Exodus 8:3

3 The Nile will overflow with frogs. They'll get into your palace, into your bedroom and onto your bed, into your officials' houses, and among all your people, and even into your ovens and bread pans.

Exodus 8:3 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:3

And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly
The river Nile; and though water, and watery places, naturally produce these creatures, yet not in such vast quantities as to cover a whole country, and so large an one as Egypt, and this done at once, immediately; for they were all produced instantaneously, and in one day were spread all over the nation, and removed the next: and besides what follows is equally miraculous,

which shall go up and come into thine house;
which though they may come up out of rivers, and be upon the banks and the meadows adjacent, yet are never known to come into houses, and especially into bedchambers and other places after mentioned, being not a bold but timorous creature, and shuns the sight and company of men; but these came even into the royal palace, nor could his guards keep them out:

and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed;
and by their leaping upon him, and croaking in his ears, disturb his rest:

and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people
both nobles and common people, and not only get into their houses, but upon their persons, on their hands when about their business, on their laps, and into their bosoms, as they sat; which must be very offensive and troublesome to them, what with their ugly shape, croaking noise and filthy smell, and the disagreeable touch of them, leaping on them, and even upon their food, and all vessels used for the same, which must make it very nauseous and distasteful to them:

and into thy ovens;
where they baked their bread, and would be now hindered from the use of them:

and into thy kneadingtroughs;
where they kneaded their dough, and made it into loaves, and prepared it for the oven; or the "dough" F18 itself, which they leaped upon and licked, and made it loathsome for use.


FOOTNOTES:

F18 (Kytwravmb) "in tuas pastas", Pagninus; "in farinam tuam aquis conspersam", Tigurine version; "in reliquiis ciborum tuorum", V. L.

Exodus 8:3 In-Context

1 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and tell him: This is what the LORD says: Let my people go so that they can worship me.
2 If you refuse to let them go, then I'll send a plague of frogs over your whole country.
3 The Nile will overflow with frogs. They'll get into your palace, into your bedroom and onto your bed, into your officials' houses, and among all your people, and even into your ovens and bread pans.
4 The frogs will crawl up on you, your people, and all your officials."
5 And the LORD said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your shepherd's rod over the rivers, the canals, and the marshes, and make the frogs crawl up all over the land of Egypt.'"
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible