Exodus 9:18 announces that God is about to send a hailstorm on Egypt that will be the worst the land has ever known. The verse is part of God’s message to Pharaoh, delivered through Moses, as the ten plagues move toward their climax. It is God speaking to Moses, who is to carry the warning to the king of Egypt, a ruler who has refused again and again to let the Israelites go.
Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded even until now.
Exodus 9:18 (WEB)
What Exodus 9:18 Means
The verse opens with “Behold,” a word that calls attention to what comes next. God does not hide the plan. He tells Moses ahead of time, down to the timing, that “tomorrow about this time” the hail will fall. That detail shows that the coming judgment is deliberate and under God’s control, not a random disaster of the weather.
The phrase “a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the day it was founded” tells us the severity. Egypt had seen storms and floods, but nothing like this. Egypt’s own history, as the verse describes it, reaches back to its founding, and the storm will exceed everything in that long memory. The point is not simply that the hail is painful, but that it is unprecedented, marking a turning point in how the plagues are escalating.
What the verse does not promise is that Pharaoh will change his mind or that the Egyptians will be spared from loss. It is a warning, not a guarantee of relief. The verse describes God acting in judgment and power, and it is the surrounding text that shows the warning also offers a way of escape for those who take God’s word seriously.
The Context of Exodus 9:18
The book of Exodus is traditionally attributed to Moses. It tells the story of how God rescued the descendants of Jacob from slavery in Egypt, led them out through the sea, and brought them to Sinai. The audience is the Israelite people, who are being taught who their God is and what he has done for them, though the events themselves unfold in the royal court and the fields of Egypt.
The verses just before this one, Exodus 9:15 to 9:17, explain why God has allowed Pharaoh to stand so long. God says he could have struck Egypt with pestilence and ended the nation, but he has kept Pharaoh in place to show his power and to make his name known across the earth. The verses after it, 9:19 to 9:21, show that some Egyptians heeded the word of the Lord and brought their livestock and servants indoors, while others ignored it and paid the price. Read in that light, the hail is both a judgment on Pharaoh’s stubbornness and a test that reveals who among the Egyptians trusts God’s word.
Key Phrases in Exodus 9:18
Exodus 9:20
Those who feared the LORD’s word among the servants of Pharaoh made their servants and their livestock flee into the houses.
(WEB)
This verse, which follows directly after our passage, shows the response to God’s warning. Some Egyptians who feared the word of the Lord brought their servants and livestock into shelter. It makes the choice visible and shows that God’s warning was a real opportunity for those willing to heed it.
Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.”
(WEB)
This psalm invites the reader to be still and recognize that God is God, even amid turmoil and the shaking of nations. It connects well with Exodus 9:18 because it reminds us that the Lord who sends the storm is the same Lord who calls his people to trust him in every season.
A Short Prayer From Exodus 9:18
Lord, you see every storm before it comes, and you know the times and seasons that you set. Thank you that you warn before you act and that your judgments are never careless or hasty. Help me to take your word seriously, to listen when you speak through Scripture and through the people you place around me, and to respond while there is still time. When I face situations that feel out of control, remind me that you are sovereign over every hour and every event. Keep my heart steady in your care. Amen.
