Exodus 9:33

Exo 9:33 And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.

Ver. 33. Went out of the city.] For privacy sake.

Spread abroad his hands.] {See Trapp on "Exo 9:29"}

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Exo 9:33-34. Moses went out of the city — Not only for privacy in his communication with God, but to show that he durst venture abroad into the field, notwithstanding the hail and lightning, knowing that every hail- stone had its direction from God. And spread abroad his hands unto the Lord — An outward expression of earnest desire, and humble expectation. He prevailed with God; but he could not prevail with Pharaoh: he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart — The prayer of Moses opened and shut heaven, like Elijah’s. And such is the power of God’s two witnesses, Rev 11:6. Yet neither Moses nor Elijah, nor those two witnesses, could subdue the hard hearts of men. Pharaoh was frighted into compliance by the judgment, but, when it was over, his convictions vanished.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 33. Spread abroad his hands] Probably with the rod of God in them. See what has been said on the spreading out of the hands in prayer, Ex 9:29. See Clarke on Ex 9:29.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(33) Moses went out of the city . . . and spread abroad his hands.—Moses did not fear the storm. Though it still raged, he quitted the shelter of the city, and went out into the midst of it, and spread out his hands to God, when lo! at once the rain, and hail, and thunder ceased at his bidding, and soon “there was a great calm.” As Millington observes—“Moses knew that he was safe, though all around might be destroyed; the very hairs of his head were all numbered, not one of them could perish. Standing there under the tempestuous canopy of heaven, bareheaded, in the attitude of prayer, he spread abroad his hands unto the Lord, and the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth” (Plagues of Egypt, p. 135).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased,.... And there was a clear sky and a fine serene heaven, the black clouds were dispersed and gone, and he heard no more the clattering of the hailstones, and the terrible claps of thunder, and saw no more the flashes of lightning, but all was calm and composed:

he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart, he and his servants; instead of giving glory to God, who had heard the prayers of Moses and Aaron for them, and had delivered them from their frights and fears, and the terror and horror they were in, and of letting the people of Israel go, see Rev 16:21.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Moses went out of the city, that, being solitary, he might pour forth his heart in fervent prayers.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

33. Went out of the city — This shows that Pharaoh then resided in a city, probably Zoan. See on Exo_1:8.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The rain was not poured upon the earth. Rain had not been previously mentioned, as it was no part of the plague, that is, it caused no damage. But Moses, recording the cessation as an eye-witness, recollects that rain was mingled with the hail, and that, at his prayer, the thunder, the hail, and the rain all ceased. The touch is one which no later writer would have introduced.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Moses went out of the city - Not only for privacy in his communion with God, but to shew that he durst venture abroad into the field, notwithstanding the hail and lightning, knowing that every hail-stone had its direction from God. Peace with God makes men thunder-proof, for it is the voice of their father. And spread abroad his hands unto the Lord - An outward expression of earnest desire, and humble expectation. He prevailed with God; but he could not prevail with Pharaoh; he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart - The prayer of Moses opened and shut heaven, like Elijah's. And such is the power of God's two witnesses, Rev. xi, 6. Yet neither Moses nor Elijah, nor those two witnesses, could subdue the hard hearts of men. Pharaoh was frighted into compliance by the judgment, but, when it was over, his convictions vanished.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

But even this plague did not lead Pharaoh to alter his mind. As soon as it had ceased on the intercession of Moses, he and his servants continued sinning and hardening their hearts.

Keil & Delitzsch — Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament (1861–1891) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API. (Old Testament only.)

לא נתך means [RAIN] DID NOT REACH the earth (i. e. no fresh rain came down) — that rain, too, which was alredy in the air at the moment when Moses was praying remained there and did not reach the ground. In a similar sense is “ותתך עלינו the curse and the oath” — a passage in the book of Ezra (really, Daniel 9:11) — which signifies, “the curse and the oath have reached us”. But Menachem ben Seruk classified it in the same section as, (Ezekiel 22:22) “כהתוך כסף” which has the meaning of melting (pouring forth) metal. I agree with his opinion, because in the Targum we render ויצק, (Onkelos Exodus 38:5) “And he cast (metal)”, by ואתיך, and (Onkelos Exodus 38:27) לצקת, “to cast (metal)” by לאתכא, each of these Aramaic words being of the same root as our word נתך. Therefore לא נתך ארצה would mean: rain was not poured out to the ground.

Rashi on the Tanakh — English translations: “The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg” (CC BY 4.0); “Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A.M. Silbermann, 1929-1934” (public domain); “The Metsudah Tanach series, Lakewood, N.J” (CC BY 4.0); and “The Book of Joshua, Metsudah Publications, 1997” (CC BY 4.0). Text via Sefaria.