              William Tyndale, burned alive for translating the Bible into English (graphic)

         v.       2              The Judgment of Egypt is a Shadow of Salvation by Jesus Christ

         v.       3              Couple Protecting their Home (a photograph)

         v.       3              War is not healthy sign (a photograph)

         v.       3              Carl Sagan quote (a graphic)

         v.       3              A Brief Review of Exodus 11:1–3a

         v.       5              The Order of Events: Moses Warns Pharaoh of the Last Plague

         v.       6              A brief review of Exodus 11:1–5

         v.       6              Was God’s Treatment of Egypt too Harsh?

         v.       6              Child Sacrifice to the Statue of Molech (also, Moloch) (an illustration)

         v.       7              What Other Translations Have Done with Exodus 11:7

         v.       8              Did Moses Storm Out from the Presence of Pharaoh Twice?

         v.       8              The Events of the Plague of Darkness Presented Chronologically

         v.      10              The Judgment of Egypt is a Shadow of Salvation by Jesus Christ

         v. 

         v. 

         v. 

         Summary            A Set of Summary Doctrines and Commentary

         Summary            Why Exodus 11 is in the Word of God

         Summary            What We Learn from Exodus 11

         Summary            Jesus Christ in Exodus 11

         Summary            The Plagues God Brought Against Egypt

         Summary            Shmoop Summary of Exodus 11

         Summary            Edersheim Summarizes Exodus 11

         Addendum          Josephus’ History of this Time Period

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Exodus 11

         Addendum          Doctrinal Teachers Who Have Taught Exodus 11

         Addendum          Word Cloud from a Reasonably Literal Paraphrase of Exodus 11

         Addendum          Word Cloud from Exegesis of Exodus 11

——————————

An Introduction to Exodus 11

I ntroduction: Exodus 11 presents the warnings for the final and most devastating plague. God will kill the firstborn of all the Egyptians who ignore that instructions of God. These instructions will be very straightforward and easy to follow.

Exodus 11 is a very short chapter; and what God has planned for Egypt is simply introduced here. There appear to be several overlapping events in Exodus 10 and 11, but they are presented in such a way as to make the plagues (darkness and death of the firstborn) appear completely disjoint. However, there is some overlap. At the end of Exodus 10, Moses and Pharaoh have a heated discussion (following the 9^th plague), but Moses then, apparently, warns Pharaoh of the plague to come.

One of the fascinating things about this chapter is, it appears that, at the very end, before the Hebrew people leave Egypt, that they go out and evangelize the people of Egypt. If you read the text for yourself, you may not get this; but it is a very logical result of a careful exegesis of the text of this chapter.

This chapter is all about the warning of the death of the firstborn, which is the final judgment. However, the when and where of this chapter is somewhat confusing. A superficial reading may not reveal this; however, as we study this carefully, it will be clear that these events might be easily misinterpreted.

In vv. 1–2, God speaks to Moses—God tells Moses to speak to the people and have them ask for gold or silver jewelry from the Egyptian citizens.

Then Moses begins speaking, in vv. 4–8, and it is not clear to whom he is speaking, until we come to the end of v. 8, where we read, And he [Moses] went out from Pharaoh in hot anger. So, he apparently spoke to the people of Israel but he also spoke to Pharaoh. This is going to require more of an explanation. Furthermore, for you may remember that Moses stormed out from Pharaoh at the end of Exodus 10, and it sounded as if he would never see Pharaoh again. Yet, here he is, in Exodus 11, talking to Pharaoh again and, it appears, storming out again (compare Exodus 10:28–29 to 11:8).

Timeline for Exodus 11

——————————

God Speaks to Moses; Speaking of the Death of the Firstborn

Regarding v. 1: God, by taking the lives of the firstborn, actually provides a large number of Egyptian infants with the equivalence of eternal salvation in heaven. These are children who would otherwise be raised as heathen, anti-God and anti-Hebrew, and then spend eternity burning in hell. God will be saving those of this group who are very young, because when a child is unable to make a choice for or against God in the angelic conflict due to age, and dies, there is no issue here to be resolved. Therefore, God gives the child eternal life. When an unbelieving couple loses a child, we generally see this as a devastating tragedy—however, that child will spend eternity with God because the child’s volition is not an issue. This is not to say that Christians should have to do to anything to harm the children of unbelievers. Some unbelievers have children who grow up the be phenomenal Christians. Paul's parents were very possibly unbelievers.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac (= Aramaic) and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

The comparisons which I do are primarily between the English translations which are taken from the ancient tongues. For the most part, the variances are so minor that I rarely investigate them any further than that.

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

I will only list the translation from the Dead Sea Scrolls if it exists and if it is different from the Masoretic text.

The Targum of Onkelos is actually the Pentateuchal Targumim, which are The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan Ben Uzziel. On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. From http://www.becomingjewish.org/texts/targum/onkelos_Exodus.html and first published in 1862.

Occasionally, there is an obvious error in the English translation, and I correct those without additional mention or footnoting. For instance, the online version of the Targum of Onkelos which I use has gorund in Ex. 4:9; I simply corrected the text. This may occur once or twice in a chapter.

I attempt to include translations which are different in their vocabulary and phrasing. On many occasions, I may include a translation which is not substantially different than another listed translation.

Most of the translations can be found here.

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        And so says Y^ehowah unto Moses, “A continuing of a wound one I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After so, he will send away you [all] from here, as his sending completely, expelling he expels you [all] from here.

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Onkelos)                  . Translation for Onkelos and Pseudo-Jonathan by J. W. Etheridge, M.A. (1862).

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   And the Lord spake unto Mosheh, Yet one stroke will I bring upon Pharoh and upon the Mizraee, which shall be greater than all, and afterward will he send you hence: when he releases, there shall be to himself an end: driving, he will drive you forth from hence.

Revised Douay-Rheims         And the Lord said to Moses: Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharao and Egypt, and after that he shall let you go and thrust you out.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Mar-Yah said to Mosha, "Yet one plague more will I bring on Pharaoh, and on Egypt; afterwards he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will surely thrust you out altogether.

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     AND the LORD said to Moses, Yet ill I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon the Egyptians: then I will let you go from here; when he shall let you go, then you must get out altogether.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       And the Lord said to Moses, I will yet bring one plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt, and after that he will send you forth from here; and whenever he sends you forth with everything, he will indeed cast you out altogether.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             And the Lord said to Moses, I will send one more punishment on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go; and when he does let you go, he will not keep one of you back, but will send you out by force.

Easy English                          The death of every firstborn son in Egypt

The Lord said to Moses: ‘I will bring one more bad trouble on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Then Pharaoh will let you go away. He will really cause you to go out of the country completely.

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  The Death of the Firstborn

Then the Lord told Moses, “I have one more disaster to bring against Pharaoh and Egypt. After this, he will ask you to leave Egypt. In fact, he will force you to leave this country.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Moses Announces the Death of the First-Born

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will send only one more punishment on the king of Egypt and his people. After that he will let you leave. In fact, he will drive all of you out of here.

The Message                         Strike Ten: Death

God said to Moses: “I’m going to hit Pharaoh and Egypt one final time, and then he’ll let you go. When he releases you, that will be the end of Egypt for you; he won’t be able to get rid of you fast enough.

NIRV                                      The Lord Announces the Tenth Plague

The Lord had spoken to Moses. He had said, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you and your people go. When he does, he will drive every one of you away.

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       The LORD said to Moses: I am going to punish the king of Egypt and his people one more time. Then the king will gladly let you leave his land, so that I will stop punishing the Egyptians. He will even chase you out.

The Living Bible                     Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will send just one more disaster on Pharaoh and his land, and after that he will let you go; in fact, he will be so anxious to get rid of you that he will practically throw you out of the country.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    The First-Born Die

The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring trouble upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt one more time. After that he will let you go. He will not only let you go, but he will make you leave.

New Living Translation           Death for Egypt’s Firstborn

Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will strike Pharaoh and the land of Egypt with one more blow. After that, Pharaoh will let you leave this country. In fact, he will be so eager to get rid of you that he will force you all to leave.

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        Then Yahweh said to Moses, “I will bring one more disaster on the king of Egypt and on all his people. After that, he will let you leave. In fact, he will chase you out of Egypt.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Then the Lord told Moses:

‘I’m going to bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and Egypt… and then he will send you away with everything. In fact, he’ll drive you out!

Beck’s American Translation .

Common English Bible           God announces the final disaster

The Lord said to Moses, “I’ll bring one more disaster on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he’ll let you go from here. In fact, when he lets you go, he’ll eagerly chase you out of here.

International Standard V        Warning of the Death of the Firstborn

Then the LORD told Moses, “I’ll bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he’ll let you leave from here, and when he lets you go, he will certainly drive you out from here.

New Advent (Knox) Bible       The Lord had told Moses, I mean to send one more plague on Pharao, and Egypt with him; after that he will let you go, nay, he will drive you out with all eagerness.

Translation for Translators     Yahweh declared that all the oldest sons of the Egyptians would die, and then the king's officials would plead for the Israeli people to leave Egypt

Then Yahweh said to Moses/me, “I will bring one more disaster on the king of Egypt and on all his people [MTY]. After that, he will let you leave. In fact, he will expel you all.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Awful Scroll Bible                   Jehovah was to say to Moses: I was to bring yet one plague on Pharaoh, even Egypt. Afterwards he was to let you loose, a letting loose, he was to drive you out, a driving out completely!

Conservapedia                       The LORD had previously told Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will dismiss you, and in fact he'll not only dismiss you, he'll drive you out as far as he can." The Hebrew repeats the concept of "driving out" for emphasis. The particular Pharaoh is Neferhotep.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Then the Ever-living said to Moses; “I will bring yet another blow upon Pharoh, and upon the Mitzeraim, after which he will release you. They all will release you, driving you from here.

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           And the Lord said unto Moses: yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharao and upon Egypt, and after that he will let you go from this place . And when he lets you go, he shall utterly drive you from this place.

Lexham English Bible            Announcement of the Tenth Plague: Death of the Firstborn

And Yahweh said to Moses, "Still one plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterward he will release you from here. At the moment of his releasing, he will certainly drive you completely out from here.

NIV, ©2011                             The Plague on the Firstborn

Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here, and when he does, he will drive you out completely.

Tree of Life Version                Final Plague: Death

Now Adonai had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and on Egypt. After that, he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely thrust you out altogether from here.

Urim-Thummim Version         YHWH spoke to Moses, I will bring one last plague upon Pharaoh and on Egypt, then afterwards he will let you go from here. When he will let you go he will certainly cast you out of here altogether.

Wikipedia Bible Project          And Yahweh said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After this, he will send you out from this, and in sending you, he will throw you out, entirely evict you.

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community(1988)   Yahweh said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he will send you away and even drive you away completely.

The Heritage Bible                 And Jehovah said to Moses, I will bring one more blow upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will send you out from this land; when he sends you out, driving, he shall drive you out of this land completely.

New American Bible (2002)   Then the LORD told Moses, "One more plague will I bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, he will not merely let you go; he will drive you away.

New American Bible (2011)   Tenth Plague: The Death of the Firstborn.

Then the LORD spoke to Moses: One more plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After that he will let you depart. In fact, when he finally lets you go, he will drive you away.

New English Bible–1970        Moses announces the death of the firstborn.

Then the LORD said to Moses, 'One last plague I will bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt. After that he will let you go; he will send you packing, as a man dismisses a rejected bride.

New Jerusalem Bible             Yahweh then said to Moses, 'I shall inflict one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, after which he will let you go away. When he lets you go, he will actually drive you out!

New RSV                               The Lord said to Moses, ‘I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here; indeed, when he lets you go, he will drive you away.

Revised English Bible–1989   The LORD said to Moses, “One last plague I shall bring on Pharaoh and Egypt. When he finally lets you go, he will drive you out forcibly as a man might dismiss a rejected bride.

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Adonai said to Moshe, “I’m going to bring still one more plague on Pharaoh and Egypt, and after that he will let you leave here. When he does let you go, he will throw you out completely!.

The Complete Tanach           The Lord said to Moses, "I will bring one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go from here. When he lets you out, he will completely drive you out of here.

exeGeses companion Bible   And Yah Veh says to Mosheh,

I bring yet one plague on Paroh and on Misrayim;

afterwards he sends you away from here:

when he sends you away,

in expelling, he expels you fully.

Israeli Authorized Version      And YY said unto Moshe, Yet will I bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether.

Kaplan Translation                 Preparations for the Final Plague

God said to Moses, 'There is one more plague that I will send against Pharaoh and Egypt. After that, he will let you leave this place. When he lets you leave, he will actually drive you out of here. The Kaplan Translation, particularly in Exodus through Deuteronomy, takes note of historic rabbinic opinions.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           And Hashem said unto Moshe, Yet will I bring one nega (plague; see Isa 53:8 regarding Moshiach) more upon Pharaoh, and upon Mitzrayim; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely drive you out hence altogether.

The Scriptures 1998              And יהוה said to Mosheh, “I am bringing yet one more plague on Pharaoh and on Mitsrayim. After that he is going to let you go from here. When he lets you go, he shall drive you out from here altogether.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              The Death of the Firstborn

Now the Lord had told Moses, “I have one more ·way to punish the king and the people of [^L plague to bring on Pharaoh and] Egypt. After this, ·the king [^L he] will send all of you away from ·Egypt [^L this place]. When he does, he will ·force you to leave completely [drive you away].

The Geneva Bible                  And the LORD said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague [more] upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence: when he shall let [you] go, he shall ^(a) surely thrust you out hence altogether.

^(a) Without any condition, but with haste and violence.

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Verses 1-10

The Last Definite. Message of Deliverance.

And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague more upon pharaoh and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let you go hence. When he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust you out hence altogether. The plague which the Lord had in mind was to be a final blow of such severity as to cause Pharaoh not only to dismiss the children of Israel, but even to drive them out.

NET Bible®                             The Tenth Blow: Death

¹ The Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will release you from this place. When he releases you,² he will drive you out completely³ from this place.

^1sn The last plague is the most severe; it is that for which all the others were preliminary warnings. Up to this point Yahweh had been showing his power to destroy Pharaoh, and now he would begin to do so by bringing death to the Egyptians, a death that would fulfill the warning of talionic judgment – “let my son go, or I will kill your son.” The passage records the announcement of the judgment first to Moses and then through Moses to Pharaoh. The first two verses record the word of God to Moses. This is followed by a parenthetical note about how God had elevated Moses and Israel in the eyes of Egypt (v. 3). Then there is the announcement to Pharaoh (vv. 4-8). This is followed by a parenthetical note on how God had hardened Pharaoh so that Yahweh would be elevated over him. It is somewhat problematic here that Moses is told not to see Pharaoh’s face again. On the one hand, given the nature of Pharaoh to blow hot and cold and to change his mind, it is not impossible for another meeting to have occurred. But Moses said he would not do it (v. 29). One solution some take is to say that the warning in 10:28 originally stood after chapter 11. A change like that is unwarranted, and without support. It may be that vv. 1-3 are parenthetical, so that the announcement in v. 4 follows closely after 10:29 in the chronology. The instruction to Moses in 11:1 might then have been given before he left Pharaoh or even before the interview in 10:24-29 took place. Another possibility, supported by usage in Akkadian, is that the xpression “see my face” (and in v. 29 “see your face”) has to do with seeking to have an official royal audience (W. H. C. Propp, Exodus 1–18 [AB], 342). Pharaoh thinks that he is finished with Moses, but as 11:8 describes, Moses expects that in fact Moses will soon be the one in a position like that of royalty granting an audience to Egyptians.

^{2tn the} xpression כְּשַּׂלְּחוֹ כָּלָה (kĸsallĸkho kalah) is difficult. It seems to say, “as/when he releases [you] altogether.” The LXX has “and when he sends you forth with everything.” Tg. Onq. and modern translators make kala adverbial, “completely” or “altogether.” B. S. Childs follows an emendation to read, “as one sends away a bride” (Exodus [OTL], 130). W. C. Kaiser prefers the view of Yaron that would render it “in the manner of one’s sending away a kallah [a slave purchased to be one’s daughter-in-law]” (“Exodus,” EBC 2:370). The last two readings call for revising the vocalization and introducing a rare word into the narrative. The simplest approach is to follow a meaning “when he releases [you] altogether,” i.e., with all your people and your livestock.

^3tn The words are emphatic: גָּרֵש יְגָרֵש (garesh yĸgaresh). The Piel verb means “to drive out, expel.” With the infinitive absolute it says that Pharaoh “will drive you out vigorously.” He will be glad to be rid of you – it will be a total expulsion.

The Voice                               Eternal One (to Moses): I am going to strike Pharaoh and his Egypt one more time, and after this final plague, Pharaoh will release you from Egypt. When he finally releases you, he will be so glad to see you go that he will practically force you out of this land.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans....and "YHWH ^{He Is}" said to "Mosheh ^{Plucked out}", I will [bring] (one) (more) plague upon "Paroh ^{Great house}" and upon "Mits'rayim ^{Two straits}", <afterward> he will send you from this place, (as) he is completely sending you, he will :surely: cast you out from this place,...

C. Thompson LXX (updated) Now the Lord had spoken to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt and said, I will inflict yet one stroke more on Pharao and on Egypt and after that he will send you away from his country. And when he shall send you away he will drive you out altogether in haste.

Concordant Literal Version    Yahweh said to Moses: One further contagion shall I bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; afterward he shall dismiss you hence. When he finally dismisses you, he shall drive out, yea drive you out hence.

Context Group Version          And YHWH said to Moses, Yet one plague more I will bring on Pharaoh, and on Egypt; afterward he will let you (pl) go from here: when he shall let you (pl) go, he shall surely thrust you (pl) out from here altogether.

English Standard Version      A Final Plague Threatened

The Lord said to Moses, “Yet one plague more I will bring upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will drive you away completely.

Green’s Literal Translation    And Jehovah said to Moses, I will bring still one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will send you from here. When he sends you away completely, driving he will drive you out from here.

Modern English Version         Warning of the Final Plague

Now the Lord said to Moses, “I will still bring one plague more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt. Afterwards he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he shall surely thrust you out from here altogether.

NASB                                     The Last Plague

Now the Lord said to Moses, “One more plague I will bring on Pharaoh and on Egypt; after that he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out from here completely.

New European Version          God Predicts the Death of Egypt’s Firstborn

Yahweh said to Moses, Yet one plague more will I bring on Pharaoh, and on Egypt; afterwards he will let you go. When he lets you go, he will surely thrust you out altogether.

New King James Version       Death of the Firstborn Announced

And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether.

Owen's Translation                .

A Voice in the Wilderness      And Jehovah said unto Moses, I will bring yet one more plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will be driving to drive you out from here.

Young’s Updated LT             And Jehovah says unto Moses, “One plague more I will bring in on Pharaoh, and on Egypt. Afterwards he will send you away from this; when he is sending you away, he surely casts you out altogether from this place.

The gist of this passage:     God tells Moses that He will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and upon Egypt; and after that, Pharaoh will evict the people of Israel from his land.

In the previous plague, Pharaoh was about to send the children of Israel out of Egypt, but he changed his mind, and threatened Moses and Aaron. Ex. 10:28–29 Then Pharaoh said to him, "Get away from me; take care never to see my face again, for on the day you see my face you shall die." Moses said, "As you say! I will not see your face again."

Translation: Y^ehowah said to Moses,...

God has brought 9 devastating plagues upon Egypt, and still, Pharaoh will not let the people of Israel go. God laid out the requirements for Moses to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt to worship Him; and Pharaoh would not agree to God’s terms.

God speaks to Moses one more time.

Translation:...“I will bring one more wound upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt.

God tells Moses that He will bring one more wound or plague upon Egypt. A different word is used here—not the word for plague which has been used many times previously. The word found here is negaʿ (נֶעַע) [pronounced NEH-gahģ], and it is found nowhere else in the book of Exodus except here (it is found many times in Leviticus and handful of times in other books). It means, bruise, injury, wound; swelling, eruption [on the skin]; mark [from a plague]; stripes [from beating]. Strong's #5061 BDB #619. I believe the idea here is to distinguish this plague from all the previous plagues, despite the devastation that those plagues wrought.

Exodus 11:1a-b And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt.

This will be the 10^th and final plague, which plague will sever the bonds between Israel and Egypt. At the end of this plague, Moses will not have to ask Pharaoh for permission to temporarily leave, Pharaoh and all of Egypt will demand that Israel leave Egypt forever.

Translation: After this, he will send [all of] you from here.

God guarantees Moses that after this plague is put on Egypt and on Pharaoh, Pharaoh will finally relent; he will let the Hebrew people go. In fact, Pharaoh will not simply allow them to go; he will demand that they all leave Egypt permanently.

Translation: When [there is] a complete sending from this place, he will certainly expel you [all] from this [place].

God is emphasizing that this is a done deal; guaranteed that, after this next plague, Pharaoh would send the people out for real. There would be no more negotiations; Pharaoh would not try to modify anything that God has demanded.

Furthermore, the people of God are not simply being allowed to leave for a couple of weeks to worship Him; they will be completely driven out of Egypt. This will sever all ties between the two peoples.

The doubling of the verb indicates that Pharaoh is not simply sending Moses and his people out of Egypt to enjoy a week long festival to celebrate their God; but he will forcefully drive them out of Egypt forever. Despite God’s initial requests, there is nothing temporary about this expulsion.

The firstborn of the Egyptians were dedicated to their gods. This plague, like the previous plagues, will be directed against Pharaoh and against the gods (demons) of Egypt (Exodus 12:12)

What is different here is, Pharaoh will not simply grant Moses and the people of Israel the permission to take all of their people and livestock out of Egypt to worship God, but they will be driven out of Egypt, forever. That will be the choice of Pharaoh and the people of Egypt.

Exodus11:1 Y^ehowah said to Moses, “I will bring one more wound upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After this, he will send [all of] you from here. When [there is] a complete sending from this place, he will certainly expel you [all] from this [place]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Although this is a reasonably simple translation, I have had to examine it in the light of many different sources because of the word you [all]. This word (actually a suffix) only occurs twice in this verse, not 3 times as you see above in the NKJV. This does not really affect the meaning overall, but it did cause me to check my literal translation, my Hebrew exegesis, Owens, the KJV, the BHSeK, the HSB, as well as two other translations to confirm that I had originally translated this verse correctly (which is something that I do separate from this weekly emailed study),

When it comes to producing these weekly studies in Exodus, I actually begin the process in a completely separate document, sometimes many years previous to writing the actual lessons. In that separate document, I exegete the text, word-by-word, in the Hebrew. I also do 3 translations of every verse—a very literal translation, a moderately literal translation, and then a paraphrase (over the years, I have developed a great appreciation for paraphrases). Afterwards, I write commentary as well, and publish all of this online). See Exodus Links (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). I use this as background and reference point for the weekly lessons. I do take my original commentary as a start as my basic text for the weekly lessons. However, I review, examine and rewrite this text many times before it is sent out by email (and, eventually, I reintegrate that commentary back into the original document).

So, essentially, I produce two separate documents. The weekly lesson which I send out; and a more thorough, word-by-word, verse-by-verse study, which I publish online. The weekly lesson is designed for anyone; the online document is more designed for a reference for pastors and Sunday School (or prep school) teachers.

Exodus 11:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. (NKJV)

The translation above is the NKJV (which I use throughout this particular study). My moderately literal translation is: Y^ehowah said to Moses, “I will bring one more wound upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After this, he will send [all of] you from here. When [there is] a complete sending from this place, he will certainly expel you [all] from this [place]. (Kukis mostly literal translation)

Although I am generally somewhat less exacting in this emailed study, when it comes to the translation, in my final exegesis (a separate study posted online), I want to be certain that I have translated this verse correctly. An accurate translation is the first consideration, which is then followed (ideally speaking) by an accurate interpretation.

The Bible is potentially much different from how many people expect it to be. The doctrines which we learn from the Bible are not as straightforward as one might think. Let me give an example of this: I explained to an unbeliever that the term soul in the Bible is a person’s mentality, frame of reference, memory, emotion, norms and standards, conscious, self-consciousness and volition. He demanded proof, expected me to quote a verse which states precisely that, a man’s soul is his mentality, his frame of reference, his memory,... etc. Well, of course, there is no such verse. We deduce what the soul is from a dozen or two verses, where it is clear that these individual aspects of a soul are actually presented as a part of the soul, according to the Bible. So, we find a verse where the soul experiences emotion; somewhere else, we find a verse where the soul is associated with memory; and somewhere else, we find the soul choosing to do something, which indicates volition. We put these different references together, and draw conclusions as to what the soul is.

Let me give a specific example: The soul that sins will die. This verse suggests that the soul has volition (the soul is making a choice to sin) and that the soul is capable of committing sins (suggesting a sin nature). By studying a dozen or so verse like this, we can then categorically state what the Bible tells us a soul is.

And so that there is no misunderstanding, you are your soul and body. The soul is not separate from you making decisions and doing oddball things that you might think are wrong to do. You are your soul; you are what you think. So, when I speak of your soul making a decision, that is you making that decision. However, all of this takes place on an immaterial plane. Your soul generally makes a decision which involves your physical body (such as, you think, I am going to lift my hand up; and then you lift your hand up).

Today, we have dozens of books entitled systematic theology; where a theologian organizes a set of principles, and then shows where these principles are found in the Bible. The writer establishes fundamental Biblical principles and then builds upon those. Some of these books are quite excellent (like L. S. Chafer’s book, Systematic Theology). In his book, we might find a quotation like, man’s soul is his mentality, his frame of reference, his memory,... etc.

My original point in all of this is, we first must establish an accurate translation and then build upon that. Sometimes spotting these slight inaccuracies is helpful; and other times, the addition of a single word here and there by a translator is helpful and not misleading. In this case, the additional word (you) is not a problem.

Exodus 11:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. (NKJV)

We do not know exactly how or when God spoke to Moses. The fact that there is direct communication between God and Moses is pretty much accepted by this point in Exodus as a fairly routine thing. Today, in our own experience, living in the Church Age, direct interactive contact with God, apart from with His Word, is indicative of a mental issue than a spiritual breakthrough.

On the other hand, you or I are not going to lead nation Israel out of Egypt and begin a brand new increment in our current dispensation. For about 99.999% of Christians (and believers from previous dispensations), our contact with God is through His Word. God never comes to me when I am writing and says, “I think you need to emphasize this aspect rather than that one.” If I thought that He did, that would be more indicative of a psychotic episode than divine guidance and enlightenment.

In fact, let me make a general statement here: if any teacher—no matter where you hear or see him—suggests that God is contacting him in some supernatural way, apart from the careful study of Scripture, then that is time for you to turn off the radio, turn off the tv station, or to quietly walk out of the building where he is speaking. There is no direct contact today from God to any person. This is not just a most of the time maxim; it is an all of the time maxim. When the canon of Scripture was completed (somewhere between a.d. 90–100, then there is no reason for direct contact from God again. No voices, no visions.

Moses talked to God and God spoke directly to Moses. Throughout our study of Scripture, we are going to encounter men who have direct contact with God. But, today, in this dispensation in which we live, there is no one who has direct contact with God. No one! This is because God’s Word is complete. The Bible is finished. No one is going to be adding a new chapter or a new book. Since God’s Word is complete, there is no reason for God to contact anyone directly. God does not suddenly remember, in 2020, “Oh, crap! I forgot to tell them about this new doctrine. Let Me contact My man Bruce and fill him in so that he can tell his congregation.” This does not take place. Not ever.

One of the greatest periods of spiritual correction was the Reformation. This was a major game-changer. However, God did not contact any of these men audibly or with a vision. God never told any of them, “Listen, the Catholic church has gone insane and I need for you to fix it.” God spoke to these men through His Word (the Bible), which the Catholic Church made very difficult to obtain. The men of the Reformation responded to God’s Word, not to visions or to someone calling from them in the clouds. Every one of those great men read the Bible, compared it to the teaching of the Catholic Church, and decided, this is not right; the Catholic Church has got it completely wrong! There was no need for God to speak audibly to any of the men of the Reformation in order for it to take place. It simply happened because they read and studied the Word and that guided them and their principles (or, doctrines).

William Tyndale, burned alive for translating the Bible into English (graphic); from Pinterest; accessed October 7, 2020.

Back to the narrative of Exodus 11:

With v. 1, we begin the warning for the final plague which is put upon Egypt.

Exodus 11:1 Jehovah said to Moses, “I will bring one additional plague upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt. After this plague, he will send all of you away from this place. This time, he will not change his mind. (Kukis paraphrase)

Moses will be leading the people of God out of Israel; and so, he will enjoy direct, interactive contact with God. Throughout this narrative that we have been studying, God has been quite specific with Moses in telling him what to say and do, and then what to do afterwards, when Pharaoh says, “No.” God audibly spoke to Moses and Moses heard, and did exactly what God said.

God is not going to come to you and audibly tell you, “You were thinking of getting your oil changed on Wednesday? Let’s put that off until Thursday.” God is not even going to come to you and audibly tell you, “Establish a Christian camp in some South or Central American country.” We do not live in an era where there is direct interaction between man and God by way of visions or voices.

Perspective is also important: even though God spoke directly to some people prior to 400 b.c. and between 5 b.c. and a.d. 90, this was a very small percentage. The number of people spoken to by God prior to a.d. 90 was far less than one-tenth of one-tenth of 1% (in fact, it was probably not even 1 in 10 million). And when God closed out the canon of Scripture, that ended direct contact from Him. When the Old Testament was completed in 400 b.c., there was no more direct contact from God whatsoever for 400 years. We know this from the Bible’s recorded history of man’s very limited interaction with God. Even in past eras, man’s primary interaction with God was through His Word.

In the present era, God speaks to us through His Word, through the methods found in Scripture (which is almost always the teaching of a well-qualified, local pastor-teacher). This information becomes real to us by means of the God Holy Spirit (which is not an experience; that is, you will not experience ecstatics or emotional breakthroughs).

As an aside, if you go to church to have some emotional catharsis, then you are doing it wrong (as is your church). As human beings, we have emotions, and, from time to time, we will respond emotionally to some spiritual principles. It is not the job of the church or of the local pastor-teacher to try to figure out how to grab you emotionally and titillate you in some way. It is not the Christian life to be emotionally stirred and then to go out into the world and do great things for God.

During the period of time that we are studying, when the canon of Scripture was not yet complete, God spoke to Moses and told him what to do. This included warnings for 10 plagues which would come to the land of Egypt. We have studied 9 of them and are about to embark on the 10^th one.

Exodus 11:1 And the Lord said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt. Afterward he will let you go from here. When he lets you go, he will surely drive you out of here altogether. (NKJV)

We therefore know that there will be a final wound which God brings upon Pharaoh and upon Egypt; and then, Pharaoh and the people of Egypt will expel Israel from Egypt.

——————————

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Speak now in [two] ears of the people, and they will ask a man of his neighbor and a woman of her neighbor goods of silver and good of gold.”

Dead Sea Scrolls                   .

Targum (Pseudo-Jonathan)   Speak now in the hearing of the people, That every man shall demand from his Mizraite friend, and every woman of her Mizraite friend, vessels of silver and vessels of gold.

Revised Douay-Rheims         Therefore you shall tell all the people that every man ask of his friend, and every woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver, and of gold.

Aramaic ESV of Peshitta        Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold."

Lamsa’s Peshitta (Syriac)     Speak now in the presence of the people that they ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.

Updated Brenton (Greek)       Therefore speak secretly in the ears of the people, and let everyone ask of his neighbor jewels of silver and gold, and clothing.

Significant differences: 

Limited Vocabulary Translations:

Bible in Basic English             So go now and give orders to the people that every man and every woman is to get from his or her neighbour ornaments of silver and of gold.

Easy English                          Tell the people now what they must do. Every man must ask the Egyptians that live near him for gold and silver. Every woman must do the same thing.’

Easy-to-Read Version–2006  You must give this message to the Israelites: ‘Men and women, you must ask your neighbors to give you things made of silver and gold.’”

God’s Word™                         Now announce to the people of Israel that each man and woman must ask the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry.”

The Message                         “So here’s what you do. Tell the people to ask, each man from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor, for things made of silver and gold.”

Thought-for-thought translations; dynamic translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       Now go and tell my people to ask their Egyptian neighbors for gold and silver jewelry.

New Berkeley Version           .

New Life Version                    Tell the people that each man should ask his neighbor and each woman ask her neighbor for things made of silver and gold.”

Unlocked Dynamic Bible        So now, speak to all the Israelite people. Tell them to ask all their Egyptian neighbors, both men and women, to give them their silver and gold jewelry.”

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Now, go to the people secretly and tell them to ask their neighbors for clothing, silver, and gold jewelry.’

Beck’s American Translation .

New Advent (Knox) Bible       Give the word, then, to all the people, men and women alike, that they are to claim gold and silver trinkets from their neighbours;...

Knox Bible (‘you’ version)     .

Translation for Translators     So now speak to all the Israeli people. Tell them to ask all their Egyptian neighbors, both men and women, to give them some silver and gold jewelry.”

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Alpha & Omega Bible            SPEAK THEREFORE SECRETLY IN THE EARS OF THE PEOPLE, AND LET EVERY ONE ASK OF HIS NEIGHBOR JEWELS OF SILVER AND GOLD, AND RAIMENT.”

Awful Scroll Bible                   Be speaking in the ears of my people, a man was to ask his neighbor, and a woman her neighbor, for the articles of silver and the articles of gold.

Ferrar-Fenton Bible                Therefore, privately instruct the People that they must demand every man from his neighbor, and every woman from her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of godl.”

God’s Truth (Tyndale)           But bid the people that every man borrow of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbouress: jewels of silver and jewels of gold.

HCSB                                     Now announce to the people that both men and women should ask their neighbors for silver and gold jewelry.”

Jubilee Bible 2000                  Speak now to the people and let each man demand of his neighbour and each woman of her neighbour, vessels of silver and of gold.

Tree of Life Version                .

Urim-Thummim Version         Now speak in the audience of the people and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold.

Wikipedia Bible Project          Speak now to the ears of the people, and a man will ask his mate, and woman her maiden, for wares of silver and wares of gold."

Catholic Bibles (those having the imprimatur):

Christian Community (1988)  Speak to the people and tell them that both men and women are to ask their neighbors for articles of silver and gold."

The Heritage Bible                 Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man ask of his associate, and every woman of her female associate, items of silver, and items of gold.

New American Bible (2011)   Instruct the people that every man is to ask his neighbor, and every woman her neighbor, for silver and gold articles and for clothing. Ex 3:21–22; 12:35–36.

New English Bible–1970        Let the people be told that men and women alike should ask their neighbours for jewellery of silver and gold.'

New Jerusalem Bible             Now instruct the people that every man is to ask his neighbour, and every woman hers, for silver and golden jewellery.'

New RSV                               Tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbour and every woman is to ask her neighbour for objects of silver and gold.’

Revised English Bible–1989   Tell the people that everyone, men and women, should ask their neighbours for silver and gold jewellery.”

Jewish/Hebrew Names Bibles:

Complete Jewish Bible           Now tell the people that every man is to ask his neighbor and every woman her neighbor for gold and silver jewelry.”

The Complete Tanach           Please, speak into the ears of the people, and let them borrow, each man from his friend and each woman from her friend, silver vessels and golden vessels."

exeGeses companion Bible   Word now in the ears of the people

that every man ask of his friend

and every woman of her friend

instruments of silver and instruments of gold.

Kaplan Translation                 Now speak to the people discreetly, and let each man request from his friend gold and silver articles. Let every woman make [the same] request of her friends. '

discreetly

(cf. Septuagint). Literally, 'in the ears of.' (See note on Exodus 10:2, Gen. 20:8).

let each man request

See Exodus 3:22, 12:35.

Orthodox Jewish Bible           Speak now in the ears of HaAm, let every ish request of his neighbor, every isha of her neighbor, articles of kesef and articles of zahav.

Expanded/Embellished Bibles:

The Expanded Bible              Tell ·the men and women of Israel [^L in the hearing of the people] ·to ask their neighbors [that each man should ask his neighbor and each woman should ask her neighbor] for things made of silver and gold.”

Kretzmann’s Commentary    Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver and jewels of gold. This was one of the points which the Lord had mentioned as early as the time of Moses' call. The people were to demand of their Egyptian neighbors silverware and vessels of gold, jewelry of every kind.

NET Bible®                             Instruct⁴ the people that each man and each woman is to request⁵ from his or her neighbor⁶ items of silver and gold.”⁷

^4tn Heb “Speak now in the ears of the people.” The expression is emphatic; it seeks to ensure that the Israelites hear the instruction.

^5tn The verb translated “request” is וְיִשְאֲלוּ (vĸyish’alu), the Qal jussive: “let them ask.” This is the point introduced in Exod 3:22. The meaning of the verb might be stronger than simply “ask”; it might have something of the idea of “implore” (see also its use in the naming of Samuel, who was “asked” from Yahweh [1 Sam 1:20]).

^6tn “each man is to request from his neighbor and each woman from her neighbor.”

^sn Here neighbor refers to Egyptian neighbors, who are glad to see them go (12:33) and so willingly give their jewelry and vessels.

^7sn See D. Skinner, “Some Major Themes of Exodus,” Mid-America Theological Journal 1 (1977): 31-42.

The Voice                               Eternal One (to Moses): Go now and speak to all the people. Have every man and every woman ask their neighbors to give them items made of silver and gold.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Brenner’s Mechanical Trans....please speak in the ears of the people and (each) will enquire, from his companion and (each) from her friend, items of silver and items of gold,...

Concordant Literal Version    Oh speak in the ears of the people that they should ask, each man from his associate and each woman from her associate, articles of silver and articles of gold and raiment.

Context Group Version          Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

Darby Translation                  Speak now in the ears of the people, that they ask every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, utensils of silver and utensils of gold.

Emphasized Bible                  Speak, I pray you, in the ears of the people,—and let them ask—every man of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, articles of silver and articles of gold.

English Standard Version      Speak now in the hearing of the people, that they ask, every man of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, for silver and gold jewelry."

Modern English Version         Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbor and every woman of her neighbor, articles of silver and articles of gold.”

Updated Bible Version 2.11   Speak now in the ears of the people, and let them ask every man of his fellow man, and every woman of her fellow woman, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

Young’s Updated LT             Speak, I pray you, in the ears of the people, and they ask—each man from his neighbour, and each woman from her neighbour, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold.”

The gist of this passage:     Moses was to tell the people to go around to their neighbors and ask for silver and gold items.

Translation: Speak now in the hearing [lit., in the ears] of the people,...

Before the plague was to be announced, Moses was to speak to the people of the covenant—the Hebrew people.

The Hebrew people, after a few judgments on Egypt, believed God. So, in general, Moses did not have to warn them of plagues to come (this 10^th judgment would be an exception).

At this point, the people of Israel would be given a very specific and necessary responsibility.

Translation: ...and they will ask, [each] man from his neighbor...

Each person is to ask of his neighbor. The word neighbor is rêaʿ (רֵעַ) [pronounced RAY-ahģ]; and it means, associate, neighbor, colleague; companion, friend; beloved; fellow, acquaintance; fellow citizen. Strong’s #7453 BDB #945.

The Hebrew families are not next door neighbors with the Egyptians. The Hebrew people live in Goshen, which is a separate area from the rest of Egypt. They were segregated in Goshen, which appears to be a mutually agreed upon situation.

The text suggests that the Hebrew people are to go to their Egyptian neighbors; so there were neighboring Egyptian communities to which the Hebrew people were to go. How far away were they? 5 miles? 10 miles? We really do not know exactly.

Although we are not given an exact sense of time, when Pharaoh needed to call for Moses, this seemed to take place within a reasonable amount of time. There is no indication that many days would pass between Pharaoh calling for Moses and Moses showing up. Given that, I would suggest that the palace and many Egyptian neighborhoods are within 10 miles of Goshen.

Translation: ...and [each] woman from her neighbor...

The men were to go out and ask from their neighbor and the women were supposed to do the same.

This, in context, is a polite way of saying, they will make a request of the Egyptians for whom they worked or with whom they were associated in any way. The Hebrew people were isolated from the Egyptians, but there appears to have been some association between the communities.

Therefore, the Egyptians that the people would go to were not their next door or across-the-street neighbors. They were neighbors, insofar as living in the same country and, apparently, close enough to travel to.

I have previously suggested that many of the Hebrew women were probably slaves in some of the Egyptian households; they lived in Goshen, but they worked as slaves for Egyptians as their personal maids—cooks, nannies, etc. Another thing which occurs to me—it is possible that some women (and maybe men) worked in their homes, doing things for the Egyptians (manufacturing jewelry or pottery or other things).

I should point out that this is logical conjecture on my part. We know that Hebrew males are slaves who work on some of the big building projects under the direction of the Pharaoh. We also know that the people of Israel lived separate from the Egyptians, going back to the time of Joseph. But that the Hebrew women work as slaves outside of their own home, working for Egyptian families at their homes—that is a logical conjecture on my part. Here, the order is for men and women to ask from their neighbors. This implies some sort of relationship between the Hebrew people and the Egyptians. To me, implies that many of the women were household slaves to the Egyptians; but that they continued to live in Goshen, nevertheless (an interesting relationship, to be sure).

Based upon my sense of the text that we have studied (going all the way back to Joseph bringing his family into Egypt), the palace seems to be relatively close to Goshen (Joseph would not have put his family in an area that was far away). So, let me further postulate that, there were many Egyptian neighborhoods in the vicinity of the palace and, therefore, in the vicinity of Goshen. I would further propose that these are going to be the more well-to-do Egyptians, who had both wealth and servants.

Exodus 11:2a-c Speak now in the hearing of the people, and let every man ask from his neighbor and every woman from her neighbor,... (NKJV)

Women were also to ask of their neighbor. The men would have done the slave work in building the cities and the women would have done work in the houses (cooking, cleaning, organizing). Perhaps some Hebrew folks manufactured things in their homes. Perhaps some men had other responsibilities separate from the Pharaoh’s building projects.

We do not know exactly how the slavery situation was organized. Was every Israelite a slave, and did the Egyptians purchase them from the state? This would seem to be the most logical explanation to me.