What is the meaning of Exodus 11:6? Then - Scripture sets this moment in a timeline: “Then” signals the climactic tenth plague that follows nine increasingly severe judgments (Exodus 11:1; 10:29). - God’s patience has run its course; Pharaoh’s repeated hard‐heartedness (Exodus 9:34–35) meets God’s decisive action. - The verse reminds us that God’s warnings are real and His timings perfect, just as earlier foretold to Moses in Midian (Exodus 3:19–20). A great cry - “A great cry” paints an audible picture of grief and terror. In the next chapter it is fulfilled: “There was loud wailing in Egypt, for there was not a house without someone dead” (Exodus 12:30). - Similar language describes the anguish of national catastrophe (1 Samuel 4:13; Amos 5:16). - The intensity underlines that sin’s consequences are never small; the judgment touches the deepest emotions of a people. Will go out - The cry “will go out” means it cannot be contained—anguish bursts forth, filling the night air. - God earlier said, “I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn” (Exodus 12:12); the cry is the inevitable echo of that stroke. - Judgment travels; so does its sound. Just as the news of Sodom’s destruction “went up” (Genesis 19:28), Egypt’s lament rises and spreads. Over all the land of Egypt - No province, class, or household is exempt (Exodus 11:5). - Earlier plagues had boundaries—Goshen was often spared (Exodus 8:22). Now the whole nation feels the blow, highlighting the completeness of divine justice (Psalm 105:36–38). - Universal reach anticipates later warnings of worldwide judgment (Acts 17:31). Such an outcry has never been heard before - Scripture compares incomparable events: “a day of darkness and gloom… there has never been anything like it” (Joel 2:2). - The statement underscores the unprecedented nature of the plague: the firstborn of every family and even livestock die the same night. - Jesus uses similar absolutist language about the Great Tribulation (Matthew 24:21), showing that ultimate judgments share this shocking, unparalleled character. And will never be heard again - Egypt will never repeat this exact experience; God’s act is singular and final for that nation at that moment (Nahum 1:9). - Later devastations (Jeremiah 46:13–26) pale next to the night when every household lost its firstborn. - The line points to God’s sovereign ability to close a chapter decisively, much as Revelation 21:4 promises the end of all mourning for His redeemed. summary Exodus 11:6 announces the emotional apex of God’s judgment on Egypt: at the divinely appointed moment (“Then”) the nation will erupt in unparalleled, all-encompassing lament. The cry’s vast reach and unique severity reveal both the certainty of God’s warnings and the completeness of His justice. |
    |