Exodus 8:21

21 And if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I send upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and upon your houses, the dog-fly; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with the dog-fly, even throughout the land upon which they are.

Exodus 8:21 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:21

Else, if thou wilt not let my people go
But remainest obstinate and inflexible:

behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee;
the word used is generally thought to signify a "mixture", and is interpreted by many a mixture of various creatures; the Targum of Jonathan paraphrases it a mixture of wild beasts, and so Josephus ^F11 understands it of all sorts of beasts, of many forms, and such as were never seen before; according to Jarchi, all sorts of evil beasts are meant, as serpents and scorpions, mixed together; and so Aben Ezra says it signifies evil beasts mixed together, as lions, wolves, bears, and leopards; but it is not likely the houses should be filled with these, or the ground covered with them, as after related: and besides, they would soon have destroyed, all the inhabitants of the land, since as it follows they are said to be upon them; rather a mixture of insects is intended; the Septuagint; version renders it the "dog fly", and so Philo the Jew ^F12; which, as Pliny ^F13 says, is very troublesome, to dogs especially, about their ears, and this version Bochart ^F14 approves of:

and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses;
they should be sent unto and settle first on his own person, and also on his ministers and courtiers, and upon all his subjects in general, and get into their houses, and be very troublesome guests there:

and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of the swarms of flies,
and also the ground whereon they are;
their number would be so very great.

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 14. sect. 3.
F12 De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 622.
F13 Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 34.
F14 Hierozoic. par. 2. l. 4. c. 15. col. 555.

Exodus 8:21 In-Context

19 So the charmers said to Pharao, This is the finger of God. But the heart of Pharao was hardened, and he hearkened not to them, as the Lord said.

20 And the Lord said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharao: and behold, he will go forth to the water, and thou shalt say to him, These things says the Lord: Send away my people, that they may serve me in the wilderness.

21 And if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I send upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and upon your houses, the dog-fly; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with the dog-fly, even throughout the land upon which they are.

22 and I will distinguish marvellously in that day the land of Gesem, on which my people dwell, in which the dog-fly shall not be: that thou mayest know that I am the Lord the God of all the earth.

23 And I will put a difference between my people and thy people, and on the morrow shall this be on the land. And the Lord did thus.