Ten Plagues
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In the
Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...
, the Plagues of Egypt () are ten disasters that the Hebrew God inflicts on the
Egyptians Egyptians (, ; , ; ) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian identity is closely tied to Geography of Egypt, geography. The population is concentrated in the Nile Valley, a small strip of cultivable land stretchi ...
to convince the Pharaoh to emancipate the enslaved
Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
, each of them confronting the Pharaoh and one of his
Egyptian gods Ancient Egyptian deities are the gods and goddesses worshipped in ancient Egypt. The beliefs and rituals surrounding these gods formed the core of ancient Egyptian religion, which emerged sometime in prehistory. Deities represented natural for ...
; they serve as "signs and marvels" given by
Yahweh Yahweh was an Ancient Semitic religion, ancient Semitic deity of Weather god, weather and List of war deities, war in the History of the ancient Levant, ancient Levant, the national god of the kingdoms of Kingdom of Judah, Judah and Kingdom ...
in response to the Pharaoh's taunt that he does not know Yahweh: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the ". These Plagues are recited by
Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
during the
Passover Seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...
. The consensus of modern scholars is that the
Pentateuch The Torah ( , "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. The Torah is also known as the Pentateuch () o ...
does not give an accurate account of the origins of the
Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
. Similarly, attempts to find natural explanations for the plagues (e.g., a volcanic eruption to explain the "darkness" plague) have been dismissed by biblical scholars on the grounds that their pattern, timing, rapid succession, and above all, control by Moses mark them as
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
.


List of the disasters


The Nile becomes a river of blood

The
Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...
says that Moses turned the Nile to blood by striking it with his staff. Pharaoh's magicians used their secret arts to also strike the Nile, creating a second layer of blood. In addition to the Nile, all water that was held in reserve, such as jars, was also transformed into blood. The Egyptians were forced to dig alongside the bank of the Nile, which still had pure water. One week passed before the plague dissipated.


Frogs emerge from the Nile and infest Egypt

Exodus states that God ordered frogs to emerge from the Nile, which then jumped around virtually everywhere in Egypt. The magicians attempted to produce frogs from their secret arts, conjuring up a second wave of frogs. Even the private quarters of Pharaoh was infested with frogs. Three days passed before all the frogs died. The Egyptians had to do much work to rid themselves of the corpses, and the land stank of frog for long afterwards. When the decision came for Pharaoh about the slaves, the Pharaoh hardened his heart and decided that the slaves would not be freed.


Gnats emerge from the ground and infest Egypt


Wild animals or flies harm Egyptians and their livestock

The fourth plague of Egypt was of creatures capable of harming people and livestock. Exodus states that the plagues only came against the Egyptians and did not affect the Hebrews. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to grant the Israelites their freedom. However, after the plague was gone, Pharaoh refused to keep his promise, as his heart was hardened by God. Various sources use either "wild animals" or "flies".


Mass death of Egyptian livestock to pestilence


Boils infect Egyptians and their livestock


Thunderstorm and hail


Locust swarm


Three days of total darkness


Death of every Egyptian's firstborn son

Before this final plague, God commands Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a lamb's blood above their doors in order that the Angel of Death will pass over them (i.e., that they will not be touched by the death of the firstborn). Pharaoh orders the Israelites to leave, taking whatever they want, and asks Moses to bless him in the name of the Lord. The passage goes on to state that the
passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...
sacrifice recalls the time when the Lord "passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt".


Composition and theology

Scholars are in broad agreement that the publication of the Torah took place in the mid-Persian period (the 5th century BCE). The
Book of Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...
, composed in stages between the 7th and 6th centuries, mentions the "diseases of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 7:15 and 28:60). John Van Seters contends that this refers to something that afflicted the Israelites, not the Egyptians, and that Deuteronomy never specifies the plagues. Graham Davies, however, questions Van Seters' interpretation and argues that several verses in the book (e.g. ; ) seem to clearly allude to a plague tradition. The traditional number of ten plagues is not actually mentioned in Exodus, and other sources differ; Psalms 78 and
105 105 may refer to: *105 (number), the number * AD 105, a year in the 2nd century AD * 105 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 105 (telephone number), the emergency telephone number in Mongolia * 105 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority ...
seem to list only seven or eight plagues and order them differently. It appears that originally there were only seven, to which were added the third, sixth, and ninth, bringing the count to ten. In this final version, the first nine plagues form three triads, each of which God introduces by informing Moses of the main lesson it will teach. In the first triad, the Egyptians begin to experience the power of God; in the second, God demonstrates that he is directing events; and in the third, the incomparability of Yahweh is displayed. Overall, the plagues are "signs and marvels" given by the God of Israel to answer Pharaoh's taunt that he does not know Yahweh: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the ".


Historicity

Modern scholars broadly agree that
the Exodus The Exodus (Hebrew language, Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yəṣīʾat Mīṣrayīm'': ) is the Origin myth#Founding myth, founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four of the five books of the Torah, Pentateuch (specif ...
is not a historical account of the origins of the Israelites. According to
Avraham Faust Avraham Faust () is an Israeli archaeologist and professor at Bar-Ilan University. He directs excavations at Tel Eton, widely regarded as the probable site of biblical Eglon. Early life and education Faust was born and raised in Israel. He com ...
, this view extends only as far as a reconstruction of an Exodus based on similar collective memories is unlikely if it is solely based on either Egyptian presence in Late Bronze Age Canaan or the foreign
Hyksos The Hyksos (; Egyptian language, Egyptian ''wikt:ḥqꜣ, ḥqꜣ(w)-wikt:ḫꜣst, ḫꜣswt'', Egyptological pronunciation: ''heqau khasut'', "ruler(s) of foreign lands"), in modern Egyptology, are the kings of the Fifteenth Dynasty of Egypt ( ...
rulers of Egypt, and rules out
Midian Midian (; ; , ''Madiam''; Taymanitic: 𐪃𐪕𐪚𐪌 ''MDYN''; ''Mīḏyān'') is a geographical region in West Asia, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia. mentioned in the Tanakh and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was ...
human activity "which cannot help in dating the Exodus" in identification of the proto-Israelites. Agreeing in treating the expulsion of the Hyksos "not as related to the flight of a group of slaves
Manfred Bietak Manfred Bietak (born in Vienna, 6 October 1940) is an Austrian archaeologist. He is professor emeritus of Egyptology at the University of Vienna, working as the principal investigator for an ERC Advanced Grant Project "The Hyksos Enigma" and edit ...
points out that the portrayal of the Hyksos as a ruling elite with a background in trade and seafaring conflicts with the biblical portrayal of the
Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...
as oppressed in Egypt. Some scholars also hold that the Israelites originated in
Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...
and from the
Canaanites {{Cat main, Canaan See also: * :Ancient Israel and Judah Ancient Levant Hebrew Bible nations Ancient Lebanon 0050 Ancient Syria Wikipedia categories named after regions 0050 0050 Phoenicia Amarna Age civilizations ...
, although others disagree. The
Ipuwer Papyrus The Ipuwer Papyrus (officially Papyrus Leiden I 344 ''recto'') is an ancient Egyptian hieratic papyrus made during the Nineteenth Dynasty of Egypt, and now held in the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden, Netherlands. It contains the ''Admonitions ...
, written no earlier than the late
Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is a series of rulers reigning from 1991–1802 BC (190 years), at what is often considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom of Egypt, Middle Kingdom (Dynasties XI–XIV). The dynasty period ...
(), has been put forward in popular literature as confirmation of the biblical account, most notably because of its statement that "the river is blood" and its frequent references to servants running away; however, these arguments ignore the many points on which Ipuwer contradicts Exodus, such as Asiatics arriving in Egypt rather than leaving and the fact that the "river is blood" phrase probably refers to the red sediment colouring the Nile during disastrous floods, or is simply a poetic image of turmoil. Attempts to find natural explanations for the plagues (e.g., a volcanic eruption to explain the "darkness" plague) have been dismissed by biblical scholars on the grounds that their pattern, timing, rapid succession, and above all, control by Moses mark them as
supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...
. Some scholars have suggested that the story of the Plagues of Egypt might have been inspired by natural phenomena like
epidemic An epidemic (from Greek ἐπί ''epi'' "upon or above" and δῆμος ''demos'' "people") is the rapid spread of disease to a large number of hosts in a given population within a short period of time. For example, in meningococcal infection ...
s, although these theories are considered uncertain.


Artistic representation


Visual art

In visual art, the plagues have generally been reserved for works in series, especially engravings. Still, relatively few depictions in art emerged compared to other religious themes until the 19th century, when the plagues became more common subjects, with John Martin and Joseph Turner producing notable canvases. This trend probably reflected a Romantic attraction to landscape and nature painting, for which the plagues were suited, a Gothic attraction to morbid stories, and a rise in
Orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
, wherein exotic Egyptian themes found currency. Given the importance of noble patronage throughout Western art history, the plagues may have found consistent disfavor because the stories emphasize the limits of a monarch's power, and images of lice, locusts, darkness, and boils were ill-suited for decoration in palaces and churches.


Music

Perhaps the most successful artistic representation of the plagues is Handel's oratorio '' Israel in Egypt'', which, like his perennial favorite, "
Messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...
", takes a libretto entirely from scripture. The work was especially popular in the 19th century because of its numerous choruses, generally one for each plague, and its playful musical depiction of the plagues. For example, the plague of frogs is performed as a light aria for alto, depicting frogs jumping in the violins, and the plague of flies and lice is a light chorus with fast scurrying runs in the violins. Another representation of the plagues, mainly the 10th plague, is the song "Creeping Death" by American thrash metal band
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
.


Documentaries

* '' The Exodus Decoded'' (2006)


Films

* '' The Ten Commandments'' (1923) * '' The Moon of Israel'' (1924) * '' The Ten Commandments'' (1956) * '' The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' (1971) * '' The Seventh Sign'' (1988) * ''
Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...
'' (1995) * ''
The Prince of Egypt ''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film directed by Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, and Simon Wells, and written by Philip LaZebnik, from a story by Kelly Asbury and Lorna Cook. Produced by DreamWorks Pictur ...
'' (1998) * ''
Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...
'' (1999) * '' The Mummy'' (1999) * '' The Reaping'' (2007) * '' Exodus: Gods and Kings'' (2014) * '' Seder-Masochism'' (2018)


Gallery

File:Aaron points his rod at the river and it begins to flow with Wellcome V0034268.jpg, The Second Plague: Frogs came up and covered the Sand of Egypt File:William de Brailes - The Third Plague of Egypt - Gnats (Exodus 8 -17) - Walters W1065R - Full Page.jpg, The Third Plague - Gnats File:Tissot The Plague of Flies.jpg, The Fourth Plague: ''The Plague of Flies'', James Jacques Joseph Tissot, Jewish Museum, New York File:033.The Fifth Plague. Livestock Disease.jpg, The Fifth Plague: Pestilence of livestock, by
Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...
File:Martin, John - The Seventh Plague - 1823.jpg, '' The Seventh Plague of Egypt'' by John Martin (1823) File:Holman The Plague of Locusts.jpg, The Eighth Plague: "The Plague of Locusts", illustration from the 1890 Holman Bible File:034.The Ninth Plague. Darkness.jpg, The Ninth Plague: ''Darkness'' by
Gustave Doré Paul Gustave Louis Christophe Doré ( , , ; 6January 1832 – 23January 1883) was a French printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravings illustrati ...


See also

*
Aaron's rod Aaron's rod () refers to any of the walking sticks carried by Moses' brother, Aaron, in the Torah. The Bible tells how, along with Moses's rod, Aaron's rod was endowed with miraculous power during the Plagues of Egypt that preceded the Exodus. ...
*
Jochebed According to the Bible, Jochebed (; , lit. ' YHWH is glory') was a daughter of Levi and the mother of Miriam, Aaron, and Moses. She was the wife of Amram, as well as his aunt. No details are given concerning her life. According to Jewish legend ...
*
Miriam Miriam (, lit. ‘rebellion’) is described in the Hebrew Bible as the daughter of Amram and Jochebed, and the older sister of Moses and Aaron. She was a prophetess and first appears in the Book of Exodus. The Torah refers to her as "Miria ...


References


Sources

* * * * * *


Further reading

* *


External links

*
''Kabbalah and the 10 Plagues'' (www.kabbalaonline.org)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plagues Of Egypt Book of Exodus Egypt in the Hebrew Bible Moses Passover Jewish miracles Animals in religion Insects in religion Disasters in Egypt