Exodus 8:11

8:1-15 Pharaoh is plagued with frogs; their vast numbers made them sore plagues to the Egyptians. God could have plagued Egypt with lions, or bears, or wolves, or with birds of prey, but he chose to do it by these despicable creatures. God, when he pleases, can arm the smallest parts of the creation against us. He thereby humbled Pharaoh. They should neither eat, nor drink, nor sleep in quiet; but wherever they were, they should be troubled by the frogs. God's curse upon a man will pursue him wherever he goes, and lie heavy upon him whatever he does. Pharaoh gave way under this plague. He promises that he will let the people go. Those who bid defiance to God and prayer, first or last, will be made to see their need of both. But when Pharaoh saw there was respite, he hardened his heart. Till the heart is renewed by the grace of God, the thoughts made by affliction do not abide; the convictions wear off, and the promises that were given are forgotten. Till the state of the air is changed, what thaws in the sun will freeze again in the shade.

Glory over me - See the margin, "have honor over me," i. e. have the honor, or advantage over me, directing me when I shall entreat God for thee and thy servants. When - Or by when; i. e. for what exact time. Pharaoh's answer in Exodus 5:10 refers to this, by tomorrow. The shortness of the time would, of course, be a test of the supernatural character of the transaction.

8-15. Pharaoh called, … Intreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me—The frog, which was now used as an instrument of affliction, whether from reverence or abhorrence, was an object of national superstition with the Egyptians, the god Ptha being represented with a frog's head. But the vast numbers, together with their stench, made them an intolerable nuisance so that the king was so far humbled as to promise that, if Moses would intercede for their removal, he would consent to the departure of Israel, and in compliance with this appeal, they were withdrawn at the very hour named by the monarch himself. But many, while suffering the consequences of their sins, make promises of amendment and obedience which they afterwards forget; and so Pharaoh, when he saw there was a respite, was again hardened [Ex 8:15].

CHAPTER 11 Ex 11:1-10. Death of the First-born Threatened. 1. the Lord said—rather, "had said unto Moses." It may be inferred, therefore, that he had been apprised that the crisis had now arrived, that the next plague would so effectually humble and alarm the mind of Pharaoh, that he would "thrust them out thence altogether"; and thus the word of Moses (Ex 10:29), must be regarded as a prediction.God commandeth the Israelites to borrow jewels of the Egyptians, Exodus 11:2. God giveth them favour among the Egyptians, Exodus 11:3. Moses denounceth the last plague, Exodus 11:4,5. A great cry, Exodus 11:6. The Israelites’ safety, Exodus 11:7. The Egyptians thrusting them out, Exodus 11:8. God foretells Pharaoh’s hardness, Exodus 11:9. The Lord said unto Moses; either, 1. Whilst Moses was not yet gone out of Pharaoh’s presence; so God might suggest this to his mind, as he did other things to Micaiah, when he was before Ahab and Jehoshaphat, 1Ki 22. Or rather, 2. Before his last coming to Pharaoh; and the words may be rendered thus, Now the Lord had said unto Moses. And this is here added as the reason why Moses spake so boldly to Pharaoh, because God had assured him of a good issue. He shall surely thrust you out hence altogether; men, and women, and children, and cattle, and all that they had, which he would never do before.

The king appointed the following day, probably because he hardly thought it possible for so great a work to be performed at once. Moses promised that it should be so: "According to thy word (sc., let it be), that thou mayest know that there is not (a God) like Jehovah our God." He then went out and cried, i.e., called aloud and earnestly, to Jehovah concerning the matter (דּבר על) of the frogs, which he had set, i.e., prepared, for Pharaoh (שׂוּם as in Genesis 45:7 ). In consequence of his intercession God took the plague away. The frogs died off (מן מוּת, to die away out of, from), out of the houses, and palaces, and fields, and were gathered together by bushels (חמרים from חמר, the omer, the largest measure used by the Hebrews), so that the land stank with the odour of their putrefaction. Though Jehovah had thus manifested Himself as the Almighty God and Lord of the creation, Pharaoh did not keep his promise; but when he saw that there was breathing-time (רוחה, ἀνάψυξις, relief from an overpowering pressure), literally, as soon as he "got air," he hardened his heart, so that he did not hearken to Moses and Aaron (והכבּד inf. abs. as in Genesis 41:43 ).

11 . wise men ] cf. Genesis 41:8 , Isaiah 19:11-12 . magicians ] Heb. ḥarṭummim , a word of unknown etymology, but found only in connexion with Egypt ( Genesis 41:8 ; Genesis 41:24 , Exodus 7:11 ; Exodus 7:22 ; Exodus 8:7 ; Exodus 8:18-19 ; Exodus 9:11 ), and (borrowed from Gen.) in Daniel ( Exodus 1:20 , Exodus 2:2 ; Exodus 2:10 , &c.). RVm. in Genesis sacred scribes : and probably the word did in fact correspond to the Greek ἱερογραμματεῖς ,—the term applied by Numenius to Jannes and Jambres. Magic flourished in ancient Egypt; and many magical formulae are known to us from the inscriptions: see Erman, pp. 289, 308, 353 ff., 373. with their secret arts (RVm.)] i.e. with their usual mystic words or movements. So v. 22, Exodus 8:7 ; Exodus 8:18 (not elsewhere in this sense). The Jerus. Targ., both here and on Exodus 1:15 , following a Jewish tradition gives the names of the magicians whom Pharaoh called as Jannes and Jambres (cf. 2 Timothy 3:8 ): the same two names are also given elsewhere, as Evang. Nicod. 5; Numenius, the Pythagorean philosopher the 2nd cent. a.d., as cited in Eus. Praep. Ev. ix. 8; see also Buxtorf, s.v. יוֹחַנָּא , or Levy, Chald. Wörterb . s.v. יַנִּים ; and Schürer, § 32 (ed 3, iii. 292 ff.), with the references. 11, 12 . The Egyptian magicians do the same. The art of serpent-charming is indigenous in the East: there are allusions to it in Psalm 58:5 , Jeremiah 8:17 , Ecclesiastes 10:11 ; and it is practised in Egypt to the present day.

Exodus A LAST MERCIFUL WARNINGExodus 11:1 - - Exodus 11:10 . The first point to be noted in this passage is that it interposes a solemn pause between the preceding ineffectual plagues and the last effectual one. There is an awful lull in the storm before the last crashing hurricane which lays every obstacle flat. ‘There is silence in heaven’ before the final peal of thunder. Exodus 11:1 - - Exodus 11:3 seem, at first sight, out of place, as interrupting the narrative, since Moses’ denunciation and prophecy in Exodus 11:4 - - Exodus 11:8 must have been spoken at the interview with Pharaoh which we find going on at the end of the preceding chapter. But it is legitimate to suppose that, at the very moment when Pharaoh was blustering and threatening, and Moses was bearding him, giving back scorn for scorn, the latter heard with the inward ear the voice which made Pharaoh’s words empty wind, and gave him the assurances and commands contained in Exodus 11:1 - - Exodus 11:3 , and that thus it was given him in that hour what he should speak; namely, the prediction that follows in Exodus 11:4 - - Exodus 11:8 . Such a view of the sequence of the passage makes it much more vivid, dramatic, and natural, than to suppose that the first verses are either interpolation or an awkward break referring to a revelation at some indefinite previous moment.

Verse 11. - Observe thou that which I command thee this day . The precepts expressly given (vers. 12-26) are, as observed above, almost wholly positive. The moral law did not require recapitulation, because it was enjoined on the people afresh by the writing on the two tables (ver. 28). I drive out before thee. Compare Exodus 3:8, 17 ; Exodus 6:4, 8 ; Exodus 13:5, 11 ; Exodus 33:2 . Exodus 34:11