Exodus 8:3
Hebrew Bible
1 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him, ‘This is what the Lord has said: “Release my people in order that they may serve me! 2 But if you refuse to release them, then I am going to plague all your territory with frogs. 3 The Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will come up and go into your house, in your bedroom, and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens and your kneading troughs. 4 Frogs will come up against you, your people, and all your servants.”’” 5 The Lord spoke to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Extend your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring the frog* up over the land of Egypt.’”
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (Final composition) (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Wisdom of Solomon 16:3
Deuterocanon
1 Therefore those people were deservedly punished through such creatures, and were tormented by a multitude of animals. 2 Instead of this punishment you showed kindness to your people, and you prepared quails to eat, a delicacy to satisfy the desire of appetite; 3 in order that those people, when they desired food, might lose the least remnant of appetite because of the odious creatures sent to them, while your people, after suffering want a short time, might partake of delicacies. 4 For it was necessary that upon those oppressors inescapable want should come, while to these others it was merely shown how their enemies were being tormented. 5 For when the terrible rage of wild animals came upon your people and they were being destroyed by the bites of writhing serpents, your wrath did not continue to the end;
Date: 100-50 B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
Source
Notes and References
"... Presumably the flooding of the Nile in the summer leaves standing pools of water. In the autumn, the result is the overbreeding of mosquitoes and massive numbers of insects that carry diseases. The book of Wisdom contrasts the insects that afflict the Egyptians with the quail that the Israelites are later given as food in the desert (Exodus 16:13; Wisdom of Solomon 15:18-16:2). At this point in the story, the magicians attempt to bring forth gnats (Exodus 8:18), adding a peculiar twist to the logic of the story. Why add further insects if insects are the problem? If the story possesses a certain logic, then one must presume that the magicians are meant to be depicted as perverse. They are not seeking to remedy the afflictions of their people but are worried about maintaining their religious power. In this situation, however, they are unable to compete. No matter how much technological prowess and human ingenuity advance, there are forces that transcend the human being. Recourse to God is always more rational, for God possesses incomprehensible power over creation in an infinitely higher and mysterious way, willing our true good ..."
White, Thomas Joseph
Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible: Exodus
(pp. 118-119) Brazos Press, 2016
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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