
Text -- Exodus 8:1-4 (NET)




Names, People and Places, Dictionary Themes and Topics



collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)
All the land that is within thy borders.

Nile. Under which are comprehended all other rivers and waters.
JFB: Exo 8:1 - -- 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 omni...
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.

JFB: Exo 8:2 - -- Those animals, though the natural spawn of the river, and therefore objects familiar to the people, were on this occasion miraculously multiplied to a...
Those animals, though the natural spawn of the river, and therefore objects familiar to the people, were on this occasion miraculously multiplied to an amazing extent, and it is probable that the ova of the frogs, which had been previously deposited in the mire and marshes, were miraculously brought to perfection at once.

Mats strewed on the floor as well as more sumptuous divans of the rich.

Holes made in the ground and the sides of which are plastered with mortar.

JFB: Exo 8:3 - -- Those used in Egypt were bowls of wicker or rush work. What must have been the state of the people when they could find no means of escape from the co...
Those used in Egypt were bowls of wicker or rush work. What must have been the state of the people when they could find no means of escape from the cold, damp touch and unsightly presence of the frogs, as they alighted on every article and vessel of food!
Clarke: Exo 8:1 - -- Let my people go - God, in great mercy to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, gives them notice of the evils he intended to bring upon them if they continued...
Let my people go - God, in great mercy to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, gives them notice of the evils he intended to bring upon them if they continued in their obstinacy. Having had therefore such warning, the evil might have been prevented by a timely humiliation and return to God.

Clarke: Exo 8:2 - -- If thou refuse - Nothing can be plainer than that Pharaoh had it still in his power to have dismissed the people, and that his refusal was the mere ...
If thou refuse - Nothing can be plainer than that Pharaoh had it still in his power to have dismissed the people, and that his refusal was the mere effect of his own wilful obstinacy

Clarke: Exo 8:2 - -- With frogs - צפרדעים tsepardeim . This word is of doubtful etymology: almost all interpreters, both ancient and modern, agree to render it ...
With frogs -
A frog is in itself a very harmless animal; but to most people who use it not as an article of food, exceedingly loathsome. God, with equal ease, could have brought crocodiles, bears, lions, or tigers to have punished these people and their impious king, instead of frogs, lice, flies, etc. But had he used any of those formidable animals, the effect would have appeared so commensurate to the cause, that the hand of God might have been forgotten in the punishment; and the people would have been exasperated without being humbled. In the present instance he shows the greatness of his power by making an animal, devoid of every evil quality, the means of a terrible affliction to his enemies. How easy is it, both to the justice and mercy of God, to destroy or save by means of the most despicable and insignificant of instruments! Though he is the Lord of hosts he has no need of powerful armies, the ministry of angels, or the thunderbolts of justice, to punish a sinner or a sinful nation; the frog or the fly in his hands is a sufficient instrument of vengeance.

Clarke: Exo 8:3 - -- The river shall bring forth frogs abundantly - The river Nile, which was an object of their adoration, was here one of the instruments of their puni...
The river shall bring forth frogs abundantly - The river Nile, which was an object of their adoration, was here one of the instruments of their punishment. The expression, bring forth abundantly, not only shows the vast numbers of those animals, which should now infest the land, but it seems also to imply that all the spawn or ova of those animals which were already in the river and marshes, should be brought miraculously to a state of perfection. We may suppose that the animals were already in an embryo existence, but multitudes of them would not have come to a state of perfection had it not been for this miraculous interference. This supposition will appear the more natural when it is considered that the Nile was remarkable for breeding frogs, and such other animals as are principally engendered in such marshy places as must be left in the vicinity of the Nile after its annual inundations

Clarke: Exo 8:3 - -- Into thine ovens - In various parts of the east, instead of what we call ovens they dig a hole in the ground, in which they insert a kind of earthen...
Into thine ovens - In various parts of the east, instead of what we call ovens they dig a hole in the ground, in which they insert a kind of earthen pot, which having sufficiently heated, they stick their cakes to the inside, and when baked remove them and supply their places with others, and so on. To find such places full of frogs when they came to heat them, in order to make their bread, must be both disgusting and distressing in the extreme.
Calvin -> Exo 8:1
Calvin: Exo 8:1 - -- 1.And the Lord spake Again, as if the matter were only now begun, God demands of Pharaoh His own peculiar right, viz., that His people should serve H...
1.And the Lord spake Again, as if the matter were only now begun, God demands of Pharaoh His own peculiar right, viz., that His people should serve Him, but out of the land of Egypt, that His worship might be separate and pure from all defilement, for He desired (as was before said) by this separation of His people to condemn the superstitions of the Egyptians. Meanwhile there was no excuse for the tyrant, when, with sacrilegious boldness, he presumed to deprive God of His just honor. Therefore, in refusing to let them go, he was declared not only to be cruel, but also a despiser of God. Threatening is also added, that at least he may, however unwillingly, be driven to obey; for thus must the stubborn be dealt with, who never are brought to duty except when forced by fear or punishment. Indeed, God sometimes also threatens His own servants, in order to stimulate their laziness; but especially is He more severe towards the perverse and disobedient. Thus is it said, (Psa 18:26,)
“With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward.”
This is the reason why He sanctions His command with threats 92 when He addresses Pharaoh. In this second plague there are, besides, two things to be remarked by us; for, first, God shews that the Egyptians had hitherto held their lives by a precarious tenure, as it were, because He had protected them from the incursion of frogs by His special mercy. We know that Egypt, on account of its many marshes, and the sluggish and almost stagnant Nile, was full of frogs and venomous animals; now, when great multitudes of them come forth suddenly, cover the surface of the fields, penetrate even to the houses and bed-chambers, and finally ascend even into the royal palace, it plainly appears that they were before only restrained by God’s hand, and thus that the God of the Hebrews was the guardian and keeper of that kingdom. Secondly, God chose not only to inflict a punishment upon the Egyptians, but to expose them to mockery by its ignominious nature; nor can we doubt but that their pain must have been much embittered by this contumely, when they saw that they were thus evil-entreated not by some victorious army, but by filthy reptiles; and besides this, that their calamity had its origin in the Nile, which enriched their country with so many advantages. But let us learn from this history that there are many deaths mixed up with our life, and that it is not otherwise lengthened out to us, except as God restrains the dangers which everywhere beset us; and again, although He may not openly strike us with lightning from heaven, nor arm his angels for the destruction of men, still, at His slightest nod, all creatures are ready to execute this judgments; and, therefore, we must ascribe it to His kindness and long-suffering, if the wicked do not perish at each moment. Finally, if we are ever galled by ignominy or disgrace, let us remember that this happens designedly, that the shame itself may mortify our pride.
TSK: Exo 8:1 - -- Go : Jer 1:17-19, Jer 15:19-21; Eze 2:6, Eze 2:7
Let my : Exo 3:12, Exo 3:18, Exo 5:1, Exo 7:16
Go : Jer 1:17-19, Jer 15:19-21; Eze 2:6, Eze 2:7

TSK: Exo 8:2 - -- refuse : Exo 7:14, Exo 9:2
frogs : The Hebrew tzephardêim is evidently the same with the Arabic zafda , Chaldaic oordeânaya , and Syriac oo...
frogs : The Hebrew

collapse allCommentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)
Barnes: Exo 8:2 - -- With frogs - Some months appear to have elapsed between this and the former plague, if the frogs made their appearance at the usual time, that ...
With frogs - Some months appear to have elapsed between this and the former plague, if the frogs made their appearance at the usual time, that is in September. The special species mentioned here is of Egyptian origin. This plague was, like the preceding, in general accordance with natural phenomena, but marvelous both for its extent and intensity, and for its direct connection with the words and acts of God’ s messengers. It had also apparently, like the other plagues, a direct bearing upon Egyptian superstitions. There was a female deity with a frog’ s head, and the frog was connected with the most ancient forms of nature-worship in Egypt.

Barnes: Exo 8:3 - -- Into thine house - This appears to have been special to the plague, as such. It was especially the visitation which would be felt by the scrupu...
Into thine house - This appears to have been special to the plague, as such. It was especially the visitation which would be felt by the scrupulously-clean Egyptians.
Kneadingtroughs - Not dough, as in the margin. See Exo 12:34.
Poole: Exo 8:2 - -- All thy land which is within thy borders; a synecdoche; so that word is used also Exo 10:4,19 1Ki 1:3 Psa 147:14 Jer 15:13 . So the gate and the ...
All thy land which is within thy borders; a synecdoche; so that word is used also Exo 10:4,19 1Ki 1:3 Psa 147:14 Jer 15:13 . So the gate and the wall are put for the city to which they belong, Gen 22:17 Amo 1:7,10,14 .

Poole: Exo 8:3 - -- The river under which are comprehended all other rivers, streams, and ponds, as appears from Exo 8:5 . But the river Nilus is mentioned, because God ...
The river under which are comprehended all other rivers, streams, and ponds, as appears from Exo 8:5 . But the river Nilus is mentioned, because God would make that an instrument of their misery in which they most gloried, Eze 29:3 , and to which they gave divine honours, and which was the instrument of their cruelty against the Israelites, Exo 1:22 .
Into thy bed-chamber either because God made the doors and windows to fly open, which it is easy to believe concerning God, seeing that this hath been many times done by evil angels; or because whensoever men entered into any house, or any room of their house, which their occasions would oft force them to do, the frogs, being always at their heels in great numbers, would go in with them. This plague was worse than the former, because it was more constant and more general; for the former was only in the waters, and did only molest them when they went to drink or use the water; but this infected all liquors, and all places, and at all times, and annoyed all their senses with their filthy substance, and shape, and noise, and stink, and mingled themselves with their meats, and sauces, and drinks, and crawling into their beds made them restless. And many of them probably were of a more ugly shape and infectious nature than ordinary.

Poole: Exo 8:4 - -- Not upon the Israelites, whom he hereby exempts from the number of Pharaoh’ s people and subjects, and owns them for his peculiar people. The f...
Not upon the Israelites, whom he hereby exempts from the number of Pharaoh’ s people and subjects, and owns them for his peculiar people. The frogs did not only invade their houses, but assault their persons, which is not strange, considering that they were armed with a Divine commission and power.
Haydock: Exo 8:1 - -- Gessen, where the Hebrews dwelt. The Egyptians who lived among them would not, however, escape this plague.
Gessen, where the Hebrews dwelt. The Egyptians who lived among them would not, however, escape this plague.

Haydock: Exo 8:3 - -- Frogs, not by a new creation; but the spawn was miraculously brought to maturity. (Calmet) ---
Angels, or a divine instinct, brought them to infest...
Frogs, not by a new creation; but the spawn was miraculously brought to maturity. (Calmet) ---
Angels, or a divine instinct, brought them to infest all places; and thus they became a more grievous plague than that of blood. (Menochius)

Haydock: Exo 8:4 - -- Servants. The Abderites and Dardanians were formerly obliged to abandon their country by such a plague. (Orosius iii. 23; Pliny, Natural History vi...
Servants. The Abderites and Dardanians were formerly obliged to abandon their country by such a plague. (Orosius iii. 23; Pliny, Natural History viii. 29.) (Calmet) ---
Here the Samaritan copy adds, that Moses delivered this message to Pharao. (Haydock)
Gill: Exo 8:1 - -- And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Either whilst the plague upon the waters continued, or immediately upon the removal of it:
go unto Pharaoh, and ...
And the Lord spake unto Moses,.... Either whilst the plague upon the waters continued, or immediately upon the removal of it:
go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me; mentioning neither time nor place, where, when, and how long they should serve him, for which their dismission was required, but insist on it in general.

Gill: Exo 8:2 - -- And if thou refuse to let them go,.... Will not obey the orders:
I will smite all thy borders with frogs; he gives him warning of the blow before h...
And if thou refuse to let them go,.... Will not obey the orders:
I will smite all thy borders with frogs; he gives him warning of the blow before he strikes, which shows his clemency and goodness, his patience and longsuffering; and this he did, not only that he might have time and space for repentance, and thereby avoid the blow; but that when it came, he might be sensible it was not by chance, or owing to second causes, but was from the Lord himself.
I will smite all thy borders with frogs: fill the whole land of Egypt with them, to the utmost borders thereof on every side. Some q say the word signifies a large Egyptian fish, which in the Arabic tongue is called Altamsach, that is, a crocodile, with which the Nile abounded; but such a creature could not invade and attack them in the manner as is after related.

Gill: Exo 8:3 - -- And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly,.... The river Nile; and though water, and watery places, naturally produce these creatures, yet not ...
And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly,.... The river Nile; and though water, and watery places, naturally produce these creatures, yet not in such vast quantities as to cover a whole country, and so large an one as Egypt, and this done at once, immediately; for they were all produced instantaneously, and in one day were spread all over the nation, and removed the next: and besides what follows is equally miraculous:
which shall go up and come into thine house; which though they may come up out of rivers, and be upon the banks and the meadows adjacent, yet are never known to come into houses, and especially into bedchambers and other places after mentioned, being not a bold but timorous creature, and shuns the sight and company of men; but these came even into the royal palace, nor could his guards keep them out:
and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed; and by their leaping upon him, and croaking in his ears, disturb his rest:
and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people both nobles and common people, and not only get into their houses, but upon their persons, on their hands when about their business, on their laps, and into their bosoms, as they sat; which must be very offensive and troublesome to them, what with their ugly shape, croaking noise and filthy smell, and the disagreeable touch of them, leaping on them, and even upon their food, and all vessels used for the same, which must make it very nauseous and distasteful to them:
and into thy ovens; where they baked their bread, and would be now hindered from the use of them:
and into thy kneadingtroughs; where they kneaded their dough, and made it into loaves, and prepared it for the oven; or the "dough" r itself, which they leaped upon and licked, and made it loathsome for use.

Gill: Exo 8:4 - -- And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy servants. No doubt by the interposition of divine power and providence, an...
And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy servants. No doubt by the interposition of divine power and providence, and it may be by the ministry of angels; so that let them use what care, caution, and diligence they would, there was no keeping them out; but they came upon all the people of the land, high and low, rich and poor, and upon the king's ministers, courtiers, and nobles, and the king himself not excepted; though by this particular enumeration of him, his people, and servants, the children of Israel may be thought to be exempted from this plague, as R. Japhez observes; though Aben Ezra dislikes his remark, but it seems to be just.

expand allCommentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes
NET Notes: Exo 8:1 Beginning with 8:1, the verse numbers through 8:32 in English Bibles differ from the verse numbers in the Hebrew text (BHS), with 8:1 ET = 7:26 HT, 8:...

NET Notes: Exo 8:2 This word for frogs is mentioned in the OT only in conjunction with this plague (here and Pss 78:45, 105:30). R. A. Cole (Exodus [TOTC], 91) suggests ...

NET Notes: Exo 8:3 This verse lists places the frogs will go. The first three are for Pharaoh personally – they are going to touch his private life. Then the text ...

NET Notes: Exo 8:4 The word order of the Hebrew text is important because it shows how the plague was pointedly directed at Pharaoh: “and against you, and against ...
Geneva Bible -> Exo 8:2
Geneva Bible: Exo 8:2 And if thou refuse to let [them] go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with ( a ) frogs:
( a ) There is nothing so weak that God cannot use it to ...

expand allCommentary -- Verse Range Notes
TSK Synopsis -> Exo 8:1-32
TSK Synopsis: Exo 8:1-32 - --1 Frogs are sent.8 Pharaoh sues to Moses, who by prayer removes them away.16 The dust is turned into lice, which the magicians could not do.20 The pla...
MHCC -> Exo 8:1-15
MHCC: Exo 8:1-15 - --Pharaoh is plagued with frogs; their vast numbers made them sore plagues to the Egyptians. God could have plagued Egypt with lions, or bears, or wolve...
Matthew Henry -> Exo 8:1-15
Matthew Henry: Exo 8:1-15 - -- Pharaoh is here first threatened and then plagued with frogs, as afterwards, in this chapter, with lice and flies, little despicable inconsiderable ...
Keil-Delitzsch -> Exo 8:1-6
Keil-Delitzsch: Exo 8:1-6 - --
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, where...
Constable: Exo 1:1--15:22 - --I. THE LIBERATION OF ISRAEL 1:1--15:21
"The story of the first half of Exodus, in broad summary, is Rescue. The ...

Constable: Exo 5:1--11:10 - --B. God's demonstrations of His sovereignty chs. 5-11
God permitted the conflict between Moses and Pharao...
