Essay sur L’Exode 11:1

What seems to be the introduction to the last plague is made up of motifs common to several of the previous ones. It also reintroduces the idea of despoiling the Egyptians, which had been mentioned in Moshe’s original commission (3:21–22)—so we know that redemption is at hand. Artfully, the specification of what “one more blow” is, is delayed until v.5. In addition, there is the motif of Moshe’s greatness/fame among the Egyptians, which would appear to be a suppressed remnant of the story (in the face of the desire to glorify God as the hero). The section ends (vv.9–10) with a summary of the entire Plague Narrative—or at least of what is to be learned from it.