Charles Ellicott Commentary Exodus 8:20-21

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith Jehovah, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon they servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are." — Exodus 8:20-21 (ASV)

THE FOURTH PLAGUE.

There is, again, a doubt as to the nature of the fourth plague. In the original it is called the plague of “the ‘arób,” which is used throughout in the singular number. The Septuagint translates ha-’arob by “the dog-fly” (ή κυνόμυιά). The Jewish commentators connect the word with the root ‘ereb or ‘arab, and suppose it to designate either a mixed multitude of all kinds of wild beasts (Josephus and Jonathan), or a mixture of all sorts of insects (Aquila, etc.).

Modern commentators generally agree with the Septuagint that a definite species of animal—probably an insect—is meant, but doubt about the particular creature. The dog-fly, it is said (Musca canina), is not a pest in houses, as the ‘arób was (Exodus 8:21; Exodus 8:24), nor does it do any damage to the land (Exodus 8:24).

It is therefore suggested that the plague was really one of the kakerlaque, a kind of beetle, which is injurious both to people, to the furniture and fittings of houses, and to the crops in the fields. It is in favour of the kakerlaque that, like all beetles, it was sacred, and could not be destroyed, being emblematic of the sun-god, Ra, especially in his form of Khepra, or “the creator.” Egyptians were obliged to submit to such a plague without attempting to diminish it, and would naturally view the infliction as a sign that the sun-god was angry with them.

They would also suffer grievously in person, for the kakerlaque “inflicts very painful bites with its jaws” (Kalisch); and they would begin for the first time to suffer in their property, which neither the frogs nor the mosquitoes had damaged. The plague was thus—if one of the kakerlaque—an advance on previous plagues, and if less disgusting than some others, was far more injurious.

Early in the morning.— Compare Exodus 7:15; and on the early habits of an Egyptian king, see Herod. ii. 172.

He comes forth to the water.—It is conjectured that this was on the occasion of the great autumn festival, when, after the retirement of the Nile within its banks, and the scattering of the grain upon the fresh deposit of mud, the first blades of corn began to appear. It is not improbable that Khepra, “the creator,” was then especially worshipped.

Swarms of flies.—Hebrew, the ‘arôb. Compare “the frog” (Exodus 8:13), and “the mosquito” (ha-kinnim) in Exodus 8:17. On the species intended, see the comment on Exodus 8:20-21.