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Êxodo 11

BLIVRE · Chapter 11/40

1E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Uma praga trarei ainda sobre Faraó, e sobre o Egito; depois da qual ele vos deixará ir daqui; e seguramente vos expulsará daqui de todo.

2Fala agora ao povo, e que cada um peça a seu vizinho, e cada uma à sua vizinha, objetos de prata e de ouro.

3E o SENHOR fez o povo ser favorecido aos olhos dos egípcios. Também Moisés era muito grande homem na terra do Egito, aos olhos dos servos de Faraó, e aos olhos do povo.

4E disse Moisés: o SENHOR disse assim: À meia noite eu sairei por meio do Egito,

5E morrerá todo primogênito na terra do Egito, desde o primogênito de Faraó que se assenta em seu trono, até o primogênito da serva que está atrás do moinho; e todo primogênito dos animais.

6E haverá grande clamor por toda a terra do Egito, qual nunca foi, nem jamais será.

7Mas entre todos os filhos de Israel, desde o homem até o animal, nem um cão moverá sua língua; para que saibais que o SENHOR fará diferença entre os egípcios e os israelitas.

8E descerão a mim todos estes teus servos, e inclinados diante de mim dirão: Sai tu, e todo o povo que está abaixo de ti; e depois disto eu sairei. E saiu-se muito irado da presença de Faraó.

9E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Faraó não vos ouvirá, para que minhas maravilhas se multipliquem na terra do Egito.

10E Moisés e Arão fizeram todos estes prodígios diante de Faraó; mas o SENHOR havia endurecido o coração de Faraó, e não permitiu que os filhos de Israel saíssem da sua terra.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God announces to Moses the tenth and final plague: the death of every firstborn in Egypt at midnight, while the Israelites remain completely untouched, showing the difference between the two peoples.

Explanation

This brief but extremely dense chapter announces the climax of the entire confrontation between God and Pharaoh: the most terrible plague of all, which would finally break the Egyptian king's resistance. The precision with which God describes the reach of this plague — striking from Pharaoh's own son down to the son of the lowliest servant, and even the firstborn of the animals — shows that it would be no selective event, but universal throughout Egypt, except for those under God's specific protection. The statement 'that ye may know how that the LORD doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel' (v. 7) sums up the central theological purpose of all the plagues: to reveal unmistakably who the one true God is. This chapter serves as a dramatic pause before the institution of the Passover in the following chapter, which will detail exactly how the Israelites would escape this final plague.

Fun facts

  • The expression 'not a dog move his tongue' (v. 7) is an ancient Hebrew idiom meaning that not even the slightest sign of disturbance would occur among the Israelites — a vivid image of complete peace amid the chaos that would fall upon the Egyptians.
  • This chapter functions as an advance summary of an event that will be narrated in much greater detail in the following chapter, a literary technique common in the Old Testament for briefly announcing a crucial event before describing it step by step.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 11:1God had already told Moses, before the last audience with Pharaoh, that only one more plague remained — this one would result in Egypt driving them out in a hurry.
  2. Êxodo 11:2God directs the people to ask their Egyptian neighbors for valuables before leaving, fulfilling the promise already made to Moses back in chapter 3.
  3. Êxodo 11:3The text explains why this request would succeed: the Egyptians themselves, including Pharaoh’s own servants, already respected Moses and looked favorably on the Hebrew people.
  4. Êxodo 11:4Moses announces to Pharaoh, still in this same final conversation, the most specific detail of the plague to come: it will happen at midnight.
  5. Êxodo 11:5The phrase “behind the mill” describes the lowliest servant in the house, in charge of grinding grain by hand, hard and looked-down-on work. By saying the plague will strike everyone from Pharaoh’s firstborn to that of the poorest maidservant, the text shows that no one in Egypt will escape, from the top of society to the bottom.
  6. Êxodo 11:6The widespread cry described here foreshadows the Egyptians’ mass reaction to the death of the firstborn, told in detail in the next chapter.
  7. Êxodo 11:7The expression about the dog that will not “move his tongue” means that not even the smallest sign of commotion or barking will happen among the Hebrews. It is total silence, complete calm, quite unlike the chaos and screaming that will take over the Egyptian households that same night.
  8. Êxodo 11:8Moses predicts that Pharaoh’s advisers will beg for the people to leave after the final plague — and he leaves Pharaoh’s presence visibly angry.
  9. Êxodo 11:9God repeats to Moses that Pharaoh will not listen, returning to the theme of the hardened heart, precisely so that even more signs would happen in Egypt before the departure. It is an early summary of what is coming in the final plague, told in the next chapter.
  10. Êxodo 11:10The chapter closes summarizing the pattern of the whole confrontation: even faced with confirmed signs, Pharaoh never let the people go of his own free will.

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