“So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation.”
Hail fell and lightning flashed back and forth. It was the worst storm in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. The superlative established in verse 18 is now confirmed in the event: worst ever. The qualifying phrase since it had become a nation locates the plague within Egyptian history — this is not pre-history but recorded time, within the memory of the civilization. What Egypt could previously claim was an example of divine favor — the absence of such catastrophes — is now inverted. The god who protected Egypt from storms has been shown to have no power over the God of the Hebrews who commands them. Nahum 1:3 says the Lord's way is in the whirlwind and the storm, and clouds are the dust of his feet — the storm over Egypt is God walking through the land in judgment.
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