Exodus 8:2
in Exodus 8But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
KJV
And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs:
⋯
This verse in Exodus 8
Commentary
8 notes on this verseIf 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. With frogs - צפרדעים tsepardeim. This word is of doubtful etymology: almost all interpreters, both ancient and modern, agree to render it as we do, though some mentioned by Aben Ezra think the crocodile is meant; but these can never weigh against the conjoint testimony of the ancient versions.
This site's exposition
Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him
on Exodus 8:1-2
The second plague is announced in the palace, where the first was announced at the river in the morning at 7:15. The nine plagues before the last fall in three sets of three, and each set opens with a warning at the water, then a warning at the court, then a stroke delivered with no warning at all. The demand carries its purpose clause here as it does at 4:23, 7:16, 8:20, 9:1, 9:13 and 10:3, and the Hebrew word behind serve covers the labour of a slave and the worship of God alike.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
A commentator
Augustine of HippoTRACTATE ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1.15 · Written in the 5th century.
proposed
For what reason do you puff yourself up with human pride? A man insulted you, and you swelled up and were angered. Rid yourself of the fleas that you may sleep. Find out who you are! For that you may know, brothers, that these things which would bother us were created to enable us to control our pride, [remember], God could have tamed the proud people of Pharaoh with bears, with lions or with snakes; he sent flies and frogs upon them that their pride might be tamed by the most ignoble of things.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
Isidore of SevilleQUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, EX 14:3 · Written before 636.
proposed
In the second plague frogs are brought forth. They are thought to stand figuratively for the songs of the poets. The poets have brought deceptive fables into this world, with their empty and conceited songs that are like the croaking of frogs. For the frog …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
Note, God does not punish men for sin unless they persist in it. If he turn not, he will whet his sword ( Ps. vii. 12 ), which implies favour if he turn.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I will smite all thy borders with frogs--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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
AND THE LORD SAID…STRETCH FORTH THY HAND. Towards the four corners of heaven.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאִם־ | veim- | and if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| מָאֵ֥ן | maen | [are] refusing | H3986 → | 4 times |
| אַתָּ֖ה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| לְשַׁלֵּ֑חַ | leshaleach | to let [them] go | H7971 → | 845 times |
| הִנֵּ֣ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֗י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| נֹגֵ֛ף | nogef | [am] about to strike | H5062 → | 49 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גְּבוּלְךָ֖ | gevulekha | territory your | H1366 → | 240 times |
| בַּֽצְפַרְדְּעִֽים׃ | batzfardeim | with <the> frogs | H6854 → | 13 times |
וְאִם־and if
veim-H518 →1069 times
מָאֵ֥ן[are] refusing
maenH3986 →4 times
אַתָּ֖הyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
לְשַׁלֵּ֑חַto let [them] go
leshaleachH7971 →845 times
הִנֵּ֣הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֗יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
נֹגֵ֛ף[am] about to strike
nogefH5062 →49 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
גְּבוּלְךָ֖territory your
gevulekhaH1366 →240 times
בַּֽצְפַרְדְּעִֽים׃with <the> frogs
batzfardeimH6854 →13 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 78:45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them, and frogs that devastated them.
it leads to
- Exodus 8:21–24
But if you will not let My people go, I will send swarms of flies upon you and your officials and your people and your houses. The houses of the Egyptians and even the…
- Exodus 8:2–15
But if you refuse to let them go, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
- Psalms 105:30–31
Their land teemed with frogs, even in their royal chambers.
- Exodus 8:21–24
Through
Exodus 7:14Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.
it leads to
- Exodus 10:1
Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them,
- Exodus 10:20
But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
- Exodus 8:15
When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- Exodus 10:1
Through
Psalms 105:30Their land teemed with frogs, even in their royal chambers.
it leads to
- Exodus 8:3–14
The Nile will teem with frogs, and they will come into your palace and up to your bedroom and onto your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your…
- Revelation 16:13–14
And I saw three unclean spirits that looked like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet.
- Exodus 8:3–14
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, TRACTATE ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1.15; Isidore of Seville, QUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, EX 14:3; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil and Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: The Pentateuch and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.