Ex 8:20-32. PLAGUE OF FLIES.
20-24. Rise up early . . . Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water, &c.--Pharaoh still appearing obdurate, Moses was ordered to meet him while walking on the banks of the Nile and repeat his request for the liberation of Israel, threatening in case of continued refusal to cover every house from the palace to the cottage with swarms of flies--while, as a proof of the power that accomplished this judgment, the land of Goshen should be exempted from the calamity. The appeal was equally vain as before, and the predicted evil overtook the country in the form of what was not "flies," such as we are accustomed to, but divers sorts of flies (Ps 78:45), the gad fly, the cockroach, the Egyptian beetle, for all these are mentioned by different writers. They are very destructive, some of them inflicting severe bites on animals, others destroying clothes, books, plants, every thing. The worship of flies, particularly of the beetle, was a prominent part of the religion of the ancient Egyptians. The employment of these winged deities to chastise them must have been painful and humiliating to the Egyptians while it must at the same time have strengthened the faith of the Israelites in the God of their fathers as the only object of worship.
JFB.
Outline
1 Frogs are sent
8 Pharaoh asks Moses to entreat the Lord for their removal
12 Moses' prayer answered
16 The dust is turned into lice, which the magicians could not
do
20 The swarms of flies
25 Pharaoh inclines to let the people go
32 but again is hardened.
Ancient Customs
thy borders
frogs
the river
bedchamber
bed
magicians
enchantments
flies
abomination of the Egyptians
Quick Reference Map
Map of the Nile River and Egypt
(Click to Enlarge)
Painting of the Ancient Nile River by Roberts
Ancient Topics
only ye shall not go very far away
Ancient People
God, Moses, Pharaoh, Aaron
Egyptians
children of Israel
Hebrews
Geography
Egypt
thy borders
the land of Goshen
three days' journey into the wilderness
Quick Reference Maps
The Old Testament
Exodus Resources
Moses
and the Exodus
The Giving of the Law
The
Tabernacle
The Wilderness Wanderings