Exodus 10 · Verse 21

Exodus 10:21

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.

Exodus 10:21, King James Version

Exodus 10:21 in other translations

BSB	Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward heaven, so that darkness may spread over the land of Egypt—a palpable darkness.”
WEB	The LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.”
ASV	And Jehovah said unto Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
YLT	And Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘Stretch out thy hand towards the heavens, and there is darkness over the land of Egypt, and the darkness is felt.'
DARBY	And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens, that there may be darkness in the land of Egypt — so that one may feel darkness.
BBE	And the Lord said to Moses, Let your hand be stretched out to heaven, and all the land of Egypt will be dark, so that men will be feeling their way about in the dark.
Webster	And the LORD said to Moses, Stretch out thy hand towards heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

What does Exodus 10:21 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Exodus 10:21-23

Ex 10:21-29. Plague of Darkness.

21-23. Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness--Whatever secondary means were employed in producing it, whether thick clammy fogs and vapors, according to some; a sandstorm, or the chamsin, according to others; it was such that it could be almost perceived by the organs of touch, and so protracted as to continue for three days, which the chamsin does [Hengstenberg]. The appalling character of this calamity consisted in this, that the sun was an object of Egyptian idolatry; that the pure and serene sky of that country was never marred by the appearance of a cloud. And here, too, the Lord made a marked difference between Goshen and the rest of Egypt.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 21 Darkness which may be felt - Probably this was occasioned by a superabundance of aqueous vapors floating in the atmosphere, which were so thick as to prevent the rays of the sun from penetrating through them; an extraordinarily thick mist supernaturally, i.e., miraculously, brought on. An awful emblem of the darkened state of the Egyptians and their king.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 10:21-29

The plague of darkness brought upon Egypt was a dreadful plague. It was darkness which might be felt, so thick were the fogs. It astonished and terrified. It continued three days; six nights in one; so long the most lightsome palaces were dungeons. Now Pharaoh had time to consider, if he would have improved it. Spiritual darkness is spiritual bondage; while Satan blinds men's eyes that they see not, he binds their hands and feet, that they work not for God, nor move toward heaven. They sit in darkness. It was righteous with God thus to punish. The blindness of their minds brought upon them this darkness of the air; never was mind so blinded as Pharaoh's, never was air so darkened as Egypt. Let us dread the consequences of sin; if three days of darkness were so dreadful, what will everlasting darkness be? The children of Israel, at the same time, had light in their dwellings. We must not think we share in common mercies as a matter of course, and therefore that we owe no thanks to God for them. It shows the particular favour he bears to his people. Wherever there is an Israelite indeed, though in this dark world, there is light, there is a child of light. When God made this difference between the Israelites and the Egyptians, who would not have preferred the poor cottage of an Israelite to the fine palace of an Egyptian? There is a real difference between the house of the wicked, which is under a curse, and the habitation of the just, which is blessed. Pharaoh renewed the treaty with Moses and Aaron, and consented they should take their little ones, but would have their cattle left. It is common for sinners to bargain with God Almighty; thus they try to mock him, but they deceive themselves. The terms of reconciliation with God are so fixed, that though men dispute them ever so long, they cannot possibly alter them, or bring them lower. We must come to the demand of God's will; we cannot expect he should condescend to the terms our lusts would make. With ourselves and our children, we must devote all our worldly possessions to the service of God; we know not what use he will make of any part of what we have. Pharaoh broke off the conference abruptly, and resolved to treat no more. Had he forgotten how often he had sent for Moses to ease him of his plagues? and must he now be bid to come no more? Vain malice! to threaten him with death, who was armed with such power! What will not hardness of heart, and contempt of God's word and commandments, bring men to! After this, Moses came no more till he was sent for. When men drive God's word from them, he justly gives them up to their own delusions.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Exodus 10:21 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֨אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559

יְהוָ֜הYah.wehYahwehH3068

אֶל\־'el-toH413

מֹשֶׁ֗הmo.ShehMosesH4872

נְטֵ֤הne.Tehstretch outH5186

יָֽדְךָ֙ya.de.Khahand yourH3027

עַל\־'al-toH5921

הַשָּׁמַ֔יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064

וִ֥יהִיVi.hiso may it beH1961

חֹ֖שֶׁךְCho.shekhdarknessH2822

עַל\־'al-overH5921

אֶ֣רֶץ'E.retz[the] land ofH776

מִצְרָ֑יִםmitz.Ra.yimEgyptH4714

וְיָמֵ֖שׁve.ya.Meshso they may feelH4959

חֹֽשֶׁךְ\׃Cho.shekhdarknessH2822

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 10:21

Revelation 16:10-11
And the fifth angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the beast; and his kingdom was full of darkness; and they gnawed their tongues for pain, And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, and repented not of their deeds.
Luke 23:44
And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour.
2 Peter 2:4
For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
2 Peter 2:17
These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness is reserved for ever.
Jude 1:6
And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.
Matthew 27:45
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
Mark 15:33
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour.
Deuteronomy 28:29
And thou shalt grope at noonday, as the blind gropeth in darkness, and thou shalt not prosper in thy ways: and thou shalt be only oppressed and spoiled evermore, and no man shall save thee.
Proverbs 4:19
The way of the wicked is as darkness: they know not at what they stumble.
Isaiah 8:21-22
And they shall pass through it, hardly bestead and hungry: and it shall come to pass, that when they shall be hungry, they shall fret themselves, and curse their king and their God, and look upward. And they shall look unto the earth; and behold trouble and darkness, dimness of anguish; and they shall be driven to darkness.
Exodus 9:22
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt.
Psalms 105:28
He sent darkness, and made it dark; and they rebelled not against his word.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Stretch.
9:22
darkness.As the Egyptians not only worshipped the light and sun, but also paid the same veneration to night and darkness, nothing could be more terrible than this punishment of palpable and coercive darkness, such as their luminary Osiris could not dispel. See Bryant, pp. 141-160.
Ps 35:6; 78:49; 105:28; Pr 4:19; Ec 2:14; 6:4; Isa 8:21,22
Mt 27:45; Mr 15:33; Lu 23:44; 2Pe 2:4,17; Jude 1:6,13; Re 16:10,11
even darkness which may be felt. Heb. that one may feeldarkness.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Exodus 10:20
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he would not let the children of Israel go.
Exodus 10:21
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.
Exodus 10:22
And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

Read all of Exodus 10

Exodus 10:21 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y Jehová dijo á Moisés: Extiende tu mano hacia el cielo, para que haya tinieblas sobre la tierra de Egipto, tales que cualquiera las palpe.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Et l’ Éternel dit à Moïse: Étends ta main vers les cieux, et il y aura sur le pays d’Égypte des ténèbres, et on touchera de la main les ténèbres.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und Jehova sprach zu Mose: Strecke deine Hand aus gen Himmel, daß eine Finsternis über das Land Ägypten komme, so daß man die Finsternis greifen möge.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen: Extende manum tuam in cælum: et sint tenebræ super terram Ægypti tam densæ, ut palpari queant.