Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 8:9
And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat 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?
9. Have thou this glory ] Heb. Deck or Glorify thyself (Isa 44:23; Isa 49:3: in a bad sense, vaunt oneself, Jdg 7:2, Isa 10:15), i.e. here. Have this glory or advantage over me, in fixing the time at which I shall ask for the plague to cease. Not so used elsewhere.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Glory over me – See the margin, have honor over me, i. e. have the honor, or advantage over me, directing me when I shall entreat God for thee and thy servants.
When – Or by when; i. e. for what exact time. Pharaohs answer in Exo 5:10 refers to this, by tomorrow. The shortness of the time would, of course, be a test of the supernatural character of the transaction.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 9. Glory over me] hithpaer alai. These words have greatly puzzled commentators in general; and it is not easy to assign their true meaning. The Septuagint render the words thus: , c., Appoint unto me when I shall pray, c. The constitue mihi quando of the Vulgate is exactly the same and in this sense almost all the versions understood this place. This countenances the conjectural emendation of Le Clerc, who, by the change of a single letter, reading hithbaer for hithpaer, gives the same sense as that in the ancient versions. Houbigant, supposing a corruption in the original, amends the reading thus: attah baar alai-Dic mihi quo tempore, c., “Tell me when thou wishest me to pray for thee,” &c., which amounts to the same in sense with that proposed by Le Clerc. Several of our English versions preserve the same meaning so in the Saxon Heptateuch, [Anglo-Saxon] so in Becke’s Bible, 1549, “And Moses sayed unto Pharaoh, Appoint thou the time unto me.” This appears to be the genuine import of the words, and the sense taken in this way is strong and good. We may conceive Moses addressing Pharaoh in this way: “That thou mayest be persuaded that Jehovah alone is the inflicter of these plagues, appoint the time when thou wouldst have the present calamity removed, and I will pray unto God, and thou shalt plainly see from his answer that this is no casual affliction, and that in continuing to harden thy heart and resist thou art sinning against God.” Nothing could be a fuller proof that this plague was supernatural than the circumstance of Pharaoh’s being permitted to assign himself the time of its being removed, and its removal at the intercession of Moses according to that appointment. And this is the very use made of it by Moses himself, Ex 8:10, when he says, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God; and that, consequently, he might no longer trust in his magicians, or in his false gods.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Glory over me: as I have gloried over thee in laying first my commands, and then my plagues upon thee, so now lay thy commands upon me for the time of my praying; and if I do not what thou requirest, I am content thou shouldst insult over me, punish me. Or, glory, or boast thyself of, or concerning me, as one that thy Gods power can do that for thee which all thy magicians cannot, of whom therefore thou now seest thou canst not glory nor boast, as thou hast hitherto done.
When shall I entreat for thee? Appoint me what time thou pleasest. Hereby he knew that the hand and glory of God would be more conspicuous in it. And this was no presumption in Moses, because he had a large commission, Exo 7:1; and also had particular direction from God in all that he said or did in these matters.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And Moses said unto Pharaoh, glory over me,…. If thou canst; take every advantage against me of lessening my glory, and increasing thine own; or vaunt or boast thyself against me, as the phrase is rendered, Jud 7:2 or take this honour and glory to thyself over me, by commanding me, and fixing a time to pray for thee, and I will obey thy orders; which agrees with the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate Latin versions, and the paraphrase of Onkelos, “appoint”, or “order for me”; that is, when I shall pray for thee; or do me this honour, to believe me in the sight of the people, to declare before them that thou dost believe that upon my prayer for thee this plague shall be removed:
when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in this river only? Moses agreed to entreat the Lord for him as he desired, but leaves it with him to fix the time for doing it; and this he did, that it might appear that the removal of the frogs, as well as the bringing of them, would not be owing to chance or to any natural cause, but to the Lord himself; and though Moses had no direction from the Lord for this, that is recorded, yet he might presume upon it, since he was made a god to Pharaoh, and had power to do as he pleased; and also he knew the mind and will of God, and might have now a secret impulse upon his spirit, signifying it to him: and besides, he had the faith of miracles, and strongly believed that God would work this by him, and at whatsoever time should be fixed.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh. Commentators differ as to the meaning of this passage. They are too speculative who expound it, that this honor was granted to Pharaoh, that he should fix the time in which Moses was to pray. Again, there is a flatness in the exposition, that Pharaoh might glory because the frogs were to die. Those who expound it, that Pharaoh should be freed from the frogs, so that he might glory in safety, express part of the meaning, but not the whole. It rather appears to me that there is an implied antithesis between the perverse boasting, wherewith Pharaoh had exulted, and that pious glowing which he ought to seek for in the mercy of God; as if Moses had said, “Thus far you have exalted yourself improperly, trusting in your power, and afterwards when bewitched by the enchantments; now rather glory, because you have an intercessor and patron to plead for you to God.” For it was needful that the arrogance, which had so falsely elevated him, that he dared to contend with God, should be crushed, and that no hope should be left him, save in the mercy of God. But to “glory over” Moses, means that he should seek his glory in the advocacy of Moses, and should account it a very great happiness that he should deign to interpose for his reconciliation with God. For the particle על, (93) is often so taken. Yet Moses by no means wished to detract at all from the glory of God; but (as I have lately said) desiring to humble the pride of the haughty king, he told him that nothing would be better and more glorious for him than to have a good hope of pardon, when he had obtained as his advocate the servant of the living God, whom he so cordially hated. He only affirms that the frogs should “remain in the river;” as much as to say that they should be content with their ordinary habitation and bounds; for we know that frogs, although they sometimes jump out on the bank, still do not go far from the water, because they are nourished by humidity. Thus he hints that they were let loose by God’s command to cover the ground, and that it was still in His power, if He chose, that they should invade the fields and houses again in new multitudes; and that it must be ascribed to His blessing, if they kept themselves in the waters, and did not make incursions beyond their own boundaries.
(93) על. Instances in which this particle has the meaning attributed to it by C. , may be seen in Psa 37:4, first clause; and in Job 27:10. Noldius has also observed that עלי, the form in which it here occurs, has the meaning of mihi curae, mihi incumbit, in Jud 19:20, Psa 116:12, Pro 7:14, and 2Sa 18:11. Concord. particularum, על, 34. — W
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(9) And Moses said . . . Glory over me.This phrase seems equivalent toI submit to thy will, I am content to do thy bidding. It was probably an ordinary expression of courtesy in Egypt on the part of an inferior to a superior; but it was not a Hebrew idiom, and so does not occur elsewhere.
When shall I intreat?Rather, as in the margin, against when? or for when?i.e., what date shall I fix in my prayer to God as that at which the plague shall be removed? And so, in the next verse, for to-morrow translate against to-morrow. It seems strange that Pharaoh did not say, To-day, this very instant; but perhaps he thought even Jehovah could not do so great a thing at once.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
9. Glory over me Rather, Appoint for me when, etc . : (Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate, Arabic versions . ) Let Pharaoh set the time when the plague shall cease, and then shall he “know that there is none like Jehovah our God . ”
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 8:9. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me Finding that his magicians could not remove the plague, this haughty tyrant, who had said I know not Jehovah, now requests the ambassadors of this great God to become intercessors for him with their Almighty Master; while he, humbly but fallaciously, promises to grant their request, and to dismiss them with honour, Exo 8:8.; upon which Moses says, Glory over me: when, &c. that is, take this honour to thyself to appoint me the time when I shall entreat for thee. The margin of our Bibles has it, have this honour over me; and the meaning of the phrase in this place seems to be no more than I give you leave, or you shall command me. Bonfrerius expresses the sense of the original in a similar manner: Tibi hunc honorem defero, ut eligas quando, &c. You shall have the honour to choose the time when, &c.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
This reference to the time when the plague should be removed at Pharaoh’s own appointment, prevented the possibility of having it supposed that it was the effect of human contrivance, and made it a more full demonstration of a divine power. Deu 32:35 .
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Exo 8:9 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?
Ver. 9. Glory over me. ] Or, Jeer me, andreject me, as thou hast done heretofore: but when thou hast so done, thou must be beholden to me for my prayers, or thou art like to lie under the plague, for aught that thy wizards can do to relieve and release thee.
In the river only.
a Horat.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Glory over me. Treat this as part of the following question, which requires this to be rendered: “Explain thyself to me: when shall I, “&c.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Glory over me: or, Have this honour over me, Jdg 7:2, 1Ki 18:25, Isa 10:15
when: or, against when
to destroy: Heb. to cut of, Exo 8:13
Reciprocal: Exo 7:25 – General Exo 8:11 – General Exo 10:18 – and entreated 2Ki 14:10 – glory of this
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Exo 8:9. Glory over me That is, I yield to thee. Thou shalt command me. As I have gloried over thee in laying, first my commands, and then my plagues upon thee; so now lay thy commands upon me for the time of my praying, and if I do not what thou requirest, I am content thou shouldest insult over me. Or he may mean, Glory or boast thyself of or concerning me, as one that by Gods power can do that for thee which all thy magicians cannot, of whom thou now seest thou canst not glory nor boast, as thou hast hitherto done. When shall I entreat for thee? Appoint me what time thou pleasest. Thus, he knew the power and glory of God would be most conspicuous in the miracle. And this was not presumption in Moses, who had a large commission, as a god to Pharaoh, and particular direction from God in all he said and did in these matters.