Exodus 8:19

19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is God's doing." But Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn't listen. Just as God had said. Strike Four: Flies

Exodus 8:19 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:19

Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of
God
This is to be ascribed to a power superior to human, to a divine power; so long as they could do something similar, or impose upon the senses of men, and make them believe they did the like, they would not acknowledge divine omnipotence; but when they no longer could deceive the sight of Pharaoh and the Egyptian, then they own the effects of a superior power: and this they did partly to detract from the power of Moses and Aaron, because they would not have them pass for more skilful persons in the magic art than themselves; and therefore suggest, that this was done not by virtue of any human skill and art, but by the power of the Supreme Being; and partly to detract from the honour of the God of Israel; for they do not say this is the finger of Jehovah, whom they accounted, as Dr. Lightfoot ^F7 observes, as a petty trivial god, but this is the finger of Elohim, the Supreme Deity. It is conjectured by some ^F8, that in memory of this plague the Egyptian priests scrape their whole bodies, lest there should be a louse or any unclean thing on them when they worship their gods, as Herodotus ^F9 relates:

and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them;
either not unto the magicians owning the hand of God, and his divine power in the plague inflicted; or to Moses and Aaron demanding the dismission of the people of Israel, which latter seems to be confirmed by the usual phrase, as follows,

as the Lord had said;
see ( Exodus 7:4 ) .

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FOOTNOTES:

F7 Ut supra. (Works, vol. 1. p. 705, 706.)
F8 Vid. Scheuchzer. Physica Sacra, vol. 1. p. 132.
F9 Euterpe, sive, l. 2. c. 37.

Exodus 8:19 In-Context

17 He did it. Aaron grabbed his staff and struck the dust of the Earth; it turned into gnats, gnats all over people and animals. All the dust of the Earth turned into gnats, gnats everywhere in Egypt.

18 The magicians tried to produce gnats with their incantations but this time they couldn't do it. There were gnats everywhere, all over people and animals.

19 The magicians said to Pharaoh, "This is God's doing." But Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn't listen. Just as God had said. Strike Four: Flies

20 God said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront Pharaoh as he goes down to the water. Tell him, 'God's Message: Release my people so they can worship me.

21 If you don't release my people, I'll release swarms of flies on you, your servants, your people, and your homes. The houses of the Egyptians and even the ground under their feet will be thick with flies.