Bible Strands
Exodus 8:9
Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Moses addresses Pharaoh immediately after the frog plague, responding to Pharaoh’s demand to remove the frogs in exchange for releasing Israel. Moses defers to Pharaoh’s authority by asking him to choose the timing for the intercession.
The words — הִתְפָּאֵר (hit.pa.'Er) means "honor yourself" or "boast," and לְ/מָתַי (le./ma.Tai) translates to "to when?" Moses uses these terms to grant Pharaoh the prerogative of setting the schedule for the prayer.
The thread — The motif of divine supremacy over human authority recurs in Judges 7:2, 1 Kings 18:25, and Isaiah 10:15. These texts similarly address the limits of human power and the distinction between human action and divine control.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to recognize that intercession operates under God’s timing, not human negotiation. It demands acceptance that divine purpose, not political leverage, determines the outcome.
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 Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I intreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?
Cross-references
- Judges 7:2 Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many men for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’
- 1 Kings 18:25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Since you are so numerous, choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first. Then call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.”
- Isaiah 10:15 Does an axe raise itself above the one who swings it? Does a saw boast over him who saws with it? It would be like a rod waving the one who lifts it, or a staff lifting him who is not wood!