A well known amphibious animal, famous in connection with the plagues in Egypt, Ex 8:1-14. The magicians are said to have brought up frogs upon the land by their enchantments; but as they could not remove them, it is clear that they did not actually produce them. They penetrated everywhere-to the beds of the Egyptians, which were near the ground; and to their ovens, which were cavities in the ground.

(Heb tsepharde'a, meaning a "marsh-leaper"). This reptile is mentioned in the Old Testament only in connection with one of the plagues which fell on the land of Egypt (Ex 8:2-14; Ps 78:45; 105:30).

In the New Testament this word occurs only in Re 16:13, where it is referred to as a symbol of uncleanness. The only species of frog existing in Palestine is the green frog (Rana esculenta), the well-known edible frog of the Continent.

1. tsephard

This well-known reptile is very numerous in Palestine. It is only referred to in the O.T. in connection with the second of the plagues in Egypt. Ex 8:2-14; Ps 78:45; 105:30. In the N.T. three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet. Re 16:13. Frogs are remarkable for grovelling in the mire, with great noise and activity in the night.

Frog,

a well-known amphibious animal of the genus Rana. The mention of this reptile in the Old Testament is confined to the passage in

Ex 8:2-7

etc., in which the plague of frogs is described, and to

Ps 78:45; 105:30

In the New Testament the word occurs once only, in

Re 16:13

There is no question as to the animal meant. The only known species of frog which occurs at present in Egypt is the Rana esculenta, the edible frog of the continent.

FROG, ?????; Arabic, akurrak; Greek, ????????; Ex 8:2-14; Ps 78:45; 105:30; Re 16:13. When God plagued Pharaoh and his people, the river Nile, which was the object of great admiration to the Egyptians, was made to contribute to their punishment. "The river brought forth frogs abundantly:" but the circumstance of their coming up into the bed chambers, and into the ovens and kneading troughs, needs explanation to us, whose domestic apartments and economy are so different from those of the ancient nations. Their lodgings were not in upper stories, but in recesses on the ground floor; and their ovens were not like ours, built on the side of a chimney, and adjacent to a fireplace, where the glowing heat would frighten away the frogs, but they dug a hole in the ground, in which they placed an earthen pot, which having sufficiently heated, they stuck their cakes to the inside to be baked. To find such places full of frogs when they came to heat them in order to bake their bread, and to see frogs in the beds where they sought repose, must have been both disgusting and distressing in the extreme. Frogs were reckoned unclean by the Hebrews.