Bible Strands
Exodus 8:14
They were piled into countless heaps, and there was a terrible stench in the land.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrative describes the immediate aftermath of Moses' prayer, marking the moment the dead frogs are left behind before Pharaoh observes the relief and hardens his heart.
The words — The verb וַ/יִּצְבְּר֥וּ (va/i.yitz.be.Ru) literally means "and they piled up," while וַ/תִּבְאַ֖שׁ (va./tiv.'Ash) translates to "and it stank."
The thread — This sequence of mass death and foul odor repeats in Exodus 7:21 when the Nile's fish perish and the water becomes undrinkable, and in Exodus 8:24 with the influx of swarming flies.
Why it lands — The text states that the frogs were piled into heaps and the land reeked before noting Pharaoh's response, requiring a reader to acknowledge that divine action produces immediate, physical consequences that precede human reaction.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And they gathered them together upon heaps: and the land stank.
Cross-references
- Exodus 7:21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 8:24 And the LORD did so. Thick swarms of flies poured into Pharaoh’s palace and into the houses of his officials. Throughout Egypt the land was ruined by swarms of flies.
- Isaiah 34:2 The LORD is angry with all the nations and furious with all their armies. He will devote them to destruction; He will give them over to slaughter.
- Ezekiel 39:11 And on that day I will give Gog a burial place in Israel, the Valley of the Travelers, east of the Sea. It will block those who travel through, because Gog and all his hordes will be buried there. So it will be called the Valley of Hamon-gog.
- Joel 2:20 The northern army I will drive away from you, banishing it to a barren and desolate land, its front ranks into the Eastern Sea, and its rear guard into the Western Sea. And its stench will rise; its foul odor will ascend. For He has done great things.