“And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.”
My Notes
What Does Exodus 9:33 Mean?
"Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread abroad his hands unto the LORD: and the thunders and hail ceased." Moses leaves Pharaoh's presence, goes outside the city, and spreads his hands toward God. The hail stops. The thunder ceases. The rain ends. The act is public, physical, and immediate: spread hands → storm stops.
The going out of the city is significant: Moses doesn't perform the prayer in Pharaoh's palace. He leaves the city — exits the sphere of Egyptian power — and prays in the open. The prayer happens in God's space, not in Pharaoh's. The separation between the two domains is physical: the city belongs to Pharaoh. The open ground belongs to God.
The spreading of hands (paras kappav — spreading his palms) is the posture of open-handed prayer: palms up, arms out, the body positioned as a receiver. Moses doesn't clench his fists or point at the sky. He opens his hands. The stopping of the plague flows through the same posture as the asking: open, receptive, surrendered.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What 'city' do you need to leave before you can effectively pray?
- 2.How does physical posture — spread hands, open palms — participate in prayer?
- 3.What does leaving Pharaoh's domain to enter God's domain teach about where prayer happens best?
- 4.What storm in your life might respond to the simple act of spreading your hands to God?
Devotional
Moses leaves the city. Spreads his hands to God. And the storm stops. The hail ceases. The thunder goes silent. The open hands produce the open sky.
The going-out is the first step: Moses separates himself from Pharaoh's domain before approaching God's. He doesn't pray in the palace. He doesn't perform the miracle inside Egyptian power structures. He goes outside. The prayer requires distance from the empire and proximity to God. You can't serve both audiences simultaneously.
The spread hands are the posture of surrender and reception: palms open, arms extended, the body saying what the mouth prays — I'm available. I'm empty. Fill me. Use me. The hands that held the rod for judgment now open for mercy. The same person who called down the hail now asks for it to stop.
The immediacy — spread hands, storm ceases — shows that God responds to intercessory prayer in real time. The hail doesn't gradually diminish. The thunder doesn't slowly fade. They cease. The prayer produces instant response. Not every prayer does. This one does because the intercession matches the moment.
The physical prayer — leaving a location, going to another, adopting a specific posture — teaches that prayer isn't purely internal. Your body participates. Your location matters. Your posture communicates. Moses doesn't just think a prayer from Pharaoh's throne room. He walks outside, spreads his hands, and the sky responds.
What do you need to leave before you can effectively pray? What 'city' — what environment, what influence, what power structure — do you need to exit before your hands can spread toward God?
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And when Pharaoh saw that the rain, and the hail, and the thunders were ceased,.... And there was a clear sky and a fine…
With the plague of hail begins the last series of plagues, which differ from the former both in their severity and their…
Spread abroad his hands - Probably with the rod of God in them. See what has been said on the spreading out of the hands…
The threatened plague of hail is here summoned by the powerful hand and rod of Moses (Exo 9:22, Exo 9:23), and it obeys…
The Pharaoh craves a third time (see Exo 8:8; Exo 8:28) for a cessation of the plague.