Frog

Frog is central to the second plague brought upon Egypt: at the command of the LORD, the waters swarm with frogs that spread through homes and daily spaces. Their arrival prompts Pharaoh to ask Moses and Aaron for relief and to promise release, but the respite that follows does not end his refusal.

The Plague’s Arrival

The LORD instructs Moses to warn Pharaoh that refusal to release the Israelites will bring frogs throughout Egypt. Aaron then stretches out his hand over the rivers, canals, and pools, and frogs come up to cover the land.

The threatened invasion is described in intimate domestic terms: frogs enter houses, bedchambers, and beds, as well as servants’ quarters, ovens, and kneading-troughs. The plague carries the disturbance from the water into the ordinary spaces of Egyptian life.

Pharaoh’s Appeal and the Plague’s End

Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and asks them to entreat the LORD to remove the frogs. He pledges that the Israelites may go and sacrifice to the LORD. Moses asks when he should intercede; Pharaoh answers, “Against to-morrow,” giving Moses an occasion to show that the frogs’ removal follows his appeal to the LORD.

Moses cries out to the LORD concerning the frogs, and the LORD acts according to Moses’ word. The frogs die in the houses, courts, and fields; the Egyptians gather them into heaps, and the land is left in a foul condition. When Pharaoh sees that there is respite, however, he hardens his heart and does not heed Moses and Aaron.

Narrative Significance

The episode makes the frogs both the material force of the plague and the measure of Pharaoh’s response. Their presence elicits a promise of release; their removal brings relief, but not compliance. The sequence—affliction, appeal, intercession, respite, and renewed refusal—shows that the temporary concession does not resolve the confrontation between Pharaoh and the LORD.