Wisdom
Chapter 18
Meanwhile, for your holy ones, there was great light. The Egyptians heard their voice without seeing them; they called them fortunate because they had not suffered.
They also thanked them, for despite the injustice done to them, they had not retaliated, and they asked for their pardon for previous wrongs.
In contrast to this darkness, you gave your holy people a pillar of fire as a guide on their uncharted journey, like a gentle sun during their glorious migration.
The enemy deserved to be without light and trapped in darkness for having imprisoned your children, the people through whom the imperishable light of your laws would be given to the world.
Judgment of the Firstborn
They had planned to kill the infants of your holy people, and of those exposed, only one child was saved. Because of that, you retaliated by destroying many of their sons, who perished together in the raging sea.
That night had been foretold to our ancestors, and trusting in the promise, they could rejoice in all surety.
Your people waited for both the salvation of the righteous and the downfall of their enemies,
for the punishment of our enemies brought glory to the people you have called—that is, to us.
The holy race secretly offered the Passover sacrifice and truly agreed on this worthy pact: that they would share blessings and dangers equally. Then they began to sing the hymns of their fathers.
Then came discordant echoes from their enemies: mournful voices mourning their children.
The same sentence struck slave and master alike; the commoner and the king endured equal suffering.
They mourned together for countless victims, all struck down by the same kind of death. The living were not enough to bury them, for the flower of their race had perished in an instant.
Although sorcery had turned them into unbelievers, after the death of their firstborn, they recognized that your people were the children of God.
While everything was silent and the night was halfway through,
your mighty word descended from the royal throne—a stern warrior to a doomed world.
Carrying your fearsome command like a sharpened sword and stretching from heaven to earth, it filled the universe with death.
Immediately, they were overwhelmed with terrible dreams and hallucinations and were seized by sudden fears.
Thrown half-dead, some here and some there, they revealed why they were dying,
for the dreams that troubled them had also taught them, lest they perish without understanding the reason for their misfortune.
Atonement
Indeed, even the righteous experienced death when a scourge struck many of them in the desert, but God’s anger was brief.
A blameless man hurried to defend them. Using the instruments of his sacred office—prayer and atonement incense—he confronted the divine Wrath, ending their suffering, and was recognized as your servant.
He defeated your Wrath not through physical strength or weaponry, but by reminding the Punisher of the vows and covenants made with our ancestors.
The dead were already piled up, one on top of the other, when he stepped in, pushing back Wrath and freeing the living.
The entire world was represented on his flowing robe—the glorious names of the fathers on the four rows of stones, and your majesty engraved on the diadem on his head.
The Destroyer, frightened by these signs, recoiled; a mere taste of Wrath had been enough.
Commentaries
Historical Judgments II.
The section on historical judgments that started in chapter 11 continues.
Judgment of Darkness.
The author now interprets the plague of darkness in Egypt (Ex 10:21-23). Conclusion: While the Egyptians experienced darkness, the Israelites were guided by the pillar of fire. The darkness of Egypt symbolizes the darkness of hell, reserved for sinners (17:21), while the Law serves as the light that illuminates the world (18:4, cf. Is 2:2-5). The author encourages believers to reflect on their own history to find God’s fingerprints.
Judgment of the Firstborn.
Using the same approach as in previous passages, a connection is now drawn between the tenth plague in Exodus and the Israelites’ departure from Egypt. As punishment for their decision to kill the firstborn (Ex 1:22-2:10), the Egyptians are condemned to lose their own firstborn (Ex 11:4-6; 12:29-32), thereby illustrating that Israel is God’s Son. The book of Exodus itself does not explicitly link these two events. Some details are noteworthy, such as the reference to the promises made to the Patriarchs (6; cf. Gn 15:13ff; 46:3ff), the shift to the past in the way Passover was celebrated in the 1st century B.C., when the “Hallel” (9; cf. Ps 113-118) was sung, or the use of the word as a tool for divine judgment (15; cf. Jr 23:29; Hos 6:5).
Atonement.
This section recounts the plague that afflicted the Israelites in the desert (Nm 16:44-50). No parallel is drawn with the Egyptians; instead, the emphasis is on the difference—the plague did not last long, thanks to the priest Aaron. The description of Aaron’s priestly garments is interesting because it combines, on one hand, biblical tradition—for example, “the four rows of carved stones” symbolized the tribes or patriarchs (Ex 28:15-21); and the “diadem” represented the greatness of priestly dignity (Ex 28:36)—and, on the other hand, Jewish tradition—where the tunic represented the sky, the sash the ocean, and the shoulder clasps the sun and moon. The history of the biblical people is full of failures and infidelities, but what is most surprising is that it is always God who initiates the restoration of the relationship. The most remarkable proof of this is the sacrifice of His own Son. Through this, believers recognize that mercy is more important than justice.