خروج ١١:٥

Proclamation of the Tenth Plague; or the Decisive Blow. - Exo 11:1-3. The announcement made by Jehovah to Moses, which is recorded here, occurred before the last interview between Moses and Pharaoh (Exo 10:24-29); but it is introduced by the historian in this place, as serving to explain the confidence with which Moses answered Pharaoh (Exo 10:29). This is evident from Exo 11:4-8, where Moses is said to have foretold to the king, before leaving his presence, the last plague and all its consequences. ויּאמר therefore, in Exo 11:1, is to be taken in a pluperfect sense: "had said;" and may be grammatically accounted for from the old Semitic style of historical writing referred to in the commentary on Gen 2:18-22, as Gen 2:1 and Gen 2:2 contain the foundation for the announcement in Gen 2:4-8. So far as the facts are concerned, Gen 2:1-3 point back to Exo 3:19-22. One stroke more (נגע) would Jehovah bring upon Pharaoh and Egypt, and then the king would let the Israelites go, or rather drive them out. כּלה כּשׁלּחו, "when he lets you go altogether (כּלה adverbial as in Gen 18:21), he will even drive you away."

Pharaoh had told Moses to get out of his presence (Exo 10:28), and Moses had promised this should be the last time he would trouble him, yet he resolves to say out what he had to say, before he left him; accordingly, we have in this chapter, I. The instructions God had given to Moses, which he was now to pursue (Exo 11:1, Exo 11:2), together with the interest Israel and Moses had in the esteem of the Egyptians (Exo 11:3). II. The last message Moses delivered to Pharaoh, concerning the death of the firstborn (Exo 11:4-8). III. A repetition of the prediction of Pharaoh's hardening his heart (Exo 11:9), and the event answering to it (Exo 11:10).

11:5 In much of the world, the issue of survival is addressed through children, and it is through the firstborn sons that the family line is carried on. If we have a child, there is a sense of satisfaction that even when we are dead, we will live on through our children. In the death of the Egyptian firstborn, God was showing that humans can do nothing by themselves to guarantee survival. Life is a gift, and that gift is in the hand of the one Lord, the “I Am.”