Exodus lesson 9 - Turning to God's Word

You Shall Have No Other Gods:
The Book of Exodus

Lesson 9 Plagues of Boils, Hail & Locusts
the book of Exodus 9:8—10:20

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the book of Exodus
cross references in the book of Exodus
next lesson: A Plague of Darkness & a Final Warning

This material coordinates with Lesson 9 on pages 43–47 in the study book You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”—the book of Exodus 20:1–6

welcome to our in-depth study of the book of Exodus
We invite interested groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson from this 28-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. These online study pages link to our free lesson video overviews, as well as to a glossary and cross references in the biblical text. Other study aids include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus has been granted an imprimatur and can be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-related question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the book of Exodus 8:1—9:7
In Lesson 8 Plagues of Frogs, Gnats, Flies & a Plague upon the Cattle, the LORD afflicts the Egyptians with the second, third, fourth, and fifth plagues. Although Pharaoh still refuses to let the Israelites leave Egypt, there’s evidence that at least some of the Egyptian people are beginning to take seriously the idea that Moses and Aaron represent a God with real power. When the magicians of Egypt are unable to reproduce the third plague and bring forth gnats, they acknowledge that the finger of God must be at work through Moses and Aaron. While Pharaoh still refuses to let the Israelites leave Egypt, he does start to negotiate limited concessions. Although neither says so, both Moses and Pharaoh recognize that once the Israelites depart into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD, they won’t be returning to Egypt. With the fifth plague, God begins to discriminate against the Egyptians, and only the cattle belonging to them are affected. Animals belonging to the Israelites aren’t touched by the plague. Pharaoh, however, still refuses to let the descendants of Jacob leave Egypt.

the plagues continue (32:14)
in Lesson 9 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, the pattern of the plagues continue, with a couple of notable exceptions that Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps points out in this video. First, Aaron is becoming increasingly irrelevant. Moses not only has started doing all the talking, he’s also taking responsibility for anything else necessary in relation to leading the people out of Egypt. Second, although the magicians in Egypt previously recognized their inability to reproduce some of the signs that Moses and Aaron have been performing, now they completely disappear from negotiations between Moses and Pharaoh. The magicians are as afflicted by the plagues as all of the other Egyptians, highlighting that the magicians aren’t able to reverse God’s plagues. A major difference in the plague of hail is that anyone, Israelite or Egyptian, who’s willing to admit that the LORD is able to send destructive hail—and intends to do so—is able to be protected when the predicted plague actually occurs.

The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study from Turning to God’s Word match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. You can follow along as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 9, “Plagues of Boils, Hail & Locusts,” on pages 43–47 in the study book.

more than one kind of life & more than one kind of death
In the video overview for Lesson 6 Do You Want to Be Healed? in the The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, Matthew discusses the underlying theme of Jesus’ previous conversations—life. In the fifth chapter in the Gospel According to John, Jesus is seen having power over life and death. For Jesus, both life and death have double meanings. In the Fourth Gospel, the decision about whether someone or something is alive or dead is based on directionality: What is the end point toward which the person is moving? If death is inevitable, that person already can be considered dead. Matthew explains that for those who’ve come to trust in Jesus, however, a broader context applies to the word life, and those who have faith are moving in the direction toward life instead of toward death. This same understanding of dual meanings of life and death is essential to knowing why the Exodus out of Egypt is considered so important to Christianity. You can learn more in Lesson 6 Do You Want to Be Healed? in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study, The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth.

thus says the LORD
In the book of Exodus 9:13, the LORD instructs Moses: “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me.”‘” When Moses prefaces his words to Pharaoh with the phrase “Thus says the LORD,” it indicates that Moses is acting as a prophet and speaking for God. You can learn more about this introduction used by the Old Testament prophets by reading the commentary, “Thus Says the LORD,” on page 45 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

read the Catechism—about God’s name of YHWH or LORD
In the third chapter of the book of Exodus, God revealed his name to Moses. The book of Exodus 3:14 translates this name as “I AM WHO I AM,” which God immediately refers to as the shortened “I AM.” In the Hebrew Bible, God’s proper name is noted as YHWH. This unspoken name for God also is referred to as the Sacred Tetragrammaton, which consists of four Hebrew letters (all consonants)—yod, heh, waw, and heh. Revised Standard Version Catholic translations of the Bible (RSVCE and RSV2CE) render this name as LORD, with the first letter capitalized and the remaining three letters in smaller capital letters. Because this is difficult to do online, Turning to God’s Word studies substitute LORD—all four letters in regular capital letters. Adonai replaces YHWH or LORD in some translations and in spoken Hebrew prayers. Paragraph 209 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church notes the significance of this name for Christians.

209 Out of respect for the holiness of God, the people of Israel do not pronounce his name. In the reading of Sacred Scripture, the revealed name (YHWH) is replaced by the divine title “LORD” (in Hebrew Adonai, in Greek Kyrios). It is under this title that the divinity of Jesus will be acclaimed: “Jesus is LORD.”

negotiations between Moses & Pharaoh become more serious
As the effects of the plagues against Egypt intensify, Pharaoh begins to offer more concessions to Moses. Although Pharaoh expresses a willingness to allow adult male Israelites to go into the wilderness to sacrifice to the LORD, he draws the line at allowing them to take their wives, children, animals, and other possessions.

After the sixth plague of boils, the book of Exodus 9:11–12 records that although the magicians and other Egyptians urge Pharaoh to relent, his heart is hardened against allowing the Israelites to leave Egypt.
After the seventh plague of hail, which Moses warned the Egyptians about in time for them to prepare in order to minimize their losses, the book of Exodus 9:27 records that Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron and agrees to allow the Israelites to leave.
Although he expresses doubts that Pharaoh is sincere, Moses nevertheless asks God to halt the seventh plague. As soon as the hail stops, the book of Exodus 9:35 records that Pharaoh once again refuses permission for the Israelites to leave Egypt.
The book of Exodus 10:3–6 records that Moses and Aaron return to Pharaoh and announce that the LORD will send locusts to devour any vegetation not destroyed by the hail.
In the book of Exodus 10:7–8, the Egyptians ask Pharaoh to relent and allow the Israelites to leave, so Pharaoh calls Moses and Aaron back.
When Moses insists that the Israelites are to be allowed to leave along with their wives, children, animals, and other possessions, the book of Exodus 10:11 records that Pharaoh withdraws his permission and drives Moses and Aaron out of his presence.
The LORD responds by sending huge swarms of locusts to devour every living plant in Egypt. In the book of Exodus 10:16–19, Pharaoh reacts to this eighth plague by once again agreeing to let the Israelites eave Egypt.
When the locusts depart, the book of Exodus 10:20 records that Pharaoh again refuses to allow the Israelites to leave.

what’s going on now?
Throughout this section in the book of Exodus, Pharaoh exhibits contradictory behavior, first agreeing to allow the Israelites to leave and then withdrawing permission as soon as Moses entreats the LORD to end whatever plague has been prompting Pharoah’s willingness to end the Israelites’ servitude.

? Consider what Pharaoh’s actions suggest about his mental stability.
? What might be leading Pharaoh to think he can exercise authoritarian control over the Israelites?
? What is the author of the book of Exodus suggesting about how the power balance between Pharaoh and Moses is changing as more and more plagues begin to affect the Egyptians?
? What is the author of the book of Exodus suggesting about the role of Aaron in the continuing negotiations with Pharaoh?
? Consider what’s responsible for Moses’ confidence when speaking to Pharaoh.

on a personal note
Pharaoh’s apparent changes in attitude toward the Israelites appear to be brought on by circumstances related to the plagues. When there’s no evidence of a plague, or no evidence that the LORD is behind any plague, Pharaoh has no interest in allowing the Israelites to leave. When suffering disastrous effects of a plague, however, Pharaoh changes his tune. Although his actions can appear to be motivated by politics, they also reflect classic human behavior. How often are we willing to turn to God when things in our lives look dire, making all kinds of promises that we break as soon as trouble passes?

the dangers of following a leader like Pharaoh
For additional reflection about indecisive political leaders, read “Pharaoh Waffles in His Decisions” on page 46 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. Consider situations in which a leader changing his or her mind might be positive. What quality or qualities of a political leader determine how much trust we can place in that person’s ability to lead a large portion of the population?

sin—you could look it up in our archives
In the book of Exodus 9:27, Pharaoh tells Moses and Aaron that he has sinned and admits that he’s been in the wrong while the LORD’s been in the right. How might Pharaoh’s concept of sin be different than that of Moses and Aaron? How might it differ from the present-day Christian idea of sin? To learn about the word sin and how Jesus views sin, read Lost in Translation, an online column in which Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps helps readers connect with ideas expressed in the original languages of the Scriptures. New Lost in Translation entries are posted on Mondays, and past entries are archived on our website. Contact us if you’d like to receive Lost in Translation by email every week.

ex libris—two goals of the Exodus
Looking for more information? Check out The Spirit of the Liturgy by Pope Benedict XVI, which can help deepen understanding of the “great prayer of the Church.” The book looks at the essence of worship, the Jewish roots of Christian prayer, and the relationship of the liturgy to time and space. The section on the place of the liturgy in reality contains comments about the two goals of the Exodus. At ex libris—main bookshelf, you can learn more about The Spirit of the Liturgy and other works related to Catholic Bible study.

“… In the accounts of the events leading up to Israel’s flight from Egypt, as well as in those that describe the flight itself, the Exodus appears to have two distinct goals. The first, which is familiar to us all, is the reaching of the Promised Land, in which Israel will at last live on its own soil and territory, with secure borders, as a people with the freedom and independence proper to it. But we also hear repeatedly of another goal. God’s original command to Pharaoh runs a follows: ‘Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness’ (the book of Exodus 7:16). These words—’Let my people go, that they may serve me’—are repeated four times, with slight variations, in all the meetings of Pharaoh with Moses and Aaron (see the book of Exodus 8:1, 9:1, 9:13, and 10:3). In the course of the negotiations with Pharaoh, the goal becomes more concrete. Pharaoh shows he is willing to compromise. For him the issue is the Israelites’ freedom of worship, which he first of all concedes in the following form: ‘Go, sacrifice to your God within the land’ (the book of Exodus 8:25). But Moses insists—in obedience to God’s command—that they must go out in order to worship. The proper place of worship is the wilderness .…”

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the passage in this lesson from the book of Exodus 9:8—10:20.

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out when a person or place is mentioned in the biblical text under more than one name or more than one spelling. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the biblical text for every lesson in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a particular passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the relevant cross references—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page accompanying this study, and it includes links to each of the cross references in the primary biblical text for You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
Link to magisterial documents referred to in our Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This listing includes significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, open the link and click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the book of Exodus 9:8—10:20 (NIV)

close with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following short prayer based on this lesson’s text from the book of Exodus.

O all-powerful God, teach us to recognize
that you have ultimate power over everything in our lives.
Prevent us from developing the prideful attitudes
that can lead us to rely on our own limited power
instead of turning to you.
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,
whose every thought and action was in accordance with your will. Amen.

Lesson 10 A Plague of Darkness & a Final Warning, the book of Exodus 10:21—12:28
Lesson 8 Plagues of Frogs, Gnats, Flies & a Plague upon the Cattle, the book of Exodus 8:1—9:7

you also may like our study of the book of Genesis
The first seven lessons of In the Beginning: The Book of Genesis, a 28-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, provide an in-depth look at the very earliest biblical history—including the two accounts of Creation, events surrounding the Fall of Adam and Eve, the relationship between Cain and Abel, and the baptismal foreshadowing present in the account of Noah and the Flood. Remaining lessons look at lives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer your questions and to offer support. You may use this email to contact us directly if you’re interested in starting a Turning to God study or in having your study schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages for You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces those with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.