The Fourth Plague: Flies
Exodus 8:20-32
Exo.8.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כן: ADV
- ויבא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- ערב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כבד: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ביתה: NOUN,m,sg,suff-3,f,sg
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ובית: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,cs
- עבדיו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3ms
- ובכל: CONJ+PREP
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תשחת: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- מפני: PREP
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Exod.8.16-19 (structural): Immediate parallel in the plague sequence: the previous plague (gnats/lice) follows the same pattern (command, miracle, magicians' failure) and prepares the narrative context for the subsequent plague of flies in v.20.
- Exod.7.14-24 (thematic): First plague (water to blood) shares the same theological pattern—God striking all Egypt, affecting Pharaoh’s house and the land—showing a repeated motif of divine judgment on Egypt.
- Exod.10.4-15 (thematic): The later plague of locusts likewise devastates “all the land of Egypt” and intensifies the pattern of national devastation and Pharaoh’s subsequent hardening and negotiation, paralleling the scope and purpose of the plague of flies.
- Ps.78:45 (quotation): The psalmist recounts the Exodus plagues, explicitly mentioning God sending “swarms of flies” among the Egyptians; this is a direct allusion to the same divine acts described in Exodus 8:20.
Alternative generated candidates
- And YHWH did so; and heavy swarms came into the house of Pharaoh, and into the house of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was ruined because of the swarms.
- And YHWH did so, and the swarms came, heavy, into the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants, and in all the land of Egypt the land was ruined because of the swarms.
Exo.8.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויקרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אל: NEG
- משה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולאהרן: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לכו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- זבחו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- לאלהיכם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+2,m,pl
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 10:8-11 (verbal): Pharaoh again summons Moses and Aaron and permits them to 'go, serve the LORD' in the land (with conditions). Close verbal and situational parallel—Pharaoh granting permission for Israelite worship while restricting their movements.
- Exodus 5:1 (thematic): Moses and Aaron's original demand: 'Let my people go that they may hold a feast unto the LORD in the wilderness.' Sets the theological and narrative context for Pharaoh's later concession to allow Israel to sacrifice.
- Exodus 9:27-28 (structural): After the plague of hail Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron, acknowledges his sin and asks for intercession—a recurrent motif of Pharaoh calling the leaders and responding to divine judgment, similar to his calling in 8:21.
- Deuteronomy 12:5-7 (allusion): The later law prescribes a single place 'which the LORD shall choose' for sacrifices, contrasting with Pharaoh's offer to let Israel 'sacrifice to your God in the land' and highlighting differing loci of legitimate worship in Israelite tradition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Pharaoh called to Moses and to Aaron and said, 'Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.'
- And Pharaoh called to Moses and to Aaron and said, 'Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.'
Exo.8.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- נכון: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- לעשות: VERB,qal,inf
- כן: ADV
- כי: CONJ
- תועבת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נזבח: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,sg,def+PRON,1,pl
- הן: PART
- נזבח: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- תועבת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לעיניהם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יסקלנו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl+obj:1,pl
Parallels
- Leviticus 18:3 (verbal): Uses the same language and concern about adopting the 'abominations' of Egypt—prohibits doing as the Egyptians did, echoing the phrase 'abominations of Egypt.'
- Deuteronomy 7:25-26 (verbal): Commands burning carved images and not bringing abominations into one's house—parallels Moses' refusal to treat Egyptian idols as acceptable objects for worship or sacrifice.
- Judges 6:25-27 (structural): Gideon tears down an altar to Baal and builds an altar to Yahweh but does so cautiously (by night) because of fear of the townspeople—parallel concern that openly using others' idols risks violent reaction.
- 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 (thematic): Paul warns that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons, not God, and urges separation from idol worship—theological parallel to rejecting use of 'abominations' for Yahweh.
- Acts 15:20 (thematic): The Jerusalem Council enjoins Gentile believers to abstain from things sacrificed to idols—relates to handling objects associated with pagan worship and communal propriety.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Moses said, 'It is not right to do so, for we would sacrifice to YHWH our God what is an abomination to the Egyptians; look, if we sacrifice what is an abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?'
- But Moses said, 'It is not right to do so, for we would be sacrificing what is detestable to the Egyptians to YHWH our God. Look—if we sacrifice what is detestable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?'
Exo.8.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- דרך: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- שלשת: NUM,m,pl,abs
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נלך: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- וזבחנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,sg,def+PRON,1,pl
- כאשר: CONJ
- יאמר: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- אלינו: PREP+PRON,1,pl
Parallels
- Exod.5:3 (verbal): Moses' earlier demand to Pharaoh: 'Let us go a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God' — essentially the same wording and request.
- Exod.8:25 (quotation): Pharaoh's response in the same episode: he offers (reluctantly) that the Israelites may 'go, sacrifice to the LORD your God in the land' — directly tied to the wilderness‑sacrifice negotiation.
- Lev.17:3–4 (thematic): Law forbidding slaughtering animals for sacrifice outside the tent of meeting; thematically contrasts the earlier impulse to sacrifice wherever convenient (e.g., in the wilderness) with later centralized sacrificial regulation.
- Deut.12:11 (thematic): Command to bring offerings to 'the place that the LORD will choose' for worship and sacrifice — thematically related as a later development governing where Israel may rightly offer sacrifices.
Alternative generated candidates
- A three days' journey we will go into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to YHWH our God as he tells us.
- 'We will go a three days' journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to YHWH our God as he tells us.'
Exo.8.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- אשלח: VERB,qal,imperf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- וזבחתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רק: PRT
- הרחק: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- תרחיקו: VERB,qal,imprf,2,m,pl
- ללכת: VERB,qal,inf
- העתירו: VERB,hiph,impv,2,pl
- בעדי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
Parallels
- Exod.10:8-11 (verbal): After the locust plague Pharaoh again tells Moses and Aaron to go and sacrifice to the LORD but adds the caveat not to go too far — language and intent closely mirror 8:24.
- Exod.9:27-29 (thematic): Pharaoh summons Moses and asks him to pray to the LORD to remove the hail, admits his sin and permits the Israelites to go worship — parallels the motif of Pharaoh granting leave and requesting intercession.
- Exod.12:31-32 (structural): At the final plague Pharaoh urgently orders Israel to leave and serve the LORD, a climactic counterpart to earlier, more reluctant permissions such as in 8:24.
- Exod.5:1 (thematic): Moses' initial demand that Pharaoh let the people go to hold a festival to the LORD in the wilderness sets the narrative goal that Pharaoh's later permissions (e.g., 8:24) respond to or complicate.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Pharaoh said, 'I myself will send you, and you shall sacrifice to YHWH your God in the wilderness; only do not go far away; entreat for me.'
- And Pharaoh said, 'I will send you, and you shall sacrifice to YHWH your God in the wilderness; only do not go very far away. Entreat for me.'
Exo.8.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- משה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנה: PART
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- יוצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מעמך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- והעתרתי: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וסר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מפרעה: PREP+NOUN,proper,m,sg,abs
- מעבדיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- ומעמו: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- מחר: ADV
- רק: PRT
- אל: NEG
- יסף: VERB,qal,juss,3,m,sg
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- התל: VERB,hithpael,perf,3,m,sg
- לבלתי: PART,neg
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לזבח: PREP+VERB,qal,infc
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Exodus 8:20–24 (verbal): Same episode and wording — Moses announces he will go out and entreat the LORD to remove the swarm and warns Pharaoh not to refuse to let the people go to sacrifice; immediate parallel in structure and content.
- Exodus 5:1 (thematic): Moses and Aaron’s initial demand to Pharaoh — 'Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto the LORD' — matches the recurring goal in 8:25 of releasing the people to sacrifice to Yahweh.
- Exodus 10:17 (verbal): After the locust plague Pharaoh pleads with Moses to entreat the LORD to remove the disaster and agrees to let the people go — parallels the pattern of Moses praying to stop a plague and the connection between plagues and the demand to release the people for worship.
- Exodus 9:28–29 (thematic): Pharaoh’s admission of sin and his entreaty for Moses/Israel to intercede to end a plague echoes the dynamic in 8:25: Moses (or Pharaoh) appeals to Yahweh to remove calamity tied to the issue of Israel’s release.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Moses said, 'Behold, I am going out from you, and I will entreat YHWH, and the swarms will turn aside from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh again deal deceitfully by not sending the people to sacrifice to YHWH.'
- And Moses said, 'Behold, I am going out from you, and I will entreat YHWH, and the swarms will turn away from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people tomorrow; only let not Pharaoh again deal deceitfully by not sending the people to sacrifice to YHWH.'
Exo.8.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויצא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- משה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מעם: PREP
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויעתר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אל: NEG
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exod.8:29 (verbal): Near-identical refrain: after negotiating with Pharaoh about the plague (flies), “Moses went out from Pharaoh and cried/entreated the LORD,” showing the same sequence of petitioning Pharaoh then praying to Yahweh.
- Exod.9:33 (verbal): A repeated formula after the hail-plague episode — Moses leaves Pharaoh and again entreates the LORD to remove the judgment, a verbal and structural parallel in the plagues narrative.
- Exod.32:11–14 (thematic): Moses’ role as intercessor: here he pleads with God to relent from destroying Israel after the golden calf, thematically parallel to Moses praying for relief from a plague.
- Num.14:13–20 (thematic): Another major example of Moses’ intercession on Israel’s behalf (after the spies’ report); thematically parallels the Exodus instances where Moses petitions God to stay judgment.
- Ps.106:23 (allusion): A later poetic reflection on Moses’ mediatorial role — the psalm credits Moses with standing in the breach to turn away God’s wrath, alluding to episodes like Exodus where Moses prays for Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated YHWH.
- And Moses went out from Pharaoh and entreated YHWH.
Exo.8.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויעש: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויסר: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- הערב: NOUN,m,sg,def
- מפרעה: PREP+NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מעבדיו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs+SUFF,3,m,sg
- ומעמו: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUFF,3,m,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- נשאר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 8:22 (thematic): God distinguishes between Egyptians and Israelites (protecting Goshen); parallels the targeted removal of the plague from Pharaoh’s household while it affected Egypt.
- Exodus 8:19 (verbal): The Egyptian magicians recognize divine agency (‘the finger of God’)—connects with the statement that ‘the LORD did as Moses said,’ highlighting God’s direct intervention through Moses.
- Exodus 9:6 (thematic): Another plague where judgment falls on Egypt’s livestock while Israel is spared (‘but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one’), paralleling the selective nature of the affliction/removal here.
- Psalm 78:45–51 (allusion): The psalm recounts the plagues on Egypt (flies, pestilence, hail, etc.) and God’s acts of judgment/rescue—literary recollection of the same events and their selective effect on Egypt versus Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- And YHWH did according to the word of Moses, and the swarms departed from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.
- And YHWH did according to the word of Moses, and he removed the swarms from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained.
Exo.8.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויכבד: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
- פרעה: NOUN,m,sg,def
- את: PRT,acc
- לבו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- בפעם: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הזאת: DEM,f,sg,def
- ולא: CONJ
- שלח: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- העם: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Exod.8:15 (verbal): After the plague of gnats, Pharaoh "hardened his heart"—same verbal motif and immediate narrative parallel to 8:28's hardening and refusal.
- Exod.5:2 (thematic): Pharaoh's earlier categorical refusal — "I do not know the LORD... I will not let Israel go" — thematically matches the refusal in 8:28.
- Exod.9:12 (allusion): Here the text states that the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart and he would not listen, paralleling 8:28's hardened heart but emphasizing divine agency.
- Exod.14:4 (structural): God declares he will harden Pharaoh's heart so he will pursue Israel, showing how hardening functions structurally in the deliverance narrative (leads to confrontation and salvation).
- Rom.9:17-18 (thematic): Paul cites Pharaoh's hardening to illustrate divine sovereignty in election — reuses Exodus motif (raised up Pharaoh, hardened) for theological exposition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And Pharaoh made his heart heavy also this time, and he did not send the people.
- And Pharaoh made his heart heavy even this time, and he did not send the people.
And YHWH did so; and there came heavy swarms into the house of Pharaoh and into the house of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was ruined because of the swarms. And Pharaoh called to Moses and to Aaron and said, 'Go, sacrifice to your God in the land.' And Moses said, 'It is not right to do so, for we would sacrifice to YHWH our God what is an abomination to Egypt; behold, if we sacrifice the abomination of Egypt before their eyes, will they not stone us?'
'A three days' journey we will go into the wilderness, and we will sacrifice to YHWH our God as he tells us.' And Pharaoh said, 'I myself will send you, and you will sacrifice to YHWH your God in the wilderness; only do not go far away; entreat for me.' And Moses said, 'Behold, I am going out from you, and I will entreat YHWH, and the swarms will turn aside from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people, tomorrow; only do not let Pharaoh again deal deceitfully by not sending the people to sacrifice to YHWH.' And Moses went out from Pharaoh, and he entreated YHWH. And YHWH did according to the word of Moses, and the swarms turned aside from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; not one remained. And Pharaoh hardened his heart also this time, and he did not send the people.