Exodus 11:5

Exodus 11:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.
• New International Version (NIV)Every firstborn son in Egypt will die, from the firstborn son of Pharaoh, who sits on the throne, to the firstborn son of the female slave, who is at her hand mill, and all the firstborn of the cattle as well.
• English Standard Version (ESV)and every firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the cattle.
• New King James Version (NKJV)and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the handmill, and all the firstborn of the animals.

Context of Exodus 11:5

3The Lord gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians. Moreover, the man Moses was greatly esteemed in the land of Egypt, [both] in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants and in the sight of the people. 4Then Moses said, “Thus says the Lord: ‘At midnight I am going out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land [the pride, hope, and joy] of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, to the firstborn of the slave girl who is behind the hand-mill, and all the firstborn of cattle as well. 6There shall be a great cry [of heartache and sorrow] throughout the land of Egypt, such as has never been before and such as shall never be again. 7But not even a dog will threaten any of the Israelites, whether man or animal, so that you may know [without any doubt] and acknowledge how the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.’

Exodus 11:5 word by word

וּמֵ֣ת כָּל־בְּכוֹר֮ בְּאֶ֣רֶץ מִצְרַיִם֒ מִבְּכ֤וֹר פַּרְעֹה֙ הַיֹּשֵׁ֣ב עַל־כִּסְא֔וֹ עַ֚ד בְּכ֣וֹר הַשִּׁפְחָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֖ר אַחַ֣ר הָרֵחָ֑יִם וְכֹ֖ל בְּכ֥וֹר בְּהֵמָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And all the firstbornבְּכוֹרbekôr · firstbornH1060
• in the landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of Egyptמִצְרַ֫יִםmitsrayim · EgyptH4714
• shall dieמוּתmûth · to dieH4191
• of Pharaohפַּרְעֹהpar‛ôh · PharaohH6547
• that sittethיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
• upon his throneכִּסֵּאkissê' kissêh · throneH3678
• of the maidservantשִׁפְחָהshiphchâh · maidservantH8198
• behindאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• the millרֵחֶהrêcheh · millstoneH7347
• of beastsבְּהֵמָהbehêmâh · animalH929

Cross-references for Exodus 11:5

• Exodus 4:23So I say to you, ‘Let My son go so that he may serve Me’; and if you refuse to let him go, behold, I will kill your son, your firstborn.” ’ ”
• Exodus 12:12For I [the Lord] will pass through the land of Egypt on this night, and will strike down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and animal; against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments [exhibiting their worthlessness]. I am the Lord.
• Exodus 13:15For it happened, when Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, that the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both the firstborn of man and the firstborn of animal. Therefore, I sacrifice to the Lord all the males, the first [to be born] of every womb, but every firstborn of my sons I redeem.’
• Psalms 78:51He killed all the firstborn in Egypt, The first and best of their strength in the tents [of the land of the sons] of Ham.
• Psalms 105:36He also struck down all the firstborn in their land, The first fruits and chief substance of all their strength.
• Psalms 135:8Who struck the firstborn of Egypt, Both of man and animal;
• Psalms 136:10To Him who struck the firstborn of Egypt, For His lovingkindness endures forever;
• Hebrews 11:28By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood [on the doorposts], so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch them (the firstborn of Israel).
• Judges 16:21Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with [two] bronze chains; and he was forced to be a grinder [of grain into flour at the mill] in the prison.
• Isaiah 47:2Take millstones [as a female slave does] and grind meal; Remove your veil, strip off the skirt, Uncover the leg, cross the rivers [at the command of your captors].
• Lamentations 5:13Young men worked at the grinding mill, And boys fell [staggering] under loads of wood.
• Matthew 24:41Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken [for judgment] and one will be left.

Commentaries on Exodus 11:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5The first-born of Pharaoh, etc. - From the heir to the Egyptian throne to the son of the most abject slave, or the principal person in each family. See Clarke's note on Exodus 12:29. The maid-servant that is behind the mill - The meanest slaves were employed in this work. In many parts of the east they still grind all their corn with a kind of portable mill-stones, the upper one of which is turned round by a sort of lever fixed in the rim. A drawing of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 5Two points are to be noticed: 1. The extent of the visitation: the whole land suffers in the persons of its firstborn, not merely for the guilt of the sovereign, but for the actual participation of the people in the crime of infanticide Exodus 1:22. 2. The limitation: Pharaoh‘s command had been to slay ALL the male children of the Israelites, but only one child in each Egyptian family was to die. If Tothmosis II was the Pharaoh, the visitation fell with…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 4-10Verses 4-10 The death of all the first-born in Egypt at once: this plague had been the first threatened, but is last executed. See how slow God is to wrath. The plague is foretold, the time is fixed; all their first-born should sleep the sleep of death, not silently, but so as to rouse the families at midnight. The prince was not too high to be reached by it, nor the slaves at the mill too low to be noticed. While angels slew the Egyptians, not so much as…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5In many parts of the world, people look to their children for survival. In many cultures, the firstborn son carries on the family line. If people have children, they may feel secure. They may believe that, even after they die, they will continue through their children. When the Egyptian firstborn sons died, God showed that people cannot guarantee their own survival. Life is a gift. That gift is in the hand of the one Lord, the "I Am."Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. And all the first-born in the land ... shall die--The time, the suddenness, the dreadful severity of this coming calamity, and the peculiar description of victims, among both men and beasts, on whom it was to fall, would all contribute to aggravate its character. the maid-servant that is behind the mill--The grinding of the meal for daily use in every household is commonly done by female slaves and is considered the lowest employment. Two portable…Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 11:5

• Animals
• Firstborn
• Mill
• Plague
• Throne

In the dictionaries

• Egypt
• Pharaoh
• Egypt, Egyptian
• Pharaoh, king of Egypt
• Cry
• Die
• Firstborn
• Plague
• Divorce in the Old Testament
• Exodus, the Book of

Commentaries on Exodus 11

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings