שמות, פרק י׳, פסוק י״ד

A massive swarm of locusts descends upon Egypt, bringing absolute devastation and plunging the nation into a state of famine and mortal danger. Rising into the air, the swarm blankets the entire country before lowering itself to land in every conceivable space. The insects infiltrate fields, homes, and royal palaces, leaving no area untouched [ביאור יש״ר]. Because the infestation is strictly confined to the borders of Egypt, the massive swarms are unable to spread further. Consequently, the insects are forced to pile on top of one another until they completely darken the land [שפתי כהן]. Interestingly, the swarm even pauses its destructive work to rest on the Sabbath day [בעל הטורים, פרדס יוסף].

The specific choice of this plague operates as a direct measure for measure. The Egyptians had forced the Israelites into grueling agricultural labor, making them plant grain and legumes specifically to keep them away from their homes and prevent them from multiplying. In response, the locusts arrive to completely wipe out the yield of that oppressive labor [תורה תמימה]. The sheer weight of the swarm is an unbearable physical burden on the Egyptian people [ביאור יש״ר]. Beyond the immediate destruction, the plague carries a severe threat of death. By consuming all the crops, the locusts ensure a devastating famine, which inevitably leads to disease and widespread mortality [תורה תמימה].

The unprecedented scale of the disaster, marked by the declaration that such a swarm had never been seen before and would never be seen again, is understood in several ways. Some view this as a prophetic promise [אבן עזרא], while others suggest it is hyperbolic language meant to emphasize the sheer magnitude of the catastrophe [שד״ל, קאסוטו]. While locust swarms driven by east winds and droughts are a known natural phenomenon, the intensity of this event is so extreme that it becomes undeniably clear to all observers that this is a deliberate strike from God rather than a natural occurrence [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך, ביאור יש״ר]. The primary approach among commentators is that the guarantee against a future recurrence applies specifically to the borders of Egypt. Historically, since Moses prayed for the plague to be removed, it is known that even if locusts strike the Land of Israel and cross into Egypt, they do not destroy the Egyptian crops [רמב״ן, הטור הארוך, רבינו חננאל, שפתי כהן, ברטנורא].

This definitive claim of uniqueness presents an apparent contradiction with the Book of Joel, which also describes a locust plague as an event unlike any other in history. Commentators resolve this tension by examining the composition of the swarms. One perspective suggests that the plague in Egypt consisted of only a single species of locust, but its absolute volume and intensity were unmatched and would never be repeated, whereas the plague in Joel's time was unique because it featured a mixture of many different species [רש״י, רבינו בחיי, מזרחי, דברי דוד]. However, many disagree with this view, noting that the Book of Psalms explicitly mentions multiple species attacking Egypt. Instead, they propose that in Egypt, all the various species attacked simultaneously in one overwhelming, combined strike, while in Joel's time, the different species arrived sequentially [ריב״א, חזקוני, דעת זקנים, הדר זקנים]. Another approach harmonizes these views by explaining that while multiple species were indeed present in Egypt, one specific type of locust was quantitatively the largest and most dominant, and it is this primary species that remains historically unprecedented [הכתב והקבלה, יריעות שלמה, משכיל לדוד].