כי אני הכבדתי את לבו, during all the preceding plagues we do not find that G’d had told Moses that it was He Who had stiffened Pharaoh’s heart. However, since we have reached the stage where Pharaoh himself had said that “G’d is just whereas he and his people are the sinners,” (9,27) and still he had reneged and sinned deliberately, a phenomenon which must have seemed incomprehensible to Moses, G’d explains the psychology behind this, i.e. that it was not as hard to understand, as He Himself had to stiffen Pharaoh’s resolve causing him to renege. ואת לב עבדיו, as we are told in 9,34.

שיתי, equivalent to שומי, “I am setting.”

התעללתי, engaged in actions.

לענות, related to עני, poor, ענוי, oppressed, Pharaoh refused to humble himself, to act as if he was a poor man rather than an autocrat.

ולא יוכל (הרואה) לראות, anyone trying to see would be unable to see what he was trying to see as it was covered with locust.

העץ הצומח, for the hail had destroyed the trees. The locust would devour anything which would grow after the hail.

?הטרם תדע; do you still not realise that Egypt will be lost by the cumulative effect of these plagues?

כי רעה נגד פניכם. You have foolish designs in your hearts. The accuracy of this interpretation is reflected by Isaiah 5,21 הוי חכמים בעיניהם ונגד (פניהם) נבונים, “Ah, those who are so wise, in their own opinion, so clever in their own judgment.” Pharaoh was at pains to tell Moses that what he thought was good for the Jews was not good for them at all.

ועבדו את ה' כי אותה אתם מבקשים, you have requested from me to let you serve the Lord; what do you need women and children for? This is why Pharaoh got angry and expelled Moses and Aaron, adding that “by G’d I will not grant such an unreasonable request!” (verse 10)

(2) AND HE the one who expelled them EXPELLED THEM.

ויהפוך ה' רוח קדים, because the east wind had brought them from the west so that a west wind will bring them back to where they came from.

וימש חשך, same as ויאמש חשך. This construction with variable spelling is similar to Isaiah 13,20 ולא יהל שם ערבי meaning the same as ולא יאהל שם ערבי, “no Arab shall pitch his tent there.” By remembering this missing letter א, we understand the meaning of the line as “the darkness of the (previous) night will continue and intensify so that there will be no light for three days.”

חשך אפלה, a combination of regular darkness (absence of sunlight), plus added deep darkness.

מתחתיו, according to the plain meaning: “from his house.” The reason was that they did not know where they would be headed.

היה אור במושבותם, even if he lived right next to an Egyptian.