תהלים, פרק ע״ח, פסוק מ״ה

A look back at the plagues of Egypt offers a unique perspective on the sheer power of the devastation and how different forces worked together to break an empire. The focus here falls specifically on the wild beasts and the frogs. The wild beasts were a terrifying mixture of various predatory animals [מצודת ציון], while the frogs represented a massive invasion of water creatures [רד״ק, מצודת ציון].

Noticeably, plagues like lice, boils, darkness, and pestilence are left out of this recounting. The reason is that people actually managed to survive those events; they were not completely wiped out by them [אבן עזרא]. Furthermore, the sequence of events shifts from the familiar historical record, placing the wild beasts before the frogs. Some commentators explain that this altered order is not a flaw, as the exact chronological sequence is already set in the Torah and does not need to be repeated [רד״ק]. Others suggest the wild beasts are mentioned first because their attack was far more cruel and severe than the frogs. Alternatively, it is possible that the frogs had already left the Egyptians in a state of total ruin before the wild beasts even arrived [אבן עזרא].

A clear distinction is drawn between how each plague inflicted its damage. While the wild beasts physically consumed the Egyptians, the frogs brought a different type of ruin. This ruin was a severe, agonizing blow to their physical bodies, bordering on life-threatening [ביאור שטיינזלץ], and specifically took the form of castration [רש״י].

This distinction reveals a fascinating picture of God's exact control over His anger and punishment. Even though the frogs invaded the very intestines of the Egyptians and had the full capacity to kill them, God held them back. He limited the frogs' power strictly to physical ruin and castration. God had planned a full series of ten plagues. If the frogs had killed the entire population early on, there would have been no one left for the wild beasts to consume. Thus, God first ruined the Egyptians with the frogs, fully knowing He would later unleash the wild beasts to devour them [אלשיך].