exodus 9:8-21, two warnings

Read Exodus 9:8-21 at Bible Gateway.

Hebrew paragraph divisions

Exo 9:8-12 {s} The plague of boils
Exo 9:13-21 {p} Warning re: the plague of hail

Now here is a puzzle. The first paragraph, of the plague of boils, is a weak paragraph. (See The Teaching Tools of Scripture.) The second paragraph concludes the theme or topic begun in the first paragraph, and yet the strong paragraph division comes after the warning of the plague of hail, but before the plague of hail is accomplished! These are the kinds of puzzles which probably caused the English translators to discard the Hebrew paragraph divisions in the first place, because they don’t always make logical sense! That is, logical sense to human thinking:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,” says YHVH.
“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways,
And My thoughts than your thoughts.” Isa 55:8-9

I began to solve the puzzle by working out the chiastic structures. It has been my experience that most individual paragraphs form chiastic structures or reverse parallelisms, even if only a mini one, and most strong themes also form its own structure or reverse parallelism. This is what I came up with:

Exo 9:8-12 {s} reverse parallelism

Exo 9:13-21 {p} chiastic structure

Exo 9:8-21 {s+p} strong theme chiastic structure

And the strong theme chiastic structure helped to solve the puzzle:

These two paragraphs are two warnings; that is why they belong together in a single strong theme. By the plague of boils, YHVH was revealing to Pharaoh and the Egyptians that He is able to bring a pestilence on people as well as livestock (which the 5th plague on livestock showed). The central axis of the strong theme highlights what YHVH said to Pharaoh:

Surely by now, had I put forth My hand, and smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been cut off from the earth. Exo 9:15

In other words, I am capable of bringing a pestilence causing your death upon you, Egyptians, just as was brought upon your cattle, therefore take heed to My word, and save your life! Let My people go, Pharaoh, and at least, Egyptians, bring your people and your livestock under cover!

YHVH continues to show restraint and mercy, giving fair warning by increments to a people who do not know Him, and teaching those who do not know Him to have regard for His word. He is very careful to warn concerning the plague of hail, for it will be the first plague which there is potential for loss of human life.