the Plague Of Flies. Series

The Plague Of Flies.

Exodus 8:20-24.

Exodus 8:20-24.

20Then the LORD said to Moses,"’ Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ''This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.' 21If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered with them.’

22'But on that day, I will deal differently with the land of Goshen, where my people live; no swarms of flies will be there, so that you will know that I, the LORD, am in this land. 23I will make a distinction between my people and your people. This sign will occur tomorrow.'”

INTRODUCTION

Get up early. Pharaoh still appearing obstinate, Moses was ordered to meet him while walking on the banks of the Nile and repeat his request for the liberation of Israel, threatening in case of continued refusal to cover every house from the palace to the cottage with swarms of flies—while, as a proof of the power that accomplished this judgment, the land of Goshen should be exempted from the calamity. The appeal was equally futile as before, and the predicted evil overtook the country in the form of what was not "flies," such as we are accustomed to. However, various sorts of flies (Ps 78:45), the gadfly, the cockroach, and the Egyptian beetle, for all these are mentioned by different writers. They are very destructive, some inflicting severe bites on men and animals, others destroying clothes, books, plants, everything. Worshiping flies, particularly the beetle, was a prominent part of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. The employment of these winged deities to chastise them must have been painful and humiliating to the Egyptians, while it must at the same time have strengthened the faith of the Israelites in the God of their fathers as the only object of worship.

COMMENTARY

(20) Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes to the river and say to him, ‘This is what the LORD says: Let my people go, so that they may worship me.

(21)If you do not let my people go, I will send swarms of flies on you and your officials, on your people, and into your houses. The houses of the Egyptians will be full of flies; even the ground will be covered

Once again, there is a doubt about the nature of the fourth plague. In the original, it is called the plague of “the ‘arób,” which is used throughout in the singular sense. The LXX. translates ha-’arob as “the dog-fly.” The Jewish commentators connect the word with the root ‘ereb or ‘Arab, and assume it to designate either a mixed multitude of wild beasts (Josephus and Jonathan) or a mixture of all sorts of insects. Moderns generally agree with the LXX. that a definite species of animal—probably an insect—is meant, but doubt about the particular creature. The dog-fly, it is said, is not a pest in houses, as the ‘arôb’ was (Exodus 8:21; Exodus 8:24), nor does it do any damage to the land (Exodus 8:24). It is therefore suggested that the plague was one of the kakerlaque, a kind of beetle, which is injurious to people, the furniture and fittings of houses, and the crops in the fields. It is in favor of the kakerlaque that, like all beetles, it was sacred and might not be destroyed, being emblematic of the sun-god, Ra, especially in his form of Khepra, or “the creator.” Egyptians were obliged to submit to such a plague without attempting to diminish it and would naturally view the infliction as a sign that the sun god was angry with them. They would also suffer grievously in person, for the kakerlaque “inflicts very painful bites with its jaws.” They would begin for the first time to observe property damage. The plague was thus—one of the kakerlaque—an enhancement of the previous plagues, and, if less disgusting than some others, was far more injurious.

It should be noted that the Egyptian magicians saw nothing more than the finger of God in the miracle which they could not imitate, that is to say, the work of some deity, possibly one of the gods of the Egyptians, and not the hand of Jehovah the God of the Hebrews. The latter had demanded the release of Israel.

A distinction was made in the plagues that followed between the Israelites and the Egyptians, and the former were exempted from the plagues: a fact sufficient to prove to anyone that they came from the God of Israel. To make this more apparent, the fourth and fifth plagues were merely announced by Moses to the king. These insects are described by Philo and many travelers as a very severe scourge. They are much more numerous and annoying than the gnats. When enraged, they fasten themselves upon the human body, primarily upon the edges of the eyelids, and become a dreadful pla?gue: a countless multitude, as in Exodus 10:14; Genesis 50:9, etc. These swarms were to fill "the houses of the Egyptians, and even the land upon which they (the Egyptians) were," i.e., that part of the land which was not occupied by houses; whilst the land of Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt, would be entirely spared. They were not brought on through the mediation of either himself or Aaron but were sent by Jehovah at the appointed time; no doubt for the simple purpose of precluding the king and his wise men from the excuse which unbelief might still suggest, viz. (namely; used to introduce a definition or explanation), that they were produced by the powerful incantations of Moses and Aaron.