The Egyptian magicians’ response to the plague of frogs presents a scene of bitter irony. Instead of helping their king and healing the land, their actions only worsened the crisis. The primary approach among commentators is that the magicians attempted to imitate the miracle, but in doing so, they merely added another blow by summoning even more frogs. They completely failed to provide the actual solution Pharaoh desperately needed.
Opinions vary on exactly how the magicians achieved this. Some suggest it was merely an illusion. According to this view, the magicians did not create any frogs at all; they simply took advantage of the situation and walked alongside the frogs already emerging from the river, making it appear as though they had summoned them [מלבי״ם, אלשיך, רלב״ג]. Others explain that they used a deep understanding of nature, taking water containing frog eggs and artificially speeding up the hatching process [שד״ל]. Conversely, some believe they relied on secret spells and demonic forces [חזקוני], with ancient traditions even identifying these men as two famously known sorcerers in history [אם למקרא].
Despite their apparent success, the commentators emphasize the severe limits of the magicians' power. They managed to produce frogs only in a small basin of water brought directly before them, rather than replicating the plague on a national scale [אבן עזרא, טור הארוך, ביאור יש״ר]. Furthermore, they were only capable of moving existing frogs from place to place, completely lacking the ability to create a truly living, breathing creature [ספורנו, אלשיך]. Their limitations were also evident in the type of frogs they summoned; they could only bring forth the ordinary frogs found on the ground, failing to produce the superior frogs that had managed to penetrate Pharaoh’s own palace [העמק דבר].
A distinctly different perspective argues that it makes no logical sense for the magicians to intentionally add to their country's suffering. Instead, they actually tried to mimic the movements of the staff to stop the plague and drive the frogs away. However, their efforts completely backfired. Their actions achieved the exact opposite result, causing even greater swarms of frogs to rise up and cover the land [רש״ר הירש].
Ultimately, it was this utter helplessness of the magicians that broke Pharaoh's resolve. When he saw that his wise men were only making the disaster worse—boasting of their abilities yet entirely incapable of removing the frogs or restoring order—he finally understood the fundamental difference between them and Moses. Left with no other choice, Pharaoh was forced to call for Moses, begging him to pray to God to take the plague away [אבן עזרא, טור הארוך, אלשיך, ביאור יש״ר].