Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 9:1-3

"Then Jehovah said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh, and tell him, Thus saith Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go, and wilt hold them still, behold, the hand of Jehovah is upon thy cattle which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the herds, and upon the flocks: [there shall be] a very grievous murrain." — Exodus 9:1-3 (ASV)

The nature of the fifth plague is clear and admits of no dispute. It was a rinderpest, or murrain on cattle, which, however, unlike most similar disorders, attacked the greater number of domesticated animals—horses, asses, camels, oxen, and sheep. Thus it was very grievous (Exodus 9:3).

Horses were highly prized by the Egyptians and were a comparatively recent importation, having been unknown before the time of the seventeenth, or “Shepherd” Dynasty. They were at first used only in war, then by rich men in peace to draw their chariots. They had now, however, it would seem, come to be employed also in agriculture. (Note the words “in the field.”)

Asses were the ordinary beasts of burden and abounded in Egypt in ancient times, as indeed they do at the present day. The Egyptian monuments mention cases where a single landowner owned as many as seven or eight hundred of them.

Camels are not represented by the Egyptian sculptors, but are mentioned in the inscriptions (Chabas, Etudes sur l’ Antiquité Historique, pp. 400-413), and must have been employed in the trade between Egypt and the Sinaitic peninsula. Both oxen and sheep were numerous and constituted a great part of the wealth of individuals. The plague fell upon such animals as were “in the field” at the time—i.e., in the open air, and not confined in stables or sheds.

It was the Egyptian practice to house a considerable portion of their cattle; but at the probable season of this plague—December or January—the majority would be in the pastures. Thus the Egyptian losses were very heavy, and the king, no doubt, suffered with the rest, for the Egyptian monarchs were large cattle-owners (Genesis 47:6; Genesis 47:17). The Pharaoh was, however, less impressed by this plague than by the fourth, and made no sign of submission.