acknowledged the finger of God in the wonders of the Hebrew prophet, and al last they could not even stand i ei ire him, being themselves smitten by the plague he was commissioned to send. The boil ("priD, shechin) was a scab or pustule, which might or might not break out into an ulcerous sore i Lev.xiii, 18 sip). Willi (his,
i ie of iis worst forms. Job was aiil'n nd i ii.7 |,and by
this Hezekiah was brought to the verge of the crave < 2 Kings xx. 7: lsa. xxxviii, 21 i: ii was an eruption of a Very painful kind, accompanied w ilh a burning itch, and
PLAGUES
261
PLAGUES
tending to produce a permanent state of foul and wast- ing disease. One species of it which seized upon the legs and knees, and was regarded as incurable, was pe- culiar to Egypt, and was hence called " the botch of Egypt'' (Dent, xxviii, 27, 35). In the case before us, this eruption had a tendency to break out into larger swellings ("S3S3X, from unused 513, to boil vp, to swell), and became probably the disease called elephan- tiasis, a disease said to be peculiar to Egypt, or the black leprosy, a disease which also affects cattle under the name of melandria ( Jahn, Arc/idol. I, i, 381 sq.). It was something evidently more severe and deadly than the endemic Nile-fever, or eruption which visits Egypt periodically about the time of the overflowing of the Nile, and with which some writers would identify it. See Boil.
(7.) The - Plagm " of Hail. — The account of the sev- enth plague is preceded by a warning, which Moses was commanded to deliver to Pharaoh, respecting the terrible nature of the plagues that were to ensue if he remained obstinate. First of all of the hail it is said, ■• 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." He was then told to collect his cattle and men into shelter, for everything hailed upon should die. Ac- cordingly, such of Pharaoh's servants as '"feared the Lord," brought in their servants and cattle from the field. We read that "Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven : and the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground." Thus man and beast were smitten, and the herbs and every tree broken, save in the land of Goshen. Upon this Pha- raoh acknowledged his wickedness and that of his peo- ple, and the righteousness of God, and promised if the plague were withdrawn to let the Israelites go. Then Moses went forth from the city, and spread out his hands, and the plague ceased, when Pharaoh, supported \>y his servants, again broke his promise (Exod. ix, 13- 35). The character of this and the following plagues must be carefully examined, as the warning seems to indicate an important turning-point. The ruin caused by the hail was evidently far greater than that effected by any of the earlier plagues; it destroyed men, which those others seem not to have done, and not only men, but beasts and the produce of the earth. In this case Moses, while addressing Pharaoh, openly warns his ser- vants how to save something from the calamity. Pha- raoh for the first time acknowledges his wickedness. We also learn that his people joined with him in the oppression, and that at this time he dwelt in a city. Hail is now extremely rare, but not unknown, in Egypt, and it is interesting that the narrative seems to imply that it sometimes falls there. Thunder-storms occur, but, though very loud and accompanied by rain and wind, they rarely do serious injury. Those long resi- dent in Egypt do not remember to have heard while there of a person struck by lightning, nor of any ruin excepting that of decayed buildings washed down by rain. See Hail.
(8.) The "Plague" of Locusts. — Pharaoh was now threatened with a plague of locusts, to begin the next day, by which everything the hail had left was to be devoured. This was to exceed any like visitations that had happened in the time of the king's ancestors. At last Pharaoh's own servants, who had before sup- ported him. remonstrated, for we read, '-And Pharaoh's servants said unto him, How long shall this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt is destroyed?" They suggested a compromise with Mo- ses, proposing that the men should be allowed to go with him to offer sacrifice to Jehovah in the wilder- ness, while by retaining the females they made sure of the men's returning to their servitude. Then Pharaoh \ sent for Moses and Aaron, and offered to let the people
go, but refused when they required that all should go, even with their flocks and herds. "And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all [that] night; [and] when it was morning the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of Egypt : very grievous [were they] ; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs of the field, through all the land of Eygpt." Then Pharaoh hastily sent fm- Moses and Aaron, and confessed his sin against God and the Israelites, and begged them to forgive him : " Now, therefore, forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this once, and entreat the Lord your God that he may take away from me this death only." Moses accordingly prayed. '• And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, winch took away the locusts, and cast them into the lied Sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt." The plague being removed, Pharaoh again would not let the people go (x, 1-20). This plague has not the un- usual nature of the one that preceded it, but it even ex- ceeds it in severity, and so occupies its place in the gra- dation of the more terrible judgments that form the later part of the series. Its severity can be well under- stood by those who have been in Egypt in a part of the country where a flight of locusts has alighted. In this case the plague was greater than an ordinary visitation, since it extended over a far wider space, rather than because it was more intense ; for it is impossible to im- agine any more complete destruction than that always caused by a swarm of locusts. So well did the people of Egypt know what these creatures effected, that when their coming was threatened Pharaoh's servants at once remonstrated. In the present day locusts suddenly ap- pear in the cultivated land, coming from the desert in a column of great length. They fly rapidly across the country, darkening the air with their compact ranks, which are undisturbed by the constant attacks of kites, crows, and vultures, and making a strange whizzing sound like that of fire, or many distant wheels. Where they alight they devour every green thing, even strip- ping the trees of their leaves. Rewards are offered for their destruction, but no labor can seriously reduce their numbers. Soon they continue their course, and disap- pear gradually in a short time, leaving the place where they have been a desert. The following careful descrip- tion of the effects of a flight of locusts is from Mr. Lane's manuscript notes. He writes of Nubia: