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 Holiday Central > Passover > The Ten Plagues > Frogs

The Second Plague: Frogs  מכת צפרדע
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 וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, בֹּא אֶל-פַּרְעֹה; וְאָמַרְתָּ אֵלָיו, כֹּה אָמַר ה', שַׁלַּח אֶת-עַמִּי, וְיַעַבְדֻנִי. וְאִם-מָאֵן אַתָּה, לְשַׁלֵּחַ:  הִנֵּה אָנֹכִי, נֹגֵף אֶת-כָּל-גְּבוּלְךָ--בַּצְפַרְדְּעִים. וְשָׁרַץ הַיְאֹר, צְפַרְדְּעִים, וְעָלוּ וּבָאוּ בְּבֵיתֶךָ, וּבַחֲדַר מִשְׁכָּבְךָ וְעַל-מִטָּתֶךָ; וּבְבֵית עֲבָדֶיךָ וּבְעַמֶּךָ, וּבְתַנּוּרֶיךָ וּבְמִשְׁאֲרוֹתֶיך. וּבְכָה וּבְעַמְּךָ, וּבְכָל-עֲבָדֶיךָ--יַעֲלוּ, הַצְפַרְדְּעִים
       שמות ז: כ"ו-כ"ט --   

And the LORD spoke unto Moses: 'Go in unto Pharaoh, and say unto him: Thus saith the LORD: Let My people go, that they may serve Me: And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: And the river shall swarm with frogs, which shall go up and come into thy house, and into thy bed-chamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading-troughs: And the frogs shall come up both upon thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.
-- Exodus 7: 26-29

The Plague:
The presence of the frogs would not have been unusual around the Nile, however, during the plague the frogs were ubiquitous. Everywhere they looked, in every drawer, in the beds, in the pantries, or the bathrooms. There was no escaping them. Interestingly, Pharaoh's sorcerers were able to duplicate this plague with their magic. However, they were unable to remove it.

Why frogs?
Moses believed in One God. The Egyptians had multiple deities. The frog was considered the theophany of the goddess Heqt, the wife of the creator of the world and the goddess of birth. Heqt was always shown with the head and body of a frog. Egyptian women wore Amulets and scarabs with the image of Heqt to protect them during childbirth. Frogs were so sacred in Egypt that even the involuntary slaughter of one was often punishable by death. And now, Pharaoh had to recognize the fact that the frog avalanche was not a natural occurrence, and thus recognize the existence of the almighty God. The God of Israel.

Additionally, we see a "Measure for Measure" here too.  Like the Egyptian masters that exerted their power and invaded every aspect of their Jewish slaves' lives, stripping them of privacy that lends to dignity, so did the frogs invaded every aspect of the Egyptians' lives, crowding them relentlessly everywhere they went.

Again, Pharaoh relented, and promised to let the Israelites leave once the plague is eliminated. But once the frogs were removed, Pharaoh's heart hardened and the release reversed.

The Ten Plagues of Egypt: Information and more
   Ten Plagues of Egypt, an Overview
    
Plague of Blood (דָם): Ex. 7:14–25
   Plague of Frogs (צְּפַרְדֵּעַ): Ex. 7:25–8:11
   Plague of Lice (כינים): : Ex. 8:16–19
   Plague of Wild Animals / Swarm of Flies (עָרוֹב): Ex. 8:20–32
     Plague of Livestock Death (דֶּבֶר): Ex. 9:1–7
    Plague of Boils (שְׁחִין): Ex. 9:8–12
   Plague of Hail (בָּרָד): Ex. 9:13–35
   Plague of Locusts (אַרְבֶּה): Ex. 10:1–20
   Plague of Darkness (חוֹשֶך): Ex. 10:21–29
    Death of the Firstborn (מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת): Ex. 11:1–12:36

The Ten Plagues of Egypt - a Passover (Pesach) brings you much more about the holiday, its meaning and its traditions... See the links below.


 


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