Encyclopedia entry
Fly
Heb. zebub, (Eccl. 10:1; Isa. 7:18). This fly was so grievous a pest that the Phoenicians invoked against it the aid of their god Baal-zebub (q.v.). The prophet Isaiah (7:18) alludes to some poisonous fly which was believed to be found on the confines of Egypt, and which would be called by the Lord. Poisonous flies exist in many parts of Africa, for instance, the different kinds of tsetse.
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Heb. ‘arob, the name given to the insects sent as a plague on the land of Egypt (Ex. 8:21-31; Ps. 78:45; 105:31). The LXX. render this by a word which means the “dog-fly,” the cynomuia. The Jewish commentators regarded the Hebrew word here as connected with the word ’arab, which means “mingled;” and they accordingly supposed the plague to consist of a mixed multitude of animals, beasts, reptiles, and insects. But there is no doubt that “the ’arab“ denotes a single definite species. Some interpreters regard it as the Blatta orientalis, the cockroach, a species of beetle. These insects “inflict very painful bites with their jaws; gnaw and destroy clothes, household furniture, leather, and articles of every kind, and either consume or render unavailable all eatables.”
In the Bible
25
Verses where Fly is named. Berean Standard Bible (public domain).
- 1 Samuel 15:19
So why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you rush upon the plunder and do evil in the sight of the LORD?”
- 2 Samuel 22:11
He mounted a cherub and flew; He soared on the wings of the wind.
- Daniel 9:21
while I was still praying, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
- Exodus 8:31
and the LORD did as Moses requested. He removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh and his officials and his people; not one fly remained.
- Ezekiel 13:20
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: See, I am against the magic charms with which you ensnare souls like birds, and I will tear them from your arms. So I will free the souls you have ensnared like birds.
- Genesis 1:20
And God said, “Let the waters teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth in the open expanse of the sky.”
+19 more verses naming Fly.
Scripture on Fly
27
Entries that reference Fly
1
Voices on Fly
9
Surfaced by name match — accuracy varies by title clarity.
Sources · Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Public-domain text. Modernized only where archaic spelling impedes reading; original facts preserved. Verify against an authoritative modern reference before quoting.