Background and Printed Text: Exodus chapter 8 [Starting at 7:26 in Hebrew]
Note: I give the verse references for both the Hebrew Bible and the King James Version Bible. Please use the verse reference that matches the Bible you are using so that you won’t get lost. The chapters differ because translators and copyists chose to break up the chapters at different points. The choice made by the Hebrew copyists makes more sense in this case.
Frog
Exodus 7:26 [Hebrew Bible]; Exodus 8:1, [KJV] And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Come unto Pharaoh! And thou shalt say unto him, ‘So said Yehovah! “Send my people! And he has served me! 27 [8:2, KJV] And if thou art refusing to send, behold I am scourging all thy border via Tzfardeem [frogs]! 28 [8:3, KJV] And the canal shall swarm Tzfardeem [frogs]. And they shall ascend. And they shall come into thine house and into the chamber of thy bed and upon thy recliner and into the house of thy slaves and into thy people and into thine ovens and into thy kneadingtroughs! 29 [8:4, KJV] And the Tzfardeem [frogs] will ascend into thee and into thy people and into all thy slaves. The Tzfardeem [frogs] shall ascend!”’”
8:1 [8:5, KJV] And Yehovah said unto Moshe, “Say unto Aharon, ‘Stretch thine hand via thy rod upon the rivers, upon the canals and upon the pools. And make the Tzfardeem [frogs] ascend upon the land of Egypt!’” 2 [8:6, KJV] And Aharon stretched his hand upon waters of Egypt. And the Tzfardaya [frog] ascended. And she covered the land of Egypt. 3 [8:7, KJV] And the diviners did so via their flames. And they made-ascend the Tzfardeem [frogs] upon the land of Egypt.
4 [8:8, KJV] And Pharaoh called to Moshe and to Aharon. And he said, “Entreat unto Yehovah, and He has turned-away the Tzfardeem [frogs] from me and from my people! And I will send the people. And they have sacrificed to Yehovah.” 5 [8:9, KJV] And Moshe said to Pharaoh, “Make thyself bright concerning me! When shall I entreat for thee and for thy slaves and for thy people to cut-off the Tzfardeem [frogs] from thee and from thy houses? They will remain only in the canal.” 6 [8:10, KJV] And he said, “Tomorrow!” And he said, “According to thy speech so that thou shalt know that there isn’t as Yehovah our Gods! 7 [8:11, KJV] And the Tzfardeem [frogs] shall turn-away from thee and from thy houses and from thy slaves and from thy people. They will remain only in the canal.” 8 [8:12, KJV] And Moshe exited, and Aharon, from with Pharaoh.
And Moshe shouted unto Yehovah concerning the speech of the Tzfardeem [frogs] that He put to Pharaoh. 9 [8:13, KJV] And Yehovah did according to the speech of Moshe. And the Tzfardeem [frogs] died from the houses, from the courtyards and from the fields. 10 [8:14, KJV] And they heaped them, their bubbling, their bubbling. And the land stank.
11 [8:15, KJV] And Pharaoh saw that the breather was. And he weighted his heart. And he didn’t hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke.
Dusty Louse
Exodus 8:12 [Hebrew], 8:16 [KJV] And Yehovah said unto Moshe, “Say unto Aharon, ‘Stretch thy rod! And smite dust of the land. And he will become to their louse in all the land of Egypt.’” 13 [8:17, KJV] And they did so. And Aharon stretched his hand via his rod. And he smote dust of the land. And she became their louse in adam and in beast—all dust of the land became lice in all the land of Egypt. 14 [8:18, KJV] And the diviners did so via their flames to send-out the lice—and they weren’t able!
And their louse became in adam and in beast. 15 [8:19, KJV] And the diviners said unto Pharaoh, “He is the finger of gods!” And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke.
The Swarm
Exodus 8:16 [Hebrew], 8:20 [KJV] And Yehovah said unto Moshe, “Early-rise in the morning. And position-thyself to the faces of Pharaoh. Behold he will exit to the water. And thou shalt say unto him, ‘So said Yehovah, “Send my people, and he has served me! 17 [8:21, KJV] For if thou aren’t sending my people, behold I am sending the swarm into thee and into thy slaves and into thy people and into thy houses! And they shall fill the houses of Egypt with the swarm, and also the soil that they are upon her! 18 [8:22, KJV] And in that day, I will segregate the land of Goshen upon which my people is standing so that the swarm is not being there, so that thou wilt know that I am Yehovah in the midst of the land! 19 [8:23, KJV] And I will put a redemption between my people and between thy people! This sign shall be tomorrow!”’” 20 [8:24, KJV] And Yehovah did so. And a heavy swarm came toward the house of Pharaoh and the house of his slaves, and in all the land of Egypt. The land was ruined from the faces of the swarm!
21 [8:25, KJV] And Pharaoh called unto Moshe and to Aharon. And he said, “Walk ye! Sacrifice ye to your gods in the land!” 22 [8:26, KJV] And Moshe said, “Not established to do so! For we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to Yehovah our Gods! Behold, we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to their eyes, and he won’t stone us? 23 [8:27, KJV] We will walk a way of three days into the desert. And we will sacrifice to Yehovah our Gods just as He said unto us.” 24 [8:28, KJV] And Pharaoh said, “I, I am sending you! And ye shall sacrifice to Yehovah your gods in the desert! Only making distance, ye shall not make distance to walk! Entreat ye for my sake!” 25 [8:29, KJV] And Moshe said, “Behold, I am exiting from thy people. And I will entreat unto Yehovah. And He will turn-away the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people tomorrow. Only, Pharaoh shall not again keep-hanging to not send the people to sacrifice to Yehovah!” 26 [8:30, KJV] And Moshe exited from with Pharaoh. And he entreated unto Yehovah.
27 [8:31, KJV] And Yehovah did according to the speech of Moshe. And He expelled the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people. One did not remain. 28 [8:32, KJV] And Pharaoh also weighted his heart in this stroke. And he didn’t send the people.
I. Frog Threat (verses 1-4)
Yehovah commanded Moshe to come unto Pharaoh and to say unto him, “So said Yehovah! ‘Send my people! And he has served me!’” This was a command; it wasn’t a suggestion.
Yehovah continued, “And if thou art refusing to send, behold I am scourging all thy border via frogs! And the canal shall swarm frogs. And they shall ascend. And they shall come into thine house and into the chamber of thy bed and upon thy recliner and into the house of thy slaves and into thy people and into thine ovens and into thy kneadingtroughs! And the frogs will ascend into thee and into thy people and into all thy slaves. The frogs shall ascend!”
Questions
1. Why does Yehovah say to Moshe, “Come unto Pharaoh,” instead of, “Go unto Pharaoh”?
2. Could Pharaoh have sent the Israelis so that they could serve Yehovah, and then have them come back?
3. What did Yehovah desire the Israelis to do in order to serve Him?
4. Frogs in Hebrew are tzfardeem. One frog is called a tzfardaya. Why is this such a good name for a frog?
5. What is the name of this canal (verse 3, KJV)?
6. How will the canal swarm frogs?
7. To where will they ascend (go up)?
8. List all the places where all the frogs will come.
9. How will the frogs come into Pharaoh’s people?
10. What will happen when the frogs come into Pharaoh’s ovens?
11. What are kneadingtroughs?
12. How would you feel about being totally surrounded by hopping, loud frogs day and night?
II. Aharon’s Function (verses 5-7)
Yehovah next commanded Moshe to say unto Aharon to “Stretch thine hand via thy rod upon the rivers, upon the canals and upon the pools. And make the frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt!” Aharon did this, and the frog ascended. She was everywhere, covering the land of Egypt!
Pharaoh’s diviners did the very same thing using their flames: they made frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt.
Questions
1. Who was assigned to use the rod to bring up the frogs?
2. Who caused the frogs to ascend, according to this text?
3. Why does the text in verse 2 refer to the Tzfardaya—to the frog, as if there is only one frog?
4. Why is the frog feminine in gender (referring to, “And she covered the land of Egypt”)?
5. What did the diviners do in response to Aharon’s miracle?
6. What didn’t the diviners do?
III. Tomorrow (verses 8-12)
Pharaoh now called to Moshe and Aharon. He said, “Entreat unto Yehovah, and He has turned-away the frogs from me and from my people!” (Apparently his diviners had the power to bring the frogs on, but not to stop them!)
Pharaoh continued, “And I will send the people. And they have sacrificed to Yehovah.”
Moshe responded to Pharaoh: “Make thyself bright concerning me! When shall I entreat for thee and for thy slaves and for thy people to cut-off the frogs from thee and from thy houses? They will remain only in the canal.”
Pharaoh’s answer was: “Tomorrow!” Moshe said, “According to thy speech so that thou shalt know that there isn’t as Yehovah our Gods! And the frogs shall turn-away from thee and from thine houses and from thy slaves and from thy people. They will remain only in the canal.”
Moshe then exited from being with Pharaoh, along with Aharon.
Questions
1. Pharaoh called to Moshe and to Aharon. How long was this after the frogs came?
2. Why didn’t Pharaoh call to his diviners to stop the frogs?
3. Did Pharaoh show faith in Yehovah when he said, “Entreat unto Yehovah, and He has turned away the frogs from me and from my people”?
4. Did Pharaoh now agree to send the people of Israel to sacrifice to Yehovah?
5. What did Moshe mean by, “Make thyself bright concerning me”?
6. Why did Moshe ask Pharaoh when Moshe should entreat for him, for his slaves and for his people, the Egyptians?
7. Why did Moshe add, “They will remain only in the canal”?
8. Why did Pharaoh answer, “Tomorrow!” instead of, “In an hour!”?
9. What was the purpose of being so specific about when the frogs would leave, according to verse 10, KJV?
10. Who is our in, “there isn’t any god as Yehovah our Gods”?
11. Why is Gods plural?
IV. Moshe’s Shout (verses 12-14)
Moshe then shouted unto Yehovah regarding the issue of the frogs that Yehovah had put to Pharaoh. Yehovah did just as Moshe had said that He would, and the frogs that were in the houses, courtyards and fields died. The Egyptians and the Israelis heaped them into piles. They rotted, bubbling and bubbling. The land of Egypt stank!
Questions
1. Why did Moshe shout unto Yehovah?
2. What did Yehovah ‘put’ to Pharaoh?
3. The text states, “And Yehovah did according to the speech of Moshe.” What did Yehovah do?
4. Why did Yehovah cause the frogs to die instead of causing them to return back to the waters and just leave?
5. Why did they heap the frogs?
6. What does their bubbling, their bubbling mean?
7. Where could the Egyptians and Israelis go to avoid the terrible smell?
V. Pharaoh’s Breather (verse 15)
Pharaoh saw that there was a breather. He weighted his own heart! He didn’t hearken to Moshe and Aharon, which was exactly what Yehovah had said would happen.
Questions
1. What does “And Pharaoh saw that the breather was” mean?
2. Did Pharaoh use this ‘breather’ time to believe and to learn to fear Yehovah?
3. What does weighted his heart mean?
VI. Dusty Louse (verses 16-19)
Yehovah next commanded Moshe to say unto Aharon, “Stretch thy rod! And smite dust of the land. And he will become to their louse in all the land of Egypt.” Moshe and Aharon did as Yehovah said. Aharon stretched his hand by means of his rod, and he smote dust of the land. The dust turned into Moshe’s and Aharon’s louse in man and in animal! All the dust of the land of Egypt became lice in all the land of Egypt!
Pharaoh’s diviners also struck the dust of the land using their flames in order to send out lice, and they weren’t able to do this!
Moshe’s and Aharon’s louse became in man and animal. The diviners said unto Pharaoh, “He is the finger of gods!” Pharaoh’s heart gripped! He refused to hearken unto Moshe and to Aharon, which is what Yehovah had said would happen.
Questions
1. How can someone smite dust of the land with a rod?
2. What is a louse?
3. What did Yehovah say would become lice?
4. Why would Aharon want to do this? Wouldn’t Aharon also be attacked by the lice?
5. Why weren’t the diviners able to send out the lice?
6. Where Yehovah and the diviners holding a competition?
7. What was the response of the diviners to their inability to do the same miracle?
8. What did they mean by, “He is the finger of gods”?
9. Did the diviners now believe in Yehovah?
10. To what did Pharaoh’s heart (mind) grip?
VII. The Swarm, and Segregation (verses 20-24)
Now, Yehovah gave Moshe another assignment: “Early-rise in the morning. And position-thyself to the faces of Pharaoh. Behold he will exit to the water.”
Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh while Pharaoh was at the water in the morning, “So said Yehovah, ‘Send my people, and he has served me! For if thou aren’t sending my people, behold I am sending the swarm into thee and into thy slaves and into thy people and into thy houses! And they shall fill the houses of Egypt with the swarm, and also the soil that they are upon her!’”
Yehovah added one new and different part to this threat: “And in that day, I will segregate the land of Goshen upon which my people is standing so that the swarm is not being there, so that thou wilt know that I am Yehovah in the midst of the land! And I will put a redemption between my people and between thy people! This sign shall be tomorrow!”
Yehovah did exactly as He threatened. A heavy swarm came toward the house of Pharaoh and the house of his slaves, and in all the land of Egypt. This resulted in the ruination of the land of Egypt as the swarm faced every part of the land!
Questions
1. Why did Yehovah tell Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Send my people, and he has served me” instead of something like this: “Thou hard-headed fool, send my people this time, and he has served me”?
2. What is this swarm?
3. Where will this swarm be located?
4. What problems will this cause?
5. Will this swarm attack humans that move through it?
6. Yehovah said that He would segregate the land of Goshen so that the swarm won’t be there. What is segregation, and does Yehovah practice segregation?
7. What is the purpose of this segregation that keeps the swarm out of the land of Goshen where the Israelis (Hebrews) are located?
8. Yehovah said, “I will put a redemption between my people and between thy people.” What is a redemption, and what did He mean?
9. What did the swarm do to the land of Egypt?
10. Could the Egyptians go anywhere to get away from the swarm?
11. Suppose that a man stood twelve inches within the border of the land of Goshen, and another man stood twelve inches outside of the land of Goshen in Egypt. Would one have been attacked by the swarm, and the other have been unbothered?
12. If an Israeli had gone out of Goshen and into Egypt, would he have been attacked by the swarm?
13. Over what period of time did these devastating signs occur?
14. Were the Israelis still slaves during this time, having to go and obtain straw to make bricks?
VIII. Concession and Abomination (verses 25-30)
Pharaoh called unto Moshe and Aharon. He said to them, “Walk ye! Sacrifice ye to your gods in the land!”
Moshe replied, “Not established to do so! For we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to Yehovah our Gods! Behold, we will sacrifice the abomination of Egypt to their eyes, and he won’t stone us?”
Moshe had a counterproposal: “We will walk a way of three days into the desert. And we will sacrifice to Yehovah our Gods just as He said unto us.”
Pharaoh now stated, “I, I am sending you! And ye shall sacrifice to Yehovah your gods in the desert! Only making distance, ye shall not make distance to walk! Entreat for my sake!”
This wasn’t what Moshe had proposed. Moshe responded: “Behold, I am exiting from thy people. And I will entreat unto Yehovah. And He will turn-away the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people tomorrow. Only, Pharaoh shall not again keep-hanging to not send the people to sacrifice to Yehovah!” Moshe knew that Pharaoh’s counterproposal was a refusal.
Moshe then exited from Pharaoh, and he entreated unto Yehovah.
Questions
1. When Pharaoh said, “Walk ye! Sacrifice ye to your gods in the land,” was he finally doing what Yehovah told him to do?
2. What did Moshe mean by, “Not established to do so”?
3. Who is he in, “and he won’t stone us?”
4. After Moshe said, “We will walk a way of three days into the desert. And we will sacrifice to Yehovah our Gods just as He said unto us,” Pharaoh said, “I, I am sending you!” What did he mean?
5. Did Pharaoh finally give them permission to walk and do the sacrifice?
6. What did Pharaoh then command Moshe and Aharon to do?
7. Did Moshe agree to this deal?
8. What did Moshe mean by, “Only, Pharaoh shall not again keep-hanging to not send the people to sacrifice to Yehovah”?
9. How did Moshe feel when he left Pharaoh?
10. Why did Moshe entreat Yehovah regardless of how he felt?
IX. Pharaoh Lied (verses 31-32)
Yehovah did exactly what Moshe said Yehovah would do. He expelled the swarm from Pharaoh, from his slaves and from his people. Not a single bug from the swarm remained.
Pharaoh also weighted his heart ‘in this stroke’—during this time. He didn’t send the people.
Questions
1. How many of the creatures that made up the swarm remained in the land of Egypt the next day? Not even one of them remained!
2. Why did Pharaoh keep weighting down his heart (mind)? Did Yehovah cause him to do this?
3. Is Pharaoh an example of a rare type of individual who refuses the truth in the obvious face of the truth, or is Pharaoh a common type of individual? Are there any among the Christians who are like Pharaoh?