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Exodus 8

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The Second Plague: Frogs 1–15

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. ​
2
And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
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: ​
4
And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
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.
6
And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.
7
And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. ​
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.
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? ​
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. ​
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.
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.
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.
14
And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
15
But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. ​

The Third Plague: Gnats (Lice) 16–19

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. ​
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.
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. ​
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. ​

The Fourth Plague: Swarms of Flies 20–32

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.
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.
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. ​
23
And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. ​
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.
25
And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. ​
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? ​
27
We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the LORD our God, as he shall command us.
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.
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.
30
And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the LORD.
31
And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
32
And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go. ​

Bible text: King James Version (1769 Blayney text) · Public domain

Study Notes for Exodus 8

Verse 1

that they may serve me — The demand uses abad, 'to serve', the verb of Egypt's labour: the Egyptians 'made the children of Israel to serve with rigour' (Ex 1:13). The words 'Let my people go, that they may serve me' recur at Ex 7:16, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13 and 10:3, each time as the warning before a plague.

Verse 3

bring forth frogs abundantly — Sharats is the verb of teeming life: 'Let the waters bring forth abundantly' (Gen 1:20). The frogs enter the 'kneadingtroughs' (mish'ereth), the same word for the troughs the people carry 'bound up in their clothes upon their shoulders' at the exodus (Ex 12:34). Ps 105:30 adds 'in the chambers of their kings'.

Verse 7

the magicians did so — The 'magicians' (chartom) are named at Ex 7:11, and 'enchantments' (lat, secret arts) is the word used here and at Ex 7:22 and 8:18. They can bring frogs up but not away: Pharaoh asks Moses and Aaron to 'intreat the LORD, that he may take away the frogs' (v.8). Paul names Jannes and Jambres as men who 'withstood Moses' (2 Tim 3:8).

Verse 9

Glory over me — Pa'ar, to glorify or boast: Moses gives Pharaoh the honour of naming the hour. 'Intreat' is atar, to pray; in Exodus it is used only of these appeals to Moses and Moses' prayer to the LORD (8:8–9, 28–30; 9:28; 10:17–18). The frogs are to 'remain in the river only'.

Verse 10

none like unto the LORD our God — Pharaoh had asked 'Who is the LORD?' (Ex 5:2), and the answer is given as knowledge: 'that thou mayest know' (yada). The claim returns as 'none like me in all the earth' (Ex 9:14) and in Israel's song, 'Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods?' (Ex 15:11).

Verse 15

he hardened his heart — Kabad, to be heavy or dull, with Pharaoh as its subject; the same is said at v.32 and Ex 9:34. The LORD had said this would come (Ex 4:21; 7:3), and from Ex 9:12 the text says 'the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh'. 'Respite' (revachah) is relief, room to breathe.

Verse 16

smite the dust of the land — Aaron, not Moses, is told to stretch out the rod and strike the dust; 'lice' is kinnim, which in Exodus occurs only in vv.16–18 and recurs in Ps 105:31 ('lice in all their coasts'). No warning to Pharaoh comes first, unlike the frogs (v.1) and the flies (v.20).

Verse 18

they could not — Yakol, to be able. The magicians had matched the river (Ex 7:22) and the frogs (v.7), but cannot bring forth lice, and the lice are 'upon man, and upon beast'. Paul says of such men, 'they shall proceed no further: for their folly shall be manifest unto all men' (2 Tim 3:9).

Verse 19

the finger of God — Etsba', finger: the phrase the tables of the law carry, 'written with the finger of God' (Ex 31:18; Deut 9:10). Christ uses it of his casting out of devils: 'if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you' (Luke 11:20). Pharaoh's heart 'was hardened' (chazaq).

Verse 22

I will sever — Palah, to set apart, used again of the cattle (Ex 9:4), of the 'difference' put between Egypt and Israel (Ex 11:7), and by Moses: 'so shall we be separated, I and thy people' (Ex 33:16). Goshen, the land Joseph offered his father (Gen 45:10), is spared the 'swarms' (arob) so that Pharaoh may know.

Verse 23

a division — Peduth, the noun the KJV renders 'redemption' in Ps 111:9, 'He sent redemption unto his people', and Ps 130:7. Here it stands between 'my people' and 'thy people', and the 'sign' (oth) is set for 'to morrow'. The same line is kept in the later plagues (Ex 9:4; 11:7).

Verse 25

sacrifice to your God in the land — This is the first of Pharaoh's offers: worship 'in the land' here, then 'not go very far away' (v.28), then only 'ye that are men' (Ex 10:11), and then the flocks and herds 'stayed' (Ex 10:24). Moses answers by holding to the LORD's demand, 'three days' journey into the wilderness' (v.27).

Verse 26

the abomination of the Egyptians — To'evah, a thing detestable to a people. Joseph had told his brothers that 'every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians' (Gen 46:34), and 'the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews' (Gen 43:32). Sacrifice before their eyes would bring stoning (saqal), Moses says.

Verse 32

hardened his heart at this time also — Kabad again, as in v.15, with Pharaoh as the subject. The refusal follows the removal of the swarms at Moses' prayer: 'there remained not one' (v.31). The same sequence of relief and hardening is told after the hail: 'he sinned yet more, and hardened his heart' (Ex 9:34).