Exodus · Chapter 8

Verse 1. 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.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

V. 2. All thy borders-All the land that is within thy borders.

Verse 2. 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] µy[drpx 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. Parkhurst derives the word from rpx tsaphar, denoting the brisk action, or motion of the light, and [dy yada, to feel, as they seem to feel or rejoice in the light, croaking all the summer months, yet hiding themselves in the winter. The Arabic name for this animal is very nearly the same with the Hebrew [Arabic] zafda, where the letters are the same, the r resch being omitted. It is used as a quadriliteral root in the Arabic language, to signify froggy, or containing frogs: see Golius. But the true etymology seems to be given by Bochart, who says the word is compounded of [Arabic] zifa, a bank, and [Arabic] rada, mud, because the frog delights in muddy or marshy places; and that from these two words the noun [Arabic] zafda is formed, the [Arabic] re being dropped. In the Batrocho myomachia of Homer, the frog has many of its epithets from this very circumstance. Hence limnocariv, delighting in the lake; borborokoithv, lying or engendering in the mud; phleuv, and phlbathv, belonging to the mud, walking in the mud, &c., &c. A frog is in itself a very harmless animal; but to most people who use it not as an article of food, exceedingly loathsome. God, with equal ease, could have brought crocodiles, bears, lions, or tigers to have punished these people and their impious king, instead of frogs, lice, flies, &c. But had he used any of those formidable animals, the effect would have appeared so commensurate to the cause, that the hand of God might have been forgotten in the punishment; and the people would have been exasperated without being humbled. In the present instance he shows the greatness of his power by making an animal, devoid of every evil quality, the means of a terrible affliction to his enemies. How easy is it, both to the justice and mercy of God, to destroy or save by means of the most despicable and insignificant of instruments! Though he is the Lord of hosts he has no need of powerful armies, the ministry of angels, or the thunderbolts of justice, to punish a sinner or a sinful nation; the frog or the fly in his hands is a sufficient instrument of vengeance.

Verses 2, 3. All thy borders — All the land that is within thy borders. And the river — Nile, under which are comprehended all other rivers, streams, and ponds, as appears from verse 5. But the Nile is particularly mentioned, because God would make that an instrument of their punishment and misery, in which they most gloried, (Ezekiel 29:3,) to which they gave divine honours, and which was the instrument of their cruelty against the Israelites, Exodus 1:22. Frogs shall go into thy bed-chamber — This plague was worse than the former, because it was more constant and more general: for the former in the waters did only molest them when they went to drink or use the water; but this troubled them in all places, and at all times, and annoyed all their senses with their filthy substance, shape, and noise, mingling themselves with their meats and drinks, and crawling into their beds, so that they could rest or be free from them nowhere. Into thine ovens — They shall come up in such swarms as even to enter the driest places, which they naturally shun.

2. I will smite all thy borders with frogs — Several species of frogs are found in Egypt, and they are specially abundant in September, filling the lakes and ponds left by the retiring inundation. In the spawning season the waters are so filled with them that a bowl of water taken up almost anywhere will be found to contain tadpoles, yet there is no other instance of their becoming a plague to the inhabitants, although there are traditions of similar plagues in other countries. But a superhuman influence is here most evident. The frog is an amphibious animal, living in the water or in moist, marshy lands. For these animals, then, to leave the river and river banks, and swarm up into the cities, which were situated in the edge of the dry desert, into the very houses, and into the driest places in the houses, as the beds, kneading-troughs, and ovens, was a miraculous manifestation most striking and alarming. The atmosphere of Egypt is always remarkably dry, rain being very rare except on the seacoast, sothat usually a frog could live but a very short time in an Egyptian street or house. If, now, heavy clouds and rains accompanied this visitation, in order to enable the reptiles to live in the cities, as seems likely, the supernatural character of the infliction would be still more marked.

This was also in several ways a blow at the Egyptian idolatry. The judgment comes, as before, from the deified Nile, and comes in one of their sacred animals. The frog was an emblem of the great god Pthah, the tutelar god of Memphis, and the principal divinity of Lower Egypt, so that their protecting deity now became to the Memphites a loathsome abomination. Lepsius traces this form of idolatry to the most ancient nature worship of the land. Mariette has published a curious vignette from the monuments, representing king Seti offering two vases of wine to a frog enshrined in a small chapel. Brugsch also shows that in the district of Sah the Egyptians worshipped a goddess with a frog’s head, whom they called Heka.

V. 3. The River-Nile. Under which are comprehended all other rivers and waters.

Verse 3. 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 in an embryo existence, but multitudes of them would not have come to a state of perfection had it not been for this miraculous interference. This supposition will appear the more natural when it is considered that the Nile was remarkable for breeding frogs, and such other animals as are principally engendered in such marshy places as must be left in the vicinity of the Nile after its annual inundations.

Into thine ovens] In various parts of the east, instead of what we call ovens they dig a hole in the ground, in which they insert a kind of earthen pot, which having sufficiently heated, they stick their cakes to the inside, and when baked remove them and supply their places with others, and so on. To find such places full of frogs when they came to heat them, in order to make their bread, must be both disgusting and distressing in the extreme.

Verses 2, 3. All thy borders — All the land that is within thy borders. And the river — Nile, under which are comprehended all other rivers, streams, and ponds, as appears from verse 5. But the Nile is particularly mentioned, because God would make that an instrument of their punishment and misery, in which they most gloried, (Ezekiel 29:3,) to which they gave divine honours, and which was the instrument of their cruelty against the Israelites, Exodus 1:22. Frogs shall go into thy bed-chamber — This plague was worse than the former, because it was more constant and more general: for the former in the waters did only molest them when they went to drink or use the water; but this troubled them in all places, and at all times, and annoyed all their senses with their filthy substance, shape, and noise, mingling themselves with their meats and drinks, and crawling into their beds, so that they could rest or be free from them nowhere. Into thine ovens — They shall come up in such swarms as even to enter the driest places, which they naturally shun.

Verse 3. The river shall bring forth frogs. The season was now approaching for the frogs to leave the pools, lakes, and river. God preserved and strengthened the young, or tadpoles of this amphibious creature, and by the same providence caused them to die in answer to prayer.

3. Into thine house, and into thy bedchamber — The Egyptian house was built around a rectangular court, which was paved, and open to the sky, often containing trees, and generally a tank or fountain. See notes on Matthew, pp. 121 and 326. The poorer houses had only a basement story, or ground floor, but those of a better class had store rooms, offices, etc., in the basement, and above these were the parlours and sleeping chambers. There was often an additional story in one part on which was a terrace covered with an awning, or a light roof supported on columns, where the ladies of the family sat at work during the day, and where the master of the house took his, afternoon nap. See annexed cut. The reed-like columns with lotus capitals, and the disregard of perspective in showing the end of the house, are especially noticeable as illustrating Egyptian architecture and drawing.

Into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs — The Egyptian oven was a jar of clay, or a jar-like structure built up from the ground, about three feet high, and widening toward the bottom, there being a hole in the side for the extraction of the ashes. It was heated by making a fire within it, and the dough was spread on the inside and on the outside. The accompanying cuts, from a representation in a Theban tomb, illustrate the mode of kneading the dough, which was done both with hands and feet, and of carrying the cakes to the oven, which is now lighted.

Verse 4. The frogs shall come up on thee — They did not only invade their houses, but their persons, armed as they were with a divine commission and power. And upon thy people — Not upon the Israelites, whom God here exempts from the number of Pharaoh’s people and subjects, and owns for his peculiar people.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

Verse 5. Stretch forth thine hand-over the streams, over the rivers] The streams and rivers here may refer to the grand divisions of the Nile in the Lower Egypt, which were at least seven, and to the canals by which these were connected; as there were no other streams, &c., but what proceeded from this great river.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

Verse 6. The frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.] In some ancient writers we have examples of a similar plague. The Abderites, according to Orosius, and the inhabitants of Pæonia and Dardania, according to Athenæus, were obliged to abandon their country on account of the great numbers of frogs by which their land was infested.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

Verse 7. The magicians did so] A little juggling or dexterity of hand might have been quite sufficient for the imitation of this miracle, because frogs in abundance had already been produced; and some of these kept in readiness might have been brought forward by the magicians, as proofs of their pretended power and equality in influence to Moses and Aaron.

Verse 7. The magicians did so with their enchantments — Through God’s permission they added to the plague, but could not remove it.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

Verse 8. Pharaoh said, Entreat the Lord — This is the man, who, not long ago, proudly said, Who is the Lord? Who is Jehovah? He now begins to know something of Jehovah’s power and justice at least, and is glad to procure Moses and Aaron to become intercessors to Jehovah for him. It appears evident from this, that Pharaoh’s magicians had no power to remove the frogs which Moses had brought. So Aben Ezra observes: “He called for Moses, because he saw the magicians had only added to the plague, but could not diminish it.”

8. Entreat the Lord — Pharaoh now, for the first time, owns the power of the Hebrews’ God. He has found an answer to his question, “Who is Jehovah?” Jehovah has come into his kitchen and into his bedchamber.

V. 9. Glory over me-That is, I yield to thee.

Verse 9. Glory over me] yl[ rapth hithpaer alai. These words have greatly puzzled commentators in general; and it is not easy to assign their true meaning. The Septuagint render the words thus: taxai prov me pote, &c., Appoint unto me when I shall pray, &c. The constitue mihi quando of the Vulgate is exactly the same; and in this sense almost all the versions understood this place. This countenances the conjectural emendation of Leviticus Clerc, who, by the change of a single letter, reading rabth hithbaer for rapth hithpaer, gives the same sense as that in the ancient versions. Houbigant, supposing a corruption in the original, amends the reading thus:

yl[ rab hta attah baar alai-Dic mihi quo tempore, &c., “Tell me when thou wishest me to pray for thee,” &c., which amounts to the same in sense with that proposed by Leviticus Clerc. Several of our English versions preserve the same meaning; so in the Saxon Heptateuch, [Anglo-Saxon]; so in Becke’s Bible, 1549, “And Moses sayed unto Pharaoh, Appoint thou the time unto me.” This appears to be the genuine import of the words, and the sense taken in this way is strong and good. We may conceive Moses addressing Pharaoh in this way: “That thou mayest be persuaded that Jehovah alone is the inflicter of these plagues, appoint the time when thou wouldst have the present calamity removed, and I will pray unto God, and thou shalt plainly see from his answer that this is no casual affliction, and that in continuing to harden thy heart and resist thou art sinning against God.” Nothing could be a fuller proof that this plague was supernatural than the circumstance of Pharaoh’s being permitted to assign himself the time of its being removed, and its removal at the intercession of Moses according to that appointment. And this is the very use made of it by Moses himself, Exodus 8:10, when he says, Be it according to thy word: that thou mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God; and that, consequently, he might no longer trust in his magicians, or in his false gods.

Verse 9. Glory over me — That is, I yield to thee. Thou shalt command me. As I have gloried over thee in laying, first my commands, and then my plagues upon thee; so now lay thy commands upon me for the time of my praying, and if I do not what thou requirest, I am content thou shouldest insult over me. Or he may mean, Glory or boast thyself of or concerning me, as one that by God’s power can do that for thee which all thy magicians cannot, of whom thou now seest thou canst not glory nor boast, as thou hast hitherto done. When shall I entreat for thee? — Appoint me what time thou pleasest. Thus, he knew the power and glory of God would be most conspicuous in the miracle. And this was not presumption in Moses, who had a large commission, as a god to Pharaoh, and particular direction from God in all he said and did in these matters.

Ver. 9. Glory over me. That is, according to the next verse, set me a time when I shall entreat the Lord to remove this plague, and glory over me if it be not removed when I shall entreat.

9. Glory over me — Rather, Appoint for me when, etc.: (Samaritan, Septuagint, Vulgate, Arabic versions.) Let Pharaoh set the time when the plague shall cease, and then shall he “know that there is none like Jehovah our God.”

V. 10. And he said, To-morrow-Why not immediately? Probably he hoped that this night they would go away of themselves, and then he should get clear of the plague, without being obliged either to God or Moses. However, Moses joins issue with him upon it. Be it according to thy word-It shall be done just when thou wouldst have it done, that thou mayst know, that whatever the magicians pretend to, there is none like unto the Lord our God-None has such a command as he has over all creatures, nor is any so ready to forgive those that humble themselves before him. The great design both of judgments and mercies, is to convince us that there is none like the Lord our God; none so wise, so mighty, so good; no enemy so formidable, no friend so desirable, so valuable.

Verse 10. And he said, To-morrow — But why not to-day? Why not immediately, since all men naturally desire to be instantly relieved of their sufferings? Probably, he hoped that this night they would go away of themselves, and then he should get clear of the plague, without being obliged either to God or Moses. Or, considering what imperfect notions he must have had of God, we may suppose he thought it utterly impossible to remove such a plague in an instant; and therefore desired Moses to do it to-morrow, presuming that was the very soonest he could accomplish such an event, by whatever power assisted. Moses joins issue with him upon it. Be it according to thy word — It shall be done just when thou wouldest have it done; that thou mayest know — That, whatever the magicians pretend to, there is none like Jehovah our God — None has such a command as he has over all creatures, nor is any so ready to forgive those that humble themselves before him. The great design both of judgments and mercies is to convince us that there is none like the Lord our God; none so wise, so mighty, so good; no enemy so formidable, no friend so desirable, so valuable. And in particular, the great point intended by all the plagues brought on Egypt was, that not only Pharaoh, but all the earth might know that the God of Israel, the Creator of heaven and earth, could do every thing; that all things were in his hand; that all the powers of nature, in whatever shape or being, were no more than laws of his establishing, which he could, with infinite ease, suspend or alter in whatsoever manner he pleased. And this is the God we profess to serve: what confidence and trust ought we then to have in him, and what high conceptions ought we to entertain of him!

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

Verses 13, 14. The frogs died. And they gathered them on heaps — God could as easily have dissolved them into dust, but he would have them to lie dead before their eyes, as a token that they were real frogs and no illusion, and as a testimony of his wonderful power.

13. Out of the villages — Literally, the courts; probably the open courts within the houses, described above.

Verse 14. They gathered them together upon heaps] The killing of the frogs was a mitigation of the punishment; but the leaving them to rot in the land was a continual proof that such a plague had taken place, and that the displeasure of the Lord still continued.

The conjecture of Calmet is at least rational: he supposes that the plague of flies originated from the plague of frogs; that the former deposited their ova in the putrid masses, and that from these the innumerable swarms afterwards mentioned were hatched. In vindication of this supposition it may be observed, that God never works a miracle when the end can be accomplished by merely natural means; and in the operations of Divine providence we always find that the greatest number of effects possible are accomplished by the fewest causes. As therefore the natural means for this fourth plague had been miraculously provided by the second, the Divine Being had a right to use the instruments which he had already prepared. The THIRD plague-LICE

Verses 13, 14. The frogs died. And they gathered them on heaps — God could as easily have dissolved them into dust, but he would have them to lie dead before their eyes, as a token that they were real frogs and no illusion, and as a testimony of his wonderful power.

14. And they gathered them together upon heaps — Literally, Heaps, heaps; vast heaps, or a multitude of heaps. And the land stank — The stench of their great god Pthah went up to heaven, even from his own magnificent temple courts. The putrid corpses were piled upon his altars. The author of the Book of Wisdom, who was probably an Egyptian Jew, says that God in these plagues “tormented them with their own abominations;” and as “they worshipped serpents void of reason and vile beasts,” he “sent a multitude of unreasonable beasts upon them in vengeance.” — Wisd., 11:15.

V. 15. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart-Observe he did it himself, not God, any otherwise than by not hindering.

Verse 15. Pharaoh hardened his heart — Observe, he did it himself, not God, any otherwise than by not hindering.

SECOND PLAGUE — FROGS, 1-15.

1. Go unto Pharaoh — The going we must think of as being from Goshen to Zoan, Pharaoh’s capital. Zoan we may suppose to be the scene of these interviews between prophet and king.

Verse 16. Smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice] If the vermin commonly designated by this name be intended, it must have been a very dreadful and afflicting plague to the Egyptians, and especially to their priests, who were obliged to shave the hair off every part of their bodies, and to wear a single tunic, that no vermin of this kind might be permitted to harbour about them. See Herod. in Euterp., c. xxxvii., p. 104, edit. Gale. Of the nature of these insects it is not necessary to say much. The common louse is very prolific. In the space of twelve days a full-grown female lays one hundred eggs, from which, in the space of six days, about fifty males and as many females are produced. In eighteen days these young females are at their full growth, each of which may lay one hundred eggs, which will be all hatched in six days more. Thus, in the course of six weeks, the parent female may see 5,000 of its own descendants! So mightily does this scourge of indolence and filthiness increase! But learned men are not agreed on the signification of the original word כנים kinnim, which different copies of the Septuagint render sknifev, sknipev, and sknhpev, gnats; and the Vulgate renders sciniphes, which signifies the same.

Mr. Harmer supposes he has found out the true meaning in the word tarrentes, mentioned by Vinisauf, one of our ancient English writers; who, speaking of the expedition of King Richard I. to the Holy Land, says, that “while the army were marching from Cayphas to Cæsarea, they were greatly distressed every night by certain worms called tarrentes, which crept on the ground, and occasioned a very burning heat by most painful punctures; for, being armed with stings, they conveyed a poison which quickly occasioned those who were wounded by them to swell, and was attended with the most acute pain.” All this is far fetched. Bochart has endeavoured to prove that the כנים kinnim of the text may mean lice in the common acceptation of the term, and not gnats. 1. Because those in question sprang from the dust of the earth, and not from the waters. 2. Because they were both on men and cattle, which cannot be spoken of gnats. 3. Because their name comes from the radix כונ kun, which signifies to make firm, fix, establish, which can never agree to gnats, flies, &c., which are ever changing their place, and are almost constantly on the wing. 4. Because hnk kinnah is the term by which the Talmudists express the louse, &c. See his Hierozoicon, vol. ii., c. xviii., col. 571. The circumstance of their being in man and in beast agrees so well with the nature of the acarus sanguisugus, commonly called the tick, belonging to the seventh order of insects called APTERA, that I am ready to conclude this is the insect meant. This animal buries both its sucker and head equally in man or beast; and can with very great difficulty be extracted before it is grown to its proper size, and filled with the blood and juices of the animal on which it preys. When fully grown, it has a glossy black oval body: not only horses, cows, and sheep are infested with it in certain countries, but even the common people, especially those who labour in the field, in woods, &c. I know no insect to which the Hebrew term so properly applies. This is the fixed, established insect, which will permit itself to be pulled in pieces rather than let go its hold; and this is literally ובבהמה באדם baadam ubabbehemah, IN man and IN beast, burying its trunk and head in the flesh of both. In woodland countries I have seen many persons as well as cattle grievously infested with these insects.

THIRD PLAGUE — LICE, 16-19.

16. Smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice — The Hebrew word here rendered lice occurs only in the account of this miracle, and its meaning has been much disputed, many considering that the insect was a gnat or mosquito; but Josephus and the Rabbies all give the same rendering as our English version. The Septuagint has been erroneously supposed to establish this meaning, but its word, scnifev, may mean any small biting or stinging insect, whether winged or wingless. Modern travellers describe the louse as a great pest in Egypt; and Sir Samuel Baker, especially, speaks of the abundance of the vermin in almost Scripture language — “It is as though the very dust were turned into lice.” This plague struck at the Egyptian idolatry less directly, but even more effectually, than either of the preceding. It made all the sacred animals, and the priests themselves, unclean, so as to cut off the worship in the temples. The priests were most scrupulously attentive to cleanliness, being always careful to have their linen garments fresh washed, scouring their drinking cups each day, bathing in cold water twice each day and twice each night, and shaving not only the head and beard, but the “whole body every other day, that no lice or other impure thing might adhere to them when engaged in the service of their gods.” (Herod., 2:37.) Think of these fastidiously cleanly servants swarming with lice, and finding their gods covered with them also! Thus the word of Moses smote every temple and every god in Egypt.

V. 17. The frogs were produced out of the waters, but the lice out of the dust of the earth; for out of any part of the creation God can fetch a scourge wherewith to correct those that rebel against him.

Verse 17. The frogs were produced out of the waters, but the lice out of the dust of the earth; for out of any part of the creation God can fetch a scourge wherewith to correct those that rebel against him. This plague was probably sent because it would be peculiarly grievous to the Egyptians, as being a very cleanly people. According to Herodotus, their priests were wont to shave or scrape their whole bodies every third day, lest any lice should breed upon them.

Ver. 17. Lice; µynk Kinnim. The frogs had already invaded their houses; now the vermin attacked their bodies.

THIRD PLAGUE — LICE, 16-19.

16. Smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice — The Hebrew word here rendered lice occurs only in the account of this miracle, and its meaning has been much disputed, many considering that the insect was a gnat or mosquito; but Josephus and the Rabbies all give the same rendering as our English version. The Septuagint has been erroneously supposed to establish this meaning, but its word, scnifev, may mean any small biting or stinging insect, whether winged or wingless. Modern travellers describe the louse as a great pest in Egypt; and Sir Samuel Baker, especially, speaks of the abundance of the vermin in almost Scripture language — “It is as though the very dust were turned into lice.” This plague struck at the Egyptian idolatry less directly, but even more effectually, than either of the preceding. It made all the sacred animals, and the priests themselves, unclean, so as to cut off the worship in the temples. The priests were most scrupulously attentive to cleanliness, being always careful to have their linen garments fresh washed, scouring their drinking cups each day, bathing in cold water twice each day and twice each night, and shaving not only the head and beard, but the “whole body every other day, that no lice or other impure thing might adhere to them when engaged in the service of their gods.” (Herod., 2:37.) Think of these fastidiously cleanly servants swarming with lice, and finding their gods covered with them also! Thus the word of Moses smote every temple and every god in Egypt.

V. 18. And the magicians did so-That is, endeavoured to do so.

Verse 18. The magicians did so] That is, They tried the utmost of their skill, either to produce these insects or to remove this plague; but they could not, no juggling could avail here, because insects must be produced which would stick to and infix themselves in man and beast, which no kind of trick could possibly imitate; and to remove them, as some would translate the passage, was to their power equally impossible. If the magicians even acted by spiritual agents, we find from this case that these agents had assigned limits, beyond which they could not go; for every agent in the universe is acting under the direction or control of the Almighty.

Verse 18. The magicians did so — They also smote the dust of the earth to bring forth lice with their enchantments, but they could not — Some have said that this verse is not accurately translated, and that the true sense of it is, that the magicians endeavoured not to bring forth, but to draw off, or take away, the lice. But surely they have affirmed this without having examined the original. The words µynkh ta ayxwhl, Lehoatsi eth hachinnim, signify to bring forth the lice, and not to take them away. Nor is the word exagagein, used by the LXX., at all inimical to this construction, signifying properly to bring out, or bring forth. So that the thing asserted, as commentators have generally understood, is, that the magicians could not produce lice, as they had frogs, much less could they take away those that God, by Moses, had produced. Now, as it surely was as easy to produce lice as frogs, from this it appeared by what power they had done the other two miracles; not by any virtue that was in their enchantments, but by a supernatural power which God had permitted Satan to give them, but the further operation of which he now thought proper to prevent, to show them that all their power, to whatever cause they might attribute it, was limited, and not to be compared with that of the God of Israel.

18. But they could not — Here the magicians are baffled, and they can imitate these signs no further. In this the gradual advance is to be noted, and also in the fact that the stroke is much more severe. The Egyptians could keep away from the bloody river; the frogs came upon their tables and beds; but the loathsome lice feasted on their bodies.

V. 19. This is the finger of God-The power of God. The devil’s agents, when God permitted them, could do great things; but when he laid an embargo upon them, they could do nothing. The magicians inability in this instance shewed whence they had their ability in the former instances, and that they had no power against Moses but what was given them from above. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened-By himself and the devil.

Verse 19. This is the finger of God] That is, The power and skill of God are here evident. Probably before this the magicians supposed Moses and Aaron to be conjurers, like themselves; but now they are convinced that no man could do these miracles which these holy men did, unless God were with him. God permits evil spirits to manifest themselves in a certain way, that men may see that there is a spiritual world, and be on their guard against seduction. He at the same time shows that all these agents are under his control, that men may have confidence in his goodness and power.

The FOURTH plague-FLIES

Verse 19. This is the finger of God — The devil’s agents, when God permitted them, could do great things; but when he laid an embargo upon them they could do nothing. And their inability in this instance might have shown them whence they had their ability in the former instances, and that they had no power against Moses but what was given them from above. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened — By himself and the devil. Though he saw his magicians baffled, yet he could not prevail on himself to let the Israelites go. His kingly pride, the desire of detaining so many people in slavish dependance and subjection to him, and, above all, his superstitious prejudices, so blinded his mind that he still remained obdurate. Perhaps he yet considered Moses as a mere magician, like his own, only somewhat more expert in his art.

19. This is the finger of God — Rather, of the gods; for they did not mean to own Jehovah, but declared that this was a supernatural infliction from their own gods. This explained their failure to Pharaoh, and so his heart became yet more hardened.

FOURTH PLAGUE — SWARMS (OF FLIES,) 20-32.

V. 20. Rise up early-Those that would bring great things to pass for God and their generation must rise early, and redeem time in the morning. Pharaoh was early up at his superstitious devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep, and more slumber, when any service is to be done which would pass well in our account in the great day?

Verse 20. Rise up early — Those that would bring great things to pass for God and their generation must rise early, and redeem time in the morning. Pharaoh was early up at his superstitious devotions to the river; and shall we be for more sleep, and more slumber, when any service is to be done which would pass well in our account in the great day?

20. Lo, he cometh forth to the water — To offer his morning worship on the bank of the river, as in Exodus 7:15. Jehovah’s message confronted him at the altar of his god.

V. 21. Flies-Or insects of various kinds; not only flies, but gnats, wasps, hornets; and those probably more pernicious than the common ones were.

Verse 21. Swarms of flies upon thee] It is not easy to ascertain the precise meaning of the original word הערב hearob; as the word comes from br[ arab, he mingled, it may be supposed to express a multitude of various sorts of insects. And if the conjecture be admitted that the putrid frogs became the occasion of this plague, (different insects laying their eggs in the bodies of those dead animals, which would soon be hatched, see on Exodus 8:14,) then the supposition that a multitude of different hinds of insects is meant, will seem the more probable. Though the plague of the locusts was miraculous, yet God both brought it and removed it by natural means; see Exodus 10:13-19.

Bochart, who has treated this subject with his usual learning and ability, follows the Septuagint, explaining the original by kunomuia, the dog-fly; which must be particularly hateful to the Egyptians, because they held dogs in the highest veneration, and worshipped Anubis under the form of a dog. In a case of this kind the authority of the Septuagint is very high, as they translated the Pentateuch in the very place where these plagues happened. But as the Egyptians are well known to have paid religious veneration to all kinds of animals and monsters, whence the poet:—

Omnigenumque deum monstra, et latrator Anubis,

I am inclined to favour the literal construction of the word: for as br[ ereb, Exodus 12:38, expresses that mixed multitude of different kinds of people who accompanied the Israelites in their departure from Egypt; so here the same term being used, it may have been designed to express a multitude of different kinds of insects, such as flies, wasps, hornets, &c., &c. The ancient Jewish interpreters suppose that all kinds of beasts and reptiles are intended, such as wolves, lions, bears, serpents, &c. Mr. Bate thinks the raven is meant, because the original is so understood in other places; and thus he translates it in his literal version of the Pentateuch: but the meaning already given is the most likely. As to the objection against this opinion drawn from Exodus 8:31, there remained not one, it can have very little weight, when it is considered that this may as well be spoken of one of any of the different kinds, as of an individual of one species.

Verse 21. Swarms of flies — The original word, br[, means properly a mixture, or multitude of noisome creatures. And some understand by it, swarms of venomous insects and noxious animals, as serpents, scorpions, &c. See the margin. The Septuagint renders it kunomuia, the dog-fly, flies these which stick fast in the skin, lance it with a sharp proboscis, and suck the blood. Bochart and several others approve of this translation, the rather because this insect was peculiarly offensive to dogs, animals held in religious veneration by the Egyptians. But no doubt, insects of various kinds are included, not only flies, but gnats, wasps, hornets, and those probably more pernicious than the common ones were.

Ver. 21. Swarms of flies. The readings here are various, All sorts of flies; gnats, hornets, wasps, &c. This would seem, from Psalm 78:45, to be the true sense of the text; yet others contend that serpents and scorpions are implied. Some have said that lions, leopards, and wolves were superadded; but verse 31 restricts the plague to insects.

21. Swarms of flies — The precise nature of this plague is doubtful. The word used, br[, occurs only in this place and in the two psalms where this judgment is described, so that we get no aid in interpretation from parallel passages. The rendering of the Septuagint is dog-fly, an insect which in Egypt gives great annoyance to man and beast; and as the authority of that version is very high on Egyptian subjects, this is the most usual interpretation. These insects are described as coming in immense swarms, and settling in black masses on whatever part of the person of the traveller is exposed. Stuart Poole considers it to have been the domestic fly, which is now the most troublesome insect in Egypt. Hengstenberg quotes a traveller as saying: “Men and beasts are cruelly tormented by them. You can form no conception of their fury when they want to settle on any part of your body. You may drive them away, but they settle again immediately, and their obstinacy wearies out the most patient man.” The distress arising from ophthalmia, now so common in Egypt, is much aggravated by the swarms of flies. Others, as Adam Clarke, Wordsworth, Kurtz, following a Jewish tradition, consider this plague to have been swarms of all kinds of noxious insects, and the author of the Book of Wisdom seems to have supposed that there were beasts also. (Wisdom, 11:15, 16, etc.) Swarming creatures of some kind, probably of various species of insects, so afflicted Pharaoh that he yielded more than ever before, and consented to allow the Israelites to go into the wilderness and sacrifice. Further than this we cannot yet affirm.

V. 22. Know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth-In every part of it. Swarms of flies, which seem to us to fly at random, shall be manifestly under the conduct of an intelligent mind. Hither they shall go, saith Moses, and thither they shall come, and the performance is punctual according to this appointment; and both compared amount to a demonstration, that he that said it, and he that did it, was the same, even a being of infinite power and wisdom.

Verse 22. I will sever in that day] ytylph hiphleythi, has been translated by some good critics, I will miraculously separate; so the Vulgate: Faciam mirabilem, “I will do a marvellous thing.” And the Septuagint, paradoxasw, I will render illustrious the land of Goshen in that day; and this he did, by exempting that land, and its inhabitants the Israelites, from the plagues by which he afflicted the land of Egypt.

Verse 22. I will sever in that day — The Hebrew properly means, I will marvellously sever. The LXX. render it paradoxasw , I will make a glorious distinction. Although the Israelites were probably not afflicted with any of the plagues which went before this, yet as Goshen, where they lived, was at a considerable distance, it might be thought that the frogs and lice, in the common course of things, considering their nature, would not extend as far; but it being natural to flies to be carried by the air everywhere, this was the more astonishing and distinguishing, that such creatures, whose nature it is to spread themselves in all places, should not any of them extend to the land of Goshen. Know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth — In every part of it. Swarms of flies, which seem to us to fly at random, shall be manifestly under the conduct of an intelligent mind. Hither they shall go, saith Moses, and thither they shall come, and the performance is punctual according to this appointment; and both compared amount to a demonstration, that he that said it and he that did it was the same — even a Being of infinite power and wisdom.

22. I will sever in that day the land of Goshen — Here also is now a marked advance, a more distinctive character in the judgment. The putrid Nile had afflicted Egypt and Israel alike; the frogs and the lice had been found, at least to some extent, in the land of Goshen; but henceforth the Israelitish province was to be protected from the inflictions that were to fall upon heathen Egypt. Here was to be a decisive proof of Jehovah’s supremacy, to the end thou mayest know that I am JEHOVAH. I will put a division (or deliverance) between my people and thy people — It is also to be considered, that while at the beginning of these inflictions the Israelites had been considerably scattered from Goshen throughout the land in the great public works, these successive judgments would have greatly hindered, if not by this time have totally suspended, the industrial activities of the nation. By this time there must have been a great national anxiety, and soon there was a general panic. Under these circumstances the Israelites would naturally gather together into their own province, and be no more mingled among the Egyptians. Thus this marked distinction in regard to Goshen would be now, perhaps, for the first time possible.

V. 23. A division-A wall of partition.

Verse 23. And I will put a division] tdp peduth, a redemption, between my people and thy people; God hereby showing that he had redeemed them from those plagues to which he had abandoned the others.

Verses 23, 24. A division — A wall of partition. There came a grievous swarm of flies — The prince of the power of the air has gloried in being Beel-zebub, the god of flies; but here it is proved that even in that he is a pretender, and a usurper; for even with swarms of flies God fights against his kingdom and prevails. The land was corrupted — By the land Bochart understands the inhabitants of the land, whose blood these flies sucked, and left such a poison in it that their bodies swelled, and many of them died. But Le Clerc understands it of the flesh and other eatables, which those vermin having preyed upon and fly-blown, bred maggots, and spread stench and putrefaction throughout the land.

V. 24. There came a grievous swarm of flies-The prince of the power of the air has gloried in being Beel-zebub, the god of flies; but here it is proved that even in that he is a pretender, and an usurper; for even with swarms of flies God fights against his kingdom and prevails.

Verse 24. The land was corrupted] Every thing was spoiled, and many of the inhabitants destroyed, being probably stung to death by these venomous insects. This seems to be intimated by the psalmist, “He sent divers sorts of flies among them, which DEVOURED them,” Psalm 78:45.

In ancient times, when political, domestic, and personal cleanliness was but little attended to, and offal of different kinds permitted to corrupt in the streets and breed vermin, flies multiplied exceedingly, so that we read in ancient authors of whole districts being laid waste by them; hence different people had deities, whose office it was to defend them against flies. Among these we may reckon Baalzebub, the fly-god of Ekron; Hercules, muscarum abactor, Hercules, the expeller of flies, of the Romans; the Muagrus of the Eleans, whom they invoked against pestilential swarms of flies; and hence Jupiter, the supreme god of the heathens, had the epithets of apomuiov and muwdhv, because he was supposed to expel flies, and defend his worshippers against them. See Dodd.

Verses 23, 24. A division — A wall of partition. There came a grievous swarm of flies — The prince of the power of the air has gloried in being Beel-zebub, the god of flies; but here it is proved that even in that he is a pretender, and a usurper; for even with swarms of flies God fights against his kingdom and prevails. The land was corrupted — By the land Bochart understands the inhabitants of the land, whose blood these flies sucked, and left such a poison in it that their bodies swelled, and many of them died. But Le Clerc understands it of the flesh and other eatables, which those vermin having preyed upon and fly-blown, bred maggots, and spread stench and putrefaction throughout the land.

Verse 25. Sacrifice to your God in the land.] That is, Ye shall not leave Egypt, but I shall cause your worship to be tolerated here.

25. Go ye, sacrifice… in the land — Pharaoh now allows them to sacrifice, but insists that it shall be in Egypt.

V. 26. The abomination of the Egyptians-That which they abominate to see killed, because they worshipped them as gods.

Verse 26. We shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians] That is, The animals which they hold sacred, and will not permit to be slain, are those which our customs require us to sacrifice to our God; and should we do this in Egypt the people would rise in a mass, and stone us to death. Perhaps few people were more superstitious than the Egyptians. Almost every production of nature was an object of their religious worship: the sun, moon, planets, stars, the river Nile, animals of all sorts, from the human being to the monkey, dog, cat, and ibis, and even the onions and leeks which grew in their gardens. Jupiter was adored by them under the form of a ram, Apollo under the form of a crow, Bacchus under that of a goat, and Juno under that of a heifer. The reason why the Egyptians worshipped those animals is given by Eusebius, viz., that when the giants made war on the gods, they were obliged to take refuge in Egypt, and assume the shapes or disguise themselves under different kinds of animals in order to escape. Jupiter hid himself in the body of a ram, Apollo in that of a crow, Bacchus in a goat, Diana in a cat, Juno in a white heifer, Venus in a fish, and Mercury in the bird ibis; all which are summoned up by Ovid in the following lines:—

Duxque gregis fit Jupiter—————

Delius in corvo, proles Semeleia capro,

Fele soror Phœbi, nivea Saturnia vacca,

Pisce Venus latuit, Cyllenius ibidis alis.

METAM., l. v., fab. v., 1. 326.

How the gods fled to Egypt’s slimy soil,

And hid their heads beneath the banks of Nile;

How Typhon from the conquer’d skies pursued

Their routed godheads to the seven-mouth’d flood;

Forced every god, his fury to escape,

Some beastly form to take, or earthly shape.

Jove, so she sung, was changed into a ram,

From whence the horns of Libyan Ammon came;

Bacchus a goat, Apollo was a crow,

Phœbe a cat, the wife of Jove a cow,

Whose hue was whiter than the falling snow;

Mercury, to a nasty ibis turn’d,

The change obscene, afraid of Typhon mourn’d,

While Venus from a fish protection craves,

And once more plunges in her native waves.

MAYNWARING.

These animals therefore became sacred to them on account of the deities, who, as the fable reports, had taken refuge in them. Others suppose that the reason why the Egyptians would not sacrifice or kill those creatures was their belief in the doctrine of the metempsychosis, or transmigration of souls; for they feared lest in killing an animal they should kill a relative or a friend. This doctrine is still held by the Hindoos.

Verse 26. We should sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians — That which they abominated to see killed, because they worshipped as gods the animals which the Hebrews were wont to offer in sacrifice. From this it seems probable, and from no mention being made of any, that the Israelites had omitted to offer sacrifices from their first coming into Egypt.

Ver. 26. The abomination of the Egyptians; that is, the victims we shall sacrifice would be to them an abomination, because they adored some of the animals which other nations burned on their altars. The Egyptians worshipped a ram under the name of Jove, and a calf or bull under the name of Apis, called Epaphus by the Greeks. Herodotus, who travelled in Egypt 200 years before Christ, states that when Cambyses was returned with the remains of his half-perished army from the deserts of Numidia, whither he had led them as a fool without guides and provisions, he found the people of Memphis dressed in their best clothes, and celebrating a feast. This he thought was a festival of joy at the complete failure of his expedition. When they told him that the feast was on account of their god, who rarely discovered himself, having appeared to them; he replied that they told him falsehoods, and began to kill them. He then commanded the priests to appear before him, and they made him the same answer, He replied, that if their god was so condescending as to show himself to the people, he would not hide himself from the king; and commanded them to lead him immediately into the presence of their god. This Apis, according to the priests, was the first calf of a cow, which was not allowed to have a second; it was engendered by a thunderbolt of Jupiter. The calf was black all over the body, except a square white mark on the forehead. On its back was placed an eagle, and the hair of the tail divided into two tresses. As soon as Cambyses saw the calf, he burst out into a fit of laughter, exclaiming, “Oh wicked priests, are the gods then made of flesh and blood? Do they feel a cut of the sword? Truly this god is worthy of the Egyptians.” On saying these words, he gave their god a long cut on the skin, and made the wound so deep that the animal bled to death.— Christian reader, this idol, however now abominable in its figure and rites, had once a sacred origin. Like the fable of Semélè, mother of Bacchus, begotten by Jupiter, and twice born by divine and human geniture, it represented the incarnation of the Word or Wisdom of God. See Romans 1:20. Satan had thus perverted the mysteries of godliness into mysteries of iniquity, and drawn as far as he could, the worship of mankind to himself.

26. The abomination of the Egyptians — The Egyptians would not allow them to worship in the land according to Jehovah’s will. Some, as Hengstenberg, understand the text to mean that the manner of their worship would be abominable to the Egyptians — that they would not observe the manifold rigid sacrificial regulations of the Egyptian priests; but the Targum of Onkelos translates, “the animal which the Egyptians worship,” that is, the ox, which as Apis and Mnevis was so specially adored. So the Vulgate renders, “the animals which the Egyptians worship.” This is a characteristic Hebrew phraseology. Idols are often styled “abominations” in the Old Testament. Thus, in 2 Kings 23:13, the god Chemosh is called “the abomination of Moab,” and Ashtoreth “the abomination of the Zidonians.” So the ox is here called “the abomination of the Egyptians,” not as abominated by them, not because it was abominable in their eyes to kill it, but because this worship of the ox was an abomination to Jehovah. This was doubtless bold language for Moses to use to Pharaoh, (styling his god an “abomination,”) but his boldness has greatly increased since he deprecated his stammering tongue, and the same spirit is seen in the pungent rebuke and exhortation of the twenty-ninth verse, “Let not Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more.”

The sacred bull was specially worshipped at Memphis, the great city of Lower Egypt, where he had palatial stalls and temples. In the above engraving the bull is crowned with a circle representing Ra, or the sun, and also wears on his forehead the asp, the symbol of majesty. Will they not stone us — The animal-worship of the Egyptians is frequently dwelt upon by classical writers, so that it became a proverb that in Egypt it was easier to meet a god than a man. The text is well illustrated by the statement of Herodotus, that it was a capital crime in Egypt to kill one of the sacred animals; and Diodorus and Cicero relate that this was the case in their time. (Herod., 2:65; Cic., Tusc. Disp., 5:27; Diod., 1:83.) So modern Hinduism makes it a mortal sin to kill a cow. (Butler’s Land of the Veda, chap. 2.) The Egyptians, however, killed oxen for food, beef and goose being their chief meats. The same animals were not sacred through all Egypt, but each had his special district, and the ox or heifer, one of the animals specially designated for sacrifice in the Mosaic economy, was, as we have seen, particularly worshipped in the district where the Israelites dwelt. Apis was the sacred bull of Memphis, and Mnevis, second only in rank to Apis, and by Plutarch called his sire, was the sacred bull of Heliopolis. (Wilkinson’s Anc. Egypt, chap. iv,) and these were the two leading cities of Lower Egypt. Thus the fear expressed by Moses, “Will they not stone us?” is just what might have been expected in Egypt above all other lands, and in this district above all others of Egypt.

V. 27. As he shall command us-For he has not yet told us what sacrifices to offer.

Verse 27. And sacrifice to the Lord-as he shall command us.] It is very likely that neither Moses nor Aaron knew as yet in what manner God would be worshipped; and they expected to receive a direct revelation from him relative to this subject, when they should come into the wilderness.

Verses 27-29. As he shall command us — For he has not yet told us what sacrifices to offer. Ye shall not go very far away — Not so far but that he might fetch them back again. It is likely he suspected that if once they left Egypt they would never come back; and therefore when he is forced to consent that they shall go, yet he is not willing they should go out of his reach. See how ready God is to accept sinners’ submissions: Pharaoh only says, Entreat for me — Moses promises immediately; I will entreat the Lord — For thee; and that he might see what the design of the plague was, not to bring him to ruin but to repentance.

V. 28. Ye shall not go very far away-Not so far but that he might fetch them back again. It is likely he suspected that if once they left Egypt, they would never come back; and therefore when he is forced to consent that they shall go, yet he is not willing they should go out of his reach. See how ready God is to accept sinners submissions. Pharaoh only says, Intreat for me-Moses promises immediately, I will intreat the Lord for thee; and that he might see what the design of the plague was, not to bring him to ruin, but to repentance.

Verse 28. I will let you go only ye shall not go very far away] Pharaoh relented because the hand of God was heavy upon him; but he was not willing to give up his gain. The Israelites were very profitable to him; they were slaves of the state, and their hard labour was very productive: hence he professed a willingness, first to tolerate their religion in the land, (Exodus 8:25;) or to permit them to go into the wilderness, so that they went not far away, and would soon return. How ready is foolish man, when the hand of God presses him sore, to compound with his Maker! He will consent to give up some sins, provided God will permit him to keep others.

Entreat for me.] Exactly similar to the case of Simon Magus, who, like Pharaoh, fearing the Divine judgments, begged an interest in the prayers of Peter, Acts 8:24.

Verses 27-29. As he shall command us — For he has not yet told us what sacrifices to offer. Ye shall not go very far away — Not so far but that he might fetch them back again. It is likely he suspected that if once they left Egypt they would never come back; and therefore when he is forced to consent that they shall go, yet he is not willing they should go out of his reach. See how ready God is to accept sinners’ submissions: Pharaoh only says, Entreat for me — Moses promises immediately; I will entreat the Lord — For thee; and that he might see what the design of the plague was, not to bring him to ruin but to repentance.

Verses 27-29. As he shall command us — For he has not yet told us what sacrifices to offer. Ye shall not go very far away — Not so far but that he might fetch them back again. It is likely he suspected that if once they left Egypt they would never come back; and therefore when he is forced to consent that they shall go, yet he is not willing they should go out of his reach. See how ready God is to accept sinners’ submissions: Pharaoh only says, Entreat for me — Moses promises immediately; I will entreat the Lord — For thee; and that he might see what the design of the plague was, not to bring him to ruin but to repentance.

Verse 31. The Lord did according to the word of Moses] How powerful is prayer! God permits his servant to prescribe even the manner and time in which he shall work.

He removed the swarms] Probably by means of a strong wind, which swept them into the sea.

Verse 31. There remained not one — This immediate and entire removal of the flies was as extraordinary, and as plainly indicative of the hand of God, as the bringing them upon the land. Probably a strong wind swept them into the sea, or into the deserts of Africa.

V. 32. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also-Still it is his own act and deed, not God’s.

Verse 32. Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also] See Exodus 8:15. This hardening was the mere effect of his self-determining obstinacy. He preferred his gain to the will and command of Jehovah, and God made his obstinacy the means of showing forth his own power and providence in a supereminent degree.

1. As every false religion proves there is a true one, as a copy, however marred or imperfect, shows there was an original from which it was taken, so false miracles prove that there were genuine miracles, and that God chooses at particular times, for the most important purposes, to invert the established order of nature, and thus prove his omnipotence and universal agency. That the miracles wrought at this time were real we have the fullest proof. The waters, for instance, were not turned into blood in appearance merely, but were really thus changed. Hence the people could not drink of them; and as blood in a very short time, when exposed to the air, becomes putrid, so did the bloody waters; therefore all the fish that were in the river died.

2. No human power or ingenuity could produce such frogs as annoyed the land of Egypt. This also was a real, not an imaginary, plague. Innumerable multitudes of these animals were produced for the purpose; and the heaps of their dead carcasses, which putrefied and infected the land, at once demonstrated the reality of the miracle.

3. The lice both on man and beast through the whole land, and the innumerable swarms of flies, gave such proofs of their reality as to put the truth of these miracles out of question for ever. It was necessary that this point should be fully proved, that both the Egyptians and Israelites might see the finger of God in these awful works.

4. To superficial observers only do “Moses and the magicians appear to be nearly matched.” The power of God was shown in producing and removing the plagues. In certain cases the magicians imitated the production of a plague, but they had no power to remove any. They could not seem to remove the bloody colour, nor the putrescency from the waters through which the fish were destroyed, though they could imitate the colour itself; they could not remove the frogs, the lice, or swarms of flies, though they could imitate the former and latter; they could by dexterity of hand or diabolic influence produce serpents, but they could not bring one forward that could swallow up the rod of Aaron. In every respect they fall infinitely short of the power and wonderful energy evidenced in the miracles of Moses and Aaron. The opposition therefore of those men served only as a foil to set off the excellence of that power by which these messengers of God acted.

5. The courage, constancy, and faith of Moses are worthy of the most serious consideration. Had he not been fully satisfied of the truth and certainty of his Divine mission, he could not have encountered such a host of difficulties; had he not been certain of the issue, he could not have preserved amidst so many discouraging circumstances; and had he not had a deep acquaintance with God, his faith in every trial must have necessarily failed. So strong was this grace in him that he could even pledge his Maker to the performance of works concerning which he had not as yet consulted him! He therefore let Pharaoh fix the very time on which he would wish to have the plague removed; and when this was done, he went to God by faith and prayer to obtain this new miracle; and God in the most exact and circumstantial manner fulfilled the word of his servant.

6. From all this let us learn that there is a God who worketh in the earth; that universal nature is under his control; that he can alter, suspend, counteract, or invert its general laws whensoever he pleases; and that he can save or destroy by the most feeble and most contemptible instruments. We should therefore deeply reverence his eternal power and Godhead, and look with respect on every creature he has made, as the meanest of them may in his hand, become the instrument of our salvation or our ruin.

7. Let us not imagine that God has so bound himself to work by general laws, that those destructions cannot take place which designate a particular providence. Pharaoh and the Egyptians are confounded, afflicted, routed, and ruined, while the land of Goshen and the Israelites are free from every plague! No blood appears in their streams; no frogs, lice, nor flies, in all their borders! They trusted in the true God, and could not be confounded. Reader, how secure mayest thou rest if thou hast this God for thy friend! He was the Protector and Friend of the Israelites through the blood of that covenant which is the very charter of thy salvation: trust in and pray to him as Moses did, and then Satan and his angels shall be bruised under thy feet, and thou shalt not only be preserved from every plague, but be crowned with his loving kindness and tender mercy. He is the same to-day that he was yesterday, and shall continue the same for ever. Hallelujah, the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!

EXODUS