Read Exodus 8 at Bible Gateway.
Then the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew hard, and he did not heed them, as YHVH had said. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this. Exo 7:22-23
Because Pharaoh did not repent, and let the children of Israel go, but hardened his heart, God increased His wonders over Egypt with more plagues.
The Hebrew paragraphs in this chapter:
8:1-15 {s} The plague of frogs, and the magicians did also
8:16-19 {s} The plague of lice, and the magicians could not do also
8:20-32 {p} The plague of flies, and no flies in Goshen
Exo 8:1-15 {s} introduced the second plague of frogs, which judged the frog goddess of Egypt. It was duplicated by the magicians, but could not be removed by the magicians. But when the frogs were removed, Pharaoh hardened his heart (v. 15).
Exo 8:16-19 {s} introduced the third plague of gnats, which judged the earth god of Egypt, as the plague came from the dust of the earth. It could not be duplicated by the magicians. When the gnats were removed, Pharaoh again hardened his heart (v. 19).
Exo 8:20-32 {p} introduced the fourth plague of flies, which judged the insect god of Egypt. God made a distinction between Egypt, or the people of the Egyptian gods, and Goshen, or the people of YHVH, as there were no flies in Goshen.
And YHVH did according to the word of Moses; He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people. Not one remained. But Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also; neither would he let the people go. Exo 8:31-32
8:1-32 {sx2+p} Strong Theme: YHVH shows Himself greater than the gods or magicians of Egypt (frogs, gnats, flies)
Why This Matters: In each of these plagues, YHVH increases His glory over the gods and magicians of Egypt. Each plague increases inconvenience to the Egyptians, but no harm comes to them. They are warning plagues teaching a people who do not know Him, who YHVH is (Exo 5:2).
If there are questions, these are a good resources:
Ten Egyptian Plagues for Ten Egyptian Gods and Goddesses
It’s Only Natural – Bodie Hodge, Answers in Genesis (Were the Egyptian plagues natural phenomena events?)
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