Exodus 10:7

“And Pharaoh’s servants said to him, etc.] His courtiers and counsellors, such of them as were not so hardened as others, or however now began to relent, and dreaded what would be the consequence of things, even the ruin of the whole country, the good of which they seem to have had at heart: how long shall this man be a snare unto us? an occasion of ruin and destruction, as birds by a snare; they speak in a contemptuous manner of Moses, calling him “this man”, the rather to ingratiate themselves into the good will of Pharaoh, and that their advice might be the better and the easier taken: let the men go, that they may serve the Lord their God: that is, Moses and his people, grant them their…”

“Pharaoh's servants said--Many of his courtiers must have suffered serious losses from the late visitations, and the prospect of such a calamity as that which was threatened and the magnitude of which former experience enabled them to realize, led them to make a strong remonstrance with the king. Finding himself not seconded by his counsellors in his continued resistance, he recalled Moses and Aaron, and having expressed his consent to their departure, inquired who were to go. The prompt and decisive reply, "all," neither man nor beast shall remain, raised a storm of indignant fury in the breast of the proud king. He would permit the grown-up men to go away; but no other terms would be…”

“For the first time the officers of Pharaoh intervene before the scourge is inflicted, showing at once their belief in the threat, and their special terror of the infliction. Also, for the first time, Pharaoh takes measures to prevent the evil; he does not indeed send for Moses and Aaron, but he permits them to be brought into his presence. Let the men go - i. e. the men only, not all the people. See Exodus 10:8. return to 'Top of Page'”

“10:7-11 The officials, with no royal prestige on the line, were willing to learn the lessons of God’s sovereignty and let the men go. Pharaoh again resisted, in an effort to save face somehow. He would let them go only if they left their families behind and were thus bound to return, but Moses had never said they would return. While the purpose for going into the wilderness was to worship God, it was unthinkable that oppressed slaves would willingly return to their oppressors once they were free, and Pharaoh knew it.”

“How long: Exo 10:3 snare: Exo 23:33; Jos 23:13; Sa1 18:21; Pro 29:6; Ecc 7:26; Co1 7:35 that Egypt: Psa 107:34; Isa 14:20, Isa 51:9; Jer 48:4, Jer 51:8; Zep 1:18 Exodus 10:8”

“The announcement of such a plague of locusts, as their forefathers had never seen before since their existence upon earth, i.e., since the creation of man ( Exo 10:6), put the servants of Pharaoh in such fear, that they tried to persuade the king to let the Israelites go. "How long shall this (Moses) be a snare to us?...Seest thou not yet, that Egypt is destroyed?" מוקשׁ, a snare or trap for catching animals, is a figurative expression for destruction. האנשׁים ( Exo 10:7) does not mean the men, but the people. The servants wished all the people to be allowed to go as Moses had desired; but Pharaoh would only consent to the departure of the men (הגּברים, Exo 10:11). Exo 10:8-11 As Moses had…”