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The Plagues Of Egypt
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The
10 Egyptian Plagues
by N.S. Gill
The Ten Plagues of Egypt is a story related in the Book of
Exodus. Exodus is the second of the first five books of the Judeo-Christian
Bible, also called the Torah or Pentateuch.
According to the story of Exodus, the Hebrew people living
in Egypt were suffering under the cruel rule of the Pharaoh.
Their leader Moses (Moshe) asked Pharaoh to let them return to
their homelands in Canaan, but Pharaoh refused.
In response, the Hebrew God inflicted 10 plagues on the
Egyptians in a divine demonstration of power and displeasure designed to
persuade Pharaoh to "let my people go," in the words of the
spiritual "Go Down Moses."
Enslaved in Egypt
The Torah relates that Hebrews from the land of Canaan had lived
in Egypt for many years, and had become numerous under the kind treatment of
the kingdom's rulers.
However, the Pharaoh became intimidated by the sheer number of
Hebrews in his kingdom and ordered them all to be enslaved.
Lives of bitter hardship ensued for 400 years, at one time
including a decree from the Pharaoh that all male Hebrew children be drowned at
birth.
Moses,
the son of a slave who was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh, is said to have
been chosen by his God to lead the Israelite people to freedom.
With his brother Aaron (Aharon), Moses asked the Pharaoh to let
the people of Israel leave Egypt in order to celebrate a feast in the
wilderness to honor their God. The Pharaoh refused.
Moses and the 10 Plagues
God promised Moses that he would demonstrate his power to
convince Pharaoh, but at the same time, he would be convincing the Hebrews to
follow his path.
First, God would "harden the heart" of the
Pharaoh, making him adamantly against the Hebrews' leaving. Then he would
produce a series of plagues with escalating severity that culminated with the
death of every firstborn Egyptian male.
Though Moses asked Pharaoh before each plague for his people's
freedom, he continued to refuse.
Ultimately, it took all 10 plagues to convince the unnamed
Pharaoh to free all of Egypt's Hebrew slaves, who then started their exodus
back to Canaan.
The drama of the plagues and their role in the liberation of the
Jewish people are remembered during the Jewish holiday of Pesach, or Passover.
Views of the Plagues: Tradition
vs. Hollywood
Hollywood's treatment of the Plagues as portrayed in movies such
as Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" is decidedly different
from the way that Jewish families regard them during the celebration of
Passover.
DeMille's Pharaoh was an out-and-out bad guy, but the Torah
teaches that God was the one who made him so intransigent.
The Plagues were less about punishing the Egyptians than showing
the Hebrews — who were not yet Jews since they had not received the Ten
Commandments — how mighty their God was.
At the seder, the ritual meal accompanying Passover, it is
customary to recite the 10 plagues and flick a drop of wine from each cup as
each plague is enumerated.
This is done to remember the suffering of the Egyptians and to
diminish in some way the happiness of a liberation that cost so many innocent
lives.
When Did the 10 Plagues Happen?
The historicity of anything in ancient texts is dicey.
Scholars argue that the story of the Hebrews in Egypt is most
likely told about the Egyptian New Kingdom during the late Bronze Age. The
Pharaoh in the story is thought to be Ramses II.
The following Biblical passages are line references to King
James' Version of Exodus.
Water to Blood
When Aaron's staff hit the Nile River, the water became blood,
and the first plague began.
The water, even in wood and stone jars, was undrinkable, fish
died, and the air was filled with a horrid stench.
Like some of the other plagues, Pharaoh's magicians were able to
replicate this phenomenon.
Exodus 7:19 –
“And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch
out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers,
and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become
blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in
vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.”
Frogs
The second plague brought an influx of millions of frogs. They
came from every water source around and inundated the Egyptian people and
everything around them. This feat was also duplicated by the Egyptian
magicians.
Exodus 8:2 –
“And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders
with frogs:
8:3 And the river shall
bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thine house, and
into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and
upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs:
8:4 And the frogs shall
come up both on thee, and upon thy people, and upon all thy servants.”
Gnats or Lice
Aaron's staff was used again in the third plague. This time he
struck the earth and gnats flew up from the dust.
The infestation took over
every man and animal around. The Egyptians could not recreate this one with
their magic, saying instead, "This is the finger of God."
Exodus 8:16 –
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod, and
smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of
Egypt.”
Flies
The fourth plague affected only the lands of Egypt and not those
where the Hebrews lived in Goshen.
The swarm of flies was unbearable, and this time Pharaoh agreed
to allow the people to go into the desert, with restrictions, to make
sacrifices to God.
Exodus 8:21 –
“Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of
flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy
houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and
also the ground whereon they are.”
Diseased Livestock
Again, affecting only the herds of the Egyptians, the fifth
plague sent a deadly disease through the animals they relied on. It destroyed
the livestock and flocks, but those of the Hebrews remained untouched.
Exodus 9:3 –
“Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon
the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep:
there shall be a very grievous murrain.”
Boils
To bring on the sixth plague, God told Moses and Aaron to toss
ashes into the air. This resulted in horrendous and painful boils appearing on
every Egyptian and their livestock.
The pain was so excruciating that when the Egyptian sorcerers
tried to stand in front of Moses, they could not.
Exodus 9:8 –
“And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes
of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of
Pharaoh.
9:9 And it shall become
small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with
blains upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt.”
Thunder and Hail
In Exodus 9:16, Moses
conveyed a personal message to Pharaoh from God. It said that he had purposely
brought the plagues upon him and Egypt "to shew in thee my power; and
that my name may be declared throughout all the earth."
The seventh plague brought torrential rains, thunder, and hail
that killed people, animals, and crops.
Despite the fact that Pharaoh admitted his sin, once the storm
calmed, he again refused freedom to the Hebrews.
Exodus 9:18 –
“Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous
hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until
now.”
Locusts
If Pharaoh thought frogs and lice were bad, the locusts of the
eighth plague would prove to be the most devastating. These insects ate every
green plant they could find. Afterward, Pharaoh admitted to Moses that he had
sinned "once."
Exodus 10:4 –
“Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to morrow will I bring
the locusts into thy coast:
10:5 And
they shall cover the face of the earth, that one cannot be able to see the
earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which is escaped, which remaineth
unto you from the hail, and shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of
the field.”
Darkness
Three days of complete darkness stretched over the lands of
Egypt — not those of the Hebrews, who enjoyed light by day — in the ninth
plague. It was so dark that the Egyptians could not see each other.
After this plague, the Pharaoh attempted to negotiate the freedom
of the Hebrews. His bargain that they could leave if their flocks were left
behind was not accepted.
Exodus 10:21 – “And the
Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be
darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.
10:22 And Moses stretched forth
his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt
three days.”
Death of the First-Born
Pharaoh was warned that the tenth and final plague would be the
most devastating. God told the Hebrews to sacrifice lambs and eat the meat
before morning, but not before they used the blood to paint their doorposts.
The Hebrews followed these directions and also asked for and
received all the gold, silver, jewelry, and clothes from the Egyptians. These
treasures would later be used for the tabernacle.
Over the night, an angel came and passed over all of the Hebrew
homes. The firstborn in every Egyptian household would die, including Pharaoh's
son. This caused such a clamor that Pharaoh ordered the Hebrews to leave and
take all they owned.
Exodus 11:4 –
“And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight will I go out into the
midst of Egypt:
11:5 And all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the first born of Pharaoh
that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that
is behind the mill; and all the firstborn of beasts.”
N.S.
Gill
Introduction
Latin
teacher
Master
of Arts in linguistics
Freelance
writer covering ancient history and the classics
Experience
N.S.
Gill is a former writer for ThoughtCo, who wrote about ancient history in
numerous articles over a 17-year period through 2014. Gill has taught Latin
and written articles on ancient history and classics and has been
interviewed by National Public Radio and National Geographic about Valentine's
Day and the Roman calendar. She has been a teacher's assistant for classes in
the age of Pericles, technical terms, classical culture, and mythology.
Education
N.S.
Gill has a B.A. in Latin and an M.A. in linguistics from the University of
Minnesota. She has done graduate coursework on classics at the University of
Minnesota and written two master's level papers, one on the misdating of an
Oxyrhynchus papyrus and another on Ovid.
ThoughtCo
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The
enemy can only take what you choose to lose. Everything you need to defeat the
enemy is provided to you by El Shaddai.
Job kept his eyes on God and was completely
restored.
El Shaddai, I refuse to accept defeat.
The Name El Shaddai
His Strength For Your
Weakness
In His 
