Exodus 8:16-19

C. The gnats

Exodus 8:12-15 [Exodus 8:16-19]

12 [Exodus 8:16]And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice [gnats] throughout all the 13 [17]land of Egypt. And they did so; for [and] Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth [land], and it became lice [gnats] in [on] man, and in [on] beast; all the dust of the land became lice [gnats] 14 [18]throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments [secret arts] to bring forth lice [the gnats], but they could not: 15 [19]so [and] there were lice [gnats] upon man, and upon beast. Then [And] the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had said.

EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL

Exodus 8:12 [Exodus 8:16] seq. Gnats. כִּנִּם or כִּנִּים. Josephus, the Rabbins, [the A. V.], and Luther render: “lice.” The LXX., σκνῖφες; the Vulg., sciniphes. Very small, painfully stinging gnats, crawling on the skin, and even in the nose and ears. They are very abundant in Egypt. The dust marks the transition from the mire to the time of drought. The transformation of the dust into gnats is a symbolic act, like the transformation of water into blood. They come out of the dust, and fly around like the dust, too small to measure or to seize. Keil says: “The gnats come out of the eggs laid in the dust or ground by the preceding generation.… The miracle consists in both cases not in an immediate creation, but in the pre-announcement, and the corresponding sudden creative (?) generation and supernatural (?) increase of these animals.” Out of the eggs, and at the same time supernatural—this is discordant.

Exodus 8:14 [Exodus 8:18]. The scribes.חַרְטֻמִּים. Of the three forms of designation, מְבַשְּׁפִים sorcerers, חֲכָמִים wise men, and חַרְטֻמִּיםἱερογραμματεῖς, Egyptian scribes, attached to the court, interpreters of hieroglyphic writings, the chief one is here selected, making the expression of their impotence the stronger. They cannot imitate this miracle. Why not? Knobel says: Because, according to the writer’s view, this was a case involving the production of creatures. Keil: Because God’s omnipotence in the case of this miracle put a check upon the demoniacal forces which the sorcerers had employed. Strange that the characteristic mark of magic wonders is again continually overlooked. The agency of Satan consists in lying forces and signs and miracles. Satan, in all that he says (Matthew 40:4) is the liar. If we take Exodus 8:13 literally, we might say that Moses had already transformed all the dust of Egypt into gnats, and that hence there was no dust left for them to work miracles on. But it is more obvious to assume that in this case they found the deception harder, or rather, that they were seized with a religious terror, and now declared to Pharaoh that they could go with him no further, in order to induce him to retrace his steps. This seems to be implied in their declaration: “This is the finger of God.” According to Bochart this means: nos non cohibent Moses et Aaron, sed divina vis, ulrisque major. Keil adds: “If they had meant the God of Israel, יהוה would be used.” But did they know Jehovah? And did they not also, as Egyptian priests, refer all their doings to the influence of the Godhead? According to Kurtz, by “finger” they meant an indication [Fingerzeig], a warning of the Egyptian gods themselves. Keil, on the other hand, finds in the finger of God simply an expression of creative omnipotence, as in Psalms 8:4 [3]; Luke 11:20; Exodus 31:18. Yet the educating wisdom of God is emphasized, especially in Exodus 31:18. The recognition of the fact that God’s finger displayed itself is the prelude of the perception of His strong hand and His outstretched arm. Therefore the phrase cannot be intended to designate either the gods of Egypt, who could not possibly, in the mind of the priests, take part with Moses and Aaron, or the God of Israel according to the Egyptian notion of Him, but only the deity, as conceived by a general overpowering religious feeling.

Exodus 8:15 [Exodus 8:19]. Was hardened. Keil’s inference, “This punitive miracle, therefore, made on Pharaoh no impression,” obliterates the antithesis which the text brings out [viz., that although the magicians saw a divine hand in the miracle, yet Pharaoh remained obdurate].