Exodus 8:4

8:4 Frogs ¹  will come up against you, your people, and all your servants.”’” ² 

Exodus 8:7

8:7 The magicians did the same ³  with their secret arts and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt too. ⁴ 

Exodus 8:11

8:11 The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

Exodus 8:8-9

8:8 Then Pharaoh summoned ⁵  Moses and Aaron and said, “Pray ⁶  to the Lord that he may take the frogs away ⁷  from me and my people, and I will release ⁸  the people that they may sacrifice ⁹  to the Lord.” 8:9 Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me ¹⁰  – when shall I pray for you, your servants, and your people, for the frogs to be removed ¹¹  from you and your houses, so that ¹²  they will be left ¹³  only in the Nile?”

Exodus 8:12-13

8:12 Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried ¹⁴  to the Lord because of ¹⁵  the frogs that he had brought on ¹⁶  Pharaoh. 8:13 The Lord did as Moses asked ¹⁷  – the ¹⁸  frogs died out of the houses, the villages, and the fields.

Exodus 8:5

8:5 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff ¹⁹  over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.’”

[8:4]  ¹ tn Here again is the generic use of the article, designating the class – frogs.

[8:4]  ² sn 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 your people, and against all your servants frogs will go up.”

[8:7]  ³ tn Heb “thus, so.”

[8:7]  ⁴ sn In these first two plagues the fact that the Egyptians could and did duplicate them is ironic. By duplicating the experience, they added to the misery of Egypt. One wonders why they did not use their skills to rid the land of the pests instead, and the implication of course is that they could not.

[8:8]  ⁵ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the lamed (ל) preposition has the meaning “to summon.”

[8:8]  ⁶ tn The verb הַעְתִּירוּ (ha’tiru) is the Hiphil imperative of the verb עָתַר (’atar). It means “to pray, supplicate,” or “make supplication” – always addressed to God. It is often translated “entreat” to reflect that it is a more urgent praying.

[8:8]  ⁷ tn This form is the jussive with a sequential vav that provides the purpose of the prayer: pray…that he may turn away the frogs.

[8:8]  ⁸ tn The form is the Piel cohortative וַאֲשַׁלְּחָה (va’ashallÿkhah) with the vav (ו) continuing the sequence from the request and its purpose. The cohortative here stresses the resolve of the king: “and (then) I will release.”

[8:8]  ⁹ tn Here also the imperfect tense with the vav (ו) shows the purpose of the release: “that they may sacrifice.”

[8:9]  ⁷ tn The expression הִתְפָּאֵר עָלַי (hitpa’er ’alay) is problematic. The verb would be simply translated “honor yourself” or “deck yourself with honor.” It can be used in the bad sense of self-exaltation. But here it seems to mean “have the honor or advantage over me” in choosing when to remove the frogs. The LXX has “appoint for me.” Moses is doing more than extending a courtesy to Pharaoh; he is giving him the upper hand in choosing the time. But it is also a test, for if Pharaoh picked the time it would appear less likely that Moses was manipulating things. As U. Cassuto puts it, Moses is saying “my trust in God is so strong you may have the honor of choosing the time” (Exodus, 103).

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Or “destroyed”; Heb “to cut off the frogs.”

[8:9]  ⁹ tn The phrase “so that” is implied.

[8:9]  ¹⁰ tn Or “survive, remain.”

[8:12]  ⁹ tn The verb צָעַק (tsa’aq) is used for prayers in which people cry out of trouble or from danger. U. Cassuto observes that Moses would have been in real danger if God had not answered this prayer (Exodus, 103).

[8:12]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “over the matter of.”

[8:12]  ¹¹ tn The verb is an unusual choice if it were just to mean “brought on.” It is the verb שִׂים (sim, “place, put”). S. R. Driver thinks the thought is “appointed for Pharaoh” as a sign (Exodus, 64). The idea of the sign might be too much, but certainly the frogs were positioned for the instruction of the stubborn king.

[8:13]  ¹¹ tn Heb “according to the word of Moses” (so KJV, NASB). Just as Moses had told Pharaoh “according to your word” (v. 10), now the Lord does “according to the word” of Moses.

[8:13]  ¹² tn Heb “and the frogs died.”

[8:5]  ¹³ sn After the instructions for Pharaoh (7:25-8:4), the plague now is brought on by the staff in Aaron’s hand (8:5-7). This will lead to the confrontation (vv. 8-11) and the hardening (vv. 12-15).