Chapter Eight
The Second Plague: Frogs Everywhere
8:1 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 2 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs. 3 The Nile shall swarm with frogs that shall come up into your house and into your bedroom and on your bed and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls. 4 The frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants.” ’ ”
God paints an interesting picture, frogs in your house, in your bedroom, and in your bed. And if you want to prepare a meal, they will be in your ovens and your kneading bowls. Notice how personal God describes the location of the frogs, “in your” house, etc. There is no location anywhere over which God doesn’t have dominion (see Psalm 139:7-10).
Why frogs? Why not salamanders, lizards, or perhaps kiwis? Egyptians worshiped frogs, a symbol of fertility, as their birth rate is exceptionally high. There are several frog-related deities, including Heget, the Egyptian goddess of fertility, depicted as a woman with a frog’s head. Having frogs everywhere would make it clear that the God of the Israelites was greater than the gods and goddesses of Egypt.
8:5 And the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals and over the pools, and make frogs come up on the land of Egypt!’ ” 6 So Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. 7 But the magicians did the same by their secret arts and made frogs come up on the land of Egypt.
Pharaoh once again denies Moses’ request so now Egypt is inundated with frogs. Pharaoh’s magicians did the same thing, but having frogs everywhere, as anyone with an imagination could attest, would be a huge nuisance! Apparently, the magicians could add to the number of frogs, but they could not get rid of them.
8:8 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Plead with the LORD to take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
It is believed that the Egyptians took personal hygiene very seriously, it could be that life with slimy frogs would make it impossible for a person to remain clean. For whatever the reason, Pharaoh uncharacteristically admits that the plague was sent by God and asks Moses and Aaron to plead with YHWH to take the frogs away. He further promises that he will let the Israelites go to worship YHWH.
8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “Be pleased to command me when I am to plead for you and for your servants and for your people, that the frogs be cut off from you and your houses and be left only in the Nile.” 10 And he said, “Tomorrow.” Moses said, “Be it as you say, so that you may know that there is no one like the LORD our God. 11 The frogs shall go away from you and your houses and your servants and your people. They shall be left only in the Nile.” 12 So Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to the LORD about the frogs, as he had agreed with Pharaoh.
Moses agrees to intercede and ask God to remove the frogs. In order that everyone would understand and see that it was truly God who removed them, he set the date when that would happen. Moses and Aaron cried to God asking Him to remove the frogs as Moses had agreed with Pharaoh.
Notice how Moses is becoming bolder, as he is now speaking directly to Pharaoh and notice how he is now willing to take initiative on his own, Moses is truly growing in God.
8:13 And the LORD did according to the word of Moses. The frogs died out in the houses, the courtyards, and the fields. 14 And they gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
God responds favorably to Moses’ request, and all the frogs away from the Nile River die. Requiring the people to collect the dead frogs, putting them in heaps, which began to stink.
8:15 But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart and would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
Once the frogs were cleared out, Pharaoh decided to retract his agreement with Moses. Seeing the relief from the frogs, Pharaoh saw no reason to allow the Israelites to go. He would not listen, just as God said he would.
The Third Plague: Lots of Gnats
8:16 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, so that it may become gnats in all the land of Egypt.’ ”
The next plague has dust of the earth becoming gnats. Some translate the Hebrew word ‘ḵin·nim’[1] as ‘lice’, in either case, they both can be biting and non-biting, a real nuisance and certainly another challenge for any Egyptian’s quest for personal hygiene. Some commentators suggest sand files or fleas; however, gnats are the favored interpretation.
8:17 And they did so. Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats in all the land of Egypt. 18 The magicians tried by their secret arts to produce gnats, but they could not. So there were gnats on man and beast. 19 Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, “This is the finger of God.” But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, as the LORD had said.
The dust of the earth became gnats, so Pharaoh turned to his magicians to reproduce the feat, but they couldn’t. They tried, but they came up short, telling Pharaoh that it was the finger of God at work. What was so special about gnats? The historian Herodotus offers some insight, regarding the Egyptian priests he wrote:
[1] They are religious beyond measure, more than any other people; and the following are among their customs. They drink from cups of bronze, which they clean out daily; this is done not by some but by all. [2] They are especially careful always to wear newly-washed linen. They practise circumcision for cleanliness’ sake; for they would rather be clean than more becoming. Their priests shave the whole body every other day, so that no lice or anything else foul may infest them as they attend upon the gods. [3] The priests wear a single linen garment and sandals of papyrus: they may have no other kind of clothing or footwear. Twice a day and twice every night they wash in cold water. Their religious observances are, one may say, innumerable.[2]
Perhaps the infestation of the gnats prevented them from being totally clean making it impossible for them to follow their protocol and worship. As a result, they may have simply lost composure. But even though the magicians give full credit to God, Pharaoh remains stubborn and would not listen, just as God had said.
There seems to be a pattern emerging, two plagues with a warning followed by one without warning.
The Fourth Plague: Flies
8:20 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh, as he goes out to the water, and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. 21 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand.
Moses is again told to meet Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. This time he is to warn him that if he will not let His people go, that He will send “swarms of flies” on them. This is the first time the Hebrew word ‘ā·rōḇ’,[3] appears in Scripture and it is used exclusively to refer to this event. Here it is translated as “swarms of flies,” however, it could be a swarm of any number of noxious insects. Some suggest even beetles since the scarab beetle is highly regarded in Egypt and was considered sacred.
8:22 But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. 23 Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.” ’ ”
To demonstrate that this plague could not be considered a natural infestation, God would prevent the flies from entering the land of Goshen where the Israelites were staying. Some use this verse to point out that the Israelites were indeed affected by the earlier plagues. Not necessarily, as the earlier plagues could not be easily identified as being natural, Egypt certainly had and continues to have its share of natural swarms. God wanted to make sure that Pharaoh and the Egyptians know that this plague was sent by Him, He even set a date as to when it was going to happen.
8:24 And the LORD did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants’ houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies.
This plague consisted of “great swarms of flies,” the Hebrew word that is translated here as ‘great’ is ‘kā·ḇēḏ’,[4] which describes something heavy and great, a grievous burden. Combining that word with the “swarms of flies” (Hebrew ‘ā·rōḇ’, see above), this plague would have been a tremendous hardship, perhaps beyond our comprehension. For most people, a few flies are annoying enough, it would be difficult to imagine the strain of trying to live in a great swarm. This plague also demonstrates God’s authority over the source of their deities, namely Satan. Later in the Bible we read about Ḇǎ’·’ǎl-zeḇûḇ,[5] the Philistine “god of the flies,” (see 2 Kings 1:1-18) and Beelzebub (or Beelzebul, a transliteration from the Hebrew)[6] in the New Testament (see Matthew 10:25; 12:24, 27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18), who is referred to as the “prince of demons,” by Jesus (see Luke 11:15).
8:25 Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”
Once again Pharaoh succumbs and tells Moses and Aaron to go, but notice he is only willing to let the Israelites go somewhere within Egypt’s borders.
8:26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the LORD our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? 27 We must go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as he tells us.”
Moses tells the Pharaoh that the compromise is unacceptable. His reason is often considered trivial or thought of as being only an excuse. However, it was true, the Egyptians did not tolerate animal sacrifice. Both historians Diodorus Siculus[7] (Greek historian, 90 BC-30 BC) and Herodotus[8] wrote about how the ancient Egyptians considered animals sacred. Diodorus Siculus recorded how a Roman ambassador was put to death for accidentally killing a cat.
So deeply implanted also in the hearts of the common people is their superstitious regard for these animals and so unalterable are the emotions cherished by every man regarding the honour due to them that once, at the time when Ptolemy their king had not as yet been given by the Romans the appellation of "friend" and the people were exercising all zeal in courting the favour of the embassy from Italy which was then visiting Egypt and, in their fear, were intent upon giving no cause for complaint or war, when one of the Romans killed a cat and the multitude rushed in a crowd to his house, neither the officials sent by the king to beg the man off nor the fear of Rome which all the people felt were enough to save the man from punishment, even though his act had been an accident. And this incident we relate, not from hearsay, but we saw it with our own eyes on the occasion of the visit we made to Egypt.[9]
Here again Moses is speaking out and directly dialoging with Pharaoh, making it abundantly clear that compromises would not be acceptable.
8:28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go to sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you must not go very far away. Plead for me.” 29 Then Moses said, “Behold, I am going out from you and I will plead with the LORD that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the LORD.”
Pharaoh agrees to let the Israelites go into the wilderness, but not too far away. Then he asks Moses to plead for him. Moses leaves Pharaoh to plead on his behalf, to remove the flies on the next day. Recognizing that Pharaoh could not be trusted, Moses adds a clause to his request to God, “let not Pharaoh cheat again.”
8:30 So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to the LORD. 31 And the LORD did as Moses asked, and removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. 32 But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and did not let the people go.
Even though he questioned Pharaoh’s honesty, Moses proceeded to pray on his behalf after he departed from Pharaoh’s presence. By now Moses undoubtedly understood the heart of Pharaoh and how God was ultimately using this situation to demonstrate His power and authority, something that would be remembered for a long time. God hears Moses’ prayer and responds by removing the flies.
Here again, Pharaoh changes his mind and would not let the Israelites go out of Egypt. Apparently seeing that Egypt survived another plague, Pharaoh decided to be obstinate and, once again, chose to reject God. It is interesting to note that people today are still rejecting God and His Word, in the same way as Pharaoh did thousands of years ago, and will continue to deny God, even to the end. We see that many of the same plagues will come again in the future, except they will occur on a much broader scale (see Revelation chapter 16).
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[1] Strong’s Hebrew 3654.
[2] Herodotus. (1920). Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. (A. D. Godley, Ed.). Medford, MA: Harvard University Press.
[3] Strong’s Hebrew 6157.
[4] Strong’s Hebrew 3515.
[5] Strong’s Hebrew 1176.
[6] Strong’s Greek 954.
[7] Siculus, D. (1888–1890). Diodori Bibliotheca Historica, Vol 1-2. (I. Bekker, Ed.) (Vol. 1, pp. 139–141). Medford, MA: in aedibus B. G. Teubneri.
[8] Herodotus. (1920). Herodotus, with an English translation by A. D. Godley. Book II (A. D. Godley, Ed.). Medford, MA: Harvard University Press.
[9] Siculus, D. Diodori Bibliotheca Historica, Loeb Classical Library Edition, 1933, English translation, Book I, 69‑98 (end). (n.d.). Retrieved from http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Diodorus_Siculus/1D*.html