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Researcher > May 2005

The Ten Plagues of Egypt by James D. Long Learn how each of the ten plagues was specifically aimed at the gods of Egypt.

As millions of Jewish families sit down to their Seder to celebrate Pesach this year, they will read from the Passover Haggadah and thrill to the re-telling of the wonders of the Exodus experience. Central to this monumental and historic event is the account of the Ten Plagues. Participants will spill a drop of wine and repeat the words, dam (blood), aish (fire) v’timrot asham (and columns of smoke). This is a mnemonic that encompasses the characteristics of the ten plagues. One Midrash teaches that the words of the plagues were inscribed on the rod of Moses. When the time came for a makkah (attack or strike) G-d directed Moses to place his hand on the appropriate inscription for that plague. [1]

 

Why ten strikes against Egypt?

 

Pharaoh was worshipped as a god and he denied existence of the G-d of Israel. Since the Creator brought the world into existence with Ten Utterances, G-d judged Pharaoh and his people with Ten Plagues.[2]

 

Why not simply rescue the people of Israel in one fell swoop then deliver one mighty crushing blow against their oppressors? As Rabbi Matis Weinberg points out in his richly insightful commentary called Frameworks, an immediate redemption would “short circuit the historical process, violate the Covenant, and undermine the entire basis and nature of freedom and redemption.”[3]

 

In other words, the full force of HaShem’s prophetical words spoken to Abraham exactly four-hundred thirty years prior to the Exodus had to be fulfilled. The patriarch was told by the Creator that the nation that enslaved his descendants would face judgment.[4]

 

This drama played out, according to most opinions, over a twelve-month period.

 

The Egyptian king is portrayed as arrogant and stubborn but it is important to remember that G-d did not take away pharaoh’s Free Will. The reader might be led to that conclusion when encountering the English verse, “…G-d hardened pharaoh’s heart..,” but the Hebrew text in Exodus 9:12 employs the word chazak -- which means the Creator literally strengthened the ruler’s heart. This allowed the pharaoh to believe that his side was winning, while the entire ten plagues took their toll. Thus, G-d’s word would be fulfilled. This was vital so that pharaoh would realize that the G-d of Israel was stronger than pharaoh’s gods and that He was a G-d of justice. Pharaoh would have to admit that he was wrong.

 

As each plague unfolds we see how HaShem overthrows a corresponding Egyptian deity and in some respects, appears to use the gods of the Egyptians against them. Of course, the prime lesson that the Egyptians should have learned from this experience was that these gods simply did not exist and that Israel was protected by a very real and powerful supernal being.

 

Some may have had their symbolic counterpart in Egyptian astrology. An Egyptian zodiac was discovered years ago on the ceiling of the temple at Dendera in the southern part of the country. Though that particular zodiac is from the Ptolemaic period (after the time of Alexander the Great), it is highly likely that the ancient Egyptians had their own home-grown form of astrology since their temples and pyramids were oriented to the constellations. With the plagues occurring over a twelve month period, there may have been some connection to the signs of their zodiac and duration of each plague.

 

Ultimately, the Creator delivers measure-for-measure justice to the Egyptians for their murderous deeds against the people of Israel.

 

To underscore the historical reality of this event, I had added verses from an ancient Egyptian document called the Ipuwer Papyrus. It was discovered in Egypt near Saqqara and eventually acquired by the Leiden Museum in Holland in 1828. This remarkable scroll was first translated by Alan H. Gardiner in 1909 under the title The Admonitions of an Egyptian Sage. The verses were written near the end of an era in Egyptian history known as The Old Kingdom, over three thousand years ago.

 

Found within the pages of the Ipuwer Papyrus are complaints that “magical spells have been divulged,”which sounds very much what Pharaoh’s seers might have said after their unsuccessful confrontations with Moses and Aaron. In another place the papyrus states, “Behold, the secret of the land whose limits were unknown have been divulged…secrets of the kings of Upper and Lower Egypt are revealed.”[5]

 

For those of you who are familiar with my book, The Riddle of the Exodus you also know that there is ample evidence that the Old Kingdom came to an end due to the ravages of these Ten Plagues. If you think that these were minor inconveniences, allow me to disabuse you of that notion.

 

BLOOD

“Moses and Aaron did this, just as G-d had instructed. Aaron held the staff on high, then struck the water in the Nile in the presence of Pharaoh and his courtiers. The waters of the Nile turned into blood. - Exodus 7:20

 

“Forsooth, the River is blood… - Ipuwer 2:10

“That is our water! That is our happiness! What shall we do in respect thereof?”

– Ipuwer 3:10

 

 

The ancient Egyptians venerated the Nile as a god. Their worship can be attributed to their misguided gratefulness directed at the river. It flooded the Nile valley annually bringing life-giving water to a naturally arid region. This worship was personified as the god Hep or Hapy.[6] The Egyptians had drowned a multitude of Hebrew male infants in the depths of the Nile. When Pharaoh became alarmed at the growing number of Hebrews in the country, one of his advisors suggested what was, probably, considered a politically correct method, by letting the Nile god decide whether the infants should live or die.[7]

 

Here, the Torah reveals what may have been an ancient version of Eugenics, an appalling kind of population control. It is a sick philosophy that attempts to weed out those who do not conform to a particular physical or cultural stereotype. In modern times, the Nazis would embrace this concept and build concentration camps to enforce it.

 

The first plague turned the great Nile deep red, thus revealing the blood of countless innocents and thoroughly contaminating Egypt’s vital source of life. Every source of water, whether in a container or a pool, was affected by this strike. Even when the Egyptians attempted to dig a well, it would fill with blood. The Nile was thick with the stench of rotted fish. The commentaries reveal that this judgment also came because the people of Mitzraim denied Hebrew women their visit to the mikvah. They were not allowed to immerse themselves after their menstrual cycle.[8]

 

FROGS

“Stretch forth you hand with your staff over the rivers, the canals and the reservoirs and let frogs come up over the land of Egypt.” - Exodus 8:1

“Noise is not lacking…there is no end to the noise.” Ipuwer 4:2

The entire land and the river swarmed with frogs and their relentless croaking. The water that the Egyptians drank contained tadpoles, and frogs would grow in their stomachs. Curiously, the text does not actually state “frogs”, the Hebrew phrase found in verse eight is actually, tzefardea which translates to “the frog came up.” From this, Rabbi Akiva taught that one giant toad hopped from the Nile. As the terrified natives began to beat on it, hundreds of smaller frogs spilled forth from the wounds.[9] Some commentaries teach that the noise was the worst aspect of this plague.

 

This punishment came because the Hebrew women had to stifle their cries while in the throes of labor, otherwise their newborn would be discovered and thrown into the river.[10] Heket, a frog-headed deity referenced in the Pyramid Texts, was the god who eased the Egyptian women through their final stages of childbirth. [11]

 

LICE

“G-d said to Moses, ‘Say to Aaron, “Stretch forth your staff and strike the dust of the earth.” It will turn into lice in all the land of Egypt.” – Exodus 8:12

 

Every Egyptian, as well as their animals, was covered with lice. The very dust of the earth squirmed and roiled with lice. The Egyptians found no relief from the vermin which bit continually, causing sores and incessant scratching which led to profuse bleeding. This judgment came because the Egyptians forced the Hebrews to sweep their streets, roads, to make their bricks and to toil in the heat but never allowed them to bathe. The result, of course, was that the Israelites suffered from lice and sores.

 

The first two plagues had been duplicated by the Hartumim (magicians) but this one was beyond their grasp. The sages teach that court magicians had a working knowledge of the black arts but that they had no control over any physical object unless it was bigger than a lentil. In addition, the sorcerers could only cast their spells if both feet were planted on the earth but the lice were at least two cubits deep thus preventing them from being able to conjure.[12] This Plague was a strike against Geb, the Egyptian deity who was the personification of the earth. It was the very earth that brought forth this judgment.

 

With the beginning of this plague, the Israelites no longer labored for the Egyptians.[13]

 

WILD BEASTS

“If you do not let My people go, I will send throngs of wild beasts against you.

– Exodus 8:17

“Forsooth, crocodiles are glutted with what they have captured.” – Ipuwer 2:12

 

Some translations render this plague as one of flies because the text employs the word arov. The late Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (in the Living Torah) stated that it may be a reference to the Egyptian a’ov which is the scarab or beetle while there is an abundance of sources, such as Sefer HaYashar which relate that this plague brought forth every kind of beast, including the aforementioned insects. The land swarmed with hornets, snakes, scorpions, as well as marauding larger animals.

 

In some instances, the Egyptians were torn apart or stung to death. This was payback for several crimes against Israel and HaShem. Many of the Hebrews lost their limbs and often their lives to wild animals when forced to participate on hunting expeditions to bring back the beasts for Egypt’s public and private zoos.[14]

 

Due to immorality of the Egyptians, who mixed in unnatural ways, the beasts ignored the natural order and attacked in oddly mixed groups or packs. This plague was against a host of gods in the Egyptian pantheon, from Khepri, the scarab beetle, Anubis the jackal, Nehebu-Kau the scorpion god who guards against venomous animals, Sobek the crocodile god and also the lioness deity known as Sakhmet.[15] There are many others, but the terrifying effect of the plague must have convinced the Egyptian populace that some of there own gods had turned against them through these animals.

 

PESTILENCE AND DEATH OF LIVESTOCK

“G-d’s hand will be against the livestock in the field, against the horses, donkeys, camels, cattle and sheep--a serious epidemic.” – Exodus 9:3

“Forsooth, all animals, their hearts weep….Cattle moan because of the state of the land.” – Ipuwer 5:5

 

Here again the Egyptians witness the defeat of their deities with the arrival of a disease that kills all of their livestock. Hathor, the cow-faced goddess was overpowered along with the bull worshipped as Apis.[16] This judgment came against Egypt because they were the ultimate believers in “animal rights”. Rather than overwork or exhaust their own livestock, they would harness Hebrews to plows, carts and even load them like beasts of burden. In their attempts to control the population of Israel, the overseers sent the men far away from home into the wilderness to herd Egyptian flocks.[17]

 

BOILS

“G-d said to Moses and Aaron, ‘Take a handful of ashes from the furnace. Let Moses throw them into the air before Pharaoh’s eyes. It will settle as dust on all the land of Egypt. When it falls on man or beast….it will cause a rash breaking out into boils.”

<!--[if !supportLists]-->– Exodus 9:8

<!--[if !supportLists]-->–

“Forsooth, hair has fallen out for everyone.” – Ipuwer 4:1

 

The previous plague had only affected the livestock that was literally, “in the field” and did not touch the animals in barns or corrals. One commentary teaches that almost ninety per cent of the Egyptian livestock perished in the prior judgment while the rest died in this, the fifth plague. This was an excruciatingly painful torment on the people of Egypt that saw rashes, running blisters and boils covering their flesh. They suffered these afflictions because they forced the Hebrews to bathe them and, often acted immodestly towards the Israelites.

 

We learn from the story of Miriam, Moses sister, that the heavenly punishment for lashon ha-ra (evil speech) was a leprous-like skin condition.[18] The Egyptians were guilty of the worst kind of racial epithets against the people of Israel, characterizing them as disgusting and depraved. As we have already seen, the populace did their best to keep the Hebrew wives and husbands apart making intimacy impossible. Due to the painful rashes and lesions the Egyptians really were disgusting and were unable to have intimate relations.

 

Imhotep, the god of medicine, healing and the sciences was powerless to come to the aid of the Egyptians. This was actually the deified image of Joseph, the son of Jacob. As Prime Minister for eighty years, Joseph had such a profound impact on the Egyptian culture through his G-d given knowledge of medicine, architecture and mathematics that, after his death, Egypt venerated Joseph as Imhoptep. By the time the Exodus arrived, Pharaoh and the Egyptians had long forgotten the connection to Joseph. Though he would have been horrified at the thought of being worshipped, history demonstrates that it would not be the last time that a deceased Jew would be deified.

 

HAIL

“Now send the word, and shelter your livestock and everything else you have in the field. If man or beast remains in the field and does not come indoors, the hail will fall on him and he will die.” – Exodus 9:19

“Forsooth, gates columns and walls are consumed by fire..” – Ipuwer 2:10

“Trees are destroyed” – Ipuwer 4:14

“Behold, the fire has mounted up on high.” – Ipuwer 6:14

 

You will note in the above verse that G-d sends ample warning along with this judgment. One of the reasons was to spare the herds of horses used by the Egyptian chariot corps and the king. The Creator wanted to insure that a full complement of Egyptian forces would have to ability to meet their fate at the splitting of the sea should they choose to do so.[19]

 

The skies rained down deadly hailstones, an extremely rare occurrence in a place like Egypt. In the Torah Anthology also known as Me’am Lo’ez, we are told that there were three miracles that took place during this plague. First of all, the hail was a mixture of ice and fire, secondly the hailstones were the size of six handfuls of ice and finally, the hail held fire within. The stones looked much like lanterns raining down from the heavens.[20]

 

The hail was sent to destroy all of the luxurious gardens and orchards where the Jews were forced to toil. And since the Israelites were beaten relentlessly, the hailstones were sent to beat the Egyptians.[21]

 

This strike was an affront to the sky goddess Nut. The image of this deity is often portrayed as a woman with her back arched over the land looking towards the heavens. Nut was one of the oldest and most venerated in their pantheon. The Egyptians might have also viewed this catastrophe as a failure of Set, the god who controlled the storms.[22] In defiance of this deity, Moses called down the torrents of hail on the land.

 

LOCUSTS

 

“If you refuse to let My people go, I will bring locusts into your borders tomorrow. They will cover every visible speck of land so that you will not be able see the ground. They will eat all that was spared from the hail and will devour all your trees sprouting in the field.” – Exodus 10:4-5

 

“Forsooth, that has perished which yesterday was seen” – Ipuwer 5:12

“No fruit nor herbs are found…” Ipuwer 6:1

“Forsooth, grain has perished on every side.” – Ipuwer 6:3

 

Clouds of locusts arrived, literally, in one fell swoop. The insects swept over the land blocking out the sun. The locusts picked clean the trees, herbs and crops of the field. The Torah reveals in Exodus 10:14, the effects of the plague was so devastating that nothing like it had ever been witnessed in history. Not only did they swarm into the fields but the locusts filled the houses, crawling into every nook and cranny—even the eyes of the Egyptians.

 

This judgment came against the people of Egypt for making the Israelites slave in their fields and orchards without rest. Any crops the Hebrews planted were often confiscated illegally by their overseers, thus another reason for the strike against Egypt. This eighth plague would also been seen as a defeat of Oswiris (known to the Greeks as Osiris), who was supposed to be the protector of crops. His burial was often re-enacted in ancient Egypt, annually and his “resurrection” was evidenced from corn sprouting from the grave of the god.[23]

 

DARKNESS

 

“Moses stretched out his hand on the sky, and there was total darkness in all of Egypt for three days.” – Exodus 10:22

“The land is not light because of it.” Ipuwer – 9:11

The Egyptians made the Israelite men, women and children work long hours into the dark night. Their thoughtlessness extended to using the elderly of Israel as torch bearers. They were made to stand for long hours, holding lamps. For these acts, the Egyptians were plunged into total darkness so thick that one could feel it.[24] But the plague was divided into one three day period of deep darkness while the balance of the judgment came later when Israel was later camped near the sea waiting to cross. They had light from the pillar of fire while a dense curtain of churning blackness cut off the Egyptian camp.[25]

 

I believe that the Plague of Darkness is referenced on an Egyptian monument. In present day Ismailia, a small town near the Suez Canal, there is an extraordinary relic housed in the town’s museum. It is a black granite shrine inscribed with the account of a time when Egypt was plunged into darkness so thick that “the gods could not see one another….” The inscription goes on to reveal that the pharaoh promised his army that he would lead them to the “regions of light” and finally, the text relates that the army pursued the “enemies of Egypt” to the coast of the sea, a site the monument calls Pi Hakroti.

 

There, the inscription tells us, the Egyptian army was drowned in a giant whirlpool.[26]

 

Note the extraordinary resemblance between the name Pi Hakroti and Pi Ha Khirot, which is where Israel camped beside the sea as described in Exodus 14:9.

There are a number of gods that failed Egypt in this, the ninth plague. Foremost was Re, the personification of the sun. We have already spoken of Nut, the goddess of the sky. Then there is Shu who was supposed to govern the air of Egypt. The pagan Egyptians called out in vain to these deities as a thick and turbulent blackness filled the air and enveloped their country. Only the Israelites had light.

 

 

DEATH OF THE FIRST BORN

“This is what G-d said, ‘Around midnight, I will go out in the midst of Egypt. Every first-born in Egypt will die, from the first-born of Pharaoh sitting on his throne, to the first-born of the slave girl behind the millstones—and every first-born animal.”
– Exodus 11:4-5

“Mirth has perished…It is groaning that is throughout the land, mingled with lamentation. “ – Ipuwer 3:14

“The children of princes are dashed against the walls. The offspring of desire are laid out on the high ground. Khunum groans because of his weariness.” – Ipuwer 5:7

“Behold, a man is slain beside his brother..” – Ipuwer 9:3

Surely, the tenth and final plague is the most devastating. The number of deaths among Egypt’s first-born was, ultimately, more numerous than we might first imagine. The populace in that day was extremely immoral and promiscuous so that an Egyptian man might have several mistresses -- thus many first-born. This plague was not confined to the living. The Midrash teaches that wild dogs pulled the bones of the first-born from the graves and dragged the remains through the streets.[27]

Archaeological evidence suggests that the burial vaults had been opened during an earthquake that accompanied this judgment. In fact, some of those slain may have died in the quake (see above from the Ipuwer Papyrus). Professor Claude Schaeffer, from College de France contends that his digs, at Ras Shamra on the Syrian coast, revealed evidence of great destruction caused by earthquakes and natural disasters. He believes that this cataclysm reached as far as Egypt and hastened the end of the Old Kingdom. [28]

Naturally, this judgment came as result of Egypt’s attempt to wipe out the first-born of Israel. Enormous cruelty was exhibited by the taskmasters when the Israelite workers failed to make their quota of bricks. The guards would take Hebrew infants and wall them up in place of bricks and mortar.[29] An earthquake accompanying this plague would explain the destruction of stone idols and the collapsing walls…possibly some of the same walls that contained the remains of Hebrew infants.

This final judgment against the people of Egypt and their gods would also have been directed at the major gods of their pantheon such as Ptah. This idol was said to have spawned all living creatures. Specifically, Khunum was the creator of human life.

Note the above reference, from the Ipuwer Papyrus, as the scribe states that Khunum groans from weariness. Gardiner, the translator suggests that the old sage was moved to make this reference because there is the sense that the god is wailing over the work of creating children who are doomed to perish at once.[30]

Khunum was depicted as having the head of a ram.

How fitting then, that Israel slaughtered the same animal which symbolized this god in preparation for the Passover. The tenth and final plague that took place at midnight on the 15^th of Nissan, in the year 2448 from Adam, three thousand three-hundred seventeen years ago.

When daybreak arrived, all of Israel prepared for their departure. The Twelve Tribes then marched triumphantly out of Egypt at high noon. Since this event happened in Nissan, there is a belief that the modern Redemption of the Jewish people will also occur in the month of Nissan, possibly at Passover. The account of the Ten Plagues is a cautionary lesson for modern man. We are warned by the Jewish Sages that there will be another final Exodus preceded by Strikes.

“Edom (the West) will be struck in the same way.” – Tanchuma, Bo.4

The Final Redemption of the Jewish people will be preceded by signs and wonders. And in their wake will follow blood, fire and columns of smoke.