Exodus 9 - Death of Cattle / Hail on Cattle

[trc123]

In my devotions today I was studying Exodus 9 and read where the Lord God killed all of the cattle of Egypt:

"Exo 9:1 Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Exo 9:2 For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still,
Exo 9:3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.
Exo 9:4 And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.
Exo 9:5 And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.
Exo 9:6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.
Exo 9:7 And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go."

It would seem to me that God did as he said through Moses and killed all of the cattle in Egypt, but did not kill the Israelite's cattle.

Then further in chapter 9 we read that the Lord God sent a plague of hail upon Egypt:

"Exo 9:16 And in very deed for this cause have I raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.
Exo 9:17 As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou wilt not let them go?
Exo 9:18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
Exo 9:19 Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
Exo 9:20 He that feared the word of the LORD among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses:
Exo 9:21 And he that regarded not the word of the LORD left his servants and his cattle in the field.
Exo 9:22 And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
Exo 9:24 So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.
Exo 9:25 And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.
Exo 9:26 Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
Exo 9:27 And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron, and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. "

In these verses it refers to more cattle in Egypt and that those Egyptians who feared God, took their cattle in under cover and the hail did not kill the cattle. I'm trying to reconcile this. I'm thinking that God must have treated the Egyptians that feared him in a special way. But I can't reconcile this as the hail is after the death plague and it specifically says in the prior verses that "Exo 9:6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. "

Anyone have any ideas about this?

[Guest Guest]

Exo 9:3 Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.


Both plagues seemed to have only affected those "cattle" which were outdoors. It seems likely that the egyptians had some "cattle" inside barns etc. during the first plague, and if those "cattle" which survived the first plague(due to being inside) had been allowed outside afterward and were not brought in before the second plague, they would have died then. That would reconcile the two passages. :Green

[trc123]

Ah, that would be the explanation. Thank you.

[Danny Carlton]

C'mon, it's easy.

Plague happens >> Egyptians loose all cattle >> Israelites lose no cattle >> Egyptians buy some cattle from Israelites.

With the business acument Jews have shown over the centuries, that should have been a no-brainer.

[kevinmiller]

C'mon, it's easy.

Plague happens >> Egyptians loose all cattle >> Israelites lose no cattle >> Egyptians buy some cattle from Israelites at exorbitantly high prices due to the shortage in cattle.

With the business acument Jews have shown over the centuries, that should have been a no-brainer.

I edited it. :thumb