<b>Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not been seen (Exod. 9:18).</b> Zabdi the son of Levi said: He made a mark upon the wall and told him that when the sun reached that mark tomorrow, the hail would fall. <i>Such as hath not been seen</i> implies that it would be a hail like none that had occurred previously, and would occur again only in the days to come, that is, in the time of Gog and Magog, as it is said: <i>Which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war</i> (Job 38:23). It also says: <i>And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; an overflowing shower and great hailstones</i> (Exod. 38:22). <i>And now therefore send, hasten in thy cattle</i> (ibid. 9:19), on account of the plague of hail. He said to him: Wicked one, the Lord is righteous indeed.
<i>And Moses stretched forth his rod unto heaven, and the Lord sent thunder and hail</i> (ibid., v. 23). Wherever Scripture says <i>and the Lord</i> it refers to Him and to His heavenly court. <i>And the Lord did unto Sarah as he had spoken</i> (Gen. 21:1), that is, He and His court. <i>And the Lord caused it to rain on Sodom</i> (ibid. 20:24), that is, He and His court. <i>And the Lord sent thunder and hail</i> (Exod. 9:23), that is, He and His court. <i>So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail</i> (ibid., v. 24). The words <i>fire flashing</i> indicate that after the hail, the fire flashed and consumed it, as is said: <i>But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten, for they ripen late</i> (ibid., v. 32). R. Phinehas and R. Judah the son of Shalum discussed this matter. R. Phinehas said: What is the meaning of <i>ripen late</i>? It indicates that the Holy One, blessed Be, performed a miracle with them. R. Judah, however, insisted that they were merely late in ripening. R. Phinehas maintained: It is written: <i>And the hail smote every herb of the field</i> (ibid., v. 25), and yet you insist that they were not smitten because they were still young. Obviously that is not so. The Holy One, blessed be He, performed a miracle with them.<sup class="footnote-marker">17</sup><i class="footnote">Word-play interpreting <i>afilot</i> (“late”) in Exod. 9:32 as <i>pelaim</i> (“wonders”).</i>
At that very moment the wicked Pharaoh cried out: <i>Entreat the Lord … and I will let them go</i> (Exod. 9:28). Moses replied: You said that at the time of the first plague, and I pleaded in your behalf, but yet you did not send them away. <i>Why should I entreat for thee and for thy servants</i>? (ibid. 8:5). Pharaoh replied: I have sinned before the Lord your God and against you, but now I will let them go. When Moses heard that, <i>Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands unto the Lord; and the thunders and the hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth</i> (ibid. 9:33). They were suspended in mid-air. When did they descend? Some descended upon the Amorites in the days of Joshua, as it is said: <i>The Lord cast down great stones from heaven upon them</i> (Josh. 10:11), and the remainder will fall on Gog and Magog in the days of the Messiah. <i>And the thunders ceased</i> (Exod. 9:34). They, too, were suspended (in mid-air). They descended in the days of Elisha, against the camp of the Arameans, as it is said: <i>For the Lord had made the hosts of the Arameans, to hear a noise of chariots, and a noise of horses</i> (II Kings 7:6).