The Third Plague: Gnats
Exodus 8:16-19
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Exo.8.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אל: NEG
- משה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- השכם: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- בבקר: PREP
- והתיצב: VERB,hitp,perf,3,m,sg
- לפני: PREP
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הנה: PART
- יוצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- המימה: NOUN,m,pl,def
- ואמרת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- אליו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ויעבדני: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,obj1
Parallels
- Exodus 7:15 (verbal): Same command-formula to go to Pharaoh and speak 'Thus says the LORD, Let my people go' — the opening instance of the demand that recurs through the plague narrative.
- Exodus 8:1 (verbal): Immediate parallel within the same chapter: a repeated injunction to tell Pharaoh 'Let my people go' as the frogs-plague sequence begins (same vocabulary and legal demand).
- Exodus 9:13 (structural): Reuses the ritual wording 'Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh' and the 'Thus says the LORD' demand before a later plague (hail), showing a recurrent prophetic performance pattern.
- Exodus 5:1 (thematic): Earlier proclamation by Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the LORD, Let my people go,' establishing the central theme/motive that drives the later plague confrontations.
Alternative generated candidates
- And YHWH said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and station yourself before Pharaoh; look, he is going out to the water, and you shall say to him, "Thus says YHWH: Send my people, that they may serve me."'
- And YHWH said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and station yourself before Pharaoh; behold, he is going out to the water; and say to him, "Thus says YHWH: Send my people, that they may serve me.
Exo.8.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- אינך: PART_NEG,2,m,sg
- משלח: VERB,piel,part,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- משליח: VERB,qal,part,1,m,sg
- בך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- ובעבדיך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff2
- ובעמך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+2,ms
- ובבתיך: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff2
- את: PRT,acc
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ומלאו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- בתי: NOUN,m,pl,cs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- וגם: CONJ
- האדמה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הם: PRON,personal,3,m,pl
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Exod.8:24 (structural): Same episode later in the narrative — a vivid report of the very swarm of flies being sent into Pharaoh’s house and all Egypt (direct narrative parallel to the threat in 8:17).
- Exod.8:21 (thematic): Immediate theological corollary within the plague sequence: God promises to distinguish Israel in the land of Goshen so that the swarms of flies will not afflict the Israelites (connects threat in 8:17 with divine protection for Israel).
- Ps.78:45 (allusion): Liturgical retelling of the Exodus plagues that explicitly mentions God sending 'swarms of flies' among the Egyptians — a poetic recounting of the same event and motif of divine judgment by swarms of flies.
- Ps.105:31 (verbal): Another psalmic summary of the Exodus plagues that uses near-verbatim imagery of God bringing swarms of flies and frogs against Egypt, echoing the language and judgment of Exod 8:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- For if you do not send my people, look, I am sending upon you, and upon your servants, and upon your people, and into your houses, swarms of flies; and the houses of Egypt shall be filled with swarms of flies, and even the ground on which they are.
- For if you do not send my people, behold, I am sending against you, and against your servants, and against your people, and into your houses, the swarms; and the houses of Egypt shall be filled with the swarms, and even the ground on which they are.
Exo.8.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והפליתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,m,sg
- ביום: PREP
- ההוא: DEM,ms,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גשן: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- עמד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עליה: PREP,3,f,sg
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- היות: NOUN,inf,abs
- שם: ADV
- ערב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- למען: PREP
- תדע: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בקרב: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 9:26 (thematic): Like Exod.8.18, this verse notes that the land of Goshen (where Israel lived) was spared during a plague (here the hail), emphasizing a divine distinction between Israel and Egypt.
- Exodus 10:23 (thematic): During the plague of darkness all Egyptians were affected while "all the Israelites had light in their dwellings," echoing the motif of God protecting/separating His people found in Exod.8.18.
- Exodus 12:13 (thematic): The Passover blood as a sign that causes the destroyer to 'pass over' Israel is another instance of God marking and protecting Israel from judgment—parallel to sparing Goshen from the flies.
- Psalm 78:45 (verbal): This psalm recounts the plague of flies sent against Egypt; it parallels Exod.8.18 by recalling the same type of plague and the narrative of God's judgments on Egypt.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will set apart on that day the land of Goshen, upon which my people stands, so that there will not be there swarms of flies, in order that you may know that I am YHWH in the midst of the land.
- But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that there will be no swarms there, in order that you may know that I am YHWH in the midst of the land.
Exo.8.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ושמתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- פדת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בין: PREP
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- ובין: CONJ+PREP
- עמך: NOUN,m,sg,suff-2m
- למחר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהיה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- האת: PRT,acc
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 8:22 (verbal): Same idea and near-verbatim formulation — God will set a division between my people and thy people (Goshen is spared) during the plague of flies.
- Exodus 9:4–6 (verbal): Repeats the language of making a distinction/division — here between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt during the plague on livestock.
- Exodus 12:12–13 (thematic): Passover functions as a sign/mark that distinguishes and protects Israel when the LORD passes through Egypt — a theme of divine separation and selective judgment.
- Exodus 11:7 (thematic): Describes the LORD's selective action in the final plague, emphasizing that no harm would come to Israel while Egypt suffers — another statement of divine distinction.
- Deuteronomy 7:6 (thematic): Frames Israel's identity as a people set apart and chosen by God — the broader theological background for passages that speak of God ‘putting a division’ between peoples.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will set a distinction between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign will be.
- And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; tomorrow this sign will be."'
And YHWH said to Moses, 'Rise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh; behold, he is going out to the water; and you shall say to him, "Thus says YHWH: Send my people, that they may serve me."
For if you do not send my people, behold, I am sending against you and against your servants and against your people and against your houses the swarms; and the houses of Egypt will be filled with the swarms, and also the ground on which they are. And I will set apart on that day the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that there will be no swarms there, in order that you may know that I am YHWH in the midst of the land. And I will set a distinction between my people and your people; tomorrow this sign will be.'