Psalmen 78:45

45 Hij zond een vermenging van ongedierte onder hen, dat hen verteerde, en vorsen, die hen verdierven.

Psalmen 78:45 Meaning and Commentary

Psalms 78:45

He sent divers sorts of flies among them
This was the fourth plague; see ( Exodus 8:24 Exodus 8:25 ) , the word signifies a "mixture" ^F6, and the Targum renders it

``a mixture of wild beasts;''

so Josephus ^F7 understood this plague of various sorts of beasts of different forms, and such as had never been seen before. Aben Ezra, on ( Exodus 8:24 ) interprets it of evil beasts mixed together, as lions, wolves, bears, and leopards; and Jarchi, on the same place, of serpents and scorpions: the Syriac and Arabic versions here, following the Septuagint, render the word "dog flies"; so called because they were, as Pliny ^F8 says, very troublesome to dogs, and so might give the Egyptians greater uneasiness, because they worshipped dogs. God can make use of very mean and contemptible instruments, the least of insects, to plague and distress the most powerful enemies of his people;

which devoured them;
corrupted their land, ( Exodus 8:24 ) , perhaps produced a pestilence, which destroyed many of the inhabitants, or consumed the vegetables of the land; as but a few years ago ^F5, in New England, a sort of insects came out of little holes in the ground, in the form of maggots, and turned to flies, which for the space of two hundred miles poisoned and destroyed all the trees in the country ^F9:

and frogs, which destroyed them;
with their stench; see ( Exodus 8:5 Exodus 8:6 ) , with this plague compare ( Revelation 16:13 ) , this was the second plague.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F5 This was written about 1750. Editor.
F6 (bre) "mixtionem", Montanus; "miscellam", Vatablus; "a mixed swarm", Ainsworth.
F7 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 14. sect. 3.
F8 Nat. Hist. l. 11. c. 34.
F9 See Philosoph. Transact. vol. 2. p. 766. See also p. 781.

Psalmen 78:45 In-Context

43 Hoe Hij Zijn tekenen stelde in Egypte, en Zijn wonderheden in het veld van Zoan;

44 En hun vloeden in bloed veranderde, en hun stromen, opdat zij niet zouden drinken.

45 Hij zond een vermenging van ongedierte onder hen, dat hen verteerde, en vorsen, die hen verdierven.

46 En Hij gaf hun gewas den kruidworm, en hun arbeid den sprinkhaan.

47 Hij doodde hun wijnstok door den hagel, en hun wilde vijgebomen door vurigen hagelsteen.