And in that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, in which My people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there, in order that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the land.
Parallel translations
- WEB I will set apart in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end you may know that I am Yahweh on the earth.
- KJV And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
- BSB But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I, the LORD, am in the land.
- NASB But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where My people are living, so that no swarms of flies will be there, in order that you may know that I, the Lord, am in the midst of the land.
- NLT But this time I will spare the region of Goshen, where my people live. No flies will be found there. Then you will know that I am the Lord and that I am present even in the heart of your land.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will spare Goshen, where Israel lives, so Pharaoh will know Yahweh rules the earth. The distinction reveals God's sovereign care for His people.
Overview
For the first time the text highlights that God will shield His people's region from the plague, marking a clear separation between Israel and Egypt. This selective judgment proves that Yahweh is Lord 'on the earth,' present and active, not a distant or local deity. The protection of God's people in the midst of judgment beautifully foreshadows the gospel, in which those who belong to Christ are sheltered from the wrath to come.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Exod 9:4Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt; and nothing shall die of all that belongs to the children of Israel.”’”
- Mal 3:18Then you shall return and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him who serves God and him who doesn’t serve him.
- Exod 10:23They didn’t see one another, and nobody rose from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
- Exod 9:6Yahweh did that thing on the next day; and all the livestock of Egypt died, but of the livestock of the children of Israel, not one died.
- Ezek 30:19Thus will I execute judgments on Egypt; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ps 110:2Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
- Exod 12:13The blood shall be to you for a token on the houses where you are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be on you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.
- Exod 11:6–7There shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as there has not been, nor shall be any more.
- Exod 7:17Yahweh says, “In this you shall know that I am Yahweh. Behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
- Exod 9:29Moses said to him, “As soon as I have gone out of the city, I will spread abroad my hands to Yahweh. The thunders shall cease, and there will not be any more hail; that you may know that the earth is Yahweh’s.
- Exod 9:26Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel were, there was no hail.
- Exod 8:10He said, “Tomorrow.” He said, “Be it according to your word, that you may know that there is no one like Yahweh our God.
- Ps 74:12Yet God is my King of old, working salvation throughout the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Passover lamb whose blood turns away death, the exodus through the sea, the manna, the rock, and the tabernacle where God dwells with his people all foreshadow Jesus — our Passover, our redemption, the bread from heaven, and God-with-us in the flesh.
How Exodus 8:22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.