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"But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs;"
- 8 : 2, Revised Standard Version, see link below.
NOTE: We know that it has been seven days since the Nile turned to blood. And as far as we know, it is still 'a bloody mess', there is no other gap in the action since the end of chapter seven.
1 Summary:
YHWH tells Moses to go back to Pharaoh and say..... "let my people go that they may serve Me."
2 Summary:
But if you "maen" (refuse / unwilling), "hinneh" (behold / lo / see) I will "nagaph" (strike / smite / etc (a different word than before)) your "gebul" (border / territory / space) with "tsephardea" (frog / frogs).
3 - 4
so shall bring forth "sharats" (swarm / teem / abound (the same from Genesis 1 : 20 (remember this word, we talk about it again later)) the Nile "tsephardea"...
Paraphrased Summary.... (frogs) which will move into your houses including your bed and kitchen, and on you and your servants.
A Froggy Tangent
The primary Egyptian deity involved with frogs was Heqet / Heket. This goddess is usually depicted With the body of a human female with a over-sized frog. She was associated with pregnancy and labor and offered protection for both. So she is rightly considered the headliner for the second plague.
But there are others involved, and, as always, there's links below for more on each.
There was a group of eight gods that presided over the primeval darkness at the creation of the earth. This group of gods, four male deities and their female consorts are known as the Ogdoad, and in some artwork they are all depicted with frog's heads, while holding different attributes or totems. In other works only the males had frog heads while the females had serpents heads. However they were depicted, they represented the power of creation from chaos, and two sets of gods from this group went on to importance in the later pantheons of the nation. Those being Amun and Amaunet as well as Nun and Naunet. When they left the group and branched out into other roles, the were given something besides the amphibian visage.
Another god targeted by the Second Plague is Khnum (various spellings) who was the ram headed creation god who formed people from the muddy clay of the Nile on his potter's wheel on an island near the First Cataract of the river. (we could go off on a long tangent about the creation of man there, but we'll skip that and move on.)
end frogs
5 Summary:
YHWH tells Moses to tell Aaron to stretch out his staff over the water....
6 Summary:
Aaron does so. And "here come the frogs".
7 Summary and comment:
The magicians do likewise.
As if there weren't already enough frogs in the land.... maybe a better show from them would have been them getting rid of the first round of frogs instead of adding to it. Which is implied in a coming verse.
8
"Way qara" (and called (as in: 'to call a meeting')) Pharaoh for Moses and Aaron, "way yomer" (and said), "athar" ('make supplication' (humble and sincere request) / pray) 'to' YHWH, 'to' "sur" (remove) the frogs from 'me and my people', and I will let the people go sacrifice to YHWH.
This verse implies that the frogs are only visiting the Egyptians, which does happen later with other 'things', however, that is not directly stated anywhere else in the text which states in verse 6 that the amphibians 'covered the land' with no differentiation between peoples.
9
And said Moses to Pharaoh, "paar" (glory / honor / 'to be elevated') over me when I "athar" (pray / supplicate) for you, your servants, your people, to "karath" (hew / 'cut down' (implies: destroy)) the frogs from you and your houses, only in the river will they "shaar" (survive).
It's a good bet that Moses and Aaron knew the Pharaoh didn't mean it. But he had to play along anyway.
What this scene does do is confirm that the magicians could NOT do away with any of the frogs, and the king knew it, and needed Moses to make them go away.
10 Text and analysis:
"way yomer" (and he said) "machar" ('tomorrow' (in the future)). ...
The passage does not specify who said this. It makes sense that it was Pharaoh putting a timeline on when the frogs vacate the premises. But it could also be Moses stating when it will happen. The passage continues:
... "way yomer" (and he said) 'let it be' "dabar" (word / promise) you may "yada" (know / understand) that 'there is' "ayin" (none / no one / nothing / etc) like YHWH 'ELOHIM.
This is an echo from chapter one when the 'new Pharaoh' didn't know about Joseph and all that happened then, and the current Pharaoh saying he didn't know the God of Israel in the beginning of chapter five.
11 Paraphrase:
"and the frogs on the land will 'exit stage left'."
12
Go out Moses and Aaron from Pharaoh and "tsaaq" (cry out / call for help) Moses to YHWH ... about the frogs.
13 - 14 Summary:
YHWH does what Moses had said. The frogs all died, and the people piled them up and they stank.
15
But when saw Pharaoh there was "revachah" (relief / deliverance), he "kabad / kabed" (hardened / 'made' heavy) his "leb" (mind / heart), and he did not "shama" (listen / heed) them as said YHWH.
There is no significant time gap in the action. The frogs die, they pile them up, and they begin to stink... which wouldn't take long in the climate in Egypt... and Pharaoh says 'no', and then....
16
And says YHWH to Moses to say to Aaron, stretch out your staff and strike the "aphar" (dust / ground) of the "erets" (earth / land), so that it will "hayah" (become / happen) "ken" ('stinging or biting' insects) throughout Egypt.
17 Summary:
Aaron does as he's told. The bugs appear and go after people and animals.
an Entomological tangent (study of insects)
It would seem that nobody knew what to call the bugs in this plague. Jerome of Striden put "scinifes" in his Latin Vulgate in 382 AD, and that doesn't tell us anything new. The word (also spelled 'cinifes') simply means 'stinging insects'. The 1611 goes with 'lice', and some other translations make them 'gnats'. See links below.
As we just saw there is an active debate about exactly what sort of bug this plague involved. The KJV called them "lice". And that is a possibility, or maybe something like 'sand fleas / mites' (chiggers) may be more in line. While they are annoyingly unpleasant, their bites are not usually fatal to whatever they're feeding on. And as the text says, they attacked humans and animals.
More than likely these were a species of tiny biting midges / sand flies (family: Ceratopogonidae), that are found everywhere on Earth except for the polar regions. Also called "no see'ums" they are known to carry all sorts of diseases that can infect just about everything else, including hemorrhagic diseases that can kill everything from deer to horses, and people.
There are several possible gods involved here, whatever the bugs were. One of those was the god of the fertile land around the Nile named Geb, who had some other interesting jobs as can be found in the article linked below.
Another one is Uatchit, who may, or may not be, a manifestation of Wadjet, who we met before as the cobra god that protected the king. In this form she lived in the marshes, where the critters came from.
end tangent
18
and "asah" (made / work / use) the "chartom" (magicians) their "lat" (secrets) to bring forth bugs, "we lo" (and 'were' not) "yakol" (able / prevail). So there were bugs on man and beast.
The court magicians failed in their attempt to either make the bugs appear, and/or possibly, disappear, given the last statement of that verse.
19 Summary:
and said the magicians to Pharaoh, the "etsba" (finger) of "'Elohim" (God) this is, but Pharaoh's heart was hard and he didn't listen to his own staff either, as YHWH said.
We have the first admission from the court magicians that they are out of their league now. But the Pharaoh doesn't give in.
20 - 21 Summary:
And YHWH says to Moses, go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water and say.... "arob / arov" (swarms / mixture / masses (this is that different word we mentioned earlier with the frogs stay tuned for more on that)).
22 - 23
And I will "palah" (separate / distinct) that day "eres" (land) "gosen" (Goshen) where "ammi" ('my' people) "amad" (stand), ... 'there won't be any 'things' there'... "maan" (in order that / so that / etc) you "yada" (know / understand) that "ani" (I / me) YHWH "qereb" (among / midst / within) the land. "way sum / sim) (appoint / make) "peduth" (redemption / deliverance / division (also: wonderful / distinction)) "bayin" (between) My people and your people. "machar" (tomorrow) shall be this "oth" (sign / miracle).
Remember, Pharaoh said he didn't know the Hebrew God. His own magicians just said that the last bunch of bugs, which evidently went after everybody and everything (including Israel), was the work of God. And now He is saying this next one won't bother His people.
24 Summary and discussion:
... "arob / arov" (swarms / 'mixture') "kabed" (heavy / burdensome / grievous) ... all Egypt was "shachath" (destroy / corrupt / ruin / spoil)....
OK... what were the 'swarms'?
There is as much, or even more, debate about what the 'swarms' were, than with any other plague. Most translations go with flies. However, the Hebrew word "arob" just indicates that there were A Lot of them ', and even different kinds of them, and even the fact that they were some sort of animal that travels in large groups is implied. If you want to take it to the level of absurdity, it could have been that herd of wildebeests from the Serengeti that numbers something on the order of a million and a half animals that covers several square miles, and can be seen from space. See link below.
The Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew Bible translated in 300 BC, and which Jesus and Paul were familiar. See link below.) makes the word "kynomyian / kynomyiis (and related)" which can be translated as dogs, or other small animal, including flies. And there is even one working Greek-English Interlinear version of the text that translates it as "dog fly"! See link to the LXX to English below. This can also be found in the Darby Translation, see below.
As we've already mentioned Jerome's work, we'll look at that. He uses the Latin word "muscarum / muscae" which translates to English as "flies (meaning the insect), but then adds "of divers kinds". (which may mean flying things that pester dogs)
Some translations make the pest of the Fourth Plague "insects", which avoids the problem of identification. And, as an example of somebody who wrote a study of this section of scripture and took the lazy way out, we have a link below to a "10 plagues for 10 gods" page from Rice University in which they proclaim that the scarab-god Khepri had the 'head of a fly', which he clearly did not.
So while it could have been Khepri (Jepri), or a minor god named Apshai (who was also associated with the scarab as well as worms and other underground dwellers), there isn't a known deity who has stood up and raised their hand and said "that one was mine."
end dog-fly swarm
25 Summary and discussion:
Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and says the same thing he said in verse nine, but suggests they do it in Goshen.
Except in the next verse we see that Moses and his brother have learned from the first time....
26
And said Moses, "lo" (not) "kun" (faithful / right / perfect) to do so, for an "toebah" (detestable / abomination / disgusting / abhorrent) to Egypt would be our "zabach" (sacrifice) to YHWH 'Elohim....
Summary: Moses goes on to explain that the Egyptians would find it reprehensible and stone them.
27 Summary:
Moses repeats the request to go 'three days journey' out to do what God commanded.
28 Summary:
Pharaoh offers a compromise. He'll let them go, but not "very far away". Then he tells them to go "athar" (pray / supplicate / intercede) for him.
29
Paraphrase: Moses says "I'm going, I'm praying"... that the swarms may depart, tomorrow.
Then Moses adds- "raq al" (but not) "yasaph" (more / again) Pharaoh "hathal" (deceive / mock / cheat) in letting go the people.....
30 - 31 Summary:
Moses went out and prayed, and God removed the flies.
32 Summary:
Pharaoh then changed his mind / heart, and did not let them go.
End Chapter 8
Selected Resources:
All links will open in a new tab/window, all were working as of original date of posting:
Interlinear English / Hebrew: Chapter 8 https://biblehub.com/interlinear/exodus/8.htm
https://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/1611_Exodus-Chapter-8/
Revised Standard Version https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%208&version=RSV
Jerome's VULGATE https://vulgate.org/ot/exodus_8.htm
http://www.genevabible1560.com/
-and-
Book of Exodus http://www.genevabible1560.com/pdf/Old%20Testament/Exodus%20original%20format.pdf
The Hebrew Book of Seventy in Greek:
The Septuagint https://www.septuagint.bible/#
-and
Exodus https://www.septuagint.bible/exodus/
The "dog fly" version of the LXX to English, in Exodus, see beginning at verse 17. https://biblebento.com/index.html?lxx1i&20.8.1
This Includes The Darby Translation's: "21 For, if thou do not let my people go, behold, I will send dog-flies upon thee...." https://www.biblestudytools.com/exodus/8-21-compare.html
Encyclopedia article on Heqet https://www.britannica.com/topic/Heqet
The Ogdoad group of gods https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/ogdoad/
"Biting Midges" https://www.macroinvertebrates.org/taxa-info/diptera-larva/ceratopogonidae
Khnum / Khnemu https://www.britannica.com/topic/Khnum
Geb, the god of the earth (his laughter caused earthquakes!):
https://ancientegyptonline.co.uk/geb/
A swarm of wildebeests! https://www.expertafrica.com/tanzania/info/serengeti-wildebeest-migration
Ten Egyptian Plagues For Ten Egyptian Gods and Goddesses https://www.stat.rice.edu/~dobelman/Dinotech/10_Eqyptian_gods_10_Plagues.pdf
The writer from Rice University didn't do their homework. Khepri does NOT have the 'head of a fly', he has the head of a Scarab Beetle.
Khepri was a sun deity and the god of rebirth, transformation, and resurrection. From: Study.com https://study.com/academy/lesson/ancient-egyptian-god-khepri-mythology-symbol-facts.html
NOTE: The Bible Study Lesson presented above is posted as a reference document to begin a conversation of the topic. And that's it. Please accept it at such.
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