4 And the frogs shall come up both | come up upon the land of Egypt. on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants. 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 e ch. 7. 19. 6 And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and f the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 78 And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. f Ps. 78. 45. & 105. 30. 8 ch. 7. 11. mission, and show the haughty monarch that the Lord of the universe could easily arm the most contemptible of his creatures to the intolerable annoyance or the utter destruction of himself and his hosts. find such places full of frogs when they came to heat them in order to bake their bread, and to find these loathsome creatures in their beds when they sought repose, must have been disgusting and distressing beyond measure. The fact that these noxious vermin were thus 6. The frogs came up, and covered prompted to forego their natural habits, the land. Heb. 'And the frog came up,' and instead of confining themselves to collect. sing. for plur. The word of the waters and moist soils, to spread command has but to be uttered, and the over the country and make their way to Lord's armies make their appearance the most frequented and driest places, in countless myriads. Shoals of leapindicates the countless numbers in which ing, croaking, filthy frogs on their land, they came forth; and this is still more in their houses, in their beds, in their confirmed by the immense heaps of their food! What a distressing and nauseous carcasses which ultimately corrupted plague! Many delicate persons and the land. It is observable also that as children shudder at the sight of one the frog was one of the sacred animals as it suddenly leaps across their path. of the Egyptians, the objects of their What must have been the condition of superstition became here, as in other a people thus visited and pursued wherinstances, the instruments of their pun-ever they went by swarming multitudes ishment. Indeed every line of the nar- of these loathsome vermin! rative of the plagues seems to have a point and force which, without some considerable acquaintance with the condition and usages of ancient Egypt, cannot be properly appreciated. 5. And the Lord spake unto Moses, &c. Of the reception which Pharaoh gave to the present threatening, Moses gives us no account, leaving it to be inferred from the facts which ensued. From these it is obvious that he treated the message either with open or silent contempt. He probably scorned the idea of being terrified at a swarm of frogs creatures loathsome indeed but despicably harmless. Nothing remained therefore but for Moses to execute his com 7. The magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs. Or, Heb. 13 va-yaalu, that they might bring up; i.e. the magicians attempted to do so, that they might bring up; precisely the same mode of speech with that, v. 1, 'that they might serve me.' As in the two former cases, so here also we see no positive evidence that the magicians did any thing more than go through certain preliminary ceremonies of jugglery which may perhaps have deceived the senses of the spectators, or they might have obtained them from among the multitudes produced by Moses and Aaron. See Note on Ex. 7. 11, 12. 8. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, &c. Symptoms of relenting begin at length to show themselves. The plague was too formidable to be despised, too mighty to be resisted, too extensive to be remedied. In the case of the waters turned into blood there was some mitigation of the scourge. They could procure pure water, though with great labor, by digging around the river. But from the plague of the frogs there was no respite or relief. In their houses, in their beds, at their tables, they were incessantly infested by these hated intruders. Whatever quantities of them were killed, besides infecting the air by their stench, their places were instantly made good by increased numbers, so that the very lives of the sufferérs must have been a weariness to them. The judgment in its extremity is no longer endurable. Pharaoh is compelled to intercede for its removal. He who drove Moses and Aaron from him in wrath, with the angry words, 'Wherefore do ye Moses and Aaron let the people from their works; get you unto your burdens,' now sends for them in fear, alters his voice, and begs that they would entreat the Lord for him. He is now glad to be beholden to the mercy of that God of whom he had before spoken with the utmost disdain. The request to Moses and Aaron he backs with the promise to let the people go, in which perhaps he was at the time sincere; as much so undoubtedly as sinners usually are in the promises to God that are extorted from them under the pressure of the heavy hand of his judgments. But in this, as in a thousand similar cases time soon showed how little depend go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD. 9 And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee and for thy servants, frogs from thee, and thy houses, and for thy people, to destroy the ence was to be placed upon such promises. - T That he may take away. Heb. 7 vayaser, and he shall take away; the same form of expression with that adverted to above. So also in the close of the verse, 'that they may do sacrifice.' Heb. 'And they shall do sacrifice.' Thus also where one Evangelist, Mark, 12. 17, has, 'And the inheritance shall be ours;' another, Luke, 20. 4, has, 'That the inheritance may be ours.' התפאר עלי .Heb 9. Glory over me. hithpaër alai, have the honor over me. Moses by these words seems to indicate so much satisfaction and joy at the least sign of relenting on the part of Pharaoh, that he is ready to humble himself in his presence, disclaiming, as it were, and foregoing the honor and pre-eminence which naturally accrued to him from the performance of such mighty works, and laying them at the feet of Pharaoh. So obsequious indeed does he profess himself in view of the hopeful change which had taken place in the king's mind, that he willingly gives him the honor of appointing a time when he should entreat the Lord for the removal of the plague. Gr. 'Appoint unto me when I shall pray.' Chal. 'Ask for thee a powerful work, and give thou the time.' The incident suggests an important practical hint. The ministers of God should be ever prompt to greet with joy the slightest symptoms of relenting in those to whom they may have been the occasion of suffering, whether bodily or mental. Indeed, a benevolent mind will be so rejoiced with such indications, that he will readily exchange the language and the air of sternness and severity for the most condescend that they may remain in the river | from thee, and from thy houses, only? and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall 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. 12 And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses k cried unto the LORD, because of 11 And the frogs shall depart the frogs which he had brought Jer. 1 ch. 9. 14. Deut. 33. 26. 2 Sam. 7. 22. 1 Chron. 17. 20. Ps. 86. 8. Isal. 46. 9. 10.6, 7. ing deportment, in order to encourage the incipient workings of a godly sorrow. That they may remain in the river only. Not that they should be removed by being transferred from the land to the river, but that they should be henceforth confined to the river, and not suffered to infest the land any more. This is the true import of the original. Those that were already on the land died and were gathered in heaps. 10. And he said, To-morrow. Heb. lemahor, against to-morrow. It is perhaps a natural query why Pha against Pharaoh. k ver. 30. ch. 9. 33. & 10. 18. & 32. 11: James 5. 16, 17, 18. to allow.- -T That thou mayest know, &c. These words declare to us the grand design of all the dispensations, whether of judgment or mercy, of the Most High, that he may be convinced that 'there is none like unto the Lord our God;' none so wise, so good, so mighty; none so formidable as an enemy, none so desirable as a friend. Nothing would more tend to produce this impression on his mind than the circumstance of his being permitted himself to assign the time for the removal of the frogs, and then to see the event punctually accomplished. raoh did not demand an instantaneous 12. Cried unto the Lord because of cessation of the plague? To this it the frogs. Heb. 7 al debar, upon may be replied, that he was possibly the word (or matter) of the frogs; i. e. desirous of seeing whether the frogs on the subject of the frogs, in regard to might not disappear of themselves in them. See Note on Gen. 15. 1. From the meantime. If so, he would have the force of the original for 'cried' some show of reason to doubt whether ( yitzak) it is to be at least inthey were really the product of super-ferred that Moses prayed with great natural agency, or had chanced to ap- earnestness and intensity of spirit, if pear in such countless numbers. We not with special energy of utterance. may suppose moreover that it was to Though the word has a primary refermeet some such latent misgiving in his ence to the use of the voice, yet in Ex. mind that Moses had given him the op- 14. 15, it is evidently employed where tion of the time that he should fix for nothing more than a fervent mental pethe withdrawment of the plague. He tition is intended. 'Wherefore criest would leave no ground for suspicion that thou (py titzak) unto me?' the miracle was owing to any other than Note in loc.- ——¶ Which he had brought supernatural agency. Add to this as against Pharaoh. Heb. D another reason for the delay of a day, asher sam le-Pharoh, which he had put that Pharaoh may have supposed from to Pharaoh; i. e. proposed, appointed the past that some time would be re- to Pharaoh. In other words, he made quisite for prayer and consultation of supplication to the Lord relative to the the Deity on the part of Moses, which removal of the frogs on the conditions he was disposed, as a reasonable thing, which he had fixed, settled, or agreed to See 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 with Pharaoh. This sense of the word is rather more agreeable to the original, and equally so, we think, to the context. 13. Out of the villages. Rather according to the Heb. 'out of the courts.' The term hatzeroth is indeed occasionally applied to 'villages;' but its primary sense is that of an open court or area, a place walled or fenced round. This is probably the meaning here. The writer's design seems to be to say, that the frogs first deserted the houses, then the court-yards or enclosed grounds about the houses, and lastly the open fields. 14. They gathered them together upon heaps. Heb. 'Gathered them together, heaps, heaps.' See Note on Gen. 14, 10. They were now delivered from the principal calamity, but they still had a most offensive evil to endure to keep Pharaoh in mind of his promise. Being obliged to gather together the dead frogs in heaps, the number and size of such masses of putrifying matter were so great as to fill the whole air with an odor that was intolerable. 15. When Pharaoh saw that there was respite. Heb. harevahah, a breathing. Gr. avausis, a refreshing, as rendered, Acts, 3. 10, 'When the times of refreshing (avaves) shall come from the presence of the Lord.' The usual effect of the intermission of divine judgments upon obstinate of fenders is here strikingly displayed. 'Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness : in the land of uprightness will he deal unjustly, and will not behold the majesty of the Lord.' Is. 26. 10. The there was respite, mhe hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said. 16 And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the 1 Eccles. 8. 11. m ch. 7. 14. respite granted in order to lead the rebellious king to repentance, serves but to embolden him in the career of disobedience, and harden his heart afresh. Without considering either what he had lately felt, or what he had reason to fear, he utterly disregards his promise, and settles down again into a posture of impious defiance of the wrath of heaven. How exact the counterpart which this conduct finds in that of sinners awakened and aroused by some startling appeal of Providence or of the Holy Spirit. No more striking picture of this perverseness has ever been furnished than that which we find in the words of the Psalmist, Ps. 78. 34-42. 'When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and inquired early after God. And they remembered that God was their Rock, and the high God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they did flatter him with their mouth, and they lied unto him with their tongues. For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his cove nant. How oft did they provoke him in the wilderness, and grieve him in the desert! Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel. They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.' 16. Stretch out thy rod. The judgment now to be inflicted was to be inflicted without any previous warning. On the other hand, the fourth and fifth were preceded by a warning, while the sixth was not; again, the seventh and eighth were announced, but not so the ninth; under the tenth the people were land, that it may become lice | earth, and it became lice in man throughout all the land of Egypt. 17 And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the sent away. God was under no obliga. tions to make known his purposes to Pharaoh before hand, and from his gross abuse of the respite granted him, he had no reason to be surprised if another plague of tenfold severity, or of utter 'destructiveness should suddenly burst forth upon him. But though God sees fit again to 'correct' him without warning, yet it is 'with measure, lest he should be brought to nothing.' 17. It became lice, &c. Heb. kinnim. Gr. okviḍes, gnats. Of the real instrument by which the third plague was effected, we are inclined to adopt, as most probable, the view given by the Editor of the Pictorial Bible. The Septuagint renders the Hebrew word and in beast: all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. n Ps. 105. 31. thirst for blood, and the power of their sting, which enable them to run riot not only on the exposed parts of the person, but on those that are thinly covered, as the legs, almost render existence a calamity during the seasons in which they most abound. The painful sensation which their sting produces, and the intolerable and protracted itching which ensues, with the combined torture resulting from the infliction of fresh stings while the former are still smarting, is scarcely less distressing to the mind than to the body. To secure sleep at night, the inhabitants of the countries infested by these insects are obliged to shelter themselves under mosquito-nets or curtains; and it deserves to be mentioned that this precaution was used by the ancient Egyptians. There is a remarkable passage on this subject in Herodotus. After mentioning how the country is infested by gnats, he says that as the wind will not allow these insects to ascend to any considerable elevation, the inhabitants of Upper Egypt sleep in turrets to avoid these tormentors; but that in lower Egypt the people sleep securely underneath their nets with which they fish by day, and which they spread over their beds at night. This has puzzled translators and others; but it is a fact that mos kinnim, by oviec, which means the mosquito gnat; and this rendering is entitled to great respect, when we recollect that the translators lived in Egypt. It is also confirmed by Origen and Jerome, who, with the Septuagint, form perhaps the best mass of authority on such a point which it is possible to possess. Gesenius, Dr. Boothroyd, and others, concur in this view of the word; but it is certain that the generality of interpreters agree with the common translation, which perhaps may be accounted for by the fact, that the noisome parasite is better known in the West than the mosquito, although, hap-quitoes and other flies will not pass pily, neither of them are so generally familiar as in the East. The writer has had some experience in different countries of the misery and continual irritation which the mosquito-gnat occasions, and can say, without the least hesitation, that of all insect plagues there is none which he should think so intolerable. The activity of these insects, their small size, their insatiable through nets, the meshes of which are much more than large enough to admit them. This is practically known in some parts of Italy, where the inhabitants use net window-curtains which | freely admit the air while they exclude gnats and flies. How severely this calamity was felt is evinced by the fact that the Egyptians and other nations of antiquity had gods whose especial |