Exodus 8 · WEB
Plagues of Frogs, Gnats, and Flies
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Yahweh spoke to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh says: "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
2If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague your whole country with frogs.
3The river will swarm with frogs, which will go up and come into your house, and into your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs;
4and the frogs shall come up both on you, and on your people, and on all your servants."'"
5Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.'"
6Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.
7The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt.
8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, "Entreat Yahweh, that he take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh."
9Moses said to Pharaoh, "I give you the honor of setting the time that I should pray for you, and for your servants, and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, and remain in the river only."
10He said, "Tomorrow." Moses said, "Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God.
11The frogs shall depart from you, and from your houses, and from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only."
12Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to Yahweh concerning the frogs which he had brought on Pharaoh.
13Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields.
14They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank.
15But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
16Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.'"
17They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and on animal; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.
18The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce gnats, but they couldn't. There were gnats on man and on animal.
19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is God's finger." But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
20Yahweh said to Moses, "Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; behold, he comes out to the water; and tell him, 'This is what Yahweh says: "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
21Else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and into your houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are.
22I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end you may know that I am Yahweh on earth.
23I will put a division between my people and your people. This sign shall happen by tomorrow."'"
24Yahweh did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants' houses, and into all the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.
25Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land!"
26Moses said, "It is not appropriate to do so; for we would be sacrificing the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahweh our God. Behold, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, won't they stone us?
27We will go three days' journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as he shall command us."
28Pharaoh said, "I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me."
29Moses said, "Behold, I go out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh that the swarms of flies may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only don't let Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh."
30Moses went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh.
31Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. There remained not one.
32But Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he didn't let the people go.
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Summary
Three more plagues assault Egypt in rapid succession. Frogs overrun the land from the Nile; the magicians replicate them but cannot remove them. Pharaoh begs Moses to pray for relief, promising to let Israel go, but when the frogs die he hardens his heart. The third plague — gnats from the dust — cannot be replicated by the magicians, who confess "this is God's finger." The fourth plague of flies is the first to distinguish between Goshen (Israel's land) and the rest of Egypt, demonstrating Yahweh's particular care for his people. Pharaoh again negotiates and again reneges.
Themes
- Escalation: each plague intensifies and breaks new ground
- The limits of counterfeit power — magicians fail at the third plague
- The distinction between God's people and Egypt — Goshen is protected
- The cycle of promise and betrayal in Pharaoh's negotiations
Key verses
- Ex 8:10 — “Let it be according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God.”
- Ex 8:19 — “The magicians said to Pharaoh, 'This is God's finger.' But Pharaoh's heart was hardened.”
- Ex 8:22-23 — “I will set apart… the land of Goshen… to the end you may know that I am Yahweh on earth.”
Context & background
The land of Goshen, where Israel lived and which was spared from the fly plague, is located in the northeastern Nile Delta, near modern Zagazig in Egypt. The separation of Goshen from the plague zone is theologically significant: it foreshadows the Passover's distinction between households marked by blood and those that are not. The Egyptians considered certain animals (including the cattle and sheep used in Israelite sacrifice) sacred, which is why Moses says in verse 26 that sacrificing before Egyptians would be the "abomination of the Egyptians" — an act likely to cause riot.
Cross-references
- Luke 11:20 — Jesus casts out demons "by the finger of God" — the same phrase the magicians used in Exodus 8:19.
- Psalm 78:45 — "He sent swarms of flies among them that devoured them, and frogs that destroyed them."
- Revelation 16:13 — Unclean spirits like frogs come from the mouths of the unholy trinity, echoing the frog plague.
- Romans 9:18 — "He has mercy on whom he will have mercy, and he hardens whom he will harden" — the Pharaoh narrative is Paul's text.