Frog

From BibleEncyclopedia.Net

(Heb. tsepharde'a, meaning a “marsh-leaper”). This reptile is mentioned in the Old Testament only in connection with one of the plagues which fell on the land of Egypt (Exodus 8:2-14; Psalms 78:45; Psalms 105:30).

In the New Testament this word occurs only in Revelation 16:13, where it is referred to as a symbol of uncleanness. The only species of frog existing in Palestine is the green frog (Rana esculenta), the well-known edible frog of the Continent.

(עפרדּע, cephardēa‛; compare Arabic ḍafda‛ (Exodus 8:2; Psalm 78:45; Psalm 105:30); βάτραχος, bátrachos (Revelation 16:13)):

The references in Psalms, as well as in Exodus, are to the plague of flogs. In Revelation 16:13 we have, “And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits, as it were frogs.” The word cephardēa‛ probably referred both to frogs and to toads, as does the Arabic ḍafda‛. In Palestine and Syria Rana esculenta, Bufo viridis and Hyla arborea are common. According to Mr. Michael J. Nicoll, assistant director of the Zoölogical Gardens at Gîzah, near Cairo, the commonest Egyptian species are Rana mascariensis and Bufo regularis. Rana esculenta, Bufo viridis and Bufo vittatus are also found, but are much less common.