The Egyptians urged the people to hurry and leave the country. For otherwise, we will all die! The urgency comes from below as well as above: not just Pharaoh but all the Egyptians urge Israel to leave. The popular fear — for otherwise, we will all die — is the final form of the testimony that the plagues were designed to produce. Egypt, from the throne to the street, knows that the God of Israel is at work. The Egyptians do not know much about YHWH, but they know enough: if these people stay, the dying will continue. The urgency with which Egypt expels Israel mirrors the urgency with which Goshen observed the Passover — both communities act under the weight of midnight's reality. The Exodus is not a gradual departure; it is a rush to leave before another blow falls.

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