Exodus 10:21

ESV Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt."

NIV Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that darkness spreads over Egypt—darkness that can be felt."

NASB Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Reach out with your hand toward the sky, so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even a darkness which may be felt.'

CSB Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, and there will be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness that can be felt."

NLT Then the Lord said to Moses, 'Lift your hand toward heaven, and the land of Egypt will be covered with a darkness so thick you can feel it.'

KJV And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

NKJV Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, darkness which may even be felt.”

What does Exodus 10:21 mean?

This begins the description of the ninth plague on Egypt (Exodus 7:21; 8:6, 17, 24; 9:6, 10, 24; 10:14). Earlier disasters challenged the idea that Egyptian idols had power over those aspects of the world. Deities such as Khnum, Heqet, Hapi, Wadjet, Hathor, Apis, Isis, Sunu, and Sekhmet were proven impotent when the God of the Hebrews controlled things like the Nile, animals, or disease. This plague strikes at one of Egypt's most important idols: Ra.

Ra was the Egyptian god of the sun. Egypt's kings, called pharaohs, were supposedly descendants and manifestations of this deity. Not only will the Lord bring darkness, but an extreme darkness: something so deep that it is poetically described as "felt." Days of continual, absolute darkness (Exodus 10:22) directly counter the claim that Ra controlled daylight. By extension, this also dismissed the idea that Pharaoh was somehow divine. To make the message especially clear, this darkness will not affect the lands where Hebrew slaves live (Exodus 10:23).

In Scripture, light is a metaphor for truth, wisdom, and God's goodness (Psalm 27:1; 119:105; Matthew 4:16). Darkness and blindness are often used in reference to spiritual separation (2 Corinthians 4:4; 1 John 1:5) and divine judgment (Proverbs 4:19; Ezekiel 32:7–8; Revelation 16:10). Symbolically, this plague demonstrates that Egypt is in rebellion against God.

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