Exodus 8:1-15

Exodus 8:1-15

[1] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses,  Go  unto Pharaoh,  and say  the LORD,  Let my people  go,  that they may serve  [2] And if thou refuse  to let them go,  behold, I will smite  all thy borders  with frogs:  [3] And the river  frogs  abundantly,  which shall go up  and come  into thine house,  and into thy bedchamber,  and upon thy bed,  and into the house  of thy servants,  and upon thy people,  and into thine ovens,  and into thy kneadingtroughs:  [4] And the frogs  shall come up  both on thee, and upon thy people,  and upon all thy servants.  [5] And the LORD  spake  unto Moses,  Say  unto Aaron,  Stretch forth  thine hand  with thy rod  over the streams,  over the rivers,  and over the ponds,  and cause frogs  to come up  upon the land  of Egypt.  [6] And Aaron  stretched out  his hand  over the waters  of Egypt;  and the frogs  came up,  and covered  the land  of Egypt.  [7] And the magicians  did  so with their enchantments,  and brought up  frogs  upon the land  of Egypt.  [8] Then Pharaoh  called  for Moses  and Aaron,  and said,  Intreat  the LORD,  that he may take away  the frogs  from me, and from my people;  go,  that they may do sacrifice  unto the LORD.  [9] And Moses  said  unto Pharaoh,  Glory  over me: when  shall I intreat  for thee, and for thy servants,  and for thy people,  to destroy  the frogs  from thee and thy houses,  that they may remain  in the river  only? [10] And he said,  To morrow.  And he said,  Be it according to thy word:  that thou mayest know  that there is none like unto the LORD  our God.  [11] And the frogs  shall depart  from thee, and from thy houses,  and from thy servants,  and from thy people;  they shall remain  in the river  [12] And Moses  and Aaron  went out  from Pharaoh:  and Moses  cried  unto the LORD  because of  the frogs  which he had brought  against Pharaoh.  [13] And the LORD  did  according to the word  of Moses;  and the frogs  died  out of the houses,  out of the villages,  and out of the fields.  [14] And they gathered them together  upon heaps:  and the land  stank.  [15] But when Pharaoh  saw  that there was respite,  he hardened  his heart,  and hearkened  not unto them; as the LORD  had said. 

What does Exodus 8:1-15 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Before the second plague, Moses gave Pharaoh a warning, for the first time, and for the first time the plague touched Pharaoh"s person.
"The god Hapi controlled the alluvial deposits and the waters that made the land fertile and guaranteed the harvest of the coming season. These associations caused the Egyptians to deify the frog and make the theophany of the goddess Heqt a frog. Heqt was the wife of the great god Khnum. She was the symbol of resurrection and the emblem of fertility. It was also believed that Heqt assisted women in childbirth. ... The frog was one of a number of sacred animals that might not be intentionally killed, and even their involuntary slaughter was often punished with death." [1]
The goddess Heqt ". . . who is depicted in the form of a woman with a frog"s head, was held to blow the breath of life into the nostrils of the bodies that her husband fashioned on the potter"s wheel from the dust of the earth ...." [2]
"This second plague was not completely unrelated to the first, for the Nile and the appearance of the frogs were very much associated. The presence of the frogs normally would have been something pleasant and desirable, but on this occasion quite the opposite was true. The frogs came out of the rivers in great abundance and moved across the land into the houses, the bedchambers, the beds, and even moved upon the people themselves ( Exodus 8:3). One can only imagine the frustration brought by such a multiplication of these creatures. They were probably everywhere underfoot bringing distress to the housewives who attempted to clear the house of them only to find that they made their way into the kneading troughs and even into the beds. It must have been a unique experience indeed to come home from a long day"s work, slip into bed only to find that it has already been occupied by slimy, cold frogs! Whatever popularity the goddess Heqt must have enjoyed prior to this time would have been greatly diminished with the multiplication of these creatures who at this point must have tormented her devotees to no end." [3]
"Since the frog or toad was deified as the Egyptian goddess Heqt, who was believed to assist women in childbirth, there may be a touch of irony in the statement that large numbers of frogs would invade the Pharaoh"s bedroom and even jump on his bed ( Exodus 8:3)." [1]
The Egyptian magicians were able to bring up frogs, too ( Exodus 8:7), but they seem to have lacked the ability to make them go away since Pharaoh asked Moses to get rid of them ( Exodus 8:8). Satanic power does not generally work for the welfare of humanity but is basically destructive.
To impress upon Pharaoh that a personal God was performing these miracles ( Exodus 8:10) Moses asked the king to set the time when the frogs should depart ( Exodus 8:9). Yahweh was in charge of the very territory over which Pharaoh regarded himself as sovereign.