Exodus 8:2

2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs.

Exodus 8:2 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:2

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 with frogs:
fill the whole land of Egypt with them, to the utmost borders thereof on every side. Some ^F17 say the word signifies a large Egyptian fish, which in the Arabic tongue is called Altamsach, that is, a crocodile, with which the Nile abounded; but such a creature could not invade and attack them in the manner as is after related.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 R. Chananeel apud Abendana, and some in Aben Ezra in Ioc.

Exodus 8:2 In-Context

1 Then the Lord said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the Lord says: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.

2 But if you refuse to let them go, then I will plague all your territory with frogs.

3 The Nile will swarm with frogs; they will come up and go into your palace, into your bedroom and on your bed, into the houses of your officials and your people, and into your ovens and kneading bowls.

4 The frogs will come up on you, your people, and all your officials."

5 The Lord then said to Moses, "Tell Aaron: Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, canals, and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt."