Exodus 9:8-12 · Bible study
Exodus 9:8-12 Commentary: Furnace Ashes and Boils
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore the plague of boils in Exodus 9:8-12, its furnace-ash symbolism, the magicians' defeat, and the hardening of Pharaoh's heart.
Research Summary
- Meaning: The furnace ashes, symbolic of Israel’s oppression, become the source of a painful epidemic that disables the magicians and confirms Pharaoh’s hard heart.
- Key words: Kivshan (furnace/kiln), shechin (boil), avabu‘ot (blisters), chazaq (strengthened/hardened).
- Main debate: Whether the symbolic act is a direct inversion of an Egyptian Typhon rite or a more general sign of divine curse; also whether the disease is Nile pox, anthrax, or a unique plague.
- Theological theme: God’s judgment escalates in severity; human rebellion invites judicial hardening; God’s power is displayed even through suffering.
- Best use: Preach or teach as part of the Exodus narrative of liberation, emphasizing that God hears the cry of the oppressed and confronts oppressive systems with visible, personal consequences.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
8Then the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the furnace; in the sight of Pharaoh, Moses is to toss it into the air.
9It will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and festering boils will break out on man and beast throughout the land.”
10So they took soot from the furnace and stood before Pharaoh. Moses tossed it into the air, and festering boils broke out on man and beast.
11The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians.
12But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said to Moses.
WEB World English Bible 2000
8Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the sky in the sight of Pharaoh.
9It shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be boils and blisters breaking out on man and on animal, throughout all the land of Egypt.”
10They took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward the sky; and it became boils and blisters breaking out on man and on animal.
11The magicians couldn’t stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the magicians and on all the Egyptians.
12Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses.
KJV King James Version 1769
8And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9And it shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boil was upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
12And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
8And Jehovah said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh.
9And it shall become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.
10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast.
11And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians.
12And Jehovah hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them, as Jehovah had spoken unto Moses.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
8And Jehovah saith unto Moses and unto Aaron, `Take to you the fulness of your hands of soot of a furnace, and Moses hath sprinkled it towards the heavens, before the eyes of Pharaoh,
9and it hath become small dust over all the land of Egypt, and it hath become on man and on cattle a boil breaking forth with blains, in all the land of Egypt.'
10And they take the soot of the furnace, and stand before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkleth it towards the heavens, and it is a boil with blains, breaking forth, on man and on beast;
11and the scribes have not been able to stand before Moses, because of the boil, for the boil hath been on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.
12And Jehovah strengtheneth the heart of Pharaoh, and he hath not hearkened unto them, as Jehovah hath spoken unto Moses.
Darby Darby Bible 1890
8And Jehovah said to Moses and to Aaron, Take to yourselves handfuls of ashes of the furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh.
9And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils on man and on cattle, breaking out [with] blisters, throughout the land of Egypt.
10And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens; and it became boils [with] blisters breaking out on man and on cattle.
11And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.
12And Jehovah made Pharaoh's heart stubborn, and he did not hearken to them, as Jehovah had told Moses.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
8And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron: Take to you handfuls of ashes out of the chimney, and let Moses sprinkle it in the air in the presence of Pharao.
9And be there dust upon all the land of Egypt: for there shall be boils and swelling blains both in men and beasts, in the whole land of Egypt.
10And they took ashes out of the chimney, and stood before Pharao, and Moses sprinkled it in the air; and there came boils with swelling blains in men and beasts.
11Neither could the magicians stand before Moses, for the boils that were upon them, and in all the land of Egypt.
12And the Lord hardened Pharao's heart, and he hearkened not unto them, as the Lord had spoken to Moses.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Exodus 9:8
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators agree this plague marks a turning point. For the first time the Egyptians themselves are struck directly, with painful boils and blisters. Adam Clarke notes a clear congruence: the furnace ashes that produced the boils came from the same brick kilns where Israel had been oppressed, so Egypt read its sin in its punishment. Matthew Henry and Wesley make the same point. Barnes adds that sprinkling the ashes toward heaven was a deliberate challenge to Egyptian deities, possibly referencing a custom of scattering the ashes of Typhon sacrifices. On the magicians, Keil and Delitzsch observe that they are now completely disabled, unable even to stand before Moses. The clause “Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh” (v.12) is understood by Gill and Calvin as judicial hardening: after Pharaoh repeatedly hardened his own heart, God gave him over to his own stubbornness. The whole episode shows the escalating pressure of the plagues and the progressive exposure of Pharaoh’s helplessness.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Literal historical plague: Deuteronomy 28:27 suggests the boils were a known Egyptian disease; commentators like Keil & Delitzsch identify it with Nile pox or anthrax.
- Symbolic inversion of Egyptian rite: Barnes and Calvin (via Havernick) link the sprinkling of ashes to a Typhon ritual described by Manetho, framing the plague as a direct challenge to Egyptian religion.
- Ironic punishment for oppression: Adam Clarke, Matthew Henry, and others emphasize that the furnace ashes come from the brick kilns where Israelites suffered, making the punishment mirror the crime.
What is clear: A painful skin plague struck Egypt directly from the act of Moses scattering furnace ashes, the magicians were utterly defeated, and Pharaoh’s heart remained hard as God had foretold.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The disease behind the boils | It was a severe, painful skin eruption affecting humans and animals (shechin with avabu‘ot). | Some identify it with Nile blisters (Keil, Seetzen) or anthrax after cattle plague (Leyrer); others see it as a unique curse sui generis. |
| The furnace type | The Hebrew kivshan means a kiln for pottery or lime, not a household oven. | Whether it was specifically a brick kiln (suggesting Israel’s forced labor) or a lime kiln / smelting furnace is debated. |
| Symbolic meaning of sprinkling ashes toward heaven | The act is symbolic and connects the plague to God’s judgment. | Some (Calvin via Havernick, Barnes) see a direct challenge to the Egyptian Typhon ritual; others (Clarke, Henry) focus on the ironic reversal of oppression from the furnace. |
| God’s hardening of Pharaoh’s heart | Pharaoh is responsible; God’s hardening is judicial, following Pharaoh’s own hardness. | Traditions differ on the exact nature of the hardening: some emphasize God’s active strengthening of Pharaoh’s will (Reformed), others focus on God’s withdrawal of restraint (Arminian). |
Historical & Cultural Context
This plague occurs without warning, a pattern seen also in the third plague (lice). Earlier plagues had been announced, now God simply acts. The furnace (Hebrew kivshan) is a kiln for pottery or lime, not the cooking stove used in earlier plagues. The word appears in Genesis 19:28 for the smoke of Sodom and in Exodus 19:18 for Sinai. Keil and Delitzsch note that some Egyptian interpreters linked the ashes to a ritual in which the ashes of sacrificed victims were scattered to counter the evil deity Typhon, a practice described by Manetho and cited by Calvin through Havernick. If Moses’ act echoed that custom, it would be a direct contest: the God of Israel inverts a pagan rite into an instrument of judgment.
The disease itself is called shechin (boil) with avabu’ot (blisters). Later it is remembered as “the boils of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 28:27), implying it was a distinct and severe affliction. Some commentators, such as Leyrer, connect it to anthrax after cattle plagues; others to the Nile pox, a rash common during the inundation. The symbolic act, taking soot from the furnace and tossing it heavenward, makes the source of the plague visible. The soot becomes “fine dust” (v.9) that spreads over the land, turning every particle into an agent of pain. The magicians, who have mimicked earlier plagues, are now struck themselves and cannot stand. Their retreat confirms that the confrontation is no longer a contest of skill but a one-sided display of God’s power.
Textual Notes
The supplied sources note no significant textual variants in this passage. The Hebrew text is stable across major manuscripts. Some translations render “furnace” (בַּ/כִּבְשָׁן) differently (kiln, smelting furnace), but these are interpretive choices, not textual variants.
Reception History
From early Jewish tradition through the church fathers, this plague was read as a direct act of God’s justice. The Venerable Bede saw the boils as a type of the sores in Revelation 16:2, linking the Exodus judgments to the final outpouring of wrath. Medieval commentators often moralized the furnace ashes as a reminder of sin’s consequences. Reformers like Calvin emphasized the hardening of Pharaoh as a sovereign act of God, while Wesley and Methodist writers stressed Pharaoh’s prior guilt. In modern scholarship, the connection to Egyptian ritual (Typhonian sacrifices) has been explored, though the evidence is debated. The passage is most often used today in preaching on the plagues as a demonstration of God’s power over oppressive systems and His ability to bring down the proud.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- Judgment that touches the skin. After plagues on water, frogs, lice, flies, livestock, God now strikes human bodies. This ratchets the pressure: no one is immune, not even Pharaoh’s court.
- Symbolism that convicts. The furnace (brick kiln) recalls Israel’s slave labor. The same fire that oppressed God’s people now fuels the punishment of their oppressors.
- Hardening that shows sovereignty. Verse 12 states that Yahweh hardened Pharaoh’s heart. This judicial hardening follows Pharaoh’s own repeated refusals and serves to display God’s power, as v.16 later explains.
Five-point outline
- No warning. Unlike earlier plagues, this one comes without a demand or threat (Barnes). It is pure judgment, not a call to repentance.
- Ashes from the furnace. The kivshan (kiln) is the same kind of furnace Israel labored at. The instrument of oppression becomes the instrument of affliction.
- Ashes tossed toward heaven. This gesture challenges Egyptian religion, perhaps even mimics a Typhon ritual, but God uses it to bring disease, not blessing.
- Boils on everyone. Man and beast suffer. The magicians are incapacitated, unable to stand before Moses. Their failure is total and public (2 Timothy 3:8-9).
- God hardens Pharaoh’s heart. The Hebrew verb chazaq means “strengthened,” not created fresh hardness. It confirms a will already set against God.
Illustration hooks
- A carpenter’s splinter that comes from the same wood he used to build a house, the material of work becomes the source of pain.
- A child’s sunburn after a day at the beach: what should have been harmless light becomes burning pain when exposure is prolonged.
- A workplace where a boss ignores warnings and eventually the neglected equipment breaks and injures him, he reads his own negligence in the accident.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart? Was Pharaoh still responsible? (Explain the pattern of judicial hardening after persistent rebellion.)
- Does God ever send disease today? (Distinguish between natural suffering and this unique redemptive-historical judgment; avoid simplistic conclusions.)
- Where is hope in this plague? (The judgment is meant to display God’s power and lead to deliverance; the ultimate hope is the defeat of all oppressors.)
Leading a Discussion
This passage shows God striking at the personal health of the Egyptians and shutting down the magicians forever. But it also raises hard questions about judgment and human responsibility. As you discuss, notice how the furnace ashes connect the plague to Israel’s past suffering, and how Pharaoh’s heart becomes the battlefield for God’s glory.
Discussion questions
- Why do you think this plague comes without warning? What does that tell us about Pharaoh’s state and God’s purposes?
- The furnace is likely a brick kiln (Exodus 1:14). How does this choice of material connect judgment to the history of Israel’s slavery? (Read Adam Clarke’s note in the study context.)
- Moses sprinkles the ashes “toward heaven.” Barnes and Calvin point to an Egyptian ritual. What does the act of tossing ashes upward communicate about who is in control?
- The magicians are not only unable to imitate the plague, they cannot even stand before Moses. Why is their physical incapacity significant? What does it prove?
- Verse 12 says “Yahweh hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” How does this fit with Pharaoh’s own earlier hardening (e.g., 8:15, 9:7)? Is it fair? How do different Christian traditions explain this?
- This plague affects both humans and animals. Deuteronomy 28:27 later refers to “the boils of Egypt.” What does the lasting memory of this plague suggest about its severity?
- If a disease like this struck your community, would you see it as a judgment from God? Why or why not? How does the cross of Christ shape a Christian response to suffering?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Exodus 8:16 | Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.’” |
| Leviticus 13:18 | “When the body has a boil on its skin, and it has healed, |
| Leviticus 13:20 | The priest shall examine it. Behold, if its appearance is deeper than the skin, and its hair has turned white, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean. It is the plague of leprosy. It has broken out in the boil. |
| Deuteronomy 28:27 | Yahweh will strike you with the boils of Egypt, with the tumors, with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed. |
| Deuteronomy 28:35 | Yahweh will strike you in the knees and in the legs with a sore boil, of which you cannot be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head. |
| Job 2:7 | So Satan went out from the presence of Yahweh, and struck Job with painful sores from the sole of his foot to his head. |
| Revelation of John 16:2 | The first went, and poured out his bowl into the earth, and it became a harmful and painful sore on the people who had the mark of the beast, and who worshiped his image. |
| Exodus 7:11 | Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke sees poetic justice in the plague: the very furnace ashes from the brick-kilns where Israelites were forced to labor became the instrument of their oppressors' torment. He describes the resulting boils as excruciating inflammatory swellings and pustules. The magicians, struck themselves, could not respond and disappeared, marking the complete triumph of God's power.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes sees this plague as a clear escalation because the Egyptians themselves are now directly attacked. The sprinkling of ashes toward heaven is a deliberate symbolic challenge to Egypt's gods, possibly echoing their own sacrificial customs, and it marks the moment the defeated magicians finally concede.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin observes that with the plague of boils God dropped the usual warning and struck without notice, forcing Pharaoh's hand. He also notes the magicians were driven away by the disease, exposing their demonic stubbornness. For Calvin, Pharaoh's hardened heart was voluntary and yet also God's doing, refuting the idea that God merely foresees rather than actively works.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary identifies the kiln as a pottery or lime-burning kiln, distinct from an oven or smelting furnace. It also suggests the boils may correspond to the Nilescab, an irritating rash common in Egypt during the Nile's June rise, and notes the magicians are now powerless and personally afflicted.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes emphasize that this plague struck the Egyptian sorcerers themselves, proving their power was nothing against God. They could not even stand before Moses because the boils covered them too. God then hardened Pharaoh's heart just as He had said He would.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB highlights that the brick-kiln, the very instrument of Israel's oppression, became the source of judgment against Egypt. By taking ashes from it, Moses showed the Egyptians their sin written in their punishment. The plague's supernatural origin was confirmed because it followed his deliberate, visible action.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch stresses that the soot came from the lime-kilns Pharaoh used to build his cities with Israelite slave labor. The plague therefore turned the very symbol of Israel's oppression into judgment: the furnace where God's people groaned became the source of burning boils on their captors.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange resists elaborate symbolic readings of the furnace ashes, such as Keil's claim that they represent the Israelites' oppressive labor in Egypt's grand buildings. He sees the ashes simply and pictorially: their color and fiery nature prefigure the inflammatory boils. This plague is also the first to directly attack human life, a clear warning of death for Pharaoh.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry highlights the poetic justice in the plague: the furnace ashes that symbolized Israel's oppression become the very instrument of Egypt's torment. He also notes that when lesser judgments fail, God sends a greater one that seizes the body directly, touching the Egyptians to the quick.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
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