Глава 8

1–14. The second plague is the extermination of toads, its severity. 15–19. The third plague is the appearance of midges. 20–32. The fourth plague is dog flies. Ex.8:1. And the Lord said to Moses, Go to Pharaoh and say to him, Thus says the Lord: Let My people go, that they may serve Me; Ex.8:2. If you do not agree to let go, then behold, I am striking your whole region with frogs; Ex.8:3. and the river will swarm with frogs, and they will come out and enter into your house, and into your bedroom, and into your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls, Ex.8:4. and frogs shall come upon you, and upon your people, and upon all your servants. Ex.8:5. And the Lord said to Moses: Say to Aaron [your brother], stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the streams and over the lakes, and bring out the frogs in the land of Egypt. Ex.8:6. Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt [and brought out frogs]; and frogs came out and covered the land of Egypt. The second plague consisted in the appearance, by the will of God, of a huge number of toads (Heb. zephardea) from rivers, streams and lakes. The Hebrew "zephardea" is derived either from the Hebrew verb "zaphar", which means "to jump", and the Arabic word meaning "swamp", so that according to this derivation "zephardea" means "jumping in a swamp", or from the Arabic word - "dofda" meaning "swollen mass". In addition, in the ancient Egyptian language they indicate the word “zephedt”, which is similar in meaning and style to the Hebrew “zephardea”, which was used to designate a snake and at the same time was the generic name of reptiles. Common both for Egypt, in the period after the recession of the waters, and for other areas, for example, Gaul, the appearance of toads in this case bears the features of a miraculous supernatural phenomenon: • a huge number of toads appeared at a completely unusual time for Egypt, and suddenly, with one wave of the rod of Moses; • contrary to their habits and natural way of life, toads rushed into houses, people, household utensils, penetrated beds, stoves and even kneaders; harmless in themselves, became, by the will of God, an instrument of punishment for His enemies; • died and disappeared just as instantly as they appeared instantly. Ex.8:7. The [Egyptian] wise men did the same with their spells and brought frogs to the land of Egypt. The imitation of the Magi by Moses, which resulted in the multiplication of frogs, increased the power of the execution. Ex.8:8. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said: Pray [for me] to the Lord, that He may remove the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people of Israel sacrifice to the Lord. The inability of the magicians to rid the country of toads, which evoked a feeling of disgust in the clean Egyptians, led the pharaoh to the idea that this execution was carried out by God and, because of this, only He could stop it. Hence the request to Moses and Aaron: “pray [for me] to the Lord.” Ex.8:9. Moses said to Pharaoh: Appoint me yourself when to pray for you, for your servants and for your people, so that the frogs disappear from you [your people] from your houses, and remain only in the river. Ex.8:10. He said: tomorrow. Moses answered: It will be done according to your word, so that you may know that there is no one like the Lord our God; Ex.8:11. and the frogs shall be removed from you, from your houses [and from the fields], and from your servants, and from your people; only in the river will they remain. By allowing Pharaoh to set the time for the end of the execution, Moses tries to support the idea that has arisen in his soul that the disaster that has befallen is the work of God, its occurrence and its cessation depend solely on the will of God. God can, by His omnipotence, drive out the frogs at any moment appointed by Pharaoh. Ex.8:12. Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to the Lord about the frogs that He had brought against Pharaoh. Ex.8:13. And the Lord did according to the word of Moses: the frogs died out in the houses, in the courtyards and in the fields [their]; Ex.8:14. and they gathered them into heaps, and the earth stank. The end of the execution, the exact fulfillment of Pharaoh’s wishes, should have convinced him of the truth of the words of Moses: “there is none like the Lord our God” (v. 10). Ex.8:15. And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he hardened his heart and did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken. The thought of the Author of the disaster, before whose will one should bow, was caused in the pharaoh by the severity of the disaster, the execution. With its cessation, she also disappeared. “According to the hearts of people,” says Blessed Augustine, “God’s mercy leads some to repentance, others arms against Him, strengthens them in evil.” Ex.8:16. And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the ground, and [there will be gnats on the people and on the cattle and on Pharaoh and in his house and on his servants, all the dust of the ground] will become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt. Ex.8:17. So they did: Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the ground, and midges appeared on people and on livestock. All the dust of the earth became midges throughout the whole land of Egypt. The third plague consisted of the appearance from the ground, at the blow of a rod, of many “kinnim,” according to the LXX translation, “sknips.” According to Philo and Origen, shared by many interpreters, these were midges, mosquitoes, a common scourge of Egypt during the flood. According to Josephus, the testimony of the Samaritan, Syrian and Arab Pentateuch, the Targum Onkelos, and the view of some scientists who agree with him - Buxtorf, Buddeus, "kinnim" refers to lice. The greatest certainty of this latter understanding is confirmed by the following data. “Kinnim,” according to the biblical narrative, come out of the dust of the ground, while mosquitoes appear “out of water”: regarding mosquitoes, it cannot be said that they “appeared on people and on livestock” (v. 17); Finally, in the Talmud the word “kinna” means “louse.” The reading of the LXX – “σκνῖφες” does not contradict this understanding. The use of this expression by the ancient Greek authors - Theophrastus, Aetius, Aristophanes - shows that this term means grass louse, worms, and fleas. Ex.8:18. The Magi also tried to produce midges with their spells, but they could not. And there were midges on people and livestock. Ex.8:19. And the wise men said to Pharaoh: This is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken. The powerlessness of the magicians, the universal human powerlessness to call a new creature into existence, was expressed most clearly in the words: “this is the finger of God,” a work of the highest divine power (Ps. 8:4). The supernatural nature of the third plague, recognized by the Magi themselves, is visible from its origin, the cause of which was the blow of Aaron’s rod, as well as its volume: all the dust turned into lice, not a single part of the country was free from them (v. 17, Ps. 105:31). Ex.8:20. And the Lord said to Moses, “Rise early tomorrow and appear before Pharaoh.” Behold, he will go to the water, and you say to him: Thus says the Lord: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me [in the wilderness]; Ex.8:21. But if you do not let My people go, then behold, I will send swarms of flies on you, and on your servants, and on your people, and on your houses, and the houses of the Egyptians will be filled with swarms of flies, and the very land where they live; Pharaoh’s reluctance to release the Jews brought a new disaster to Egypt, expressed in the appearance of special living creatures, called in the Hebrew text the word “ars”, and in the LXX “κυνόμυια” (dog flies). Deriving the expression “arov” from the Hebrew verb “arav” - “to mix”, Josephus, and after him the ancient Jewish commentators and later rabbis, understood it to mean the mixing of various animals and insects. Aquila, who is followed by Blessed Jerome, understands by “ars” only flies of various kinds. But if, like Furst, we derive “ars” from the Arabic “arab” - “to grab”, “to sting”, and “ars” will mean “stinging”, then such a production, completely consistent with the words of Art. 45. Ps. 77: “God sent insects against them (the Egyptians) to sting them” (Ps. 77:45, Wis. 16:9), will indicate “ars” not as flies in general, but as flies that produce a strong bite. This is how the LXX translators looked at the matter, rendering the Hebrew “arov” with the expression “κυνόμυια” - “dog flies” and thereby making it clear that they meant by “arov” a certain genus of flies. The understanding of the LXX is also recognized by the newest exegetes - Buddey, Keil, Dilman. According to Philo, the insect that served as the instrument of the fourth plague combined the properties of flies and dogs and was distinguished by its ferocity and persistence. From a distance, like an arrow, it rushed towards a person or animal and, rapidly attacking, dug its sting into the body and seemed to stick to it. The abundance of flies in Egypt, attested by ancient and modern travelers, which is also hinted at by the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 7:18), makes it possible to assume that the instrument of the fourth plague was a natural phenomenon that, by the will of God, took on a supernatural character. The latter is revealed both in the onset and end of the disaster according to the word of Moses (vv. 20–21, 31), and in the liberation from it of the place of residence of the Jews - the land of Goshen. Ex.8:22. And in that day I will separate the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, and there will be no swarms of flies there, so that you may know that I am the Lord [God] in the midst of [all] the earth; Ex.8:23. I will make a division between My people and your people. Tomorrow there will be this sign [on earth]. The liberation of the land of Goshen from execution was supposed to indicate to Pharaoh the absolute, not recognized by him, power of the God of Israel. He destroys Egypt, His power over this country is irremovable by human efforts (v. 25), and at the same time spares His people, He is the sovereign national God, as was previously indicated to the king. If, with the defeat of both Egypt and Goshen by a new plague, Pharaoh might have thought that there was nothing special about it, then, on the contrary, during the division between the Egyptians and Israel (v. 23), Jehovah appeared precisely as the God of “the whole earth” (v. 22). Ex.8:24. So the Lord did: a multitude of dog flies flew into the house of the Pharaohs, and into the houses of his servants, and into the whole land of Egypt: the land perished from the dog flies. Ex.8:25. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said: Go, sacrifice to [the Lord] your God in this land. Ex.8:26. But Moses said: this cannot be done, for our sacrifice to the Lord our God is disgusting for the Egyptians: if we begin to offer a sacrifice disgusting for the Egyptians in their eyes, will they not stone us? Ex.8:27. We will go into the wilderness, a three-day journey, and we will sacrifice to the Lord our God, as [the Lord] tells us. The impossibility of the Jews to fulfill the proposal of Pharaoh: “Go, offer a sacrifice to your God in this land” is explained by the fact that the sacrifice, being disgusting for the Egyptians, will arouse their religious fanaticism, they will stone the Jews. According to the Syriac translation of Peshito, Targum Onkelos, as well as some exegetes, the fanaticism of the Egyptians could be caused by the sacrifice of animals by the Jews that were considered sacred in Egypt and the slaughter of which, as a sacrilegious deed, required retribution according to the Egyptians. According to others (Lange), a feeling of disgust could be caused not only by the choice of animals, but by the entire Jewish cult, as a foreign cult. An indication of this is given in the words: “Jehovah our God.” The sacrifice is disgusting in view of the fact that it is offered to an unknown God, not revered in Egypt. Ex.8:28. And Pharaoh said: I will let you go to sacrifice to the Lord your God in the wilderness, but do not go far; pray for me [to the Lord]. Pharaoh's consent to the removal of the Jews turns out to be not voluntary, but forced. By giving it, he is afraid of losing his free workers: “don’t go far.” You might be interested in: