Psalms Chapter 8 Verse 2

From the King James translation: "Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."

The numbers "8" and "2" continually appear together in Magnolia.

Cigarettes and Red Vines has identified (with screen captures) 21 visual instances of the numbers "8" and "2" together.

These are obvious references to Exodus Chapter 8 Verse 2 -- which promises a plague of frogs. Four of the instances cited in Cigarettes and Red Vines explicitly reference Exodus 8:2.

But there is another possible biblical reference in the film. The movie's themes of childhood wisdom and childhood innocence are also consistent with Psalms Chapter 8 Verse 2. Donnie Smith references the book of Psalms while in the bar bathroom.

The Web site Exodus 8:2 lists more references than Cigarettes and Red Vines. Those that are not Exodus-specific are reproduced here as they appear on that Web site:

  • "In the first story, the hanging victim is wearing the number 82.
  • "In the second story, the pilot is in a red plane marked 82.
  • "The pilot is then seen playing blackjack in Vegas. He needs a 2. He gets an 8.
  • "In the third story, the sign shows the meeting started at 8:20.
  • "When Sydney Barringer is preparing to jump off his building. The ropes to the left of him are coiled as an 8 and a 2.
  • "March 23rd, the day that Sydney jumps, is the 82nd day of that year.
  • "Downstairs, we enter the home of the Barringer's, who have live at apartment number 682.
  • "When Sydney is loading his gun, the hands on the clock right behind him are on the 8 and the 2.
  • "The "Seduce and Destroy" number is 1.877.826.3437 (or 1.877.TAME.HER]. ...
  • "The clock on the wall during police officer Jim Kurring's (John C. Reilly) briefing reads 8:02.
  • "Kurring's personals ad voice box number is 82.
  • "A sequence shows Jimmy Gator has 8 television Emmys and 2 kids.
  • "An onscreen title states there is an 82% chance of rain.
  • "Jimmy Gator informs the audience that the kids team are heading into their 8th week and there are 2 days and 2 games left until they beat the record.
  • "When Marcie is taken to jail, the number for her photos is made up entirely of 8s, 2s and 0s.
  • "During his "Seduce and Destroy" seminar, Frank T.J. Mackey (Tom Cruise) mistakenly says go to 18 in the blue book (form a tragedy) when he's going through his own tragedy. He corrects himself and says go to the white books, page 23. 1(8 2)3
  • "Claudia's main apartment building address is #12601.
  • "Claudia wants to go on a date at 8, however Jim doesn't get off till 2 hours later.
  • "In the bar, there is an 8 and a 2 handwritten in blue on a dry-erase scoreboard and the numbers seem to be the score of some sort of game whose team names are "Frogs" and "Clouds."
  • "Donnie mentions "lead" (though it's referenced as pencil lead.) Lead's atomic number is 82
  • ""Quiz Kid" Donnie Smith's oversize check is dated April 28.
  • "There is a poster in the library behind Stanley with the numbers 8 and 2.
  • "Various scores on the quiz show equal the numbers. (i.e. 1025, 2000)
  • "When Doc (Frank's assistant) goes on the elevator to find Frank, he gets on the 2nd floor and gets off on the 8th.
  • "8 2 is printed on some of the boxes in the Solomon and Solomon office when Donnie pulls the robbery.
  • "There is a white frog figure on the right corner of the desk of the doctor who prescribes liquid morphine to Earl Partridge.
  • "The number 82 is printed on a yellow book in Claudia's house. During the frog storm, as Claudia is hiding in the corner just as Rose knocks on the door. When Claudia crawls over to the door you can catch a glimpse of two piles of books. The left pile has the yellow book with 82 printed in the middle of the book's spine.
  • "On the Magnolia teaser poster, there are exactly 10 frogs visible (8 + 2).