THE PLAGUE OF FROGS (EXODUS 8:8-10)

Most studies of the Ten Plagues of Egypt center in on details such as the number of literary sources involved in its composition, the symbolic references to Egyptian gods and goddesses represented by each plague, or a scientific explanation for each of the ten events. My own interest lies in the literary interplay seen between a repeated sequence of happenings (pointing to God's hand behind the pattern) and the variety of details that distinguish each plague from the others (indicating the historical underpinnings of the text).

Thus, in the case of the second plague, my interest was drawn not to nature of the plague itself but to the subsequent conversation between Pharaoh and Moses which ensued. If you recall the story, Pharaoh summons Moses and Aaron and asks them to pray to God to remove the frogs. If they will do that, Pharaoh agrees to let the people go. Moses then asks when Pharaoh would like him to pray, and Pharaoh answers, “Tomorrow.” I have always thought that Pharaoh's reply was one of the least understandable statements in the whole Bible.

The stage is set by a small opening word in Exodus 8:8 translated by “behold,” “then,” or “and.” And actually, most modern translations leave it out entirely. By all accounts, it is an innocuous word that doesn't really convey any important meaning. However, Durham interprets it to mean “now concerned,” expressing the idea that Pharaoh is highly upset about the presence of frogs everywhere and realizes that he needs to do something about the situation immediately. Durham is probably correct in his reasoning, as most commentators agree. However, in the absence of any real information as to Pharaoh's mindset at this point in the story, alternative explanations are still possible.

Thus, we come to Knight's unique read on this text. He explains, “Pharaoh clearly has his tongue in his cheek when he begs Moses to 'entreat the Lord to take away the frogs'. After all, this event was no real 'wonder'. Frogs were often a nuisance in Egypt.” So according to Knight's view, Pharaoh brings Moses and Aaron in as a sort of joke and humors them just to see what excuses they can come up with. Without being there at the time to look for tell-tale body language signs and to hear the exact tone of the words, it is impossible to judge the possibility of Knight's thesis. However, it is definitely in the minority among scholarly opinions.

Going on with the story, the next controversial point is in regard to the opening response Moses makes to Pharaoh's request in v. 9. Childs translates it as “Take the advantage over me of commanding [the time],” and Propp suggests either “Assume honor” or “Take control.” Durham labels Moses' words as “mock-deference.” Cole offers the literal translation “Glorify yourself” and adds, “This might be construed as a polite gesture to the ruler. It will also be a clear sign that the plague was both sent and removed by God. The thought of the 'timing of God' is thus emphasized even more.” C.J. Collins prefers this last understanding in saying that “Moses invites Pharaoh to honor himself over Moses by setting a time for relief from the plague of frogs.”

Other renderings of the beginning of v. 9 include “Take this chance to get the better of me” (Jerusalem Bible), “I leave to you the honor of setting the time” (NIV), and “Be so kind as to tell me.” (Living Bible) Childs appears to lean toward the Jerusalem Bible understanding (or vice versa) when he says, “Moses accepts a handicap [only one day], giving Pharaoh the advantage, to show him how much power is at his disposal.”

Basically, Moses is offering Pharaoh every opportunity possible to save face under the circumstances. If the frogs are miraculously removed, Pharaoh can always take the credit for it by saying that he was the one who commanded it and that he even set the exact time for the miracle to take place. But we will see that at each progression through the various plagues, whatever grace is extended to the Egyptian ruler only serves to harden his heart even more.

Then we get to the really intriguing point in the story. When Pharaoh is asked to set a time for the removal of the pests, he replies “tomorrow.” Several possible explanations have been given for this strange delay. One simple solution is to do as Konkel does, translate Pharaoh's reply as “By tomorrow.” This would mean “as soon as possible, but no later than tomorrow morning.” But that exact nuance of meaning is not really required by the Hebrew text.

Since Knight feels that Pharaoh is still quite dubious that the frogs are caused by any supernatural force, his explanation for the timing of “tomorrow” makes a lot of sense. “It is possible that Pharaoh is so sure that the plague of frogs arises from merely natural causes that he believes he can wait for another twenty four hours before having to bow to Moses, hoping the problem will just go away.” Durham cites Knight's explanation and then dismisses it out of hand without any reason given for his opinion.

Both Gunn and Cassuto feel that for Pharaoh to have said “Immediately” would have been to ask the impossible. Perhaps the Egyptian pattern for invoking the gods would have been an elaborate process taking some time for proper preparation ahead of time, and Pharaoh assumed that approaching Yahweh would take a similar delay. Again, Durham cites this possibility and discards it without discussion.

Durham's own explanation seems to be quite similar to the above, but he appears to read too much information into the text. He says, “Perhaps the specification of such a time is intended to show Pharaoh's skepticism...'Tomorrow' would allow Moses ample time to prepare for such a special prayer, but no time to plan and carry out any trickery.”

Propp asks, “Why the delay?...'tomorrow' is both a concession...and a demand. In other words, Pharaoh's lack of faith unnecessarily prolongs his suffering. D. Kirsch (privately), however, more plausibly cites Pharaonic bravado: so as not to appear desperate, he casually answers, 'Oh, tomorrow would be fine.'” I tend to like this last view.

After the frogs are killed off, Pharaoh goes back on his agreement and refuses to let the Jews go. He probably thinks that he has tricked Moses, but God has the last laugh. The text tells us that instead of having the frogs hop back into the Nile as Pharaoh had probably expected, God simply has them die wherever they are, and so Pharaoh and the Egyptians are left with a powerful olfactory reminder of God's might for some time to come.