Frogs Are Sent (Plague #1) Exodus 8:1-7. Series

FROGS ARE SENT (Plague #1)

Exodus 8:1-7.

Frogs belong to the category of 'amphibians.' These cold-blooded animals hibernate in the winter and undergo several transformations during their life cycle.

This begins with mating, laying eggs, growing into tadpoles in eggs, then as young frogs without tails. This is why frogs have been linked to the mythologies of creation in ancient Egypt.

From chaos to the existence, and from a world of disorder to a world of order, the frog has seen it all.

In ancient Egypt, gods and goddesses were connected with the frog, such as Heqet, Ptah, Heh, Hauhet, Kek, Nun, and Amun.

The trend of wearing frog amulets has also been popular to encourage fertility and were buried alongside the dead to help protect and revive them.

It was a common practice for frogs to be mummified with the dead. These amulets were seen as magical and divine and were believed to ensure regeneration.

The Greeks made offerings to the "averting gods" and heroes who grant safety and deflect evil because frogs were seen as protectors of the household and guardians of pregnant women. Images of frogs were portrayed on apotropaic [Apotropaic magic (from Greek, "to ward off") or protective magic is a type of magic intended to turn away harm or evil influences, as in deflecting misfortune or averting the evil eye]. Apotropaic observances may also be practiced out of vague superstition or tradition, as in good luck charms (perhaps some token on a charm bracelet), amulets, or gestures such as crossed fingers or knocking on wood.

When Christianity came to Egypt in the fourth century AD, the frog was viewed as a Coptic symbol of resurrection and rebirth.

Moreover, the frog is one of the earliest creatures to be portrayed on amulets during the Predynastic Period.

Egyptians called frogs the imitative term "kerer." The Egyptian ideas about regeneration were associated with the frogspawn.

Thes symbol of a tadpole amounted to the number 100,000. Images of frogs have appeared side by side with scarier animals on different platforms, such as on Middle Kingdom ivory wants and birthing tusks.

Different objects, such as spouts, have images of frogs on them to imply connections with the Nile River flood and the overflowing river.

Frogs have been featured during the Pharaonic iconography [the visual images and symbols used in a work of art or the study or interpretation of these], and they appear as symbols of Christian resurrection in the Coptic times - terracotta lamps often portray images of these frogs.

Life Cycle of Frogs in ancient Egypt

Frogs were known to live in the marshes of the Nile in multitudes. The flooding of the Nile was an important event for agriculture as it provided water to many distant fields.

Frogs would grow in the muddy waters left behind by receding waves. Hence, they became known as symbols of abundance.

They became a symbol for "hefnu," which referred to 100,000 or a massive number.

The life cycle of a frog starts with mating. A pair of adult frogs would engage in plexus while the female would lay her eggs.

Tadpoles would start growing inside the eggs and then metamorphose into juvenile frogs.

The frogs would develop hind legs and forelimbs but would not yet transform into fully grown frogs.

Tadpoles have their tails, but as they mature into young frogs, they lose their tails.

According to the myth, the Earth was a watery mass of dark, directionless nothingness before there was land.

Only four frog gods and four snake goddesses lived within this chaos. The four pairs of deities included Nun and Naunet, Amun and Amaunet, Heh and Hauhet, and Kek and Kauket.

The frog's fertility and their association with water, which was essential for human life, led the ancient Egyptians to view them as potent, powerful, and positive symbols.

Water is essential to man's existence. Without it, a man cannot survive. Since the Egyptians were religious, their cultural beliefs derived from water.

The Nile Delta and the Nile River in Egypt are some of the most ancient agricultural lands in the world.

They have been under cultivation for approximately 5,000 years. Since Egypt has an arid climate with high evaporation rates and very little rainfall, the water supply of the River Nile stays fresh.

Furthermore, no natural soil development can take place in this area. Hence, the River Nile was only used for agriculture, industry, and domestic use.

The sun and the river were essential to the ancient Egyptians as the sun's life-giving rays helped crops grow, shrink, and die.

On the other hand, the river made the soil fertile and destroyed anything that lay in its path. Its absence could bring famine to the lands.

The sun and river shared the cycle of death and rebirth; every day, the sun would die on the Western horizon, and it would be reborn in the Eastern sky.