The final plague is approaching, and this chapter foretelling it is very short. Two things stand out to me, though:
- It seems that everyone but Pharaoh thinks highly of Moses and the Israelites at this point - perhaps because of fear from the things that have passed. God tells them to use this opportunity to ask for valuable goods from the Egyptians, but at the same time is about to kill all the firstborn in the land. That seems rather harsh :/
- Moses spoke to Pharaoh to warn/threaten him about this final plague, but in the last chapter Pharaoh had effectively said he would kill Moses if he saw him again. Pharaoh's words don't hold much power at this point, but Moses himself seemed to agree (not that he would die when he saw Pharaoh, but that he would not see him again). Maybe that was just posturing on Moses' behalf, or maybe there is something in the way it is translated that doesn't come through right, but it struck me as odd.
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15 years ago
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I was thinking the same things...
Oh yeah . . . Happy Birthday, William!!! :)
Thanks :)
I read this as "Moses said he'd never see Pharaoh again, flashback to what God had already told Moses, Moses communicates that message while still in Pharaoh's presence, then he leaves."
Yet Pharaoh does summon Moses later in ch. 12, and I've got no way to justify that one.
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