And the Lord spake unto Moses ,.... Either whilst the plague upon the waters continued, or immediately upon the removal of it: go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus saith the Lord, let my people go, that they may serve me ; mentioning neither time nor place, where, when, and how long they should serve him, for which their dismission was required, but insist on it in general. read more
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. I will smite all thy borders... read more
And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly ,.... The river Nile; and though water, and watery places, naturally produce these creatures, yet not in such vast quantities as to cover a whole country, and so large an one as Egypt, and this done at once, immediately; for they were all produced instantaneously, and in one day were spread all over the nation, and removed the next: and besides what follows is equally miraculous: which shall go up and come into thine house ; which though... read more
And the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon thy servants. No doubt by the interposition of divine power and providence, and it may be by the ministry of angels; so that let them use what care, caution, and diligence they would, there was no keeping them out; but they came upon all the people of the land, high and low, rich and poor, and upon the king's ministers, courtiers, and nobles, and the king himself not excepted; though by this particular enumeration of... read more
Let my people go - God, in great mercy to Pharaoh and the Egyptians, gives them notice of the evils he intended to bring upon them if they continued in their obstinacy. Having had therefore such warning, the evil might have been prevented by a timely humiliation and return to God. read more
If 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.... read more
The river shall bring forth frogs abundantly - The river Nile, which was an object of their adoration, was here one of the instruments of their punishment. The expression, bring forth abundantly, not only shows the vast numbers of those animals, which should now infest the land, but it seems also to imply that all the spawn or ova of those animals which were already in the river and marshes, should be brought miraculously to a state of perfection. We may suppose that the animals were already... read more
Verse 1 1.And the Lord spake. Again, as if the matter were only now begun, God demands of Pharaoh His own peculiar right, viz., that His people should serve Him, but out of the land of Egypt, that His worship might be separate and pure from all defilement, for He desired (as was before said) by this separation of His people to condemn the superstitions of the Egyptians. Meanwhile there was no excuse for the tyrant, when, with sacrilegious boldness, he presumed to deprive God of His just honor.... read more
Go unto Pharaoh . The second plague is given simply as a plague, not as a sign. It is first threatened ( Exodus 8:2 ), and then accomplished ( Exodus 8:6 ), an interval being allowed, that Pharaoh might change his mind, and escape the plague, if he chose. read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Exodus 8:1-15
Pharaoh is here first threatened and then plagued with frogs, as afterwards, in this chapter, with lice and flies, little despicable inconsiderable animals, and yet by their vast numbers rendered sore plagues to the Egyptians. God could have plagued them with lions, or bears, or wolves, or with vultures or other birds of prey; but he chose to do it by these contemptible instruments. 1. That he might magnify his own power. He is Lord of the hosts of the whole creation, has them all at his beck,... read more