Why does the Torah mention the hail and the fire separately; and then in the following Pasuk (9:24), add that the fire was contained inside the hail?
Oznayim la'Torah: Because Hashem first sent a regular hail-storm accompanied by thunder, 1 and the fire that was caused by the thunder reached the ground independently. It was only when Pharaoh did not do Teshuvah that the fire and water made peace to form a plague.
Oznayim la'Torah: To encourage Pharaoh to do Teshuvah.
"Va'tihalach Eish Artzah". Since when does fire travel downwards?
R. Bachye: Hail causes a change in the atmosphere, which in turn, results in illness. In this case, the hail was so heavy that it interfered with the elements, causing the fire ? the lightest of the lements - to adopt the heaviness of earth and to go down to the earth instead of rising. 1
R. Bachye: In fact, Makas Barad was a combination of all four basic elements ? air (Kolos), water (Barad), fire and earth (Artzah).
