שמות, פרק י״ב, פסוק כ״ט

The climax of the Exodus brings a profound historical closure. The Egyptians had enslaved and murdered the Israelites, whom God considers His firstborn. In a direct measure-for-measure response, God strikes the Egyptian firstborn. This acts as the final blow in a sequence of plagues resembling a military siege [רבנו בחיי]. The event occurs precisely at midnight, a time traditionally defined as an hour of grace and favor when miracles are performed for the righteous [קיצור בעל הטורים, תורה תמימה]. Indeed, at the exact moment the Israelites were engaged in eating the Passover sacrifice [ספורנו, רשב״ם], this hour of grace transformed into an hour of harsh judgment for the wicked [פני דוד]. The blow fell upon all of Egypt in a single, simultaneous moment [אלשיך], and the sheer intensity of the Divine presence caused the night to illuminate like day [פרדס יוסף]. Yet, the souls of the stricken lingered and convulsed until morning, ensuring that the Israelites would clearly witness the downfall of their enemies [ריב״א, חזקוני].

The execution of this judgment was carried out by God Himself alongside His heavenly court. A spiritual principle dictates that when God grants grace, He acts alone, but when He brings suffering and death, He consults with His heavenly tribunal [רש״י, רא״ש]. God personally took the souls of the firstborn, while the heavenly entourage managed the secondary effects of the plague [גור אריה]. This direct and undeniable Divine intervention completely negates any attempt to dismiss the event as a mere natural epidemic or a covert military operation orchestrated by Moses and his men [שד״ל].

The devastation was not limited to Egyptian citizens; it struck every firstborn residing within Egypt's borders that night, even those belonging to other nations [רש״י, מזרחי]. The plague began at the absolute pinnacle of society. Interestingly, Pharaoh himself was a firstborn, yet he was the solitary firstborn spared from death. He was kept alive so that God could further demonstrate His immense power, ultimately punishing him later by drowning him in the Red Sea [רש״י, מזרחי, גור אריה]. Consequently, the royal casualty was not Pharaoh himself, but his distinguished firstborn son, the heir apparent destined to inherit the throne [רשב״ם, רלב״ג, ביאור יש״ר, שטיינזלץ], since Egyptian royalty exclusively dedicated firstborns to the monarchy [מלבי״ם].

From the highest echelons of society, the devastation reached down to the very bottom, striking the firstborn of the despised captives. These prisoners endured grueling labor grinding at millstones by day and were locked away in subterranean dungeon pits by night [אבן עזרא, רלב״ג, חומת אנך]. The primary approach among commentators as to why foreign captives who never enslaved the Israelites were punished is that these prisoners had rejoiced at the Israelites' suffering. Furthermore, their death prevented them from surviving and boasting that their own gods had saved them [רש״י, יריעות שלמה, מלבי״ם]. Another perspective suggests that the plague was an overwhelming Divine force sweeping through the land, striking anyone in its path, as even a deep pit cannot block the Divine presence [העמק דבר]. A distinct view connects their punishment in the dungeon pit to their lineage, identifying them as descendants of those who originally threw Joseph into a pit [שפתי כהן]. Finally, the destruction extended to the firstborn animals. Because the Egyptians worshipped animals and utilized them for witchcraft, their eradication served to prove the absolute worthlessness of Egyptian idolatry [מלבי״ם, שפתי כהן].