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[Null]

"And if thou wilt not let them go, behold, I will smite all thy country with frogs" What is the significance of frogs in this context? Why frogs of all things?

Hello again,

I decided to give Exodus a try. I am new to reading religious texts and the Geneva Bible is the first religious text I am beginning with. I was wondering why exactly were frogs specifically used in this situation? I read that the river turned to blood and frogs emerged from the river, occupying homes, land, and crawling on people.

Why would frogs be seen as such an issue? I understand the lice, I understand the river of blood, these things seem very clear cut and to the point. A river of blood stinks and kills the fish, and lice on humans and animals is an obvious issue, as are flies. But why frogs?

I hope I am not coming off as not taking the text seriously, I am just trying to understand it and I am having trouble wrapping my head around this part. Is there an explanation for this? Are frogs known for destroying crops or spreading disease? I was unaware of this if so.

Thank you in advance!

[jimwalton]

The plagues were, for the most part, a rebuke of the gods of Egypt and to show YHWH's superiority over the entire Egyptian pantheon. Heqet, the god of fertility and resurrection, was in the form of a frog (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heqet). John Walton writes,

"One idea that scholars put forward is that this plague is one more attack on Egyptian ideology, with the frog goddess Heqet as its particular target. Heqet was a giver of life. As the consort of Khnum, a creator god, she assisted in the creation of infants.

"Egyptians did not, however, associate every common frog with the goddess. If there is symbolic meaning in the account of this plague, it may simply be to point out the inability of Pharaoh and the Egyptian gods to maintain proper order. First the water is ruined, and now the frogs are out of control. The disorder is taking different forms."

Propp, in the Anchor Bible, writes,

"The multiplication of frogs may be a whimsical reflection of Egyptian attitudes towards the multiplying Israelites. In Egyptian literature, too, frogs symbolize spontaneous procreation. Heqet, the frog goddess of Antinoe, is associated with childbirth."

Notice that the Egyptian magicians could not remove the plague, but instead could only make it worse.