Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Exodus 8

Introduction

1  Frogs are sent.
8  Pharaoh sues to Moses, who by prayer removes them away.
16  The dust is turned into lice, which the magicians could not do.
20  The plague of flies.
25  Pharaoh inclines to let the people go, but yet is hardened.
Verse 1

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
Go
Jeremiah 1:17-19, 15:19-21, Ezekiel 2:6,7
Let my
3:12,18, 5:1, 7:16
Verse 2

And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
refuse
7:14, 9:2
frogs
The Hebrew tzephardêim is evidently the same with the Arabic zafda, Chaldaic oordeânaya, and Syriac oordeai, all of which denote frogs, as almost all interpreters, both ancient and modern, agree to render it; Bochart conceives, from tzifa, a bank, and radâ, mud, because of delighting in muddy and marshy places.
Psalms 78:45, 105:30, Revelation 16:13,14
Verse 3

And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneadingtroughs:
kneading troughs
or, dough.
12:34
Verse 4

And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
Psalms 107:40, Isaiah 19:11,22, 23:9, Daniel 4:37, Acts 12:22,23
Verse 5

And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt.
7:19
Verse 6

And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
and the frogs
Whether the frog among the Egyptians was an object of reverence or abhorrence is uncertain. It might have been both at the same time, as many objects are known to have been among particular nations; for proof of which see the very learned Jacob Bryant, on the Plagues of Egypt, pp. 31-34.
Leviticus 11:12, Psalms 78:45, 105:30, Revelation 16:13
Verse 7

And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
7:11,22, Deuteronomy 13:1-3, Matthew 24:24, 2 Thessalonians 2:9-11, 2 Timothy 3:8, Revelation 13:14
Verse 8

Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.
Intreat
5:2, 9:28, 10:17, Numbers 21:7, 1 Samuel 12:19, 1 Kings 13:6, Acts 8:24
and I will
25-28, 10:8-11,24-27, 12:31,32, 14:5, Psalms 66:3; *marg:; Psalms 78:34-36, Jeremiah 34:8-16
Verse 9

And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
Glory over me
or, Have this honour over me.
Judges 7:2, 1 Kings 18:25, Isaiah 10:15
when
or, against when. to destroy. Heb. to cut of.
Verse 10

And he said, To morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the LORD our God.
To-morrow
or, against to-morrow.
Proverbs 27:1, James 4:14
there is none
9:14,29, 15:11, Deuteronomy 32:31, 33:26, 2 Samuel 7:22, 1 Chronicles 17:20, Psalms 9:16, Psalms 83:18, 86:8, 89:6-8, Isaiah 40:25, 46:9, Jeremiah 10:6,7
Verse 11

And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses, and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain in the river only.
3,9
Verse 12

And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh.
8,30, 9:33, 10:18, 32:11, 1 Samuel 12:23, Ezekiel 36:37, James 5:16-18
Verse 13

And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the villages, and out of the fields.
Deuteronomy 34:10-12
Verse 14

And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
and the
24, 7:21, Isaiah 34:2, Ezekiel 39:11, Joel 2:20
Verse 15

But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
saw
14:5, Ecclesiastes 8:11, Isaiah 26:10, Jeremiah 34:7-11, Hosea 6:4
he hardened
4:21, 7:4,13,14, Proverbs 29:1, Zechariah 7:11,12, Hebrews 3:8,15, Revelation 16:9
Verse 16

And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
Stretch
5,17
lice
The word kinnim is rendered by the LXX. [skiphes, skipes] or [sknéphes] and by the Vulgate sciniphes, Gnats; and Mr. Harmer supposes he has found out the true meaning in the word tarrentes, a species of worm. Bochart, however, seems to have proved that lice, and not gnats, are meant; because, 1. they sprang from the dust, and not from the waters; 2. they were on both man and beast, which cannot be said of gnats; 3. their name is derived from koon, to make firm, fix, establish, which cannot agree with gnats, flies, etc., which are ever changing place, and almost constantly on the wing; 4. the term kinnah is used by the Talmudists to express the louse. This insect must have been a very dreadful and afflicting plague to the Egyptians, and especially to the priests, who were obliged to shave all their hair off, and to wear a single linen tunic, to prevent vermin harbouring about them.
Verse 17

And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt.
lice in man
Psalms 105:31, Isaiah 23:9, Acts 12:23
Verse 18

And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast.
the magicians
7:11
they could
9:11, Genesis 41:8, Isaiah 19:12, 47:12,13, Daniel 2:10,11, 4:7, 5:8, Luke 10:18, 2 Timothy 3:8,9
Verse 19

Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
This is
1 Samuel 6:3,9, Psalms 8:3, Daniel 2:10,11,19, Matthew 12:28, Luke 11:20, John 11:47, Acts 4:16
and Pharaoh's
Verse 20

And the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Let my people go, that they may serve me.
lo
7:15
Let my
Verse 21

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
swarms
or, a mixture of noisome beasts, etc. The word arov is rendered [kunomwea] kunomuia,] the dog-fly, by the LXX. (who are followed by the learned Bochart,) which must have been particularly hateful to the Egyptians, because they held dogs in the highest veneration, under which form they worshipped Anubis.
Psalms 78:45, 105:31, Isaiah 7:18
Verse 22

And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
sever
9:4,6,26, 10:23, 11:6,7, 12:13, Malachi 3:18
know
10, 7:17, Ezekiel 30:19
midst
Psalms 74:12, 110:2
Verse 23

And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
a division
Heb. a redemption.
to-morrow
or, by to-morrow.
Verse 24

And the LORD did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
there
21, Psalms 78:45, 105:31
the land
How intolerable a plague of flies can prove, is evident from the fact that whole districts have been laid waste by them. The inhabitants have been forced to quit their cities, not being able to stand against the flies and gnats with which they were pestered. Hence different people had deities whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these may be reckoned Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, muscarum abactor, Hercules the expeller of flies; and hence Jupiter had the titles of [apomuios, muiagros, muiochoros] because he was supposed to expel flies, and especially clear his temples of these insects. See Bryant.
corrupted
or destroyed.
Verse 25

And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.
8, 9:27, 10:16, 12:31, Revelation 3:9
Verse 26

And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the LORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
It is not
3:18, 2 Corinthians 6:14-17
we shall
Genesis 43:32, 46:34, Deuteronomy 7:25,26, 12:30,31, Ezra 9:1, Isaiah 44:19
the abomination
i.e., The animals which they worshipped; for an account of which, see note on ch. 9:3.
1 Kings 11:5-7, 2 Kings 23:13
Verse 27

We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
three days'
3:18, 5:1
as he shall
3:12, 10:26, 34:11, Leviticus 10:1, Matthew 28:20
Verse 28

And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.
I will
Hosea 10:2
intreat
8,29, 9:28, 10:17, 1 Kings 13:6, Ezra 6:10, Ecclesiastes 6:10, Acts 8:24
Verse 29

And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will intreat the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to morrow: but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.
to-morrow
deal
8,15, Psalms 66:3; *marg:; Psalms 78:34-37, Jeremiah 42:20,21, Acts 5:3,4, Galatians 6:7
Verse 30

And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
entreated
12, 9:33, James 5:16
Verse 32

And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
15, 4:21, 7:13,14, Isaiah 63:17, Acts 28:26,27, Romans 2:5, James 1:13,14

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