שמות, פרק ח׳, פסוק כ״ז

Following Moses's prayer, God responds by completely removing the plague of wild animals from the land of Egypt. The narrative first outlines God's general acceptance of the request before detailing exactly how the relief was carried out [קאסוטו]. Rather than being forcefully driven away, the swarm of beasts simply turned and left on their own accord [אבן עזרא, ביאור יש"ר, אבי עזר].

There is a sharp contrast between how this plague ended and the conclusion of the plague of frogs. When the frogs were stopped, they died where they were, piling up and creating a foul stench to increase the suffering of the Egyptians. The wild animals, however, did not die. Instead, they retreated alive to their natural habitats. The primary purpose of the plagues was to punish the Egyptians, not to provide them with any advantage. Had the beasts perished in Egypt, the people would have benefited from harvesting the valuable furs and hides of creatures like wolves and foxes to make clothing. To prevent them from gaining any profit, God ensured the animals departed while still alive [רש"י, רבנו בחיי, תולדות יצחק, צאינה וראינה]. This explains why the account specifically highlights the physical departure of the animals rather than their death. While Moses's initial prayer for the plague to end could have been fulfilled by the creatures dying, God deliberately orchestrated a physical relocation [גור אריה, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים].

Another perspective links this difference in outcome to the concept of self-sacrifice. During the earlier plague, the only frogs that survived were those that willingly jumped into burning ovens to fulfill God's command, while the rest died. Since the wild animals did not perform any act of self-sacrifice, they were simply sent back to their original homes rather than dying [כלי יקר].

The complete disappearance of the animals was absolute. The Egyptians actually tried to capture and hold onto some of the beasts by force, hoping to exploit them for their valuable skins, but God thwarted their efforts [מלבי"ם]. The departure was so thorough that it even included previously domesticated Egyptian livestock. During the plague, some of the local tame animals had turned feral and joined the wild swarm. The Egyptians hoped they could at least retain these originally domesticated animals once the punishment ended. However, these creatures fully retained their newly wild nature and left entirely with the rest of the swarm, leaving the Egyptians with absolutely nothing [העמק דבר].