Exodus 8:5-11

8:5 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff ¹  over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring the frogs up over the land of Egypt.’” 8:6 So Aaron extended his hand over the waters of Egypt, and frogs ²  came up and covered the land of Egypt.

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

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?” 8:10 He said, “Tomorrow.” And Moses said, ¹⁴  “It will be ¹⁵  as you say, ¹⁶  so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God. 8:11 The frogs will depart from you, your houses, your servants, and your people; they will be left only in the Nile.”

[8:5]  ¹ 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).

[8:6]  ² tn The noun is singular, a collective. B. Jacob notes that this would be the more natural way to refer to the frogs (Exodus, 260).

[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]  ⁴ tn The verb קָרָא (qara’) followed by the lamed (ל) preposition has the meaning “to summon.”

[8:8]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ tn Here also the imperfect tense with the vav (ו) shows the purpose of the release: “that they may sacrifice.”

[8:9]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ tn Or “destroyed”; Heb “to cut off the frogs.”

[8:9]  ⁷ tn The phrase “so that” is implied.

[8:9]  ⁸ tn Or “survive, remain.”

[8:10]  ⁶ tn Heb “And he said”; the referent (Moses) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[8:10]  ⁷ tn “It will be” has been supplied.

[8:10]  ⁸ tn Heb “according to your word” (so NASB).