✝
← Bible
ARCBLIVREKJVVBL

Exodus 11

KJV · Chapter 11/40

1And 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.

2Speak now in the ears of the people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.

3And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in the sight of the people.

4And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the midst of Egypt:

5And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.

6And there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be like it any more.

7But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.

8And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying, Get thee out, and all the people that follow thee: and after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in a great anger.

9And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.

10And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before Pharaoh: and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.

📖 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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. Exodus 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.

Chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031323334353637383940

Our apps

Our apps →

Bible in Stories

The Bible told as a story, with audio and videos.

📱 Get the app

World in Stories

True stories of humanity that sound made up.

App StoreGoogle Play

Feito! Pequenas Vitórias

A light daily routine for people who lose track of the day.

App StoreGoogle Play