The Plague of Hail in Egypt: Fire, Ice and Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart

Immediately after the plague of boils — while the Egyptians’ wounds had not yet healed, Moshe appeared before Pharaoh and warned him that if he refused to send the Children of Israel away, Egypt would be struck by a plague of hail unlike anything ever seen before. Pharaoh, whose heart God had hardened, refused to listen. The warning was repeated for three weeks.

On the final day, Pharaoh grew tired of the constant warnings and decided to go to the Nile by a different route so that Moshe would not encounter him. Yet before he could leave the palace, he was shocked to find Moshe already there, having arrived before him.

Moshe said to him: “If you still refuse to send Israel away, know that tomorrow, at exactly this hour — when the sun reaches the mark I am showing you on this wall — God will rain upon Egypt a hailstorm unlike any that has ever existed.” Moshe added that anyone wishing to be spared should bring themselves and their livestock indoors. Anything left outside would be destroyed by the hail. Blessed is the Holy One, whose ways are not like those of human beings. When a person wishes to harm his fellow, he hides his intentions; but God warns and even advises how to escape.

Hail and Flames of Fire

The next day, at the exact moment the sun reached the mark on the wall, Moshe lifted his hand toward the heavens with the staff of God in his hand. Lightning flashed, thunder roared, and the earth trembled. Massive hailstones crashed down with tremendous force.

Until this plague, the Egyptians had never experienced rain. Now hail fell upon them — not small pellets of ice, but stones the size of watermelons. Inside the hail burned blazing balls of fire from heaven. The phenomenon defied all logic: fire and water combined, yet neither affected the other. The fire did not melt the ice, and the ice did not extinguish the fire. All natural laws seemed to collapse.

The Egyptians saw enormous flashes of lightning and were seized with terror; never before had they witnessed such sights or heard such thunder. Their hearts melted with fear. Before they could recover, more lightning struck, more thunder rolled, and the earth shook, and then the hail fell.

Some Egyptians believed the world was returning to chaos, that heaven and earth were collapsing. Some crawled beneath beds; others curled into trembling balls in corners. Some shut their eyes tightly and stuffed their hands into their ears. Their tongues froze in terror. Others screamed in panic. Just as they had once terrified Israel with harsh voices and insults, now they themselves were terrified by overwhelming sounds.

Living Together with the Animals

The animals that had been brought indoors for protection were also frightened by the chaos outside. They cried out, rampaged, and filled Egyptian homes with noise and foul smells. Some Egyptians grew weary of living alongside panicked animals and sent them back outside to die in the hail. As they had forced Israel to live among livestock in the fields for months, they now tasted the same experience.

Some Egyptians tried to outsmart the decree. Instead of bringing their animals into their homes, they sealed their barns with clay and hid both servants and livestock there. But one cannot outwit the Creator. God had commanded that they be brought indoors; any other plan would fail. The fire trapped inside the hail sought to burst outward, and when the pressure grew too great, explosions shattered fences and structures. Humans and animals alike perished, just as God had said through Moshe. Astonishingly, the Israelites and their flocks were not harmed at all. They heard only the thunder, for thunder comes to straighten the crookedness of the heart — something Israel needed at that time.

The crops and vegetation suffered immense damage. The heavy hail shattered trees and produce at their roots, and afterward the fire burned them. Yet the softer crops, such as wheat and spelt, were not destroyed. God brought punishment in a measured way, leaving Egypt with the means to survive so that His wonders might continue to be revealed.

The Hail Stops

After seven days, Pharaoh finally yielded under the force of the plague. He called for Moshe and Aaron and declared, “This time I have sinned. God is righteous, and I and my people are wicked.” He begged them to pray that the plague cease immediately, promising that he would send Israel away.

Moshe replied that Pharaoh had said the same during previous plagues without keeping his word. Pharaoh insisted again: “I have sinned — to the Lord your God and to you. Now I will send them.” Moshe answered, “I know you will not keep your promise, but I will leave the city and pray so that you will know there is none like God in all the earth.”

Moshe departed, and through a miraculous shortening of the journey he reached outside the city immediately. He prayed, and at once the hail stopped — even the hail that was already falling in midair froze in place. According to tradition, God suspended this hail between heaven and earth for forty-one years, until the time of Yehoshua

“And Pharaoh saw that the rain, hail, and thunder had ceased, and he continued to sin; he hardened his heart, he and his servants.” Pharaoh returned to his stubbornness. Yet the plague left its mark: from that point onward he began to show a measure of respect toward Israel and removed their forced labor entirely. In truth, he gained nothing by keeping them in Egypt, but pride and the refusal to submit before God prevented him from letting them go.