CHAPTER 8 Feb.2 
The Plague of Frogs
Yahweh spoke to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh, and tell him, This is what Yahweh says, ‘Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 2If you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your borders with frogs: 3and the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into your house, and into your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the house of your servants, and on your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading troughs: 4and the frogs shall come up both on you, and on your people, and on all your servants’. 5Yahweh said to Moses, Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the pools, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt’. 6Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt. 7The magicians did the same thing with their enchantments, and brought up frogs on the land of Egypt. 8Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat Yahweh, that He take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may sacrifice to Yahweh. 9Moses said to Pharaoh, I give you the honour of setting the time that I should pray for you, and for your servants, and for your people, that the frogs be destroyed from you and your houses, and remain in the river only. 10He said, Tomorrow. He said, Be it according to your word, that you may know that there is none like Yahweh our God. 11The frogs shall depart from you, and from your houses, and from your servants, and from your people. They shall remain in the river only. 12Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried to Yahweh concerning the frogs which He had brought on Pharaoh. 13Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died out of the houses, out of the courts, and out of the fields. 14They gathered them together in heaps, and the land stank. 15But when Pharaoh saw that there was a respite, he hardened his heart, and didn’t listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
The Plague of Lice
16Yahweh said to Moses, Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod, and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt’. 17They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were lice on man, and on animal; all the dust of the earth became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. 18The magicians tried with their enchantments to produce lice, but they couldn’t. There were lice on man, and on animal. 19Then the magicians said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.
The Plague of Beetles
20Yahweh said to Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; behold, he comes out to the water; and tell him, ‘This is what Yahweh says, Let My people go, that they may serve Me. 21Else, if you will not let My people go, behold, I will send swarms of beetles on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and into your houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of beetles, and also the ground whereon they are. 22I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of beetles shall be there; to the end you may know that I am Yahweh in the midst of the earth. 23I will put a division between My people and your people: by tomorrow shall this sign be’. 24Yahweh did so; and there came grievous swarms of beetles into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses: and in all the land of Egypt the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of beetles. 25Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go, sacrifice to your God within the land! 26Moses said, It isn’t appropriate to do so; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to Yahweh our God. Behold, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and won’t they stone us? 27We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness, and sacrifice to Yahweh our God, as He shall command us. 28Pharaoh said, I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to Yahweh your God in the wilderness, only you shall not go very far away. Pray for me. 29Moses said, Behold, I go out from you, and I will pray to Yahweh that the swarms of beetles may depart from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only don’t let Pharaoh deal deceitfully any more in not letting the people go to sacrifice to Yahweh. 30Moses went out from Pharaoh, and prayed to Yahweh. 31Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and He removed the swarms of beetles from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. There remained not one. 32Pharaoh hardened his heart this time also, and he didn’t let the people go.

Commentary

8:9 Was such sarcasm appropriate? We have ‘the Truth’ in comparison to the unbelieving world, but this is by grace alone, and no sense of superiority, arrogance or sarcasm should ever feature in our witness to them.
8:13 According to the word of Moses- The requests of prayer become almost a command to God if we really believe they are according to His will; by His grace, we will ask what we will and He will do it for us (Jn. 16:23). The Greek there implies a superior asking an inferior to do something. This is an essay in the humility of God. We shall decree a thing (in prayer) and it shall be established unto us (Job 22:28).
8:16 The plagues were judgments against the gods of Egypt, whom Israel had likely come to believe in (12:12; 15:11). This plague targeted Seb, god of the dust of the earth; as the flies had mocked Hekot, the goddess of magic who had a frog’s head, and the Nile turning to blood showed the effective death of Hapi, the god of the spirit of the Nile.
8:21 Ra and the forerunner of Beelzebub were likened to beetles; much pagan Egyptian jewellery featured beetles.
8:22 Initially, God’s people suffered the effects of the earlier plagues. But they didn’t experience the later plagues. The plagues on Egypt are alluded to in the descriptions of the latter day judgments to come upon the earth just before Christ returns. It could be that the same will happen- those who are alive at that time may suffer the effects of the initial judgments, and then be somehow preserved as Israel were (Is. 26:20).
To the end- God’s desire was to save even Pharaoh. We should never give up on seeking to convert anyone.
8:25 Within the land- Comparing :27, it required three days journey for God’s people to leave Egypt. It’s likely that we are to see here a reference to the three days Christ remained dead, before resurrecting to enable God’s people to leave Egypt [the world] and embark for His Kingdom.
8:28 Pray for me sounds as if there might have been some recognition of Yahweh forming within Pharaoh. Hence God and Moses were seeking his repentance and even salvation, and the drawn out process of the plagues was part of that seeking, even though the more he hardened his heart against his spiritual possibilities, the more God had to confirm him in this.