And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land, even all that the hail hath left.

EXODUS 10:12KJV
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Exodus 10:12 (KJV)

What does Exodus 10:12 mean?

Exodus 10:12 describes God commanding Moses to stretch out his hand over Egypt so that a swarm of locusts will come and eat all the remaining plants that survived the earlier hailstorm. This verse shows God directing Moses to bring about the next plague as a judgment on Egypt.

In this scene, the LORD speaks directly to Moses, instructing him to take a specific action—stretching out his hand—as a sign that will trigger the arrival of locusts. The context is the series of plagues sent to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The verse highlights that the locusts will finish off any vegetation that the previous plague of hail did not destroy, showing the increasing severity of the judgments.

The Hebrew behind Exodus 10:12

  • The word for "locusts" is אַרְבֶּה (’arbeh), which refers specifically to the kind of insect known for swarming and devastating crops. This detail emphasizes the total destruction about to happen to Egypt’s food supply.
  • The verb "eat" is אָכַל (’akal), which means to consume or devour. The use of this word underlines the thoroughness with which the locusts will strip the land of anything green.
  • The word for "left" is שָׁאַר (sha’ar), meaning what remains or is left over. This shows that the locusts are coming to finish what the hail started, leaving nothing behind.

Why Exodus 10:12 matters

  • Exodus 10:12 clarifies that the plagues were not random disasters but were carried out by God’s direct command, with Moses acting as God’s chosen agent.
  • The verse emphasizes the escalating nature of the plagues: each new disaster builds on the last, showing increasing pressure on Pharaoh and Egypt.
  • By specifying that the locusts will eat what the hail left, Exodus 10:12 highlights the completeness of God’s judgment and the hopelessness of resisting His will.

Where else these words appear

“locusts” Hebrew H697 · used in 21 verses

  • Exodus 10:4 Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast:
  • Judges 6:5 For they came up with their cattle and their tents, and they came as grasshoppers for multitude; for both they and their camels were without number: and they entered into the land to destroy it.
  • Psalms 109:23 I am gone like the shadow when it declineth: I am tossed up and down as the locust.

“hail” Hebrew H1259 · used in 26 verses

  • Exodus 9:18 Behold, to morrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
  • Exodus 9:29 And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the LORD'S.
  • Psalms 18:13 The LORD also thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.

“herb” Hebrew H6212 · used in 32 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Deuteronomy 11:15 And I will send grass in thy fields for thy cattle, that thou mayest eat and be full.
  • Psalms 105:35 And did eat up all the herbs in their land, and devoured the fruit of their ground.

“left” Hebrew H7604 · used in 123 verses

  • Genesis 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
  • Joshua 13:2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,
  • Nehemiah 1:2 That Hanani, one of my brethren, came, he and certain men of Judah; and I asked them concerning the Jews that had escaped, which were left of the captivity, and concerning Jerusalem.