Exodus 8:8 Ulasan

Three more of the plagues of Egypt are related in this chapter, I. That of the frogs, which is, 1. Threatened (Exo 8:1-4). 2. Inflicted (Exo 8:5, Exo 8:6). 3. Mimicked by the magicians (Exo 8:7). 4. Removed, at the humble request of Pharaoh (Exo 8:8-14), who yet hardens his heart, and, notwithstanding his promise while the plague was upon him (Exo 8:8), refuses to let Israel go (Exo 8:15). II. The plague of lice (Exo 8:16, Exo 8:17), by which, 1. The magicians were baffled (Exo 8:18, Exo 8:19), and yet, 2. Pharaoh was hardened (Exo 8:19). III. That of flies. 1. Pharaoh is warned of it before (Exo 8:20, Exo 8:21), and told that the land of Goshen should be exempt from this plague (Exo 8:22, Exo 8:23). 2. The plague is brought (Exo 8:24). 3. Pharaoh treats with Moses about the release of Israel, and humbles himself (Exo 8:25-29). 4. The plague is thereupon removed (Exo 8:31), and Pharaoh's heart hardened (Exo 8:32).

INTRODUCTION TO EXODUS 8 In this chapter Pharaoh is threatened with the plague of frogs, in case he refused to let Israel go, which accordingly was brought upon him, Exo 8:1 and though the magicians did something similar to it, yet these were so troublesome to Pharaoh, that he promised to let the people go, and sacrifice to God, if they removed; and a time being fixed for the removal of them, it was accordingly done at the entreaty of Moses and Aaron, Exo 8:7 but there being a respite, Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and the plague of lice is ordered, and which was executed; and though this the magicians essayed to do, and could not, but owned it to be the finger of God, yet Pharaoh's heart was hardened, Exo 8:15 wherefore he is threatened with a swarm of flies, which should not infest Goshen, only the places where the Egyptians dwelt, and it was so, Exo 8:20 upon which Pharaoh called for Moses, and declared himself willing the people would sacrifice in the land; but this not being satisfactory, he agreed they should go into the wilderness, but not so far; and on the account of the entreaty of Moses, the plague was removed; but still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not let the people go, Exo 8:25.

And Moses said unto Pharaoh, glory over me,.... If thou canst; take every advantage against me of lessening my glory, and increasing thine own; or vaunt or boast thyself against me, as the phrase is rendered, Jdg 7:2 or take this honour and glory to thyself over me, by commanding me, and fixing a time to pray for thee, and I will obey thy orders; which agrees with the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate Latin versions, and the paraphrase of Onkelos, "appoint", or "order for me"; that is, when I shall pray for thee; or do me this honour, to believe me in the sight of the people, to declare before them that thou dost believe that upon my prayer for thee this plague shall be removed: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in this river only? Moses agreed to entreat the Lord for him as he desired, but leaves it with him to fix the time for doing it; and this he did, that it might appear that the removal of the frogs, as well as the bringing of them, would not be owing to chance or to any natural cause, but to the Lord himself; and though Moses had no direction from the Lord for this, that is recorded, yet he might presume upon it, since he was made a god to Pharaoh, and had power to do as he pleased; and also he knew the mind and will of God, and might have now a secret impulse upon his spirit, signifying it to him: and besides, he had the faith of miracles, and strongly believed that God would work this by him, and at whatsoever time should be fixed.

One should also observe that the term prayer,which often differs in meaning from “invocation,” is here employed in the case of one who promises in a vow to do certain things if God grants him certain other things. But the term is also used in the ordinary way. For example, we found this to be so in Exodus after the description of the plague of the frogs, which was the second of the ten plagues: … “But Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said to them: ‘Pray to the Lord on my account to take away the frogs from me and my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.’ ” When Pharaoh employs the word prayer the habitual meaning of “prayer” is conveyed in addition to the above meaning. If anyone finds this difficult to see, it becomes clear in what follows, namely: “And Moses said to Pharaoh: ‘Set me a time when I shall pray for you, and for your servants, and for your people, that the frogs may be driven away from you and from your house and from your people, and may remain only in the river.’ ”We noted, however, that in the case of the sciniphs, the third plague, Pharaoh does not ask that prayer be made, nor does Moses pray. And in the case of the flies, the fourth plague, he says, “Pray therefore for me to the Lord.” And then Moses said, “I will go out from you and will pray to the Lord. And the flies shall depart from Pharaoh, and from his servants, and from his people tomorrow.” And a little further on we read: “So Moses went out from Pharaoh and prayed to God.” Again in the case of the fifth and also of the sixth plague Pharaoh did not ask that prayer be made, nor did Moses pray. In the seventh plague “Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron, saying to them, ‘I have sinned this time. The Lord is just, but I and my people are wicked. Pray to the Lord, that the thunderings of God and the hail and the fire may cease.’ ” And a little further on we read: “And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city and stretched forth his hands to the Lord; and the thunders … ceased.” We shall discuss more suitably at another time why it is not said as on the previous occasions that “he prayed” but rather that “he stretched forth his hands to the Lord.” And in the case of the eighth plague Pharaoh says, “And pray to the Lord your God, that he take away from me this death. And Moses going forth from the presence of Pharaoh, prayed to the Lord.”

The plague of frogs threatened, Exo 8:1, Exo 8:2. The extent of this plague, Exo 8:3, Exo 8:4. Aaron commanded to stretch out his hand, with the rod, over the river and waters of Egypt, in consequence of which the frogs came, Exo 8:5, Exo 8:6. The magicians imitate this miracle, Exo 8:7. Pharaoh entreats Moses to remove the frogs, and promises to let the people go, Exo 8:8. Moses promises that they shall be removed from every part of Egypt, the river excepted, Exo 8:9-11. Moses prays to God, and the frogs die throughout the land of Egypt, Exo 8:12-14. Pharaoh, finding himself respited, hardens his heart, Exo 8:15. The plague of lice on man and beast, Exo 8:16, Exo 8:17. The magicians attempt to imitate this miracle, but in vain, Exo 8:18. They confess it to be the finger of God, and yet Pharaoh continues obstinate, Exo 8:19. Moses is sent again to him to command him to let the people go, and in case of disobedience he is threatened with swarms of flies, Exo 8:20, Exo 8:21. A promise made that the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt, should be exempted front this plague, Exo 8:22, Exo 8:23. The flies are sent, Exo 8:24. Pharaoh sends for Moses and Aaron, and offers to permit them to sacrifice in the land, Exo 8:25. They refuse, and desire to go three days' journey into the wilderness, Exo 8:26, Exo 8:27. Pharaoh consents to let them go a little way, provided they would entreat the Lord to remove the flies, Exo 8:28. Moses consents, prays to God, and the flies are removed, Exo 8:29-31. After which Pharaoh yet hardened his heart, and refused to let the people go, Exo 8:32.

PLAGUE OF FROGS. (Exo 8:1-15) the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh--The duration of the first plague for a whole week must have satisfied all that it was produced not by any accidental causes, but by the agency of omnipotent power. As a judgment of God, however, it produced no good effect, and Moses was commanded to wait on the king and threaten him, in the event of his continued obstinacy, with the infliction of a new and different plague. As Pharaoh's answer is not given, it may be inferred to have been unfavorable, for the rod was again raised.

Pharaoh called, . . . Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me--The frog, which was now used as an instrument of affliction, whether from reverence or abhorrence, was an object of national superstition with the Egyptians, the god Ptha being represented with a frog's head. But the vast numbers, together with their stench, made them an intolerable nuisance so that the king was so far humbled as to promise that, if Moses would intercede for their removal, he would consent to the departure of Israel, and in compliance with this appeal, they were withdrawn at the very hour named by the monarch himself. But many, while suffering the consequences of their sins, make promises of amendment and obedience which they afterwards forget; and so Pharaoh, when he saw there was a respite, was again hardened [Exo 8:15].

The plague of Frogs, or the second plague, also proceeded from the Nile, and had its natural origin in the putridity of the slimy Nile water, whereby the marsh waters especially became filled with thousands of frogs. צפרדּע is the small Nile frog, the Dofda of the Egyptians, called rana Mosaica or Nilotica by Seetzen, which appears in large numbers as soon as the waters recede. These frogs (הצּפרדּע in Exo 8:6, used collectively) became a penal miracle from the fact that they came out of the water in unparalleled numbers, in consequence of the stretching out of Aaron's staff over the waters of the Nile, as had been foretold to the king, and that they not only penetrated into the houses and inner rooms ("bed-chamber"), and crept into the domestic utensils, the beds (מטּה), the ovens, and the kneading-troughs (not the "dough" as Luther renders it), but even got upon the men themselves.