Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Psalms 78:45
He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
45. The fourth and second plagues, Exo 8:20 ff., Exo 8:1 ff. The word rendered divers sorts of flies, or, swarms of flies (R.V.), is used only with reference to this plague (Exodus 8; Psa 105:31), and probably means some venomous kind of fly, such as abound in Egypt.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He sent divers sorts of flies … – The account of this plague is found in Exo 8:24. The word there used is simply swarm, without indicating what the swarm was composed of. The rabbis explain the word as denoting a mixture, or a conflux of noxious insects, as if the word were derived from arab – to mix. The Septuagint renders it kunomnia – dog-fly – which Philo describes as so named from its impudence. The common explanation of the word now is that it denotes a species of fly – the gad-fly – exceedingly troublesome to man and beast, and that it derives its name – arob – from the verb arab, in one of its significations to suck, and hence, the allusion to sucking the blood of animals. The word occurs only in the following places, Exo 8:21-22, Exo 8:24, Exo 8:29, Exo 8:31, where it is rendered swarm, or swarms, and Psa 105:31, where (as here) it is rendered divers sorts of flies.
And frogs which destroyed them – Exo 8:6. The order in which the plagues occurred is not preserved in the account in the psalm.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 45. He sent – flies – and frogs] See on Ex 8:6; Ex 8:24.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Devoured them; or, destroyed them; which they might do by their cruel and numerous stings, for these flies were doubtless extraordinary in their nature and quantity, and poisonous and hurtful qualities. And the like is to be thought concerning the frogs here following, which also might destroy the people by infecting the air with their stink, and corrupting their meats and drinks.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
45. The dog-fly or the mosquito.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He sent divers sorts of flies among them,…. This was the fourth plague; see Ex 8:24, the word signifies a “mixture” f, and the Targum renders it
“a mixture of wild beasts;”
so Josephus g understood this plague of various sorts of beasts of different forms, and such as had never been seen before. Aben Ezra, on Ex 8:24 interprets it of evil beasts mixed together, as lions, wolves, bears, and leopards; and Jarchi, on the same place, of serpents and scorpions: the Syriac and Arabic versions here, following the Septuagint, render the word “dog flies”; so called because they were, as Pliny h says, very troublesome to dogs, and so might give the Egyptians greater uneasiness, because they worshipped dogs. God can make use of very mean and contemptible instruments, the least of insects, to plague and distress the most powerful enemies of his people;
which devoured them; corrupted their land, Ex 8:24, perhaps produced a pestilence, which destroyed many of the inhabitants, or consumed the vegetables of the land; as but a few years ago e, in New England, a sort of insects came out of little holes in the ground, in the form of maggots, and turned to flies, which for the space of two hundred miles poisoned and destroyed all the trees in the country i:
and frogs, which destroyed them; with their stench; see Ex 8:5, with this plague compare Re 16:13, this was the second plague.
e This was written about 1750. Editor. f “mixtionem”, Montanus; “miscellam”, Vatablus; “a mixed swarm”, Ainsworth. g Antiqu. l. 2. c. 14. sect. 3. h Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 34. i See Philosoph. Transact. vol. 2. p. 766. See also p. 781.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
(45) Divers sorts of flies.Better, simply flies. See Note Exo. 8:21.
Frogs.See Exo. 8:2, and Bib. Ed., iv. 145.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
45. Divers sorts of flies This was the fourth plague. Exo 8:21. The English translation of , ( ‘arobh,) here and Psa 105:31, supposes a mixture of species, but the commonly accepted derivation of the word by modern critics does not justify this ancient interpretation, but denotes a species that stings like a scorpion and sucks blood. See Isa 7:18. Clark ( Israel in Egypt, p. 22) would favour the common fly of Egypt, which is bad enough. Van Lennep ( Bible Lands, page 323,) supposes “the destructive fly called tsaltsalya by the Abyssinians and tsetse in South Africa, which kills cattle and horses, and attacks men.” The Septuagint reads , dog-fly. The precise species is not known. Flies are terrible in Egypt and Palestine. Baal-zebub, lord of flies, was the god of Ekron, and was supposed to protect from flies.
Frogs These were by the law “unclean” and “abominable,” (Lev 11:12-13,) and emblematic of the “spirits of devils.” Rev 16:13-14. The vilest creatures were made the instruments of the humiliation and sufferings of the Egyptians.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Psa 78:45 He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
Ver. 45. He sent divers sorts of flies among them ] Miscellam muscarum venenatarum, venomous flies and flying serpents, whose poison and sting did even corrupt the land, Exo 8:24 . The Greek rendereth it , the dog-fly.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
flies. The fourth plague (Exo 8:21).
frogs. The second plague (Exo 8:5, Exo 8:6).
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
sent: Psa 105:31, Exo 8:21-24
frogs: Psa 105:30, Exo 8:2-15, Rev 16:3
Reciprocal: Exo 8:6 – and the frogs Exo 8:24 – there Rev 16:13 – like
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
78:45 He sent {b} divers sorts of flies among them, which devoured them; and frogs, which destroyed them.
(b) This word signifies a confused mixture of flies and venomous worms. Some take it for all sorts of serpents: some for all wild beasts.