Exodus 11 Study Notes
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11:1-3 The notice that the Lord gave the people favor with the Egyptians and that Moses himself was very highly regarded by them summarizes opinions that were unexpected and different from those of Pharaoh. He was not shaping the Egyptians’ opinions to the degree that a king would like to do. Meanwhile, the inner workings of Pharaoh’s people, like his own heart, were accessible to the Lord.
11:2-5 The instructions to request silver and gold and the announcement that the firstborn of Egypt would die return to matters that the Lord had told Moses about much earlier (3:19-22; 4:21-23). Events were taking place according to God’s plan.
11:5 The servant girl who is at the grindstones refers to someone grinding grain by pushing the top stone over the lower one.
11:6 A great cry of anguish corresponds to the cry of the oppressed Israelites in 3:7,9.
11:7 The Lord promised that the Egyptians’ anguish would not turn into anger and recrimination as they prepared to leave.
11:8 Moses’s anger is unusual, since during the cycle of plagues nothing is said about his feelings. Moses expressed anger on behalf of the Lord, who had been angry when Moses repeatedly objected to obeying (4:14). The notice of anger contributes to recognizing that Moses, although he knew about the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, considered him accountable for his actions. By the end of the tenth plague, Moses would in a sense be in the position of Pharaoh, with Pharaoh’s officials bowing as supplicants to Moses.