And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and it became a boil breaking forth with blains upon man, and upon beast.
So they took ashes from a furnace and stood in front of Pharaoh. Moses threw the ashes up into the air toward heaven, and they caused painful sores and boils to break out on both people and animals.
This verse describes the sixth plague God sent on Egypt, where Moses threw furnace ashes that caused painful boils to appear on everyone and their animals.
📚 Historical Context
This event occurred during the ten plagues God sent upon Egypt to convince Pharaoh to release the Israelites from slavery. The plague of boils was the sixth plague, and it would have been particularly humiliating since Egyptian magicians, who had been trying to counter Moses' miracles, were now unable to even stand before Pharaoh due to their own painful sores. Furnaces were common in Egypt for brick-making and metalwork, making the source of the ashes very recognizable.
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