Scripture · Exodus 14:15-31
Exodus 9:23–24 · The plague of hail
The Seventh Plague of Egypt
So Moses stretched out his staff toward heaven, and the LORD sent thunder and hail, and lightning struck the earth. So the LORD rained down hail upon the land of Egypt. The hail fell and the lightning continued flashing through it. The hail was so severe that nothing like it had ever been seen in all the land of Egypt from the time it became a nation.
The storm is larger than the city. John Martin’s 1823 painting sets the tiny figures of Moses and Aaron against a sky torn by lightning, while Egypt’s terraces and monuments fill the distance. Exodus 9:23–24 gives this immense spectacle a precise starting point: Moses stretches his staff toward heaven, and hail falls on the land.
What does The Seventh Plague of Egypt show?
At the lower left, Moses raises his staff beside Aaron. Across the picture, people shelter and huddle on the great terraces at the right. Between these groups, the river and buildings draw the eye deep into the city. Slanting streaks descend from a dark cloud around a brilliant opening in the sky.
Martin gives architecture an enormous scale and then makes the weather greater still. The Museum of Fine Arts identifies the setting as Thebes and explains that he drew on early publications about Egyptian monuments. Those studied details become the setting for a vision of a city exposed to forces it cannot command.
Featured in: Top 10 John Martin Paintings of Biblical Judgment, Explained
What does Exodus 9:23–24 mean?
The hail follows a warning. God tells Pharaoh to release the Israelites and tells the Egyptians to bring people and livestock under shelter. Some of Pharaoh’s officials heed that warning; others leave them in the fields. When Moses raises his staff, thunder, hail, and lightning strike Egypt, while Goshen, where the Israelites live, is spared.
Pharaoh acknowledges his wrongdoing and asks Moses to pray for the storm to end. Yet when the hail and thunder stop, he hardens his heart again and refuses to release the people. The passage places the display of power beside a more searching question: whether relief from consequences will lead to a change of heart.
Exodus 9:23–24 names the raised staff, thunder, hail, and lightning that Martin expands across the whole city.
Sources
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston — Seventh Plague of Egypt. Collection record with the painting’s date, materials, dimensions, and interpretation.
MFA Boston Custom Prints — Seventh Plague of Egypt. Museum reproduction and commentary identify the figures and Martin’s architectural sources.
Exodus 9 — Berean Standard Bible. The warning, storm, and Pharaoh’s response after it ends.
Also from Exodus:The Finding of MosesMoses in the Bullrushes
Continue looking:Moses Putting Off His Sandals