Essay sur L’Exode 8:12
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָה֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה֒ אֱמֹר֙ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֔ן נְטֵ֣ה אֶֽת־מַטְּךָ֔ וְהַ֖ךְ אֶת־עֲפַ֣ר הָאָ֑רֶץ וְהָיָ֥ה לְכִנִּ֖ם בְּכָל־אֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרָֽיִם׃
L’Éternel dit à Moïse "Parle ainsi à Aaron: ‘Étends ta verge et frappe la poussière de la terre, elle se changera en vermine dans tout le pays d’Égypte.’ "
The Five Books of Moses, by Everett Fox
With the third plague, the curse becomes more intimate, affecting the bodies of all living creatures in Egypt (cf. the refrain in vv.13–14, “on man and on beast”). The narrative uses the briefest plague formula here, without introduction or warning to Pharaoh. Yet it results in an Egyptian effort to end the siege, as the magicians term the plague “the finger of a god” (v.15).
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