Êxodo 8
Bob Utley · You Can Understand the Bible
Êxodo 8
Frogs Over the Land The Second Plague: Frogs Second Plague: Frogs (7:25-8:15) Frogs (follows MT versing) The Second Plague: the Frogs 7:26-8:3 8:1-7 8:1-4 8:1-7 8:1-4 8:4-11 8:5-7 8:5-7 8:8-9 8:8-15 8:8-15 8:8 8:9 8:10-15 8:10a 8:10b-15 The Third Plague: the Mosquitoes The Plague of Insects The Third Plague: Lice Third and Fourth Plagues Gnats 8:12-15 8:16-19 The Fourth Plague: the Horse Flies 8:16-19 8:16-19 8:16-19 8:16-20 The Fourth Plague: Flies Flies 8:20-24 8:20-24 8:20-24 8:20-24 8:21-28 8:25-29 8:25-32 8:25-29 8:25 8:26-27 8:28 8:29 8:30-32 8:30-32 8:30-32 CONTEXTUAL INSIGHTS English translations start Exodus 8 at the MT's 7:26. The NJB follows the MT's versing. This chapter records the plague of the frogs (Exod. 8:1-15) gnats (Exod. 8:16-19) insects (Exod. 8:20-32) Notice the repetitive formulaic way the plagues are presented.
Êxodo 8:1-7
8:1 This is a repeated formulaic introduction (cf. Exod. 4:23; 5:1; 7:16; 8:1,20; 9:1,13; 10:3). Each plague has this statement as its purpose. 8:2 "I will smite your whole territory with frogs" Egypt, being located on a large river, was familiar with frogs (BDB 862; surprisingly this Hebrew word is used only 13 times, 11 in this context). Again, it is not the presence of frogs that was miraculous but the intensity, timing, and selectivity of their presence (i.e., not in Goshen, cf. Exod. 8:22). There are two particular gods of Egypt who use the frog as a symbol: Heqt, a goddess and Hapi, a god (god of the annual flooding of the Nile). Again, God is showing His superiority over the gods of Egypt. He wants Egyptians to believe in Him also (cf. Isa. 19:23-25). 8:4 This plague is directed to Pharaoh and his house directly. The people of the land would suffer also but especially Pharaoh's house (cf. VERB, "put" or "placed," BDB 962, KB 1321, Qal PERFECT, cf. Exod. 8:12). 8:5 Notice the same procedure with which YHWH turned the Nile to blood (cf. Exod. 7:19). 8:7 "The magicians did the same with their secret arts, making frogs come up on the land of Egypt" See full notes at Exod. 7:11. This is exactly what the Egyptians needed at this time - more frogs!! The duplication was possibly YHWH's way of hardening Pharaoh's heart. I think this was demonic power (see notes at Exod. 7:11).
Êxodo 8:8-9
8:8 "Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said, 'Entreat the Lord that He remove the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to the Lord'" It is interesting that this concession is immediately modified. Through a series of Oriental bargaining sessions Moses and Pharaoh barter back and forth over the stipulations for the Hebrews' leaving. in Exod. 8:25 Pharaoh says to sacrifice in the land in Exod. 8:28 Pharaoh says to go but not too far in Exod. 8:27-28, like 8:8, he says to go with no stipulations but he later reneges in Exod. 10:8 he says men only in Exod. 10:16-20,24 he says to go but to leave the herds. Here we see the gradual weakening of Pharaoh's will, but he will not allow the Hebrew slaves to leave. 8:9 "The honor is yours to tell me" This is a Hebrew idiom meaning, "I will give you the advantage; set the time for it." Again, God is trying to work with Pharaoh. He is using natural means but with supernatural timing, intensity, and locality. Therefore, Pharaoh is to choose the exact time that the plague will leave (cf. Exod. 9:5). This clearly reveals God's power and control over these events.
Êxodo 8:10-15
8:10 "May it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God" Here again, is the theological and redemptive purpose of the plagues. Also, note the emphasis on monotheism. SPECIAL TOPIC: MONOTHEISM 8:15 This is a recurrent pattern. Once the plague was removed, Pharaoh returned to his hard heart. ▣ "relief" This term (BDB 926) basically means "to be wide or spacious." Only here and in Lam. 3:56 does it have the connotation of "relief" or "respite." Remember, words have meaning only in context!
Êxodo 8:16-19
8:16 NASB, NRSV, TEV, LXX "gnats" NKJV, Peshitta, Targums "lice" "mosquitoes" "swarm of insects" "maggots" Jer. Tar, JPSOA footnote "wild beasts" There has been much discussion about the identity of these flying insects (NIDOTTE, vol. 2, p. 665). Some say they are mosquitoes (NJB, similar Egyptian root) gnats (Herodotus 2:95) gad flies The emphasis is on their number and not their exact identity. The term (BDB 487 IV, KB 483 II) occurs only here in the Hebrew except for Ps.105:31, which describes this incident, and Isa. 51:6. 8:18 "the magicians tried with their secret arts, but they could not" Why they were successful in duplicating the previous plagues and not this one is uncertain, but theologically it shows the superiority of YHWH over the gods and the wisemen of Egypt. 8:19 "Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is the finger of God" This, of course, is an anthropomorphic phrase (see SPECIAL TOPIC: GOD DESCRIBED AS HUMAN) describing God's (or "a god's activity"; the term is Elohim; see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, C.) activity in the world. This also shows that the magicians themselves have been moved, if not to believe, at least to some kind of recognition of the power and presence of YHWH, the God of the Hebrews. It may have been their way of deflecting blame for their inability. ▣ "he did not listen to them" In context, this probably refers to the Egyptian magicians' statement in Exod. 8:19.
Êxodo 8:20-24
8:20 "the Lord said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and present yourself before Pharaoh, as he comes out to the water'" This was a ritual that Pharaoh went through every morning. Several times God directs Moses to meet Pharaoh early or at the water (i.e., Exod. 7:15). The Nile, being an Egyptian god, may have been the place of morning ablutions or prayers (cf. Exod. 2:5, where the daughter of Pharaoh comes to the Nile to bathe). 8:21 NASB, JPSOA "swarms of insects" NKJV, NRSV, REB "swarms of flies" "flies" "house flies" "stinging flies" or "dog-flies" This is a separate plague from Exod. 8:16-19. The term (BDB 786) means "swarm," but does not identify what kind (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 525). The two Psalms where this term is used seem to see Exod. 8:16-24 as one plague (cf. Ps. 78:45; 105:1). This is surely possibly that two different oral traditions, using two different terms, were combined by a later editor. See John H. Walton and D. Brent Sandy, The Lost World of Scripture. The Bible never says there were "10" plagues. 8:22 "But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land" The "you" is SINGULAR, referring to Pharaoh. This is the first specific mention of the locality limitations of the plagues (cf. Exod. 9:4,26; 10:23; 11:7), but I think it was a feature of all of them. It was just pointed out to Pharaoh here for the first time. It is also significant that the theological thrust of God's presence with His people is mentioned. This becomes a major theological truth in the term "Emmanuel" (i.e., God with us), not only in the Garden of Eden and the coming of the Messiah but also in the conclusion of the book of Revelation. This shows that YHWH was able to spare His people from the plagues. The "land of Goshen" was great cattle and sheep country in the eastern delta region (cf. Gen. 45:10). ▣ "in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land" YHWH is continuing to reveal His mercy to Israel and power to the Egyptians. 8:23 NASB, Peshitta "put a division" "make a difference" NRSV, TEV, NJB, JPSOA, REB, LXX "make a distinction" The MT has "redemption" (BDB 804, KB 913). Some get "division" or "distinction" from an emendation. פדות (KB 913) ‒ ransom פלת (KB 936) ‒ separation פרדת (BDB 825) ‒ divide (NIDOTTE, vol. 3, p. 581) The UBS Text Project (p. 99) gives "ransom/redemption" an "A" rating (i.e., high probability). It just does not make sense in this context. Unless we understand it as "the act of geographical distinction will show YHWH's special relationship with Israel." YHWH is her deliverer. When the UBS Text Project ranks the options (A-D) this does not imply that the option is the original Hebrew, but that it was what was recorded in the MT tradition. The Masoretic Text, started in A.D. 70 and finished in A.D. 900, is only one Hebrew tradition. The LXX and DSS are also examples of earlier Hebrew manuscripts.
Êxodo 8:25-29
8:25 See note at Exod. 8:8. 8:26 "It is not right to do so, for we will sacrifice to the Lord our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians" From history we know that the Egyptians did offer some vegetable sacrifices along with pieces of meat. There has been some disagreement among ancient Jewish commentators about the type of sacrifice to which Moses was referring. the Targum Onkelos says that it refers to the sacrifice of cattle the Jerusalem Targum says it refers to the sacrifice of sheep We know that these animals were Egyptian gods and sacrificing them would be viewed with some hostility. ▣ "abomination" See SPECIAL TOPIC: ABOMINATION (OT). 8:27 "We must go a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the Lord our God as He commands us" This refers to God's command to Moses to bring the people back to Mt. Sinai (cf. Exod. 3:18). However, the problem is that it was much farther than a three-day journey. Some have speculated Moses is simply lying to Pharaoh here it is an idiom which refers to a longer period of time (cf. Exod. 10:23) we have the wrong site for Mt. Sinai We must remember that the site of Mt. Sinai is not a major concern to the Israelites. The Promised Land is the major emphasis for them (i.e., Gen. 15:12-21) and not Mt. Sinai. There is one theory that Mt. Sinai is close to Kadesh Barnea, which would fit this three-day journey, if it is meant to be taken literally. SPECIAL TOPIC: THE LOCATION OF MT. SINAI 8:28 "only you shall not go very far" The Oriental bargaining continues (cf. Exod. 8:8), but Moses refuses until an unconditional surrender of the Egyptians is made. The grammatical form of this phrase is an INFINITIVE ABSOLUTE and an IMPERFECT VERB from the same root (BDB 934, KB 1221), which denotes intensity. 8:29 "only do not let Pharaoh deal deceitfully" This refers to Pharaoh saying one thing and then when the plague is removed, changing his mind (cf. Exod. 8:15) and he will again (cf. Exod. 8:32).