Bible Strands
Exodus 10:23
No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses records the ninth plague as darkness covers Egypt while Pharaoh still holds authority. The narrative marks the moment when the plague fully takes hold and Israelite settlements remain untouched.
The words — The Hebrew verbs רָא֞וּ (ra.'U) and קָ֛מוּ (Ka.mu) literally mean "they saw" and "they rose," directly describing the enforced blindness and immobility of the Egyptian population.
The thread — The motif of divine separation between Egypt and Israel appears in Exodus 8:22 and Exodus 9:4, while Isaiah 42:16 parallels the provision of light within total darkness.
Why it lands — The text asserts that God actively distinguishes His people from judgment and sustains them in isolation. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine protection operates independently of human movement or visibility.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
Cross-references
- Exodus 8:22 But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.
- Exodus 9:4 But the LORD will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die.’”
- Isaiah 42:16 I will lead the blind by a way they did not know; I will guide them on unfamiliar paths. I will turn darkness into light before them and rough places into level ground. These things I will do for them, and I will not forsake them.
- 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
- Exodus 9:26 The only place where it did not hail was in the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived.
- Exodus 14:20 so that it came between the camps of Egypt and Israel. The cloud was there in the darkness, but it lit up the night. So all night long neither camp went near the other.
- Joshua 24:7 So your fathers cried out to the LORD, and He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, over whom He brought the sea and engulfed them. Your very eyes saw what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time.
- Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you.
- Isaiah 65:13 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: “My servants will eat, but you will go hungry; My servants will drink, but you will go thirsty; My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.
- Malachi 3:18 So you will again distinguish between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.”