FLY (זְבוּב, H2279, fly all Eng. VSS; עָרֹב, H6856, swarms of flies, Exod 8:21ff. all Eng. VSS; divers sorts of flies, Ps 78:45 and Ps 105:31 KJV; and swarms of flies ASV, RSV).

The latter Heb. word refers to one incident only—the fourth plague. In popular language the word fly is about as widely used as worm. Technically it is applied to members of the order Diptera (two-winged) which are true flies, but it is given to many other insects also—Dragonfly, Firefly, Sawfly, etc. Flies of many kinds abound in Egypt; some of them are biting and blood-sucking, and become a pest because of their numbers. There is nothing in the context to identify the kind, or perhaps kinds, of flies concerned, but the fact that the flies were on the people suggests that they may have been biting flies such as Stochomys calcitrans. Commentators like Hort and K. A. Kitchen (NBD, p. 1002) see a connection between the fourth and sixth plagues, with the fly serving as the vector for a skin disease, perhaps a modified form of the anthrax that struck the cattle in the fifth plague.

Apart from being used in association with Baal (q.v.) Heb. zebub is found only twice. In Ecclesiastes 10:1 the context is proverbial: most ointments were scented with spices and other perfumes, and unless covered they attracted flies, which quickly drowned in the greasy base, causing it to spoil (see Bee).