Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Exodus 8:20
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.
20. lo, he cometh forth to the water ] cf. Exo 7:15
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
20 32. The fourth plague. The dog-fly. Entirely J.
20 23 The announcement of the plague. Cf Exo 8:1-4.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Cometh forth to the water – See the Exo 7:15 note. It is not improbable that on this occasion Pharaoh went to the Nile with a procession in order to open the solemn festival, which was held 120 days after the first rise, at the end of October or early in November. At that time the inundation is abating and the first traces of vegetation are seen on the deposit of fresh soil.
The plague now announced may be regarded as connected with the atmosphere, also an object of worship.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Exo 8:20-24
Swarms of flies.
The plague of flies; or, an exceptional method of the Divine administration in the affairs of this life
I. It is a general rule of the Divine administration that the good and sad shall alike participate in the painful dispensations of this probationary life.
1. Because both are guilty of sin.
2. Because both need correction and improvement.
3. Because life is a probation and a discipline.
II. It is an exceptional method of the divine administration to exempt the good from the trials and retributions of this life. And I will put a division between My people and thy people.
1. Thus we see that there are times in this life when moral character gives exemption from severe retribution. This is the honour God places upon true moral goodness. In this way He occasionally shows His approval of it. Piety shields the house. It will protect a nation from the plague of God.
2. Thus we see that there are times in this life when God manifests to men His care for the good.
3. Thus we see that there are times in this life when God gives men a prophecy of the social equity in the world to come. Then Egypt will be ever separate from Goshen in character, as in retribution and reward. Heaven will adjust the moral relations of the universe.
Lessons:
1. That continued sin must be visited by continued retribution.
2. That the providence of God is over the good to save them from pain.
3. That the wicked must see the worth of goodness. (J. S. Exell, M. A.)
Gods retributive resources
I once knew a good woman who had three children, and the youngest was her pet. And it died, and said she, Now God has done all that He can do. But a little after another was burnt to death, and then she said, I see God can do more yet. Soon after the other fell into a boiler of water, and was scalded to death. Says she, God can do more yet. Afterwards her husband died, and then she said, Now God has done all things well. If she had said this before, she would have had her husband and two children alive; but God must bring His work to pass. He afflicts us for our good. (Matthew Wilks.)
Flies in Egypt
Egypt has always suffered more or less severely in hot weather from the various sorts of flies which arise from the marshy lands. The most numerous and troublesome among the insects which infest these countries, says Sonnini, are flies, which cruelly torment both men and animals. It is impossible to form a just idea of their obstinate perseverance when they wish to fasten upon any particular part of the body, as when they are driven away they return and settle again in the same moment, and their pertinacity tires out the most patient sufferer. They particularly delight in fastening upon the corners of the eyes and the edges of the eyelids, to which tender parts they are attracted by a slight humidity. Mr. Lane says–In spring, summer, and autumn, flies are so abundant as to be extremely annoying during the daytime, and mosquitoes are troublesome at night, unless a curtain be made use of to keep them away, and often in the day. Herodotus also makes mention of the flies of Egypt, and describes the nets with which the inhabitants protected themselves against them. In winter, however, these insects are rarely troublesome, and Pharaoh may have thought that the threat of such a plague was but little likely to be fulfilled. For the same reason the miraculous character of the visitation, when it came, was the more readily acknowledged. (T. S. Millington.)
Increased penalties
At sea, when the enemys ship is sighted in full flight, a gun loaded with powder only is fired by the pursuer to bring the fugitive to. When this fails, the cannon is charged with a ball, but is designedly fired so as not to strike the vessel, in the hope of inducing it to furl the sails. But when this attempt has failed, then the captain of the pursuer orders the gun to be fired straight at the ship attempting to escape. It may be that many shots have taken effect in her rigging and hull before she ceases her flight. Such, too, is the forbearance of God. The first miracle of Moses was harmless–the second came nearer home, in expectation of the stubborn despots compliance.
Various kinds of flies in this plague
The flies of this plague were evidently of a formidable kind, and very grievous. The Psalmist says–He sent flies among them, which devoured them (Psa 78:45). There is a kind of beetle common in Egypt which is very destructive, inflicting painful bites, and consuming all sorts of materials. The mosquito also, which is a terrible nuisance in all hot climates, and especially in the vicinity of rivers, answers to this description; and the house-fly, which swarms in Egypt, carries corruption, and not unfrequently infectious disease, wherever it alights. It is probable, however, that the flies of this plague were of various kinds, including the above and many others, for David says again He spake the word, and there came all manner of flies, or divers sorts of flies (Psa 105:31). The marginal reading gives a similar description, a mixture of noisome beasts. There is no reason, therefore, for supposing that the plague was limited to any one species; on the contrary, as the flies were everywhere, upon the people and in their houses, on the ground and in the air, and in all the land of Egypt, it appears almost certain that they were of different habits, and therefore of different species. There were flies that devoured, and flies that stung; flies that corrupted, and flies that hovered whirring in the air; flies upon men, inflaming their eyelids and blinding them, and flies upon the cattle; there were beetles that crawled upon the ground, and perhaps also bees, and wasps, and hornets, pursuing the people fiercely. It is doubtful whether some kind of flies were not among the sacred insects of the Egyptians. Some of them have been preserved, perhaps accidentally, in the mummy cloths, and some few, among which are the house-fly, the wasp, and the butterfly, are represented in paintings on the monuments and walls. To make the miracle more evident, these pests, while vexing the Egyptians almost beyond endurance, giving them no rest either by night or day, were not suffered to approach the Israelites. In the land of Goshen were no flies. (T. S. Millington.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
20-24. Rise up early . . . Pharaoh;lo, he cometh forth to the water, &c.Pharaoh stillappearing obdurate, Moses was ordered to meet him while walking onthe banks of the Nile and repeat his request for the liberation ofIsrael, threatening in case of continued refusal to cover every housefrom the palace to the cottage with swarms of flieswhile, as aproof of the power that accomplished this judgment, the land ofGoshen should be exempted from the calamity. The appeal was equallyvain as before, and the predicted evil overtook the country in theform of what was not “flies,” such as we are accustomed to,but divers sorts of flies (Ps78:45), the gad fly, the cockroach, the Egyptian beetle, for allthese are mentioned by different writers. They are very destructive,some of them inflicting severe bites on animals, others destroyingclothes, books, plants, every thing. The worship of flies,particularly of the beetle, was a prominent part of the religion ofthe ancient Egyptians. The employment of these winged deities tochastise them must have been painful and humiliating to the Egyptianswhile it must at the same time have strengthened the faith of theIsraelites in the God of their fathers as the only object of worship.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And the Lord said unto Moses, rise up early in the morning,…. Of the day following, the twenty eight of Adar, or February, according to Bishop Usher; this was the fittest time to meet with Pharaoh, and the most likely to make impressions on him:
and stand before Pharaoh: meet him as he comes along, and stop him, and stand before him as having something to say to him; this was using great boldness and freedom with a king; but as Moses was ordered to do it by the King of kings, it became him to obey him:
lo, he cometh forth to the water; [See comments on Ex 7:15]
and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me; which had often been required before, but to no purpose, and in case of refusal he is threatened as follows.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
As the Egyptian magicians saw nothing more than the finger of God in the miracle which they could not imitate, that is to say, the work of some deity, possibly one of the gods of the Egyptians, and not the hand of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews, who had demanded the release of Israel, a distinction was made in the plagues which followed between the Israelites and the Egyptians, and the former were exempted from the plagues: a fact which was sufficient to prove to any one that they came from the God of Israel. To make this the more obvious, the fourth and fifth plagues were merely announced by Moses to the king. They were not brought on through the mediation of either himself or Aaron, but were sent by Jehovah at the appointed time; no doubt for the simple purpose of precluding the king and his wise men from the excuse which unbelief might still suggest, viz., that they were produced by the powerful incantations of Moses and Aaron.
Exo 8:20-22 The fourth plague, the coming of which Moses foretold to Pharaoh, like the first, in the morning, and by the water (on the bank of the Nile), consisted in the sending of “ heavy vermin, ” probably Dog-Flies. , literally a mixture, is rendered (dog-fly) by the lxx, (all-fly), a mixture of all kinds of flies, by Symmachus. These insects are described by Philo and many travellers as a very severe scourge (vid., Hengstenberg ut sup. p. 113). They are much more numerous and annoying than the gnats; and when enraged, they fasten themselves upon the human body, especially upon the edges of the eyelids, and become a dreadful plague. : a heavy multitude, as in Exo 10:14; Gen 50:9, etc. These swarms were to fill “ the houses of the Egyptians, and even the land upon which they (the Egyptians) were,” i.e., that part of the land which was not occupied by houses; whilst the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt, would be entirely spared. (to separate, to distinguish in a miraculous way) is conjugated with an accusative, as in Psa 4:4. It is generally followed by (Exo 4:4; Exo 11:7), to distinguish between. : to stand upon a land, i.e., to inhabit, possess it; not to exist, or live (Exo 21:21).
Exo 8:23 “ And I will put a deliverance between My people and thy people.” does not mean , divisio (lxx, Vulg.), but redemption, deliverance. Exemption from this plague was essentially a deliverance for Israel, which manifested the distinction conferred upon Israel above the Egyptians. By this plague, in which a separation and deliverance was established between the people of God and the Egyptians, Pharaoh was to be taught that the God who sent this plague was not some deity of Egypt, but “ Jehovah in the midst of the land ” (of Egypt); i.e., as Knobel correctly interprets it, ( a) that Israel’s God was the author of the plague; ( b) that He had also authority over Egypt; and ( c) that He possessed supreme authority: or, to express it still more concisely, that Israel’s God was the Absolute God, who ruled both in and over Egypt with free and boundless omnipotence.
Exo 8:24-27 This plague, by which the land was destroyed ( ), or desolated, inasmuch as the flies not only tortured, “devoured” (Psa 78:45) the men, and disfigured them by the swellings produced by their sting, but also killed the plants in which they deposited their eggs, so alarmed Pharaoh that he sent for Moses and Aaron, and gave them permission to sacrifice to their God “ in the land.” But Moses could not consent to this restriction. “ It is not appointed so to do ” ( does not mean aptum, conveniens , but statutum, rectum ), for two reasons: (1) because sacrificing in the land would be an abomination to the Egyptians, and would provoke them most bitterly (Exo 8:26); and (2) because they could only sacrifice to Jehovah their God as He had directed them (Exo 8:27). The abomination referred to did not consist in their sacrificing animals which the Egyptians regarded as holy. For the word ( abomination) would not be applicable to the sacred animals. Moreover, the cow was the only animal offered in sacrifice by the Israelites, which the Egyptians regarded as sacred. The abomination would rather be this, that the Iran would not carry out the rigid regulations observed by the Egyptians with regard to the cleanness of the sacrificial animals (vid., Hengstenberg, p. 114), and in fact would not observe the sacrificial rites of the Egyptians at all. The Egyptians would be very likely to look upon this as an insult to their religion and their gods; “the violation of the recognised mode of sacrificing would be regarded as a manifestation of contempt for themselves and their gods” ( Calvin), and this would so enrage them that they would stone the Israelites. The before in Exo 8:26 is the interjection lo! but it stands before a conditional clause, introduced without a conditional particle, in the sense of if, which it has retained in the Chaldee, and in which it is used here and there in the Hebrew (e.g., Lev 25:20).
Exo 8:28-32 These reasons commended themselves to the heathen king from his own religious standpoint. He promised, therefore, to let the people go into the wilderness and sacrifice, provided they did not go far away, if Moses and Aaron would release him and his people from this plague through their intercession. Moses promised that the swarms should be removed the following day, but told the king not to deceive them again as he had done before (Exo 8:8). But Pharaoh hardened his heart as soon as the plague was taken away, just as he had done after the second plague (Exo 8:15), to which the word “ also ” refers (Exo 8:32).
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
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.
Here is the story of the plague of flies, in which we are told,
I. How it was threatened, like that of frogs, before it was inflicted. Moses is directed (v. 20) to rise early in the morning, to meet Pharaoh when he came forth to the water, and there to repeat his demands. Note, 1. Those that would bring great things to pass for God and their generation must rise early, and redeem time in the morning. Pharaoh was early up at his superstitious devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep and more slumber when any service is to be done which would pass well in our account in the great day? 2. Those that would approve themselves God’s faithful servants must not be afraid of the face of man. Moses must stand before Pharaoh, proud as he was, and tell him that which was in the highest degree humbling, must challenge him (if he refused to release his captives) to engage with any army of flies, which would obey God’s orders of Pharaoh would not. See a similar threatening, Isa. vii. 18, The Lord will hiss (or whistle) for the fly and the bee, to come and serve his purposes.
II. How the Egyptians and the Hebrews were to be remarkably distinguished in this plague, Exo 8:22; Exo 8:23. It is probable that this distinction had not been so manifest and observable in any of the foregoing plagues as it was to be in this. Thus, as the plague of lice was made more convincing than any before it, by its running the magicians aground, so was this, by the distinction made between the Egyptians and the Hebrews. Pharaoh must be made to know that God is the Lord in the midst of the earth; and by this it will be known beyond dispute. 1. Swarms of flies, which seem to us to fly at random, shall be manifestly under the conduct of an intelligent mind, while they are above the direction of any man. “Hither they shall go,” says Moses, “and thither they shall not come;” and the performance is punctually according to this appointment, and both, compared, amount to a demonstration that he that said it and he that did it was the same, even a Being of infinite power and wisdom. 2. The servants and worshippers of the great Jehovah shall be preserved from sharing in the common calamities of the place they live in, so that the plague which annoys all their neighbours shall not approach them; and this shall be an incontestable proof that God is the Lord in the midst of the earth. Put both these together, and it appears that the eyes of the Lord run to and fro through the earth, and through the air too, to direct that which to us seems most casual, to serve some great designed end, that he may show himself strong on the behalf of those whose hearts are upright with him, 2 Chron. xvi. 9. Observe how it is repeated: I will put a division between my people and thy people v. 23. Note, The Lord knows those that are his, and will make it appear, perhaps in this world, certainly in the other, that he has set them apart for himself. A day will come when you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked (Mal. iii. 18), the sheep and the goats (Mat 25:32; Eze 34:17), though now intermixed.
III. How it was inflicted, the day after it was threatened: There came a grievous swarm of flies (v. 24), flies of divers sorts, and such as devoured them, Ps. lxxviii. 45. The prince of the power of the air has gloried in being Beelzebub–the god of flies; but here it is proved that even in that he is a pretender and a usurper, for even with swarms of flies God fights against his kingdom and prevails.
IV. How Pharaoh, upon this attack, sounded a parley, and entered into a treaty with Moses and Aaron about a surrender of his captives: but observe with what reluctance he yields.
1. He is content they should sacrifice to their God, provided they would do it in the land of Egypt, v. 25. Note, God can extort a toleration of his worship, even from those that are really enemies to it. Pharaoh, under the smart of the rod, is content they should do sacrifice, and will allow liberty of conscience to God’s Israel, even in his own land. But Moses will not accept his concession; he cannot do it, v. 26. It would be an abomination to God should they offer the Egyptian sacrifices, and an abomination to the Egyptians should they offer to God their own sacrifices, as they ought; so that they could not sacrifice in the land without incurring the displeasure either of their God or of their task-masters; therefore he insists: We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, v. 27. Note, Those that would offer an acceptable sacrifice to God must, (1.) Separate themselves from the wicked and profane; for we cannot have fellowship both with the Father of lights and with the works of darkness, both with Christ and with Belial, 2Co 6:14; Psa 26:4; Psa 26:6. (2.) They must retire from the distractions of the world, and get as far as may be from the noise of it. Israel cannot keep the feast of the Lord either among the brick-kilns or among the flesh-pots of Egypt; no, We will go into the wilderness,Hos 2:14; Son 7:11. (3.) They must observe the divine appointment: “We will sacrifice as God shall command us, and not otherwise.” Though they were in the utmost degree of slavery to Pharaoh, yet in the worship of God, they must observe his commands and not Pharaoh’s.
2. When this proposal is rejected, he consents for them to go into the wilderness, provided they do not go very far away, not so far but that he might fetch them back again, v. 28. It is probable he had heard of their design upon Canaan, and suspected that if once they left Egypt they would never come back again; and therefore, when he is forced to consent that they shall go (the swarms of flies buzzing the necessity in his ears), yet he is not willing that they should go out of his reach. Thus some sinners who, in a pang of conviction, part with their sins, yet are loth they should go very far away; for, when the fright is over, they will return to them again. We observe here a struggle between Pharaoh’s convictions and his corruptions; his convictions said, “Let them go;” his corruptions said, “Yet not very far away:” but he sided with his corruptions against his convictions, and this was his ruin. This proposal Moses so far accepted as that he promised the removal of this plague upon it, v. 29. See here, (1.) How ready God is to accept sinners’ submissions. Pharaoh does but say, Entreat for me (though it is with regret that he humbles so far), and Moses promises immediately, I will entreat the Lord for thee, that Pharaoh might see what the design of the plague was, not to bring him to ruin, but to bring him to repentance. With what pleasure did God say (1 Kings xxi. 29), Seest thou how Ahab humbles himself? (2.) What need we have to be admonished that we be sincere in our submission: But let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more. Those that deal deceitfully are justly suspected, and must be cautioned not to return again to folly, after God has once more spoken peace. Be not deceived, God is not mocked; if we think to put a cheat upon God by a counterfeit repentance, and a fraudulent surrender of ourselves to him, we shall prove, in the end, to have put a fatal cheat upon our own souls.
Lastly, The issue of all was that God graciously removed the plague (Exo 8:30; Exo 8:31), but Pharaoh perfidiously returned to his hardness, and would not let the people go, v. 32. His pride would not let him part with such a flower of his crown as his dominion over Israel was, nor his covetousness with such a branch of his revenue as their labours were. Note, Reigning lusts break through the strongest bounds, and make men impudently presumptuous and scandalously perfidious. Let not sin therefore reign; for, if it do, it will betray and hurry us to the grossest absurdities.
Fuente: Matthew Henry’s Whole Bible Commentary
Verses 20-24:
The first three plagues or “strokes” appear to have affected the entire land of Egypt, including the region of Goshen where Israel lived. The final six affected only the Egyptians. The final plagues showed that Jehovah reigned even in Egypt, though they did not recognize His authority.
Jehovah instructed Moses to appear once more before Pharaoh at the riverside, as he came for the early morning sacrifice (see Ex 7:15). The purpose: to announce the fourth “stroke.” There would be a difference between this and the three previous ones. The fourth and future plagues would be upon the Egyptians only; the Land of -Goshen where Israel lived would be exempt. This would be indisputable proof that Jehovah was indeed the true God over all the earth.
“Flies” ha-arob, a distinct species of insect. The word in the Septuagint is kunomuia, the “dog-fly.” This is not the common house-fly, Musca domestica, but the Musca canina. Historians (Philo, Munk) record that these flies are a terrible affliction in Egypt. They attack both men and beasts, fastening on every uncovered surface, especially the eyelids and corners of the eyes. Their bites are painful, and can cause severe inflammation. They “corrupted the land” likely by depositing their eggs everywhere.
Some suggest these insects were beetles, the Blatta orientalis, or kakerlaque. The beetle was sacred to Ra, the sun-god. Chepra, one form of Ra, is represented as a man with a beetle for a head. This insect has powerful jaws, capable of inflicting severe pain upon both man and beast. They attack indiscriminately, gnawing and destroying clothes, furniture, leather, and either eat or corrupt all edibles.
The fourth “stroke” of pestilent insects devastated Egypt. But the land of Goshen where Israel lived was free of these “flies.” This was indisputable evidence of the truth of Jehovah’s Word.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
20. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early. As Pharaoh advances in daring rashness, so does God on the other hand proceed to restrain his impetuosity by opposing impediments. This is what the wicked at length obtain by long and multiplied contention, that having received many wounds they perish by various torments. With respect to the command that Moses should meet Pharaoh, when he shall go down in the morning to the river-side for his pleasure, it is uncertain whether God would have the tyrant encountered in public, because the palace was difficult of access; although it seems probable to me, that a place was chosen in which the proceeding would be more manifest, and where the voice of His messenger would be more clearly heard. Therefore, that nothing might be done secretly, Moses proclaims in open day, before the whole multitude, that judgment of God, which immediately afterwards took effect. But here no mention is made of the rod, as in the former plagues; because God sometimes makes use of external instruments, that we may know that all creatures are in His hand, and are wielded according to His will; but sometimes acts independently of them, that we may know that He needs no such assistance. This varied mode of action demonstrates that He subjects all things to His empire as He pleases, and yet that He is contented with His own power. This plague has some affinity to the two previous ones, inasmuch as its infliction is attended with ignominy, which may put the tyrant to shame. The Hebrew word ערב, (95) g narob, means the same as the Latin “ examen insectorum, ” a swarm of insects. Many interpreters think that there was a mixture of various kinds; and this I do not reject, since it is probable that their foul odour was multiplied, so as almost to suffocate the tyrant. Those who explain it as describing bears, lions, tigers, wolves, and other wild beasts, depart without any reason from the genuine meaning of the word.
(95) The root ערב, means commingling, and the producing of confusion thereby. Hence evening is called ערב, from the mingling together of day and night; and the same name is given to a mixed crowd; and possibly to a confused swarm of insects. The LXX. have taken it for the name of some particular kind of fly in this instance; whilst S M. has mentioned certain Rabbies, as affirming that it here means a mingled crowd of wild beasts. — W
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
CRITICAL NOTES.
Exo. 8:24. Swarms] Heb. a species of fly, the gad-fly (Ges.) a scorpion-like and stinging animal, a beetle, scarabus (F.); prob. the gad-fly, so called from its sucking the blood (Dav.)
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.Exo. 8:20-24
THE PLAGUE OF FLIES; OR, AN EXCEPTIONAL METHOD OF THE DIVINE ADMINISTRATION IN THE AFFAIRS OF THIS LIFE
It is somewhat difficult to ascertain in what this plague consisted. The Hebrew word is very indefinite; but the Septuagint gives it as the , or dog-fly. This insect is, in some seasons, a far worse plague in Egypt than even the mosquito. Its bite is sharp and painful, causing severe inflammation. Some consider that the beetle is the insect signified; in which case the plague could hardly fail to be a rebuke of the reverence paid by the Egyptians to that creature. To make this retribution more apparent to Egypt, in the land of Goshen there were no flies. In this we have an exceptional method of the Divine administration in the affairs of this world, in that protection from injury was given to good moral characters.
I. It is a general rule of the Divine administration that the good and bad shall alike participate in the painful dispensations of this probationary life. If we look out upon the world we find that the good and the bad suffer alike, that both are liable to the discipline of pain. In this life nothing is more evident than that one event happeneth to all, and that moral character is not exempt from ills often retributive in design.
1. The good and bad suffer alike because both are guilty of sin. The unholy sin wilfully and thoughtlessly. They almost regard sin as no sin. They understand not its turpitude. Even the good sin. The enmity of the carnal mind is not subdued. They are not always pure in the springs of thought and action. The race has only known one sinless man. If we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Hence the retributive events of life happen to those who are striving to be pure in heart as well as to those who are content to remain unholy.
2. The good and bad suffer alike because both need correction and improvement in moral character. The retributions of God are corrective. They are designed to turn sinner into saint, and to transform the earthly into the image of the heavenly. They are intended to make the sinful penitent and the converted all beauteous in Christ. Hence they happen alike to both.
3. The good and bad suffer alike because life is a probation and a discipline. The worst characters are on probation; equally so are the best. Probation is co-extensive with the mundane life, and is designed to prepare men for immortality. Hence pain will improve character, when accompanied by the influence of the Divine Spirit; it is well that all men should be tried by it, and be subject to it. The dispositions we manifest under the judgments of God will determine our destiny.
II. It is an exceptional method of the Divine administration to exempt the good from the trials and retributions of this life. And I will put a division between my people and thy people.
1. Thus we see that there are times in this life when moral character gives exemption from severe retribution. Swarms of flies were sent upon Egypt. No place was free from them. But from this plague the land of Goshen was exempt. This was a marked interposition of God. No one could refuse to observe it, not even the king himself. And so in this life good men often have an advantage in certain events and circumstances, over those who reject the claims of God. The former are free from pain while the latter know not how to rid themselves of it. This is the honour God places upon true moral goodness. In this way He occasionally shows His approval of it. Piety shields the house. It will protect a nation from the plague of God.
2. Thus we see that there are times in this life when God manifests to men His care for the good. God showed Egypt that he cared for Israel, and that He was able to protect His people. The world has an idea that heaven has but little regard for the good, and that it is but little advantage to be a christian; but in this incident we see that God will protect those who put their trust in Him, and that He will ultimately deliver them from the peril of His anger.
3. Thus we see that there are times in this life when God gives men a prophecy of the social equity in the world to come. In this life men are sometimes given to see that the good are delivered from sorrow and retribution; and in this they have a prophecy of the eternal adaptation of circumstances to moral character in the life to come. Then Egypt will be ever separate from Goshen in character, as in retribution and reward. Heaven will adjust the moral relations of the universe. LESSONS:
1. That continued sin must be visited by continued retribution.
2. That the providence of God is over the good to save them from pain.
3. That the wicked must see the worth of goodness.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON THE VERSES
Exo. 8:23. Reiterated unbelief and hardening, is followed by renewed plagues.
God will have all His ministers early striving to meet His adversaries.
God fits time and place best to deal with and reprove his enemies.
Multiplied demands does God make of his right to the church.
Kings and people, houses and lands shall suffer in rebellion against God.
It is Gods own prerogative in pouring out payments to discriminate between man and man.
The habitation of the first is preserved by God.
Neither fly nor creature shall touch them for harm whom God secures.
In the day of Gods discrimination, redemption shall be for His people, and distruction for His enemies.
There is a great distinction between the people of God, and the people of an earthly king.
Gods goodness may give to the worst of sinners time to repent.
Exo. 8:24. Jehovah himself pleads sometimes in vengeance against his enemies.
It is a grievous plague when God arms flies against kings.
Corruption and destruction accompany the wroth of God upon wicked men.
ILLUSTRATIONS
BY THE
REV. WM. ADAMSON
Struggle! Exo. 8:20. At sea, when the enemys ship is sighted in full flight, a gun loaded with powder only is fired by the pursuer to bring the fugitive to. When this fails, the cannon is charged with a ball, but it is designedly fired so as not to strike the vessel, in the hope of inducing it to furl the sails. But when this attempt has failed, then the captain of the pursuer orders the gun to be fired straight at the ship attempting to escape. It may be that many shots have taken effect in her rigging and hull before she ceases her flight. Such, too, is the forbearance of God. The first miracle of Moses was harmlessthe second came nearer home, in expectation of the stubborn despots compliance. When this stern summons proved ineffectual, Gods dread artillery fired volley after volley, until nolens volens Pharaoh hauled down his flaunting flag of pride, and acknowledged that the Will of Jehovah bad conquered.
Ye nations, bendin reverence bend;
Ye monarchs, wait His nod,
And bid the choral song ascend
To celebrate your God.
White.
Fly-gods! Exo. 8:21. The Egyptians worshipped the four elements: Water, Earth, Air, and Fire. From the water came the frogsfrom the earth came the liceand now from the air came the fly-gods. These came at a time of the year when they were least expected, viz., the cold season. The fly-god was a special favourite with the Egyptian devotees, and was known in Bible times by the name of Baalsebub. Elijah reproved King Ahaziah for sending to enquire of this deitythe god Acchor. Millington says that there was in Egypt, near the Lake Moeris, a city called Achoris, where the fly-god temple stood. Lucian mentions a priest of the same name at Memphis:
The chief in honour, and the best,
Was old Achoreus, the Memphian priest.
Pharsalia.
Superstition! Exo. 8:24. Upon a part of the shore of Rurutu, an island in the region of the Southern Cross, knelt a few native servants of God. The spot was sacred to the great idol of that island; and the natives gathered round expecting that the desecrators of their holy place would be struck lifeless. The Rurutans looked earnestly at themas the barbarians of Melita did at St. Paulanticipating some dreadful calamitythat the bodies of the profaners would swell, or fall down dead suddenly. But no harm came to them. Still they felt sure that in the night the gods would come and kill them. In the morning they found the new-comers all well and safe; whereupon they began to suspect that their gods were deceivers. They were accordingly given up for destruction. But we have no record that the Egyptians gave up the worship of the scarabus. On the contrary, we find from monuments erected subsequent to this visitation that the Egyptians continued to worship the sacred beetle, in spite of the exposure of its utter helplessness. This pitiable worthlessness of their fly-god was all the more conspicuous from the fact that it was kept far away from the children of Israel. The Egyptian gods plagued their own worshippers, and spared their enemies.
Gods of the ruined temples, where, O where are ye?
Bethune.
Fuente: The Preacher’s Complete Homiletical Commentary Edited by Joseph S. Exell
THE FOURTH PLAGUE.
(20, 21) There is. again, a doubt as to the nature of the fourth plague. In the original it is called the plague of the arb. which is used throughout in the singular number. The LXX. translate ha-arob by the dog-fly ( ). The Jewish commentators connect the word with the root ereb or arab, and suppose it to designate either a mixed multitude of all kinds of wild beasts (Josephus and Jonathan), or a mixture of all sorts of insects (Aquila, &c). Moderns generally agree with the LXX. that a definite species of animalprobably an insectis meant, but doubt about the particular creature. The dog-fly, it is said (Musca canina), is not a pest in houses, as the arb was (Exo. 8:21; Exo. 8:24), nor does it do any damage to the land (Exo. 8:24). It is therefore suggested that the plague was really one of the kakerlaque, a kind of beetle, which is injurious both to the persons of men, to the furniture and fittings of houses, and to the crops in the fields. It is in favour of the kakerlaque that, like all beetles, it was sacred, and might not be destroyed, being emblematic of the sun-god, Ra, especially in his form of Khepra, or the creator. Egyptians were obliged to submit to such a plague without attempting to diminish it, and would naturally view the infliction as a sign that the sun-god was angry with them. They would also suffer grievously in person, for the kakerlaque inflicts very painful bites with its jaws (Kalisch); and they would begin for the first time to suffer in their property, which neither the frogs nor the mosquitoes had damaged. The plague was thusif one of the kakerlaquean advance on previous plagues, and if less disgusting than some others, was far more injurious.
(20) Early in the morning.Comp. Exo. 7:15; and on the early habits of an Egyptian king, see Herod. ii. 172.
He cometh forth to the water.It is conjectured that this was on the occasion of the great autumn festival, when, after the retirement of the Nile within its banks, and the scattering of the grain upon the fresh deposit of mud, the first blades of corn began to appear. It is not improbable that Khepra, the creator, was then especially worshipped.
(21) Swarms of flies.Heb., the arb. Comp. the frog (Exo. 8:13), and the mosquito (ha-kinnim) in Exo. 8:17. On the species intended, sec the comment on Exo. 8:20-21.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
FOURTH PLAGUE SWARMS (OF FLIES,) Exo 8:20-32.
20. Lo, he cometh forth to the water To offer his morning worship on the bank of the river, as in Exo 7:15. Jehovah’s message confronted him at the altar of his god .
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Fourth Plague – The Plague of Swarms of Flying Insects ( Exo 8:20-32 ).
The first series of three plagues being behind them we now come to the second series of three. While the first three have been general and have affected all, the second three are more targeted. In these three plagues the Israelites are spared and the plagues are rather centred on the Egyptians. And as with the first three the first confrontation is on the banks of the Nile.
Egypt suffers from mosquitoes all the year round but they are at their worst during and just after the Nile flood when the fields are still flooded. Their eggs and larvae develop in the standing water. The extra flooding would provide even better conditions for proliferation. As well as mosquitoes, flies would also proliferate among the rotting fish, the dead frogs and the decaying vegetation, including the carrier-fly, the stomoxys calcitrans (which might well be responsible for the later boils), and become carriers of disease from these sources. The ‘swarms’ may well have included both. They would have been an equal nuisance and an equal threat.
The Egyptians were used to both mosquitoes and flies, which were a constant and dreadful nuisance. But they had never seen anything like the situation that now developed.
a Moses was to meet Pharaoh by the Nile, and must declare that he must allow Yahweh’s people to go and serve Him by worship and offerings (compareExo 7:15). (Exo 8:20).
b If he does not there will be swarms of flying insects throughout the land of Egypt (Exo 8:21).
c But in Goshen were His people are there will be no flying insects, this is so that he will know the great power of Yahweh (Pharaoh could do nothing about the insects, but Yahweh was in complete control) (Exo 8:22).
d The result will be that He sets a deliverance between the Egyptians and His own people (Exo 8:23 a).
e The sign will come on the morrow (of the overwhelming power of the Lord Yahweh) (Exo 8:23 b).
f And Yahweh did so. He brought flying insects throughout the whole land. The land was corrupted as a result of the flying insects (Exo 8:24).
g Pharaoh call Moses and Aaron and tells them that they may go and sacrifice, but only in the land of Egypt (Exo 8:25).
g Moses points out that they cannot because their sacrifices are of such a nature that they will cause disquiet among the Egyptians (Exo 8:26).
f He insists that they must go a short journey into the wilderness and sacrifice there to Yahweh their God as He shall command (they could not sacrifice to Him in a corrupted land). Then Pharaoh says that he will allow them to go into the wilderness, only they must not go far away (Exo 8:27-28 a).
e He then asks Moses to entreat with Yahweh on his behalf (another sign emphasising the power of Yahweh. It is the inferior who entreats with the superior) (Exo 8:28 b).
d Moses says he will entreat Yahweh, so that the flying insects may go, (thus they all may also experience Yahweh’s deliverance), but warns Pharaoh against practising deceit by not letting the people go (Exo 8:29).
c Moses went out from Pharaoh’s presence and entreated Yahweh (Exo 8:30).
b Yahweh does according to the word of Moses and removes the swarms of flying insects so that there ‘remained not one’ (Exo 8:31).
a And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time as well, and would not let the people go (Exo 8:32).
In ‘a’ as usual we have ‘let my people go’ paralleled with Pharaoh hardening his heart. In ‘b’ the warning that there will be flying insects is paralleled with the removal of the flying insects. In ‘c’ for Yahweh’s people in Goshen there were no flying insects, while in the parallel Pharaoh could not get rid of them without the help of Moses. In ‘d’ there is deliverance for Yahweh’s people in contrast with the Egyptians, and through that deliverance and contrast Pharaoh will ‘know Yahweh’ (Exo 8:22) whereas in the parallel the hope of deliverance for the Egyptians lies with Moses, who in promising it warns against deceit. Pharaoh must know Yahweh. In ‘e’ the sign of Yahweh’s overwhelming power will come on the morrow, while in the parallel Pharaoh the god-king has to entreat Yahweh through Moses, a sign of Yahweh’s overwhelming power. In ‘f’ Yahweh brings the flying insects into Egypt and the land is ‘corrupted’ (the word usually means destroyed but can also indicate moral corruption, compare Exo 32:7; Gen 6:11-13; Gen 6:17; Gen 38:9; Deu 4:16; Deu 4:25; Deu 9:12; Deu 31:29; Deu 32:5; or for being marred – Lev 19:27), in the parallel Moses insists that Israel must leave the (corrupted) land in order to sacrifice. In ‘g’ Pharaoh tells Moss that they must sacrifice in the land. In the parallel Moses says that they cannot because of the nature of their sacrifices. When it comes to worshipping Yahweh Egypt is no place for it.
Exo 8:20-23
‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Lo, he comes out to the water. And say to him, ‘Thus says Yahweh, let my people go that they may serve me. Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold I will send swarms of flying insects on you and on your servants, and on your people and into your houses, and the houses of the Egyptians will be full of swarms of flying insects and also the ground on which they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flying insects will be there, to the end that you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and your people. By tomorrow will this sign be.” ’
Moses was again to approach Pharaoh early in the morning, as he came to the Nile to venerate it and receive its blessing. This is the second time that Moses has approached him while worshipping at the Nile. It may be that Yahweh deliberately chose such occasions because they weakened Pharaoh’s right to deny the Israelites the same opportunity of worshipping Yahweh. Or it may have been intended to challenge Pharaoh about the power of the Nile god. Negotiations would take place in the very presence of the Nile god, but he would be unable to do anything about it.
The warning was to be given that if God’s people cannot go and ‘serve’ Him as Pharaoh now ‘serves’ the Nile then the next plague will come, a plague of excessive swarms of flying insects, and these will be everywhere. They will be inescapable. Others see these insects as a particularly vicious type of beetle.
The only exception would be the land of Goshen where His people lived. Their lives were still burdened by slavery but they would not suffer this latest plague. If they were mosquitoes this was remarkable as Goshen usually had more than its fair share of mosquitoes, demonstrating again the hand of Yahweh. (The excessive disease carrying swarms are what they would escape. They would still probably have to endure flies and mosquitoes in the normal way). But they could easily have been something even more dreadful.
“Swarms.” The word is only used of this plague (both here and in Psa 78:45; Psa 105:31). It comes from a root ‘to mix’ and expresses the idea of dense swarms or possibly incessant motion, and may include a variety of swarming insects.
“I will put a division.” Literally ‘set a deliverance’. One side will be delivered, the other will not.
“That you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth.” Pharaoh had said earlier that he did not recognise Yahweh (Exo 5:2). Now he will indeed know Him, whether he wants to or not, for He is there and active.
“By tomorrow will this sign be.” The remarkable distinction will be a clear sign of the power and favour of Yahweh, and it was to come on the morrow.
Exo 8:24
‘And Yahweh did so. And there came grievous swarms of flying insects into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants houses. And in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flying insects.’
It is emphasised here that the house of Pharaoh and his high officials were especially affected. The plagues were now getting nearer to home, and Pharaoh’s helplessness in the face of them was being revealed. But apart from Goshen the whole land was affected. Their people were becoming aware that the mighty Horus (the living Pharaoh was believed to be the god Horus) was helpless against Yahweh.
“Corrupted.” The word commonly means ‘destroyed’, but regularly refers to moral corruption, and sometimes to being marred (compare Exo 32:7; Gen 6:11-13; Gen 6:17; Gen 38:9; Deu 4:16; Deu 4:25; Deu 9:12; Deu 31:29; Deu 32:5; or for being marred – Lev 19:27). The point being made is of the devastating effect that they had, so much so that Pharaoh compromises. They did not just destroy the land, they made it distasteful. This particular word would support the suggestion that the insects were a particularly vicious and ravenous form of beetle. Some kinds of beetles were sacred to the Egyptians which would make the situation even more difficult. It would certainly not be a land where Yahweh could be worshipped in purity.
Exo 8:25
‘And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron and said, “You go, sacrifice to your God in the land.” ’
So Pharaoh, driven to distraction, offered to let the children of Israel offer sacrifices and serve God in a festival, but only within the land of Egypt, not in the wilderness. He would give them time off for their worship, but they must not leave the country.
Exo 8:26
‘And Moses said, “It is not satisfactory to do so. For we will sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahweh our God. Look, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes and they not stone us?” ’
But Moses argued that this compromise was not suitable because of the nature of their sacrifices and the way in which they would sacrifice them. Their actions would be seen as an abomination by the Egyptians who saw some of the animals as sacred, and would consider that they were not sacrificing them in the right way. Can Pharaoh not see that thus the Egyptians would be incensed and would riot and attack them for their sacrilege? Stoning was not an official form of punishment in Egypt. The idea is that the Egyptians would riot and use any weapon that lay to hand.
Exo 8:27
“We will go three days journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to Yahweh our God as He shall command us.”
So Moses insists on a short journey, a ‘three day journey’, into the wilderness where they may sacrifice to Yahweh in accordance with His commands, in a place suitable for worshipping Yahweh.
Exo 8:28
‘And Pharaoh said, “I will let you go that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Entreat for me.” ’
Pharaoh now concedes almost all the ground. ‘Not very far’ rather than a ‘three days journey’. The difference in distance is minimal and probably a face saver.
“Entreat for me.” Here was a humiliation indeed. The great Pharaoh was pleading with Moses as a prophet to plead for him with his own God Who was thereby acknowledge as being more powerful than he. It should be noted that he is asking Moses to entreat on the basis of the terms discussed. Thus for Pharaoh to back down would be a breach of treaty and would be seen as a serious offence deserving of severe punishment. (The word is not specifically a treaty word but the context makes it so).
Exo 8:29-31
‘And Moses said, “Behold I go out from you, and I will entreat Yahweh that the swarms of flying insects may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people tomorrow. Only let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh.” And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh, and Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and he removed the swarms of flying insects from Pharaoh, from his servants and from his people. There remained not one.’
Moses accepts the compromise, agrees to entreat for him on the basis of it because he is acknowledging that only Yahweh can deliver is such a case, and warns Pharaoh against failing to fulfil his obligations under the agreement. He will ask Yahweh that the swarms of flying insects might depart, but he knows by now that this Pharaoh is not to be trusted and warns him against proving false to his promise of letting them go and sacrifice to Yahweh. Yahweh is doing what He is about to do because Pharaoh is to some extent acknowledging that he ‘knows Yahweh as the One Who is in the midst of the earth’, the One Who can deliver (Exo 8:22-23). Let him not then back down from it.
“And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh.” These words are heavy with significance. Pharaoh was used to men entering his presence in order to entreat with him because they saw him as a power amongst the gods. But Moses departs the other way, for he has a more powerful Being to entreat. He departed from Pharaoh and entreated Yahweh.
He entreated Yahweh to remove the swarms, and it is stressed that Yahweh did so in accordance with the word of Moses. Not one remained. Moses may not be good at the flowery speeches, but his word is powerfully effective in performing wonders. And he is good at the hard bargaining, for although it may well be that the conversation was taking place through intermediaries, (for Aaron was with him), the final decisions lay with him.
“There remained not one.” Probably not intended to be pressed too literally. The point is that they would all appear to have disappeared so that no trace of one could be seen.
Exo 8:32
‘And Pharaoh hardened his heart (made his heart heavy) this time as well and he did not let the people go.’
Pharaoh clearly now felt that there was not much else Yahweh could now do, for he again changed his mind once the danger was removed. We must presume he thought that treaties with slaves and Habiru under duress did not need to be observed. But his dishonesty and intransigence was building up trouble for the future, not only for himself but for his people. We should remember that our sins always affect the future and always affect others.
The further lesson that we learn from this plague, on top of what we have already pointed out, is God’s care of His own. In all His dealings He distinguishes between those who are His people and respond to Him, and those who do not.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
The Fourth Plague (Swarms) – Exo 8:20-32 tells us about the fourth plague in which swarms of insects filled the land of Egypt.
Exo 8:21 Word Study on “swarms of flies” Strong says the Hebrew word ( ) (H6157) means, “divers sorts of flies, swarm.” The phrase “of flies” has been added to the original text. This Hebrew word is found nine times in the Old Testament being translated in the KJV as “swarm 7” in Exodus, and “divers sorts of flies 2” in Psalms. Strong says this word comes from the primitive root ( ) (H6148), which means, “to pledge, exchange, mortgage, engage, occupy, undertake for, etc.” However, Holladay says in the Hithpael construction this verb also carries the meaning, “to associate, mingle, be intermixed,” from which we get the noun form “swarms.”
Gesenius says the Hebrews understood the noun ( ) to be “ a collection of noxious beasts, as if a miscellaneous swarm.”
Exo 8:22-23
Exo 8:23 And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be.
Exo 8:23
Exo 8:26 “we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians” Comments – The sacrifice of a cow was considered an abomination to the Egyptians, since they considered these animals sacred, in the way the Hindus view cows today. F. C. Cook says the ox was worshipped throughout Egypt under the various names of their gods. [42] Other abominations to the Egyptians are:
[42] F. C. Cook, Exodus, in The Holy Bible According to the Authorized Version (A.D. 1611), with an Explanation and Critical Commentary and a Revision of the Translation, by Bishops and Clergy of the Anglican Church, vol. 1, part 1, ed. F. C. Cook (London: John Murray, 1871), 282.
Gen 43:32, “And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians .”
Gen 46:34, “That ye shall say, Thy servants’ trade hath been about cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and also our fathers: that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen; for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians .”
Exo 8:28 Comments – Pharaoh was willing to let them go out from Egypt a short distance, but he demanded that they stay within the region that is under the domain of his military. Thus, he wants to keep them under his control and bring them back into bondage.
Exo 8:25-28 Comments Moses Refuses to Compromise God’s Charge to Him – Pharaoh begins to ask Moses to compromise on the request. Pharaoh here asks Moses to not go the three days journey. In Exo 10:8-11 Pharaoh asked Moses to allow only the men to go out. Then, in Exo 10:24 Pharaoh asked that the flocks only stay behind. Finally, Pharaoh allows Moses to have his full request in Exo 12:31-32.
Fuente: Everett’s Study Notes on the Holy Scriptures
The Plague of the Flies
v. 20. And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water, v. 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. v. 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; v. 23. And I will put a division between My people and thy people, v. 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. v. 25. And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. v. 26. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do, v. 27. We will go three days’ journey Into the wilderness, and sacrifice to the Lord, our God, as He shall command us. v. 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, v. 29. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will lntreat the Lord that the swarms of files may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; but let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord. v. 30. And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and intreated the Lord.
v. 31. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses; and He removed the swarms of flies, v. 32. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
EXPOSITION
THE FOURTH PLAGUE.
It has been noticed thatsetting apart the last and most terrible of the plagues, which stands as it were by itselfthe remainder divide themselves into three groups of three eachtwo in each group coming with a warning, and the third without. (See Exo 8:16; Exo 9:8; Exo 10:21.) In other respects, no great regularity is observable. There is a general principle of increasing severity in the afflictions, but it does not obtain throughout the entire series. The first three caused annoyance, rather than actual injury, either to persons or property. Of the next three, two were upon property, one upon both property and person (Exo 9:10). Of the remaining three, two again inflicted injury on property, while one (the plague of darkness) was a mere personal annoyance. The exact character of the fourth plague depends on the proper translation of the word ‘arob. The Jewish commentators connected this word with ‘Ereb and ‘Arab, words meaning “mingled” or “mixed;” and supposed a mixed multitude of animalsbeasts, reptiles, and insectsto be meant. But the expression used throughout, which is ha-‘arob, “the ‘arob,” marks very clearly a single definite species. So much was clear to the LXX; who rendered the word by , “the dog-fly,” which is not the common house-fly (Musca domestica), but a distinct species (Musca canina). Flies of this kind are said to constitute a terrible affliction in Egypt; but they attack men chiefly, and do no harm to houses or to the fruits of the field, whereas the ‘arob is spoken of as a pest in the houses, and as “destroying the land” (Exo 8:24). It has been, therefore, suggested that the Blatta orientalis, or kakerlaque, a kind of beetle, is really intended. These creatures suddenly appear upon the Nile in great numbers; they “inflict very painful bites with their jaws; gnaw and destroy clothes, household furniture, leather, and articles of every kind, and either consume or render unavailable all eatables”(Kalisch). They sometimes drive persons out of their houses; and they also devastate the fields.
Exo 8:20
Lo, he cometh forth to the water. See Exo 7:15, and comment. It is suspected that on this occasion Pharaoh “went to the Nile with a procession to open the solemn festival “held in the autumn when the inundation was beginning to abate (Cook). Say unto him. Repeat, i.e; the Divine command so often given (Exo 5:1; Exo 7:16; Exo 8:1).
Exo 8:21
Swarms of flies is an unfortunate translation of a single substantive in the singular number, accompanied by the article. A mixture, etc; is nearly as bad. The writer must mean some one definite species of animal, which he called “the ‘arob.” On the probable identification of the animal, see the Introductory paragraph to this Chapter. And also the ground. The ‘arob, like the frogs, was to plague them both inside their houses and outside, but especially inside.
Exo 8:22
I will sever in that day the land of Goshen. On the position of the land of Goshen, see the Excursus on the Geography. The “severance” is a new feature, and one distinguishing the later from the earlier plagues. It was an additional mark of the miraculous character of the visitations, well calculated to impress all thoughtful and honest minds. By all such it would be seen that the God who could make this severance was no local God of the Hebrews only, but one whose power extended over the whole earth.
Exo 8:23
A division. Literally “a redemption,” i.e; a sign that they are redeemed from bondage, and are “My people,” not thine any longer. To-morrow. Particulars of time and place are fixed beforehand, to mark clearly that the visitation does not take place by chance, or by mere natural law, but by Gods positive decree and by his agency.
Exo 8:24
A grievous swarm of flies. Rather “a multitude of beetles.” As with the frogs, so with the beetles, it aggravated the infliction, that, being sacred animals, they might not be destroyed or injured. Beetles were sacred to Ra, the sun-god; and one form of Ra, Chepra, was ordinarily represented under the form of a beetle, or as a man with a beetle for his heath The land was corrupted. Rather “destroyed;” i.e. grievously injured, or “devastated”(as Kalisch renders). The beetles seriously damaged the growing crops.
HOMILETICS
Exo 8:22, Exo 8:23
God puts division between the good and bad, both here and hereafter
In some respects the good and the bad appear to be treated alike in this life, and no difference to be made between them. “God maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust” (Mat 5:45). The Preacher’s experience was that “all things come alike to all; there is one event to the righteous and to the wicked; to the clean and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth and to him that sacrificeth not; as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth as he that feareth an oath”(Ecc 9:2). If God sends a pestilence upon a land, or a drought, or an excess of rain, or any other calamity, the good and the bad seem to suffer equally; no difference to be put between them. This is the first impression of the contemplative philosopher when he looks upon human life; and it is a true impression to a great extent. But there are limitations, which, though easily overlooked at the first glance, become apparent upon more careful examination. God does not treat all nations alikehe favours those which observe his laws; punishes those who disobey them. He seems sometimes especially to bless certain faithful families, as that of David, and to rain plagues upon others, as those of Saul, Herod the Great, and Napoleon. He gives, on the whole, to good men certain temporal advantages over bad men, as those which flow naturally (i.e. by his appointment) from industry, honesty, prudence, sobriety, and other virtues. The result is that “godliness” is said in Scripture to “have the promise of this life”(1Ti 4:8). And if we take into consideration the satisfaction of a good conscience, the confidence towards God, the calm trust, and the certain hope which sustain the good, and set in the opposite scale the doubts and fears and horrors of an evil conscience which afflict the bad, we shall have little doubt that the balance of happiness, even in this life, is with the servants of God. Still, no doubt the great “division” is put hereafter. “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, before him shall be gathered all nations; and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goatsand he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” (Mat 25:31-33). Awful the separation, where between the two “there is a great gulf fixed”(Luk 16:26)on the one side heavenly joy and perfect felicityon the other, “the blackness of darkness for ever”(Jud 1:13).
HOMILIES BY J. ORR
Exo 8:20-32
The plague of flies.
This torment is thought by many to have embraced winged pests of all kinds. In this case, it would include the mosquito, cattle-fly, beetles, dog-flies, and numbers of others. But see the exposition. We have to note regarding it
I. PHARAOH FINDS AS BEFORE THAT THERE IS NO ESCAPING FROM THE HANDS OF GOD. He is met at the brink of the river, and confronted with the old alternative”Let my people go else,” etc. (Exo 8:20, Exo 8:21). The king, when he saw Moses, would have no difficulty in anticipating what was coming. The bitter greeting he would give him would be akin to that of Ahab to Elijah”Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?”(1Ki 21:20); nor would Moses’ reply be very different from that given by the prophet”I have found thee; because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord.” What madness in the king to keep up this foolish, this suicidal contest! But the conflict of every sinner with Jehovah is of the same infatuated character. Stroke after stroke descends, yet impenitence is persevered in. Well may God say, “Why should ye be stricken any more?”(Isa 1:5.) His demand, through all, abides unchanged.
II. THE FOURTH PLAGUE SPRINGS FROM THE AIR. The sphere of judgment is widening and extending, taking in constantly new regionswater, earth, air. The voices that summon to repentance are heard from every side. A new demonstration of the universality of Jehovah’s rule-of the unlimited sweep of his dominion (Exo 8:22). Flies are agents which God can employ as a scourge of nations still. We read of singular feats in the way of insect-taming; of flies, bees, and even lice being trained to obey orders, and go through wonderful evolutions. Man’s power of control over these minute creatures is but a feeble image of the power exercised over them by God. He enrols them among his battalions, and uses them to execute his commissions.
III. A NEW SIGN IS THIS TIME GIVENTHE SEVERANCE OF THE LAND OF GOSHEN FROM THE REST OF EGYPT (Exo 8:22, Exo 8:23). The Israelites had probably been made fellow-sufferers with the Egyptians, at least in part, in the inconvenience experienced from the first three plagues. This was permitted, at once as a chastisement for their unbelief and murmurings, and as a purifying discipline. Nothing has been said as to the effect produced upon their minds by the outbreak of these terrific plagues; but they must have shown the Israelites the folly of their recent conduct, and wrought them up to a high pitch of expectation in the confidence that the day of their redemption was drawing near. With the production of this change of mind in the dwellers in Goshen, the nell for further inflictions upon them ceased, and a difference was thereafter put between them and the Egyptians. This astonishing separation was as clear a proof as could have been given of Jehovah’s absoluteness in the government of the creatures, of the extent of his rule, and of the care he exercised over his chosen people. Possibly, Pharaoh had hitherto been taking encouragement from the fact that Israel was involved in the calamities. He may have been led to question:
1. God’s power, seeing that he could not protect his own worshippers. It may have suggested itself to him that Jehovah’s power was limited, and therefore might successfully be braved.
2. God’s love for Israel. For if he loved them so much, why did he allow them to suffer? And if his interest in them was as weak as facts seemed to show, it was not impossible, if resistance was continued, that he might abandon them altogether.
3. The likelihood of God‘s proceeding to extremities. God, Pharaoh may have thought, must stop somewhere, else his own people will be destroyed together with mine. The need of protecting them is a safeguard against his proceeding to extremes with me. The severance now effected between Goshen and the rest of Egypt was a cruel blow to all such hopes. Thenceforward it was plain that God did care for Israel, that his power was as great as his/ore, and that whatever happened to Egypt, Israel was as safe as the pavilion of the Divine protection could make it. The fact is not without significance to ourselves. It teaches us that a deep and broad line of demarcation is really being put in God’s thoughts between his own people and the rest of mankind, and that, whatever be the nature of his outward providence, he has their interests and well-being continually at heart. Those who encourage themselves in sin because they see that the righteous suffer with the wicked, and judge that this proves an absence of interest or care on the part of God, must submit to a great undeceiving. The last judgment will make a final separation (Mat 25:31-35).
IV. THE FOURTH PLAGUE BROUGHT PHARAOH A SECOND TIME TO THE POINT OF SUBMISSION TO GOD‘S COMMANDS. The separation of the territory of Israel seems greatly to have startled him, and he sent anew for Moses. The unwillingness of his mind to grant the required consent to the departure of the people is apparent from the interview.
1. Pharaoh proposes a compromise (Exo 5:1-23 :25). This is a common expedient with those who are hard pushed with questions of religion. It is, however, only a veil for the spirit of disobedience working underneath. The compromise proposed was unhesitatingly rejected by Moses. He had no authority to accept it. It was in its own nature an untenable one (Exo 8:26). Nothing was to be gained by accepting it. By standing firm to his demand, he was certain to get the whole of what he wanted (Exo 8:28), why then take a part? Had he accepted the compromise, it would probably only have embeldened Pharaoh to further resistance. God’s servants will do well to imitate Moses in this distrust of compromises. Little good ever comes of them. Principle, not expediency, should rule the Christian’s conduct. The intrusion of expediency into matters ecclesiastical has been a grievous source of weakness, of scandal, and of loss of spiritual power.
2. He ultimately yields. He concedes the whole demand; qualified only by the injunction not to go far away (Exo 8:28). The interview leaves on one’s mind the impression of sincerityof a real relenting, of however short a duration, on the part of Pharaoh. Just so much the more fatal to his spiritual life was the subsequent hardening.
V. THOUGH WARNED BY MOSES OF THE PERIL OF ACTING DECEITFULLY, PHARAOH ANEW HARDENED HIS HEART (Exo 8:32). Hardening, after the experience just described, may be regarded as almost settling Pharaoh’s doom. He would soon be, if he was not already, irrecoverable. God had trusted him a second time, and this was the result. Obstinacy was passing into obduracy.J.O.
HOMILIES BY D. YOUNG
Exo 8:20-32
The fourth plague-the flies: the immunities of Goshen.
The mere change from one chastising agent to another is not a matter to be dwelt on in considering this plague. We note that God makes the change from gnats to flies, and that Pharaoh, who was obdurate before the gnats, is so far affected before the flies as to make an offer of submission; but it is obviously impossible for us to see why the flies should be more efficacious than the gnats. The important thing is, not the gradation from gnats to flies, but the way in which Goshen was protected by Jehovah, and thereby proclaimed as under his favour. As in the third plague we are to notice the discomfiture of the magicians, rather than the gnats themselves, so in the fourth plague we are to notice the immunities that were secured to Goshen, rather than the flies. Thus we mark how majestically and how worthily of himself Jehovah moves on from point to point towards the climax of his visitations on Pharaoh. To say that these plagues increased in severity is not to say much. Their succession in this respect is not so traceable as the succession of the events which happened in connection with them. In considering these events in their succession, we see more clearly how far this narrative of the plagues is from being the construction of a mere story-teller. There is a certain Divine art as to what is inserted and what omitted; but of this we may be sure, that nothing is invented. Underneath the condensed and pregnant record there is a tremendous and bitter reality. Consider then
I. THIS PROTECTION OF GOSHEN.
1. Note what this protection did for the Israelites. Had they then up to this time been sharers in the inconveniences and perils of the first three plagues? We must conclude that they had been; and that Jehovah only now deemed it fitting to extend special exemption to them. It was well for them to share somewhat of the sufferings of the Egyptians. (And we must bear in mind that however much they shared of these sufferings, yet afterwards, in the wilderness, the recollection of the comforts and delicacies of Egypt rose above all the recollection of the sufferings. Exo 16:3; Num 11:4-6.) But now, with the fourth plague, the time has come to make a perceptible difference between Israelite and Egyptian. True, the contest is advancing, but there is still much to be done; and it is well to give Israel timely encouragements. They must wait a while to be liberated from Pharaoh’s thraldom, yet surely it must rejoice and comfort their hearts to see themselves, even though in bondage, free from the afflictions which are coming ever more thickly upon Egypt. Though they have not all they want, it is something to have such a clear sign that God has marked them for his own. Even in this world, with all his sufferings, temporal disadvantages, and opportunities of gain missed, because he is a Christian, the Christian has that which makes the world to envy and to fear. For a while we must share in the world’s sufferings, but the world cannot share in our joys. Israel has to suffer with Pharaoh in the beginning, but presently it escapes; whereas Pharaoh cannot by any plan extend Goshen among the habitations of his own people. If we would have the comforts of Goshen we must go there, fraternise with them that dwell there, and join ourselves on to them.
2. Note what this protection may have done for the Egyptians. It may have done much in the way of revelation as to the cause of their troubles. Up to this point, most of them, even while they experienced great sufferings, had no knowledge of what caused the sufferings. It is very improbable that the demands of Moses had become known to the great bulk of the people. To national troubles they were doubtless used at timessuch troubles as had come to their ancestors in the seven years of faminebut these plagues were altogether beyond precedent, and must have provoked much active enquiry as to what possible cause could produce them. And now when this sharp division is made between Egypt and Goshen, this line evidently not of man’s making, the Egyptian people cannot but feel at once that there must be some connection between their sufferings and the state of the Israelites. Hence
3. It is possible that here we have the real reason why Pharaoh is now driven again into a sort of submission. What if he were more concerned at the absence of the flies from Goshen than at the presence of them among his own people! Might not this extraordinary exemption set his own people thinking too much, and cause his house to be divided against itself?
II. HIS PROPOSITIONS TO MOSES OF COMPROMISE. Pharaoh, on the occasion of his former yielding (Exo 8:10), proposed to let the people go “to-morrow.” Now he varies the terms of compromise. The people shall offer their sacrifices in the land. This offer he seems to have made in complete ignorance of the difficulties which lay in the way from the feelings of his own people. A fine man this, to be the ruler of a great kingdom! One who had to be taught the feelings of his own people by a stranger. Like most despots; he did not understand how vain it was to contend against the strength of custom and popular sentiment, particularly in matters of religion. Not only were the rites of Israelitish worship different from those of Egyptian worship, but one of the animals most frequently used for Israelitish sacrifice, would if so used before the Egyptians, have been viewed by them with the utmost repugnance. It was no visionary peril which Moses indicated. Whately, in his annotated edition of Bacon’s Essays: speaking on this very subject of the strength of popular custom, illustrates it, curiously enough, from the conduct of the Alexandrian populace at a much later time. “When the Romans took possession of Egypt, the people submitted without the least resistance to have their lives and property at the mercy of a foreign nation: ‘but one of the Roman soldiers happening to kill a cat in the streets of Alexandria, they rose on him and tore him limb from limb, and the excitement was so violent, that the generals overlooked the outrage for fear of insurrection.”In the land of Egypt then, says Moses; the sacrifices of Israel cannot be; and of course beyond the sufficient reason stated by Moses, there were others which there was no need to state, and which Pharaoh could not have understood, even if they had been stated.But Pharaoh is driven from one proviso only to seek refuge in another. If the people go out, they are not to go very far. And yet this offer, conditional as it seemed, was not conditional in reality. It was enough to serve the purpose of Moses, and he could readily accept it. Once a bird is outside of the cage, a very few minutes will take it clear away from the risk of re-capture. If Pharaoh only lets Israel out of his hands, it matters not how far, the rest will settle itself. This promise was enough to justify Moses, in interceding for a withdrawal of the heavy hand of Jehovah; and Jehovah, in granting the request. Thus a second time was Pharaoh taken at his word. God, we see, takes men at their word when they make right resolutions. If they make wrong, selfish resolutions, he would have them alter them. But once they have resolved rightly, he holds them to the resolution, and gives opportunity to carry it out. God withdrew the flies, as he had withdrawn the frogs. There seems even something as miraculous about the withdrawal as about the original infliction. It might have been expected that a few of the flies would remain, just one here and there, but there remained not one. Lastly, notice what is now coming to be the regular result of Pharaoh‘s temporary yieldings. He gives way a little to pressure, but as soon as the pressure is removed, he returns to his original position. All these yieldings of his are but as the slight appearance of thaw when the sun is at his best on a keen winter’s day. Pharaoh was thawed just a little on the surface of his nature. As soon as the heat of the present plague departed, the frost in his proud heart set in with more severity than ever.Y.
HOMILIES BY J. URQUHART
Exo 8:20-32
The Fourth Plague.
I. THE SUPERSTITION OF EGYPT IS MADE ITS SCOURGE.
1. The land was covered with the sacred beetle. It swarmed upon the ground and in their homes. No movement was possible without crushing or treading under foot the insect they adored. When God overthrows idolatries the very reverence with which the idols have been regarded deepens the chastisement. When the covetous sink under the loss of wealth, they themselves have given its weight to the blow which crushes them.
2. The land was destroyed by it. No prayer or propitiation served to avert the judgment. A land is ever corrupted by its idolatry. With the knowledge and worship of the true God, purity and righteousness and truth are put far from it. The soul is marred and wasted by covetousness.
II. THE SEPARATION BETWEEN GOSHEN AND EGYPT.
1. Hitherto there had been no separation. Up to a certain point the just and the unjust suffer in common.
2. Beyond this, God shields his loved ones. They are alike visited by sorrow, etc.; but while there is darkness and the ministration of death in the abodes of the unrepentant, there is light and the ministration of life in the dwellings of the righteous.
III. THE REJECTED COMPROMISE. Nothing less than God’s demand can be accepted. If we are to go free and to obtain the inheritance, we must make no compromise with the world or with sin; we must offer to God the full unfettered worship he demands. There must be full and complete separation between Egypt and Israel, the Church and the world, else it will be impossible to present before God the sacrifices he asks for. A Church unseparated from the world will be a worldly Church.
IV. PHARAOH‘S BROKEN FAITH. We have no reason to doubt that he was sincere when he made the promise (Exo 8:28). How many vows sincerely made in trouble are forgotten in the ease they sought to purchase! Under the pressure of affliction men are ready to sacrifice much to which, when God’s hand is removed, they cling as to their life.U.
Fuente: The Complete Pulpit Commentary
Exo 8:20. Rise up early, &c. See note on ch. Exo 7:15.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
D.The blood-sucking gad-fly
Exo 8:16-28 [Exo 8:20-32]
16 [20] And Jehovah 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 17 [21]saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else [For] if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies [send the 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 [full of the flies], 18 [22]and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever [separate] in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies [no flies] shall be there: to the end thou mayest know that I 19 [23] am Jehovah in the midst of the earth [land]. And I will put a division between 20 [24]my people and thy people: tomorrow shall this sign be. And Jehovah did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies [came grievous flies] into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants houses, and into all the land of Egypt; the land was corrupted [was like to be destroyed13] by reason of the swarm of flies [the flies].
21 [25]And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to 22 [26]your God in the land. And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall [should] sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Jehovah our God; lo, shall we [if we should] sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their 23 [27]eyes, and will they [eyes, would they] not stone us?14 We will go three days journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Jehovah our God, as he shall 24 [28]command us. And Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that ye may sacrifice to Jehovah your God in the wilderness: only ye shall not go very far away: 25 [29]entreat for me. And Moses said, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat Jehovah that the swarms of flies may [and the flies will] depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, to-morrow; but [only] let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice 26 [30]to Jehovah. And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated Jehovah. 27 [31]And Jehovah did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies [the flies] from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there 28 [32]remained not one. And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this [heart this] time also, neither would he [and he did not] let the people go.
TEXTUAL AND GRAMMATICAL
[Exo 8:20 [Exo 8:24]. The Hebrew is . There is no propriety in rendering the future verb here, as is commonly done, by the Preterite. Besides, from the nature of the case, the Preterite is too strong; the land was not wholly destroyed; there was a danger that it would be, and therefore Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in order to avert the prospective ruin of the land. The future tense expresses an action as strictly future, or as future with reference to another past event, or as customary, or as going on either at a past or present time. Here we must understand that the devastation was going on, and total ruin was impending. Hence we may render: was being destroyed, or (as we have done) was like to be destroyed.Tr.].
[Exo 8:22 [Exo 8:26]. The particle , commonly meaning, behold, seems to have here, as occasionally elsewhere, the force of a conditional particle. There is no mark of interrogation in the sentence, and apparently Moses says: Lo, we shall sacrifice and they will not stone us. But the sense seems to require the last clause to be taken interrogatively.Tr.]
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
Exo 8:16 [Exo 8:20] sqq. The gnats are followed by a worse plague, called . This definite phrase cannot signify all kind of vermin (Luther, , Sym.). The LXX. render , dog-fly, by which is to be understood the larger species of flies, the blood-sucking gad-fly, as is especially to be seen in the plague of the cattle (vid. Hengstenberg, Egypt, etc., p. 116). Raphael Hirsch: beast of the desert. There is no reason why the adjective , Exo 8:20, should not be rendered literally, the heavy (grievous) dog-fly. If is to convey the notion of multitude, this must also be indicated by the substantive. Moreover, the attributive numerous would rather weaken than strengthen the thought. Numerous flies!15In this plague two new factors enter: (1) It is expressly noticed that the laud of Goshen, i.e., Israel, shall be exempt from this plague. (2) This time, without the symbolic use of Moses rod, the visitation is announced only, and announced by Jehovah as His own act. Moses and Aaron are already sufficiently accredited as messengers of God; now their God will manifest Himself more definitely as the God of Israel, Jehovah, as He is also at the same time the God (Elohim) absolutely, and, therefore, also in the midst of Egypt.
Exo 8:17-18 [Exo 8:21-22]. Notice the sententious form of the antithesis, and .[Literally: If thou will not send my people away, I will send the flies upon thee, etc.Tr.]
Exo 8:19 [Exo 8:23]. , says Keil, does not signify , divisio (LXX., Vulg.), but ransom, redemption. At all events, however, it would be obscure to translate: I will put a redemption between my people and thy people. We understand: a quarantine.16
Exo 8:21 [Exo 8:25]. Pharaohs first concession. He is willing to grant to the people a sacrificial festival, accompanied by cessation from labor, but not to let them go out of the land, because he forebodes the consequence of a conditional emancipation, whereas he is unwilling to relax his despotic power over them.
Exo 8:22 [Exo 8:26]. It is not meet [Lange: safe]. De Wette translates by fitting, Keil by established. The first expresses too little, the second too much.17The abomination of the Egyptians.Knobel says: The Egyptians sacrificed only bulls, calves and geese (Herod. II. 45), but no cows, as being sacred to Isis (Herod. II. 41; Porphyr. Abstin. 2, 11); also no turtle-doves (Porphyr. 4, 7). Also no sheep and goats, at least, not generally; in the worship of Isis at Thiborna in Phocis none could be offered (Pausan. 10, 32, 9), and in Egypt those who belonged to the temple and district of Mendes offered no she-goats or he-goats, though they did offer sheep; whereas the opposite was the case in Upper Egypt (Herod. II. 42, 46). The Egyptians were greatly scandalized when sacred animals were sacrificed or eaten (Josephus, Apion I. 26). The Hebrews, on the other hand, sacrificed sheep, goats and rams, and cows no less, e.g. for peace-offerings (Lev 3:1), burnt-offerings (1Sa 6:14), sin-offerings (Numbers 19), and others (Gen 15:9). It is singular that Keil can suppose the meaning to be only that the ceremonial rules and ordinances [of the Egyptians] were so painfully minute that the Jewish method of offering sacrifices might well scandalize the Egyptians. The sacrifice of cows would of itself be to them abominable enough. The more sacred the animal was, the more abominable did the sacrifice of it seem to be. But the chief point in the matter seems to be overlooked. It was the offering in Egypt of sacrifices to Jehovah, a god foreign to the Egyptians, which must have been an abomination. Even after the Reformation many Catholic princes thought that each land could have but one religion.
Exo 8:24 [Exo 8:28]. Pharaoh permits them to go out a little distance on condition that they will intercede for him. Moses assents, without repeating the demand for a three days journey, but requires that Pharaoh shall not deceive him, but keep his word.
Exo 8:28 [Exo 8:32]. The fourth hardening of the heart.
Footnotes:
[13][Exo 8:20 [Exo 8:24]. The Hebrew is . There is no propriety in rendering the future verb here, as is commonly done, by the Preterite. Besides, from the nature of the case, the Preterite is too strong; the land was not wholly destroyed; there was a danger that it would be, and therefore Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron in order to avert the prospective ruin of the land. The future tense expresses an action as strictly future, or as future with reference to another past event, or as customary, or as going on either at a past or present time. Here we must understand that the devastation was going on, and total ruin was impending. Hence we may render: was being destroyed, or (as we have done) was like to be destroyed.Tr.].
[14][Exo 8:22 [Exo 8:26]. The particle , commonly meaning, behold, seems to have here, as occasionally elsewhere, the force of a conditional particle. There is no mark of interrogation in the sentence, and apparently Moses says: Lo, we shall sacrifice and they will not stone us. But the sense seems to require the last clause to be taken interrogatively.Tr.]
[15][Lange apparently has here in mind Keils interpretation, schwere Menge, grievous multitude, a meaning borne out by Exo 10:14; Gen 1:9, etc.Tr.]
[16][Lange s translation agrees with that of A. V. Knobel conjectures that instead of , we should road , separation, from the verb , which is used in the preceding verse. But such a noun nowhere occurs, though it would be an allowable formation. Better assume, with Gesenius, Frst, and the most, that the noun has here a rare, though perhaps its original, meaning, that of redemption being derived from it.Tr.]
[17][Langes rendering sicher is without analogy, except as sicher may mean certain, sure, which can hardly be Langes intention here. Keils explanation is the usual one: festgestellt, defined by statutum, rectum, right. The more common meaning is fixed; but this cannot be the force of the word here.Tr.]
Fuente: A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures, Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical by Lange
Observe! how the Lord warns again and again, before he repeats his punishments.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
“Handfuls of Purpose”
For All Gleaners
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh.” Exo 8:20 .
God is always before men. However early we rise, God is waiting for us. The Lamb was slain from before the foundation of the world. We never can surprise God by a new necessity, or baffle him by the agony of an unexpected pain. The Church should take a lesson from this consideration. It should watch the movements of men, and always be ahead of them and waiting for them, and surprise them by Christian appeals where such appeals are least expected. The Church cannot begin its labours too early in the day. The message from Heaven is always in time and in place. Every engagement of life may be legitimately interrupted by the direct messages of Heaven. The Church has been too particular in studying the convenience of the persons to whom it has been sent in the name of Heaven. Interrupt everything, that the Gospel may be delivered. Have no fear of the greatest; whatever his importance in life it is transcended by the importance of messages that are sent by God himself.
Fuente: The People’s Bible by Joseph Parker
Exo 8:20 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.
Ver. 20. Rise up early in the morning. ] Sanctificat, sanat, ditat quoque surgere mane. Early rising is good for health, wealth, and godliness. David “prevented the dawning of the morning,” &c. Psa 119:147 Christ “rose up a great while before day.” Mar 1:35 See Trapp on “ Mar 1:35 “
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
This plague was a severe blow to all idolatrous worship and worshippers. Cleanliness was imperative. For this cause the priests wore linen, and shaved daily. Moreover, it was designed to destroy the worship of Beelzebub, the god of flies, and to manifest his impotence. Compare Exo 12:12.
the LORD (Hebrew. Jehovah) said. See note on Exo 3:7, and compare note on Exo 6:10.
lo. Figure of speech Asterismos (App-6) for emphasis.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
lo: Exo 7:15
Let my: Exo 8:1
Reciprocal: Exo 7:16 – Let my Exo 9:1 – General Exo 9:13 – General Jer 25:3 – rising
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
There is no record here of the plague of lice being removed, but Moses is told by God to present again to Pharaoh His demand that the people, whom He claimed as His be released. He is again to intercept the king as he was going forth to the river early in the morning. Those who have studied the records of ancient Egypt have told us that the Nile was worshipped as representing one of the chief deities of that land of idols, and we remember that when the river was smitten under the first plague Pharaoh was going in the same direction in the morning (Exo 7:15). It gives us the impression that he was going forth to worship the Nile-god, and just at that moment his god was smitten. So also there was a goddess, who was supposed to preside over frogs. This shows us how these judgments affected the gods of Egypt, as indicated in Exo 12:12.
By the river, Pharaoh is threatened with the fourth plague. We notice that seven times it is described as “swarms” – to which word our translators have added “of flies” in italics, since the word in the original is evidently an Egyptian one and not Hebrew, and no one knows its exact significance. The Septuagint uses a Greek word meaning “dog-flies,” and this is the word used in Darby’s New Translation. Other authorities believe that it really signifies “beetles.” If so, that would again bring in the thought of the gods of Egypt, for the beetle was venerated by them.
We pause here a moment to observe that Urquhart in his “New Biblical Guide,” points out very forcibly that there are a number of words used that have their roots in the Egyptian language and not the Hebrew, as well as allusions to Egyptian customs and geographical details, which would only be known to people familiar with Egypt, and that these are introduced without one word of explanation. The unbelieving “Higher Critics” insisted that the Pentateuch was never written by Moses, but was the work of Ezra, or of someone else about his time – that it was a “pious fraud” perpetrated in the hope of making the people attach more weight to the law they were supposed to observe. But Ezra, or someone else, coming from Babylon, would never have had this intimate knowledge of Egyptian words and customs dating a thousand years before, and could he in some miraculous way have obtained the knowledge, he would have had to insert explanations to make them intelligible to the readers of his day. No, the hallmark of the Egypt of the time of Moses is plainly to be seen. It is as well for us ordinary Christians to know these facts, for we may occasionally be confronted by these infidel reasonings.
Another thing we must notice is that in this fourth plague Israel in the land of Goshen is exempted entirely from its effects. The “swarms” appeared punctually the next day, as the Lord had said, and this severing of Goshen greatly heightened the impressive force of the miracle. The land was “corrupted,” or “destroyed” by these “swarms,” which rather supports the idea that they were beetles, for in recent times travellers in Egypt have testified to the very destructive habits of the sort of beetles that are found there.
This plague evidently made a deep impression on the stubborn mind of Pharaoh and for the first time he made a show of yielding, but only by way of a small concession of a compromising nature. The Israelites might have a short release from their tasks and sacrifice to their God, but it must be in Egypt and not outside its borders. They might have a little bit of their religion so long as their links with Egypt were not cut. A type this, of the snare that has prevailed so largely in Christendom. The god of this age is content for us to carry on Christian observances, so long as we remain attached to, and controlled by, “this present evil world.”
Moses at once rejected the offer, for the sacrifices of Jehovah were of a kind that would be a deadly offence to the people of Egypt and provoke murderous action. In this again we can see a typical significance, for that which lies at the root of all our worship is the unique excellence of Christ contrasted with the condemnation of Adam’s race as fallen sinners. A doctrine which involves that judgment is an abomination to the world.
Pharaoh evidently had to acknowledge the force of this objection, for he at once altered his concession to giving permission for a very short journey into the wilderness, only not very far away. He wished to have them well within the reach of his arm, so that their separation from his land should be only nominal and temporary. Once more we see how this fits the type. If there is to be a breach between the church and the world, let it be only of a nominal sort, and one which lends itself to the Christian being still held in bondage.
With this concession the king asked for the intercession of Moses, which was granted with a warning against the deceitful line that he had been following. The Lord acted according to the prayer of Moses and another great miracle took place. On the next day the swarms departed so thoroughly that not one insect remained in the land. But, relieved of this infliction, in spite of the warning, once more Pharaoh hardened his heart and refused to allow the concession he had just promised. How true all this is to human nature! Under affliction people appear to become quite pious, the affliction is removed, and they promptly resume their godless ways.
Exo 9:1-35. The fifth plague is now threatened by command of the Lord. The first three had occasioned terrible inconveniences upon Egypt, the fourth had corrupted their possessions; the fifth was to smite them in one of the chief sources of their wealth. Horses and asses are mentioned first, and for these animals Egypt was specially famed. A very grievous “murrain,” or “plague,” would come upon them and again there should be complete exemption for the Israelites. So it came to pass. On one side of the line of separation there was death, on the other not one animal was affected. This again was plainly the hand of God, but Pharaoh was unmoved, and remained hard and impenitent. Therefore, as we see in verse Exo 8:8, Moses is instructed to act without giving Pharaoh any warning of what was coming. It is worthy of note that this feature also marked the third plague, and we shall find it again repeated when we come to the ninth. No comment is made in our chapters as to this feature, but it seems to be a part of God’s ways to warn twice and if no attention is paid, then to strike the third time without any warning being given. Later on we do get the word, “God speaketh once, yea twice, yet man perceiveth it not” (Job 33:14). That saying of Elihu was certainly exemplified here.
This time Moses was without warning to perform an act in the sight of the king, casting into the air handfuls of ashes from the furnace. Egypt had been “a smoking furnace” (Gen 15:17), into which the children of Abraham had been plunged, and now ashes of the furnace were to recoil upon the heads of their oppressors, smiting them with boils and blisters. It is specially mentioned that the severity of the boils was such that the magicians, suffering from them like the rest could not stand before Moses. They were utterly discomfited. No hint is given here why this smiting of the magicians is specially stated, but it is known that great soundness and cleanliness was imposed upon these men, who were the very highest rank of idolatrous priests, and without it they were disqualified from exercising their office and their charms.
But in spite of all this Pharaoh remained obdurate, and in verse Exo 8:12 we are plainly told that the Lord hardened his heart. Yet the dealings of God with him proceeded and even worse afflictions were threatened. Again Moses was to intercept him early in the morning, and warn him of further chastisement upon his realm.
This time the word of the Lord through Moses contained not only a plain threat of what was impending but also a revelation of how the hand of the Lord had been upon him in the past, raising him up to sit upon the throne of Egypt. Verse Exo 8:16 is quoted by the Apostle Paul in Rom 9:17, as a striking example of the working of the sovereignty of God. Some of those who have studied the records of ancient Egypt have told us that in their opinion this Pharaoh of the exodus was not altogether of royal blood, but rather a son of the harem, who ascended the throne by being married to a princess fully of royal blood and in the line of succession. If this be so, it illuminates the position. He was “raised up” by God, not in the sense of being born into the world, but of being raised to the throne in an unusual way.
The sovereignty of God is one of the great foundation facts of Scripture: a fact that may well move our hearts to praise. If He were not sovereign in His omniscience and omnipotence, we might well tremble before the might of the great adversary. The responsibility of man, even though fallen, is another fact made plain in Scripture, and both facts we must maintain, though we may not feel able to correlate the two. Nebuchadnezzar, whose responsibility was undoubted, acknowledged the Divine sovereignty when he said, “He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest Thou?”
God knew the stubborn self-will and pride of this man, and working behind the scenes raised him up to where he could carry on and even intensify the ill-treatment of His people, and thus bring things to a head. The hour was now ripe for God to deal with him, and in doing so, display His power in such fashion that His name would be declared throughout all the earth. That in those days the name of Jehovah was so declared is borne witness to by such a scripture as Jos 2:8-11. And even in our day, 3,500 years later, the fame of it has not died away.
We must take note of verse Exo 8:17, for in it we find an early example of the principle that what is done against the people of God is accepted as done against God Himself. It came most fully to light when Saul of Tarsus was arrested by, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” Again we see it in Mat 25:40, Mat 25:45, applying there to what is done for the Lord as well as against Him, but en both cases their attitude manifested in their treatment of His people. In exalting himself against the children of Israel Pharaoh was exalting himself against God, and thus hurrying on to his doom.
Verse Exo 8:26 tells us that in this seventh plague the land of Goshen was again exempted. But there was also a new feature as regards the Egyptians in that; warning being given, there was an opportunity for any of the common people, who regarded the word of the Lord, to take action which would save them from the worst of it. The violence of the hail storm was so great that man or beast exposed to it would die. The crops were wrecked and even trees of the field destroyed. Verses Exo 8:31-32 give explicit information, which shows us that the time of year must have been late February or early March, for then in Egypt the barley is in the ear and the flax in blossom (or, boiled), but the wheat and the rye not yet in the stalk.
The visitation was so terrific that Pharaoh was frightened and inclined to make some confession of wrongdoing, as verse Exo 8:27 shows, and to promise to let the people go, if only there might be a cessation of this fearful scourge. Moses however was not deceived by this fresh profession of repentance and piety, and told him plainly that he knew he would not fulfil his promise, yet he went forth as an intercessor and spread his hands out unto the Lord, when the visitation ceased as suddenly as it began. Both in its onset and in its cessation it proved itself to be an act of God.
Sceptics have raised a difficulty as to cattle being slain by the hail seeing they had been smitten under the fifth plague. They overlook perhaps that the fifth was upon all “which is in the field” (Exo 9:3), so there may have been a good number not in the field. And further the cattle of the Israelites were wholly untouched, and there was nothing to prevent the Egyptians, in the two or three weeks that probably elapsed between the fifth and seventh plagues, seizing many of them for their own use.
Under this seventh plague Egypt must have lost nearly all its glory and have been brought very low. Most of its livestock destroyed, its trees broken, barley and flax ruined – the latter especially a very valuable crop. But directly the chastisement ceased Pharaoh relapsed into his stubborn defiance, and not only he but his servants also. How all this should drive home into our hearts the fact that what is born of the flesh is still flesh, no matter to what treatment it is subjected; and that the mind of the flesh is enmity against God.
Fuente: F. B. Hole’s Old and New Testaments Commentary
Exo 8:20. Rise up early Those that would bring great things to pass for God and their generation must rise early, and redeem time in the morning. Pharaoh was early up at his superstitious devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep, and more slumber, when any service is to be done which would pass well in our account in the great day?
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Exo 8:20-32 J. 4. Flies Infest the Land.Driver argues that some definite insect is evidently meant . . . some particularly irritating kind of fly, and renders dog-fly after LXX. The S. wind constantly brings flies in swarms, and their germ-carrying habits make them a peril as well as an annoyance. The exemption of Goshen (Exo 8:22, Gen 45:10*) is illustrated by the definite boundaries containing such swarms. This plague calls forth Pharaohs first concession, that, as it would be indecent and impracticable to carry out sacrificial worship in Egypt (Exo 8:26 f.), Israel may sacrifice . . . in the wilderness, only . . . not . . . very far away. The three days journey (Exo 8:27) repeats Exo 3:18; Exo 3:5 :sd3.
Fuente: Peake’s Commentary on the Bible
Flies (the fourth plague) 8:20-32
Moses announced this plague to Pharaoh like the first, in the morning near the Nile River (Exo 8:20; cf. Exo 7:15).
These insects were very annoying, even more bothersome than the gnats.
"When enraged, they fasten themselves upon the human body, especially upon the edges of the eyelids. . . . [they] not only tortured, ’devoured’ (Psa 78:45) the men, and disfigured them by the swellings produced by their sting, but also killed the plants in which they deposited their eggs . . . ." [Note: Ibid., 1:484-85.]
"The blood-sucking gadfly or dogfly was something to be abhorred and may in part have been responsible for the great deal of blind men in the land. . . . It might also be noted that the Ichneuman fly, which deposits its eggs on other living things upon which its larvae can feed, was regarded as the manifestation of the god Uatchit." [Note: Davis, p. 106.]
God demonstrated His sovereignty over space as well as nature and time by keeping the flies out of Goshen and off the Israelites (Exo 8:22). The exact location of Goshen is still unknown, but its general location seems to have been in the eastern half of the delta region of Egypt (cf. Gen 46:28-29; Gen 46:33-34; Gen 47:1-6; Gen 47:11). [Note: Durham, p. 114.] Some of the commentators assumed that the first three plagues did not afflict the Israelites either, though the text does not say so explicitly (cf. Exo 7:19; Exo 8:2; Exo 8:16-17). God distinguished between the two groups of people primarily to emphasize to Pharaoh that Israel’s God was the author of the plagues and that He was sovereign over the whole land of Egypt (Exo 8:23).
For the first time Pharaoh gave permission for the Israelites to sacrifice to Yahweh (Exo 8:25), but he would not allow them to leave Egypt. Pharaoh admitted that Yahweh was specifically the God of Israel ("your God"), but he did not admit that he had an obligation to obey Him. [Note: Meyer, p. 121.]
The Egyptians regarded the animals the Israelites would have sacrificed as holy and as manifestations of their gods. Consequently the sacrifices would have been an abomination. [Note: Cassuto, pp. 108-09. Cf. Cole, p. 95.]
". . . we know from excavations that this Pharaoh, Amenhotep II, worshipped bulls." [Note: Gispen, p. 94.]
The abomination that the Israelites’ sacrifice would have constituted to the Egyptians also may have consisted in the method by which the Israelites would have sacrificed these animals. The Egyptians themselves practiced animal sacrifices, but they had rigorous procedures for cleansing their sacrificial animals before they killed them, which the Israelites would not have observed. [Note: See Ernst Hengstenberg, Egypt and the Books of Moses, p. 114; and J. Philip Hyatt, Exodus, p. 112.]
Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites leave Egypt to sacrifice temporarily in the wilderness after Moses reminded him of the problems involved in sacrificing in Egypt (Exo 8:28). Yet they were not to go very far from Goshen. Again Pharaoh asked Moses to pray that his God would remove the plague (Exo 8:28; cf. Exo 8:9-10).
"What is new in this fourth of the mighty acts, apart from the nature of the miracle itself, is the separation of the land of Goshen from the effects of miracle (there has been no mention of Goshen’s fate in the earlier accounts), the negotiations between Pharaoh and Moses, with each of them setting conditions, and the allusion to the antipathy of the Egyptians to Israel worhsip [sic] (or to Israelite ways, and to Israelites in general)." [Note: Durham, p. 115.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
5. The fourth, fifth, and sixth plagues 8:20-9:12
"As the Egyptian magicians saw nothing more than the finger of God in the miracle which they could not imitate, that is to say, the work of some deity, possibly one of the gods of the Egyptians, and not the hand of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews, who had demanded the release of Israel, a distinction was made in the plagues which followed between the Israelites and the Egyptians, and the former were exempted from the plagues: a fact which was sufficient to prove to anyone that they came from the God of Israel. To make this the more obvious, the fourth and fifth plagues were merely announced by Moses to the king. They were not brought on through the mediation of either himself or Aaron, but were sent by Jehovah at the appointed time; no doubt for the simple purpose of precluding the king and his wise men from the excuse which unbelief might still suggest, viz. that they were produced by the powerful incantations of Moses and Aaron." [Note: Keil and Delitzsch, 1:484.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
THE FOURTH PLAGUE.
Exo 8:20-32.
When the third plague had died away, when the sense of reaction and exhaustion had replaced agitation and distress, and when perhaps the fear grew strong that at any moment a new calamity might befal the land as abruptly as the last, God orders a solemn and urgent appeal to be made to the oppressor. And the same occurs three times: after each plague which arrives unexpectedly the next is introduced by a special warning. On each of these occasions, moreover, the appeal is made in the morning, at the hour when reason ought to be clearest and the passions least agitating; and this circumstance is perhaps alluded to in the favourite phrase of Jeremiah when he would speak of condescending earnestness–“I sent my prophets, rising up early and sending them” (Jer 25:4, Jer 26:5, Jer 29:19, and many more; cf. also Jer 7:13, and 2Ch 36:15). So far is the Scripture from regarding Pharaoh as propelled by destiny, as by a machine, down iron grooves to ruin.
We have now come to the group of plagues which inflict actual bodily damage, and not inconvenience and humiliation only: the dogfly (or beetle); the murrain among beasts, which was a precursor of the crowning evil that struck at human life; and the boils. Of the fourth plague the precise nature is uncertain. There is a beetle which gnaws both man and beast, destroys clothes, furniture, and plants, and even now they “are often seen in millions” (Munk, Palestine, p. 120). “In a few minutes they filled the whole house…. Only after the most laborious exertions, and covering the floor of the house with hot coals, they succeeded in mastering them. If they make such attacks during the night, the inmates are compelled to give up the houses, and little children or sick persons, who are unable to rise alone, are then exposed to the greatest danger of life” (Pratte, Abyssinia, p. 143, in Kalisch).
Now, this explanation has one advantage over that of dogflies–that special mention is made of their afflicting “the ground whereon they are” (Exo 8:21), which is less suitable to a plague of flies. But it may be that no one creature is meant. The Hebrew word means “a mixture.” Jewish interpreters have gone so far as to make it mean “all kinds of noxious animals and serpents and scorpions mixed together,” and although it is palpably absurd to believe that Pharaoh should have survived if these had been upon him and upon his servants, yet the expression “a mixture,” following after one kind of vermin had tormented the land, need not be narrowed too exactly. With deliberate particularity the king was warned that they should come “upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine houses, and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of [them[15]], and also the ground whereon they are.”
It has been supposed, from the special mention of the exemption of the land of Goshen, that this was a new thing. We have seen reason, however, to think otherwise, and the emphatic assertion now made is easy to understand. The plague was especially to be expected in low flat ground: the king may not even have been aware of the previous freedom of Israel; and in any case its importance as an evidence had not been pressed upon him. The spirit of the seventy-eighth Psalm, though not perhaps any one specific phrase, contrasts the earlier as well as the later plagues with the protection of His own people, whom He led like sheep (Psa 78:42-52).
After the appointed interval (the same which Pharaoh had indicated for the removal of the frogs) the plague came. We are told that the land was corrupted, but it is significant that more stress is laid upon the suffering of Pharaoh and his court in the event than in the menace. It came home to himself more cruelly than any former plague, and he at once attempted to make terms: “Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land.” It is a natural speech, at first not asking to be trusted as before by getting relief before the Hebrews actually enjoy their liberty; and yet conceding as little as possible, and in hot haste to have that little done and the relief obtained. They may even serve their God on the sacred soil, so completely has He already defeated all His rivals. But this was not what was demanded; and Moses repeated the claim of a three days’ journey, basing it upon the ground, still more insulting to the national religion, that “We will sacrifice to Jehovah our God the abomination of the Egyptians,” that is to say, sacred animals, which it is horror in their eyes to sacrifice. Any faith in his own creed which Pharaoh ever had is surrendered when this argument, instead of making their cause hopeless, forces him to yield–adding, however, like a thoroughly weak man who wishes to refuse but dares not, “only ye shall not go very far away: intreat for me.” And again Moses concedes the point, with only the courteous remonstrance, “But let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more.”
It is necessary to repeat that we have not a shred of evidence that Moses would have violated his compact and failed to return: it would have sufficed as a first step to have asserted the nationality of his people and their right to worship their own God: all the rest would speedily have followed. But the terms which were rejected again and again did not continue for ever to bind the victorious party: the story of their actual departure makes it plain that both sides understood it to be a final exodus; and thence came the murderous pursuit of Pharaoh (cf. Exo 15:9), which in itself would have cancelled any compact which had existed until then.
FOOTNOTES:
[15] The Revised Version has “swarms of flies,” which is clearly an attempt to meet the case. But it is worth notice that in the Psalms the expression was twice rendered “divers kinds of flies” (Psa 78:45, Psa 105:31, A.V.) The word occurs only of this plague.