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[1st Plague - water turns to blood and kills all fish and other aquatic life]

Moshe refuses the mission

Moshe's genealogy

Moshe returns to Pharaoh

The staff becomes a serpent

The Ten Plagues begin

G-d Thus was indicating that He would deliver His people from all four decrees that the Egyptians had made against them.  

For in the merit of the Torah the nation inherited the land, as it is written, "And He gave them the lands of nations... so that they might safeguard His statutes, and observe His teachings" (Tehillim 105:44-45)

The verse uses the term מוֹרָשָׁה (morashah), heritage, rather than יְרוּשָׁה (yerushah), inheritance, as an allusion to the fact that the Benei Yisrael living in Egypt would bequeath the Land of Yisrael to their descendants, but they would not take possession of it themselves, for they would not enter the land. (Bava Batra 119b).

6:9 Vayedaber Moshe ken el-bnei Yisrael velo sham'u el-Moshe mikotzer ruach ume'avodah kashah
So Moshe spoke accordingly to the Children of Yisrael; but they did not heed Moshe, because of shortness of breath and hard work.

Although Moshe came with a message of hope, the harsh labor had made the people despair so much that they could not accept it. (Rashi)

Also, many Benei Yisrael had accepted the idolatrous rites of Egypt as their religion, and they felt that they were gaining great spiritual insight from these practices.  Although their physical condition was terrible, they felt that the spiritual edification made up for it.  It was very difficult for them to abandon these spiritual practices to worship what was, to them, an unknown G-d.  for many years now, these idolatrous religions had filled their spiritual needs.

6:26 Hu Aharon uMoshe asher amar HASHEM lahem hotzi'u et-benei Yisrael me'eretz Mitzrayim al-tziv'otam
This was the Aharon and Moshe to whom HASHEM said: "Take the Children of Yisrael out of Egypt according to their legions."

It is obvious that the main intention of the Torah here is to provide the family history of Moshe and Aharon.  This being the case, one may ask why the Torah also includes Reuven and Shimon.  The Torah should have listed only Levi's family.

Before Yaakov died, he spoke very harshly to Reuven and Shimon.  They did not protest or even try to answer him, showing him perfect respect.  The Torah therefore also shows them respect, and lists their families along with Moshe and Aharon.

According to one opinion, all the tribes worshiped idols in Egypt, except for Reuven, Shimon and Levi.  They are therefore all counted together. (Shir HaShirim Rabbah)

Furthermore, all three of these brothers had positions of leadership in Egypt.  At first, Reuven, the eldest, was the leader of his brothers.  When Reuven died, leadership went to Shimon, and when Shimon died, to Levi.  When Levi died, the tribe of Yehudah wanted to assume leadership. A Divine voice told them, "Wait until your time comes.  Once you assume leadership, you will never lose it."

This also shows that Moshe and Aharon did not owe their position to mere accident or Divine favoritism.  Rather, their position had been carefully planned by Providence.  The leaders of the Benei Yisrael should have logically come from the eldest tribes, Reuven and Shimon.  But when G-d saw that no one in these tribes was worthy of leadership, He chose Moshe and Aharon from the tribe of Levi.

The Torah therefore states, "This was the Moshe and Aharon."  These are the ones who were fit for this mission.  In all the other tribes, they had no equals.

6:27 Hem hamedabrim el-Par'oh melech-Mitzrayim lehotzi et-benei-Yisrael miMitzrayim hu Moshe ve'Aharon
They were the ones who spoke to Pharaoh, king of Egypt, to take the Children of Yisrael out of the land of Egypt; this was the Moshe and Aharon.

This was the Msohe and Aharon.  they are the ones whom Yocheved bore to Amram.  They are the same Moshe and Aharon whome G-d told to bring the Benei Yisrael out of Egypt with their masses.  They received G-d's orders, and they obeyed them exactly, speaking to Par'oh, the king of Egypt. (Rashi)

They were always the same Moshe and Aharon.  They remained tzaddikim from the beginning to the end. (Rashi; Yeffeh Toar, p.18)

As we saw earlier, right after Aharon was born it was decreed that all male infants be thrown into the Nile.  The name אַהֲרֹן (Aharon) therefore comes from the root ירה (yarah), meaning "to throw."   We have also seen that it was because of Moshe that Par'oh had made a decree to kill all male infants.  Yocheved had placed Moshe among the reeds, and Par'oh's daughter, Bitya, had found him.

The Torah therefore states, "This was the Moshe and Aharon."  The harsh decrees came in their time, and even because of them. But they were also the ones who were given the mission to rescue the Benei Yisrael. (Chupat Eliahu)

7:1 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe re'eh netaticha Elokim le-Par'oh ve'Aharon achicha yihyeh nevi'echa
HASHEM said to Moshe, "See, I have made you a master over Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother shall be your spokesman.

G-d said to Moshe, "Do not be afraid.  You will be judge and court, imposing harsh penalties upon Par'oh.  Aharon, your brother, will be your spokesman. (Rashi)

7:6 Vaya'as Moshe ve'Aharon ka'asher tzivah HASHEM otam ken asu
Moshe and Aharon did as HASHEM commanded them; so they did.
7 UMoshe ben-shmonim shanah ve'Aharon ben-shalosh ushmonim shanah bedabram el-Par'oh
Moshe was eighty years old and Aharon was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

The custom now was just as it had been long ago in the time of Yosef.  Since Par'oh did not speak Hebrew, the speaker would say his piece in a normal voice, and his interpreter would announce it in Egyptian in a loud voice for all to hear.  In this case too, Moshe would speak quietly, and Aharon would translate his words for Par'oh.  This gave Moshe the high degree of respect that was due to him as G-d's ambassador. (Shemot Rabbah)


The First Plague: Blood


The Torah now describes the Ten Plagues that G-d sent against Par'oh and the Egyptians.  Each plague was a specific punishment for some evil that they did to the Benei Yisrael.

G-d had told Avraham, "Your descendants will be foreigners in a land that is not theirs.  The others will enslave them and torment them for 400 years.  Then I will judge the nation that enslaves them, and they will leave with great wealth" (Bereishit 15:13,14).  When G-d said that he would "judge" that nation, He meant that He would give them a fitting punishment.  Each plague would be a specific punishment for a wrong that they had committed. (Yeffeh Toar, p. 63)

7:14 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe kaved lev Par'oh me'en leshalach ha'amHASHEM said to Moshe, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn, he refuses to send the people.

"Par'oh's heart is stubborn" (kaved).  It is like a liver (kaved); the more it is roasted over fire, the tougher it becomes." (Ibid., p. 62)

7:15 Lech el-Par'oh baboker hineh yotze hamaymah venitzavta likrato al-sfat haYe'or vehamateh asher-nehepach lenachash tikach beyadecha
Go to Pharaoh in the morning - behold! he goes out to the water - and you shall stand opposite him at the River's bank, and the staff that was turned into a snake you shall take in your hand.

Par'oh was considered a god by the Egyptians.  He therefore did not have any bathrooms in his palace, even in a hidden place.  As a god, he would have no need for such a mundane facility. But every morning, he would go "out to the water" to a hidden place along the Nile.  Even his closest advisers were told that he was going there to meditate.  But while on the bank of the Nile, he would relieve himself.  In all Egypt, no one knew of this. (Shemot Rabbah, p. 63; Tamchuma; Rashi) The entire are around the Nile was restricted during the morning hours.  Par'oh did not want anyone to discover his secret. (Paaneach Raza)  After attending the call of nature, Par'oh would engage in solitary meditation on the banks of the Nile.  He was a master occultist, and would draw power from the Nile while meditating on its banks. (Rashi; Moed Katan 18a, s.v. Amgushi; See Shabbat 75a)

7:19 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe emor el-Aharon kach matecha unteh-yadecha al-meimei Mitzrayim al-naharotam al-ye'oreihem ve'al-agmeihem ve'al kol-mikveh meimeihem veyihyu dam vehayah dam bechol-eretz Mitzrayim uva'etzim uva'avanim
HASHEM said to Moshe, "Say to Aharon, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt: over their rivers, over their canals, over their reservoirs, and over all their gatherings of water, and they shall become blood; there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the wooden and stone vessels.'"

The first of the Ten Plagues was blood.  There would be blood in the rivers, in the irrigation canals, in the reservoirs, and in any water stored in a container.  Even water stored in wooden barrels and stone jugs would be affected. (Rashi)

Obviously, Aharon could not touch all these bodies of water with his staff.  But as soon as he touched the Nile, all these bodies of water were transformed into blood. (Zohar)

"Tell Aharon to strike the Nile with his staff," said G-d.  "You yourself cannot harm the Nile.  When you were an infant, the Nile protected you when your mother placed you in a basket and let you float on its waters. (Shemot Rabbah; Rashi)

"The Nile also protected you from the Egyptains.  Their astrologers had predicted that the redeemer of Yisrael would meet his end in water. Indeed, this was the reason that a law was made that Benei Yisrael infants should be thrown into the Nile.  But as soon as you were placed in the Nile, the astrologers and occultists assumed that you were dead, and ceased to search for you.  Since the Nile once benefited you, this plague should be initiated by your brother, Aharon." (Alshekh)

7:20 Vaya'asu chen Moshe ve'Aharon ka'asher tzivah HASHEM vayarem bamateh vayach et-hamayim asher baYe'or le'einei Par'oh ule'einei avadav vayehafechu kol-hamayim asher-baYe'or ledam
Moshe and Aharon did so, as HASHEM had commanded. He held the staff aloft and struck the water that was in the River in the presence of Pharaoh and in the presence of his servants, and all the water that was in the River changed to blood.

One reason for this plague was that the Egyptians had not allowed the Jewish women to immerse after their menstrual periods.  Since they kept this law even before the Torah was given, the women could not have any physical contact with their husbands.  As a result, very few children were born to the Benei Yisrael.  The transformation of the water into blood was a fitting punishment, a reminder of the menstrual blood that could not be purified because of the Egyptians. (Tanchuma; Shemot Rabbah)

Another reason for this plague was because Par'oh had slaughtered 300 Benei Yisrael infants every day in order to immerse in their blood. (Sifetei Kohen)

Furthermore, the Egyptians had shed blood by drowning the Benei Yisrael infants in the Nile. G-d now made this blood visible, for all the world to see.

A nation's water supply can have a profound effect on its populace.  Some water improves the health, while other water can enhance intelligence.  This is because of the chemical composition of the water, as well as the creatures that live in it.  The waters of the Nile were particularly effective in giving those who drank it mystical and occult powers. But after the Nile was transformed into blood, and all the life in the water died, the river ceased to have this unique property. (Sefer Chasidim)

7:21 Vehadagah asher baYe'or metah vayiv'ash haYe'or velo-yachlu Mitzrayim lishtot mayim min-haYe'or vayehi hadam bechol-eretz Mitzrayim
The fish-life that was in the River died and the River became foul; Egypt could not drink water from the River, and the blood was throughout the land of Egypt.

When the Great Flood came in the time of Noach, even though all life on the land was killed, the fish were not harmed.  Here, however, the fish were killed.

There was an important reason for this.  Before the Great Flood, sexual misconduct was rampant.  Even animals and birds mated incorrectly, often with strange species.  This is the reason that even animals and birds were killed by the flood.  Only the fish did not crossbreed, so they were spared.

Now, however, the fish had also participated in the crime.  When the Benei Yisrael infants were drowned in the Nile, their bodies were eaten by the fish.  Because of this, the fish deserved to die. (Toledot Yitzchak; Derashot Yeshenim)

The fish also died to show that the water had actually turned to blood and that it was not merely an illusion, such as the Egyptian magicians were able to perform.  When Aharon struck the Nile, the water turned into real blood, not just blood-colored water.  It had the taste and smell of blood, as well as the same chemical and physical composition.  This was evidenced by the fact that all the fish in the water died - a mere illusion would not kill them.

The death of the fish also showed that the blood was more than just surface deep.  Since the fish died, it was obvious that all the water, from top to bottom, had turned into blood. (Bachya; Kesef Nivchar; Kesef Mezukak).

Only water belonging to the Egyptians turned into blood.  The Benei Yisrael had ample supplies of fresh, pure water.

7:25 Vayimale shiv'at yamim acharei hakot-HASHEM et-haYe'or
Seven days were completed after HASHEM struck the River.

At the end of the seven days the water returned to normal.  Still, because of the dead fish, the water was highly polluted for many days and could not be used.  The only water available to the Egyptians was that from the wells they had dug on the banks of the Nile.


The Second Plague: Frogs 

7:26 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe bo el-Par'oh ve'amarta elav koh amar Hashem shalach et-ami veya'avduni
HASHEM said to Moshe, "Come to Pharaoh and say to him, 'So said Hashem; Send out My people that they may serve Me.
27 Ve'im-ma'en atah leshale'ach hineh anochi nogef et-kol-gevulecha batzfarde'im
But if you refuse to send out, behold, I shall strike your entire boundary with frogs.
28 Vesharatz haYe'or tzfarde'im ve'alu uva'u beveytecha uvachadar mishkavcha ve'al-mitatecha uveveit avadeicha uve'amecha uvetanureicha uvemish'aroteicha
The River shall swarm with frogs, and they shall ascend and come into your palace and your bedroom and your bed, and into the house of your servants and of your people, and into your ovens and into your kneading bowls.
29 Uvecha uve'amecha uvechol-avadeicha ya'alu hatzfarde'im
And into you and your people and all your servants will the frogs ascend.'"

The Egyptians had forced the Benei Yisrael to catch frogs and other reptiles for them with their bare hands.  The Egyptians were therefore punished with frogs. (Tanchuma; Shemot Rabbah, p. 66a)

The Par'oh was also punished for extinguishing the sound of the Torah.  The Benei Yisrael would get up early in the morning to worship and study.l  In the attempt to destroy the nation of Yisrael, the Egyptians were trying to shut off this sound of worship and Torah study.  Instead, the Benei Yisrael were raising their voices in terror, crying out because of their harsh labor.  Because of this the Egyptians were punished with frogs, who croaked and made noise without stopping. It was fitting punishment. (Zohar)

Furthermore, when the Hebrew women gave birth, they could not scream out, since if they did, their infants would be taken away by the Egyptians.  When one is in pain and cannot even cry out, his agony is all the worse.  Since the Egyptians did not let the Hebrew women cry out, they were now assaulted by the cries of the frogs. (Zevach Pesach; Kesef Nivchar)

8:2 Vayet Aharon et-yado al meimei Mitzrayim vata'al hatzfardea vatechas et-eretz Mitzrayim
Aharon stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frog-infestation ascended and covered the land of Egypt.

Every drop of water in Egypt swarmed with frogs.  Even if an Egyptian was drinking a cup of water, it suddenly became filled with frogs. (Shemot Rabbah)

Actually, the Torah does not say "the frogs (tzefardim) ascended," but literally, "the frog (tzefardea) ascended," in the singular.   Rabbi Akiva taught that a single large frog hopped up out of the Nile.  The Egyptians began to beat it, and each time they hit it, it gave forth frogs.  The more the Egyptians tried to kill the frogs, the more they increased.

In this plague, the Par'oh was singled out for a special punishment.  Long before, an earlier Par'oh had take Sarah and had fallen in love with her (Bereishit 12:15). When he saw that he had to let her go without even touching her, he had a lifelike mannequin made, looking exactly like Sarah.  Par'oh kept this mannequin in his room, and would often take it to bed with him.  After the earlier Par'oh died, his successors made similar use of the beautiful mannequin.  Par'oh was punished by having his bedroom and bed filled with frogs. (Zohar)

If one examines this section carefully, he will notice that the word "frogs" (tzefardim) appears 10 times in this section.  This indicates that the plague of frogs in itself was as bad as ten plagues.

The plague of frogs only struck areas where the Egyptians lived. In Goshen, where the Benei Yisrael lived, there were no frogs. (Kesef Mezukak)


The Third Plague: Lice

8:12 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe emor el-Aharon neteh et-matcha vehach et-afar ha'aretz vehayah lechinim bechol eretz Mitzrayim
HASHEM said to Moshe, "Say to Aharon, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land; it shall become lice throughout the land of Egypt.

"Tell Aharon to initiate this plague. You cannot do it, because you once benefited from the ground.  When you killed the Egyptian, you hid him in the sand, and the ground concealed his body (2:12).  Since you once benefited from the soil, you should not be the one to make it into something destructive. Therefore tell Aharon to do it." (Shemot Rabbah; Targum Yonatan)

8:13 Vaya'asu-chen vayet Aharon et-yado vematehu vayach et-afar ha'aretz vatehi hakinam ba'adam uvabehemah kol-afar ha'aretz hayah chinim bechol-eretz Mitzrayim
So they did: Aharon stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the land, and the lice-infestation was on man and beast; all the dust of the land became lice, throughout the land of Egypt.

As soon as Aharon struck the ground with his staff, two things happened:

1. Every man and beast near Aharon was immediately covered with lice and vermin, as if he had lived in a garbage dump for a year.  
2. All the dust in Egypt, both far and near, was transformed into lice and gnats, attacking man and beast alike.

This plague consisted of hordes of wild beast: lions, tigers, wolves, bears, snakes, scorpions, wasps, mosquitos  crows, locusts, and all other kinds of harmful creatures. (Rashi)  Also included in this plague would be the same frogs and lice as before.  It would be a terrifying mixture of all the harmful creatures in the world. (Rabbi Moshe ibn Chabib)

8:20 Vaya'as HASHEM ken vayavo arov kaved beitah Par'oh uveit avadav uvechol-eretz Mitzrayim tishachet ha'aretz mipenei he'arov
HASHEM did so and a severe swarm of wild beasts came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants; and throughout the land of Egypt the land was being ruined because of the swarm.

Even the land was runied by this plague.  The droppings of these foreign animals polluted the soil, killing many plants and trees. (Abarbanel)

This plague was a very fitting punishment.  The Egyptians kept up fine zoos, and they sent the Benei Yisrael on dangerous expeditions into the deserts and jungles to capture animals for them.  The Egyptians would deliberately send the Benei Yisrael on the most dangerous missions, often merely to torment them. (Tanchuma; Shemot Rabbah, p. 61)

This was also punishment for Par'oh's practice of bathing in the blood of the Benei Yisrael infants, killing 150 each morning and 150 each evening for this nefarious purpose. G-d had given the animals responsibility for avenging such cold-blooeded murders, as He said, "Only the blood of your souls I will demand an account - from the hand of every wild beast I will demand an account" (Bereishit 9:5). If a murderer is not punished by the courts, he will often be punished by wild beasts.  Par'oh had spilled so much innocent blood literally that his entire nation was punished for it by wild beasts. (Sifetei Kohen)

Another reason for this plague was that because of their servitude, the Benei Yisrael were no longer able to tend their flocks.  Without shepherds, the flocks were torn to pieces by wild animals.  A similar punishment was therefore meted out to the Egyptians. (Zevach Pesach)

The Benei Yisrael tried to keep many rules of the Torah even in Egypt.  The Egyptians forced them to eat milk and meat cooked together.  For making the Benei Yisrael partake of a forbidden mixture, G-d brough wild beasts to places where He had previously forbidden them to enter.  It was a mixture of beasts that His laws of nature previously would not allow to exist.

8:22 Vayomer Moshe lo nachon la'asot ken ki to'avat Mitzrayim nizbach l'HASHEM Elokeinu hen nizbach et-to'avat Mitzrayim le'eineihem velo yiskelunu
Moshe said, "It is not proper to do so, for we will offer the deity of Egypt to HASHEM, our G-d - behold, if we were to slaughter the deity of Egypt in their sight, will they not stone us?
23 Derech shloshet yamim nelech bamidbar vezavachnu l'HASHEM Elokeinu ka'asher yomar eleinu
We will go on a three-day journey in the Wilderness, and bring offerings to HASHEM, our G-d, as He will tell us."

The sheep were sacred to Egyptians, and that was the animal that the Benei Yisrael would have to sacrifice.  In Hebrew, the Torah actually uses the word "abomination" (to'evah) to describe something sacred to the Egyptains. (Rashi)

At that time, the Egyptian religion also demanded strict vegetarianism, just as the Hindu religion does today.  The Egyptians avoided all animal products, even eggs and cheese.  Anyone who ate meat was considered utterly disgusting to the Egyptians. Even if a fruit or vegetable came in contact with any animal product, the Egyptians would refuse to eat it.  Vessels used by people who ate meat were considered unclean by them. We thus see that Potifar would not let Yosef touch any bread in the house (Bereishit 39:6)


The Fifth Plague: Death of Animals

9:1 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe bo el-Par'oh vedibarta elav koh amar HASHEM Elokei ha'Ivrim shalach et-ami veya'avduni
HASHEM said to Moshe, "Come to Pharaoh and speak to him, 'So said HASHEM, the G-d of the Hebrews: Send out My people that they may serve Me.'
2 Ki im-ma'en atah leshale'ach ve'odecha machazik bam
For if you refuse to send out, and you continue to grip them;
3 Hineh yad HASHEM hoyah bemiknecha asher basadeh basusim bachamorim bagmalim babakar uvatzon dever kaved me'od
behold, the hand of HASHEM is on your livestock that are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the cattle, and on the flock - a very severe epidemic.
4 Vehiflah HASHEM bein mikneh Yisrael uvein mikneh Mitzrayim velo yamut mikol-livnei Yisrael davar
HASHEM shall distinguish between the livestock of Yisrael and the livestock of Egypt, and not a thing that belongs to the Children of Yisrael will die.
5 Vayasem HASHEM mo'ed lemor machar ya'aseh HASHEM hadavar hazeh ba'aretz
HASHEM has set an appointed time, saying, 'Tomorrow HASHEM shall carry out this word in the land.'"

G-d said the "livestock that are in the field" would die, simply because most livestock was normally kept outdoors.  Even animals brought into the house would die. (RaMBaN)

G-d also said that he would make a miraculous "distinction between the livestock of Yisrael and the livestock of Egypt".  The Egyptian flocks were pastured as far as G0she, and there, they would often be in close proximity with those of the Benei Yisrael.  Furthermore, when an epidemic strikes one flock, it spreads to others very readily.  The fact that not a single one of the Benei Yisrael's animals died would be an obvious miracle. (RaMBaN; Bachya. Cf. Siftei Kohen)


The Sixth Plague: Boils

9:8 Vayomer HASHEM el-Moshe ve'el-Aharon kechu lachem melo chofneichem piach kivshan uzrako Moshe hashamaymah le'einei Par'oh
HASHEM said to Moshe and Aharon, "Take for yourselves handfuls of furnace soot, and let Moshe hurl it heavenward before Pharaoh's eyes.
9 Vehayah le'avak al kol-eretz Mitzrayim vehayah al-ha'adam ve'al-habehemah lishchin pore'ach avabu'ot bechol-eretz Mitzrayim
It will become dust over the entire land of Egypt, and it will become boils erupting into blisters on man and beast throughout the land of Egypt."

G-d told Moshe and Aharon to take hot ashes from the oven.  These ashes were to be thrown up in the air, and wherever they settled on a man or animal, they would cause boils, filled with pus. (Targum Yonatan)

There were three major miralces during this plague:

1. As the Torah states, Moshe and Aharon were each to take as much ash as they could hold in both hands when cupped together, but that Moshe alone was to throw it (9:8).  This would mean that in each hand, Moshe would have to hold as much ash as each one had previously held in his two hands cupped together. (Shemot Rabbah, p. 68; Tanchuma)
2. The ash spread all over the land of Egypt.  This small amount of ash was able to coat every man and beast in the entire land.
3. Ash is light, and cannot be thrown very far.  But when Moshe threw the fine ash up in the air, he was able to throw it so far that it went out of sight.  The ash actually escaped the atmosphere, and picked up radioactivity from space; it was this that caused the blisters and boils. (Shemot Rabbah)

9:19 Ve'atah shlach ha'ez et-miknecha ve'et kol-asher lecha basadeh kol-ha'adam vehabehemah asher-yimatze vasadeh velo ye'asef habaytah veyarad alehem habarad vametu
And now send, gather in your livestock and everything you have in the field; all the people and animals that are found in the field that are not gathered into the house - the hail shall descend upon them and they shall die.'"

In the case of this plague, G-d sent warning.  He did not intend that the hail kill man or beast.  It was only meant to destroy the Egyptians' crop and trees. (Shemot Rabbah; Shir HaShirim Rabbah; BaMidbar Rabbah, loc. cit.)

Most of the Egyptians cavalry horses had survived the epidemic, and G-d did not want them to be killed by the hail.  He wanted to save these animals to give Par'oh the opportunity to attack the Benei Yisrael by the Red Sea.  As a result, all of Par'oh's cavalry and chariot corps would be drowned in the Red Sea (14:28). (Shemot Rabbah, p. 71)

9:23 Vayet Moshe et-matehu al-hashamayim va'HASHEM natan kolot uvarad vatihalach-esh artzah vayamter HASHEM barad al-eretz MitzrayimMoshe stretched out his staff toward heaven, and HASHEM sent thunder and hail, and fire went earthward, and HASHEM rained hail upon the land of Egypt.
24 Vayehi varad ve'esh mitlakachat betoch habarad kaved me'od asher lo-hayah chamohu bechol-eretz Mitzrayim me'az hayetah legoy
There was hail, and fire flaming amid the hail - very heavy such as had never been in the entire land of Egypt, from the time it became a nation.

Egypt is a very dry country, and hail is extremely rare there.  It hardly ever rains in Egypt; all irrigation comes from the rising of the Nile each summer.  Thunder, lightning and hail were therefore highly unusual.

Egypt was originally covered by the Mediterranean sea.  Therefore, most of the land is covered with sand, and fish are occasionally unearthed under the ground.   Geological upheavals later raised the land and lifted it above sea level.  The descendants of Cham later settled in this land, eventually building large cities.  Since the time the land rose up from the sea, there had not been such a rain in Egypt. (Abarbanel)

The plague of hail was miraculous in three ways:

1. It would normally be impossible for fire and hail to be together, since they are opposites.  In this plague, there was fire right inside the hailstones.
2. The hailstones were very huge.  Each hailstone was as large as six handfuls of ice.  The bottom half of each hailstone was ice and fire, while the top half was all fire. (Rashi; Toledot YItzchak; Shir HaShirim on 3:11; BaMidbar Rabbah, Nasso, Chapter 12)
3. The ice was able to contain the fire without melting.  Moreover, the fire was not extinguished by the hail. (Yaffeh Toar, p. 72; Shemot Rabbah)  Each of the huge hailstones therefore looked like a lantern. It was a phenomenon that had never been seen before on earth. (Shemot Rabbah; Shir HaShirim Rabbah; BaMidbar Rabbah, loc. cit.)