Frog

Frogs appear in Scripture primarily in two contexts: the second plague of Egypt and the apocalyptic imagery of Revelation. The Hebrew tsepharde'a (meaning "marsh-leaper") refers to the common frog of the Nile Valley, Rana esculenta, which bred in enormous numbers along the river and its marshes. The second plague brought frogs up out of the Nile in such numbers that they covered the land, entered houses, bedrooms, and food storage, and died in heaps — their putrefaction adding to Egypt's distress (Exodus 8:2–14; Psalms 78:45; 105:30). The irony of the plague is often noted: in Egyptian religion, the frog-headed goddess Heqet was associated with fertility and childbirth — the very creatures Egypt venerated became the instrument of divine judgment.

The book of Revelation (16:13) describes three unclean spirits like frogs coming out of the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet — demonic spirits performing signs that go out to the kings of the earth to gather them for the battle of Armageddon. The frog image connects the eschatological scene with the Egyptian plague tradition, depicting the final opposition to God as spiritually defiling and reminiscent of the judgments on God's enemies in the exodus.