Exodus 8:22

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.

Exodus 8:22 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:22

And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my
people dwell
Distinguish it from other parts of the land of Egypt:

that no swarms of flies shall be there;
which was a very wonderful thing, and so the word may be rendered. "I will marvellously sever or separate" ^F15, and so the Targum of Jonathan, "I will do wonders or miracles in that day": as they were to make such a difference in one part of the country from another, and so near as Goshen was to the place where Pharaoh lived, and to bound and limit such sort of creatures as flies, which move swiftly from place to place, and particularly to keep the land of Goshen clear of them; when, as Bishop Patrick observes, it was a country that abounded with cattle, whose dung is apt to breed flies:

to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the
earth;
he is God over all the earth, and rules as a King in the midst of it, and does whatsoever he pleases in it; see ( Psalms 74:12 ) and in the midst of the land of Goshen where his people dwelt, and over whom he was King in a peculiar manner, and took a peculiar care of them, to protect and defend them; and which must the more vex and distress the Egyptians, when they saw the Israelites clear of those plagues they were afflicted with.

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FOOTNOTES:

F15 (ytylphw) "faciamque mirabilem", V. L. "miraculose agam", Fagius; "marvellously sever", Ainsworth.

Exodus 8:22 In-Context

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.

24 And the dog-fly came in abundance into the houses of Pharao, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was destroyed by the dog-fly.