Exodus 8:24

24 The LORD did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Par`oh, and into his servants' houses: and in all the land of Mitzrayim the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

Exodus 8:24 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 8:24

And the Lord did so
And this he did immediately of himself without any means; not by the rod of Aaron, to let the Egyptians see that there was nothing in that rod, that it had no magic virtue in it, and what was done by it was from the Lord himself, who could as well inflict plagues without it as with it; see ( Psalms 105:31 ) and there came a grievous swarm of flies; or a "heavy" ^F17 one, which was both very numerous, and very troublesome and distressing:

into the house of Pharaoh, and into the houses of his servants, and
into all the land of Egypt:
into the palace of Pharaoh, and into the palaces of his nobles, ministers, and courtiers, and into the dwelling places of all his subjects, throughout the whole land, excepting the land of Goshen:

the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies;
Josephus

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FOOTNOTES:

F18 says, the land lay neglected and uncultivated by the husbandmen; it may be, the air was infected by the flies, which produced a pestilence that took off many of the inhabitants; so among the Eleans, as Pliny ^F19 reports, a multitude of flies produced a pestilence; however, it is certain many of the inhabitants of Egypt perished by them; they might sting them to death, suck their blood, and poison them with their envenomed stings; see ( Psalms 78:45 ) .

F17 (dbk) "gravis", Montanus, "gravissime", V. L.
F18 Ut supra. (Antiqu. l. 2. c. 14. sect. 3.)
F19 Nat. Hist. l. 10. c. 28.

Exodus 8:24 In-Context

22 I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end you may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the eretz.

23 I will put a division between my people and your people: by tomorrow shall this sign be."'"

24 The LORD did so; and there came grievous swarms of flies into the house of Par`oh, and into his servants' houses: and in all the land of Mitzrayim the land was corrupted by reason of the swarms of flies.

25 Par`oh called for Moshe and for Aharon, and said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land!"

26 Moshe said, "It isn't appropriate to do so; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Mitzrim to the LORD our God. Behold, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Mitzrim before their eyes, and won't they stone us?