The book of Exodus (שמות), chapters 7:14 - 12:42, recounts the story of the plagues of Egypt (Eser Ha-Makot עשר המכות in Hebrew): disasters, executed against Egypt by God, in order to convince the Pharaoh (thought to be Ramesses II) to let the Hebrews go.
The plagues as they appear in the torah were:
- (Exodus 7:14-25) rivers and other water sources turned to blood for seven days, killing the fish ('Dam')
- (Exodus 8:1-15) a plague of frogs ('Sfardayah')
- (Exodus 8:16-19) handfuls of dust turned into a plague of lice ('Kinim')
- (Exodus 8:20-32) flies (Arov)
- (Exodus 9:1-7) pestilence killing of the livestock ('Dever')
- (Exodus 9:8-12) boils (Shkhin) unhealable by medical priests
- (Exodus 9:13-35) hail and fire destroying crops
- (Exodus 10:13-14,19) locusts consuming all remaining crops
- (Exodus 10:21-29) three days of darkness
- (Exodus 12:29-36) death of the firstborn ('Makat Bechorot')
Whereas all the other plagues do not affect the Hebrews, the torah indicates that they only avoid the final plague by sacrificing a lamb for God and eating Matzot ("Poor's Bread" לחם עוני), marking their doorstep with the lamb's blood. In the anthropomorphic style typical of the Elohist, the torah describes God himself, as the angel of death, personally killing each of the firstborn, except where he notices the lamb's blood on the doorstep.
This plague, in the Torah, results in the Pharoah finally relenting, and sending the Hebrews away at whatever cost they wish. Nethertheless, their survival through the final plague still requires a redemption of the firstborn for the Hebrews, and associated fast, which, as it reflects their freedom, is held every year by the Jews, as an annual ritual (named Passover).
The plagues
Blood (7:19 - 7:25) דם
The first plague was blood. According to the Hebrew Bible, Aaron struck the river Nile with Moses' staff, and all the water turned into blood. As a result of the blood, the fish of the Nile died, and Egypt was filled with stench. Other water resources used by the Egyptians were turned to blood as well (7:19). This plague lasted for seven days.
Frogs (7:26 - 8:11) צפרדע
The second plague of Egypt was frogs. Hordes of frogs overran Egypt and forced Pharaoh to call upon Moses, to ask him to remove the frogs. Moses agreed and told him that the next day the frogs would be gone, as proof of God's might. The next day all the frogs in the Egyptian courts and houses died. Nevertheless, Pharaoh refused to let the Hebrews worship their God in the desert, according to the biblical account.
Fleas or Lice (8:12 - 8:15) כינים
The third plague of Egypt was fleas. This came about when Aaron was commanded to hold a handful of his own dust and a handful of Moses' dust, fling it into the air, and it became fleas. According to the Bible, the dust of the earth became many fleas which the Egyptians could not get rid of. It was in regard to this plague that the Egyptian priests claimed that this act was "the Finger of God", since their magic could not affect anything smaller than a barley.
Beasts or Flies (8:16 - 8:28) ערוב
The fourth plague of Egypt was Arov. Commentaries usually render this word as flies, but others as beasts, capable of harming people and livestock. The Bible emphasizes that the arov only came against Egypt, and that the Land of Goshen (where the Hebrews dwelt) was clean from it. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow the Hebrews to worship God in the desert. However, after the plague was gone, Pharaoh "hardened his heart" and refused to keep his promise...
Livestock (9:1 - 9:7) דבר
The fifth plague of Egypt was a pestilence which exterminated the Egyptian livestock; that is, horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats. The Hebrew cattle were unharmed.
Boils (9:8 - 9:12) שחין
The sixth plague of Egypt was Shkhin. The Shkhin was a kind of skin disease, usually translated as boils. Moses and Aaron each took two handfuls of soot from a furnace and Moses scattered it toward the sky in the presence of Pharaoh, at which time festering Shkhin erupted on Egyptian man and beast. The Hartum priests of Egypt could not heal this disease.
Storm (9:13 - 9:25) ברד
The seventh plague of Egypt was a destructive storm. The storm was a powerful shower of hail, combined with fire burning onto the ground. The storm heavily damaged Egyptian shrubbery and crops, as well as men and livestock. The storm struck all Egypt, except for the land of Goshen. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow the Hebrews to worship God in the desert, saying "I have sinned: God is righteous, I and my people are evil". However, after the storm ceased, Pharaoh "hardened his heart" and refused to keep his promise.
Locusts (10:1 - 10:20) ארבה
The eighth plague of Egypt was locusts. The locusts swarmed Egypt and consumed all Egyptian crops, leaving no tree or plant standing on the face of Egypt. The swarm of locusts covered the sky and created darkness in Egypt. After Moses' threats and Egyptian pleas Pharaoh agreed to let only Hebrew men to go out to the desert, while women, children and livestock are to remain in Egypt. Moses demanded that all shall go, and when Pharaoh refused, this plague struck Egypt. Pharaoh again asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to allow all the Hebrews to worship God in the desert. However, after the locusts went away, Pharaoh "hardened his heart" and refused to keep his promise.
Darkness (10:21 - 10:29) חושך
The ninth plague of Egypt was complete darkness, lasting for three days.
Pharaoh called upon Moses, agreeing to let the Hebrews go out to the desert, but leaving their livestock in Egypt. Moses refused this condition, and in addition required that Pharaoh would donate a sacrifice. This outraged Pharaoh, and he threatened Moses with death.
Death of Firstborn (11:1 - 12:42) מכת בכורות
The tenth and final plague of Egypt was the death of all Egyptian first born - from the king's first born to the widow's first born, including first born of livestock. This was the hardest and cruelest blow upon Egypt and the plague that finally convinced Pharaoh to submit, and let the Hebrews go.
God told Moses that this plague would cause Pharaoh to send the Hebrews away, and ordered him to prepare the people for leaving. He also ordered Moses to teach the ritual of Pesah sacrificing a lamb for God, and eating Matzot ("Poor-man's Bread" לחם עוני). God told Moses to order the Hebrews to mark their doorstep with the lamb's blood, in order that the plague of death would pass over them.
In the middle of the night, God himself (in the form of the angel of death) came upon Egypt and took the life of all the Egyptian first born sons, including Pharaoh's own. There was a great cry in Egypt, such as had never been heard before. No Hebrew first born was killed, as God passed over Hebrew houses.
After this, Pharaoh, furious and sad, ordered the Hebrews to go away, taking whatever they want. The Hebrews didn't hesitate; and at the end of that night Moses led them out of Egypt. Jews celebrate this plague with redemption of the firstborn, as detailed in Exodus (13), and fast of the firstborn.
Context
Although the main reason for the plagues appears to be Pharaoh's repeated refusal to release the Jewish people from slavery, according to the Torah, God deliberately made Pharaoh unwilling to release the people, so that God could manifest his great power and cause it to be declared among the nations (Ex 9:14, 16), so that other peoples would discuss it for generations afterward (Jos 2:9-11; 9:9; Isa 4:8; 6:6). In this view, the plagues were proof that the gods of Egypt were powerless (Ex 12:12; Nu 33:4).
If God triumphed over the gods of Egypt, at that time, a world-leading nation, then the people of God would be strengthened in their faith, although they are a small people, and would not be tempted to follow the deities that God put to shame. Although some have advanced theories as to which of the Egyptian gods would have been affected by which plague, this is only scantily supported by Midrashic sources, and these attempts have generally produced widely divergent results.
In an historical context, the greatest candidate for the Israelite presence in Egypt is that of the Hyksos. However, rather than being slaves who escaped, the Hyksos were rulers who were chased out of Egypt. The extreme resilience, in the story, of the unnamed Pharaoh to releasing them therefore, according to such an historical-critical view, serves to provide an explanation of why an Egyptian Pharaoh so angrily chased after the Israelites.
Textual issues
Traditional views
One of the noticeable features of the tales is that there appears to be an underlying pattern, the third, sixth and ninth plagues come without warning, and many Biblical commentators see there as being three sets of three plagues each. Attempts to draw parallels between each are also not completely without success, though somewhat disputed.
Another significant feature is that some plagues, but not others, are instigated by Aaron, rather than Moses. Many uncritical commentaries resolve this situation by saying that due to the principle of Ha-koras ha-tov, Moses was forced to appreciate the help he received earlier from the Nile, as a baby, and the dust, when he murdered a guard in his youth, and was therefore unable to smite either of these.
According to critical scholarship
According to the documentary hypothesis, the plagues of boils, and of lice, are merely the Priestly source's version of JE's plagues of pestilence, and of flies. The Torah is thus seen as only gaining 10 plagues when both these versions were merged together, and thus treated as separate plagues. Similar merging also allegedly explains the pattern where the third, sixth and ninth plague, come without warning, as originating from different sources to the one in which warning is provided. Likewise, in the hypothesis, one source presents Aaron as carrying out the plague, one presents Moses as their origin, and one presents God as the explicit origin, and since the plagues they each describe do not completely overlap, this provides an explanation for why Moses carries out some plagues, but Aaron carries out others. The hypothesis also breaks the account of the plagues down further.
Versions of the Jahwist and Elohist
Within the understanding of the documentary hypothesis, in the Jahwist version of the tale, Moses asks Pharaoh for the release of the people, but Pharaoh refuses, claiming not to know who Yahweh is. Consequently God sends the first plague, and Pharaoh recants, begging Moses for assistance, and immediately allowing the people to go, albeit under certain conditions. The Jahwist continues to describe Moses as insisting on the conditions, but nevertheless begging God to end the plague, which happens, but Pharaoh goes back on his word, and so God sends another plague. This pattern repeats, the Pharaoh gradually acceding to more and more conditions, until, after the death of the firstborn, the Pharaoh finally accedes to all of them, even allowing the Israelites to take the ornaments of the Egyptians, begging to be blessed by Yahweh. Nevertheless, true to form, according to the Jahwist, the Pharaoh goes back on his word, and chases after the released Israelites in order to recapture them.
By contrast, although the Elohist presents a similar set of plagues, the story is much less naturalistic. The Elohist has Moses threatening the Pharaoh, and then, via his rod, carrying out each plague, until eventually he threatens to kill all the firstborn of Egypt, even giving a ritual to the Israelites so that they can cause this death to Passover their houses. At this point, the fear of Moses amongst the Egyptians reaches such a point that they are described as being insistent that the Israelites should get out of Egypt as soon as possible, before the final plague, apparently not carried out, is visited upon them. The Israelites then leave with a high hand, but are soon chased away by the army of the Pharaoh.
The Elohist also splits up some of the Jahwist's plagues, making them more elaborate,
- Making the plague of the river, which in the Jahwist, involves the smiting of the river, leading to the death of the fish, and subsequent swarms of frogs seven days later, into two plagues, one involving the river turning into blood, and a separate involving swarms of frogs
- Making the plague of hail, which in the Jahwist, is a pestilence attacking everything in the fields, crops and cattle, into two plagues, one involving the cattle being attacked by a pestilence, and the other involving hail and fire against the crops.
- Making the plague of locusts, which, in the Jahwist, is so great that it covers the land, into a plague of locusts, and a later plague of darkness.
While the Jahwist's presentation of the plagues is much more naturalistic, the plagues just happening, and Moses just praying that they end, it is the Elohist description of the Egyptians' motive in chasing after the Israelites that accords better with an identification of the Israelites as the Hyksos. Generally, in critical scholarship, both these versions are seen as being based on a shared tradition, rather than one taking precedence over the other, with the Elohist seeking to spin Moses as having supernatural powers and the Israelites as being chased because they are feared, rather than hated like the Hyksos.
Versions of the Priestly source and JE
When combined into JE, the story becomes one in which Moses threatened the plague, then made a sign at which God carries the plague out, and then is from time to time asked by Pharaoh for forgiveness, at which point the plague is undone. While the Elohist produced 8 plagues, and thus so did JE, the Jahwists conception, of there being 5 plagues, appears to have been a tradition preserved at least until the Priestly source, who, in writing their own version of JE, also chose 5 plagues, cutting out the plagues of locusts, darkness, and hail.
The Priestly source, however, completely changes the framing of the plagues. Instead of threats to Pharaoh, or punishment for which Pharaoh begs forgiveness, the plagues are presented merely as a trial to prove Yahweh's authority. Each plague is followed by the magicians attempting to duplicate the plague, succeeding on the first two, leading to Pharaoh hardening his heart. The second pair of plagues are also made more immediate and relevant to the magicians, these plagues are of lice rather than flies, and of boils rather than an unspecified pestilence, leading to the magicians being unable to perform these activities. The final plague, the death of firstborn, is also altered to appear as a punishment against the Egyptans.
The Priestly source, keen to assert God as only acting via the Aaronid priesthood, also describes Aaron as being the one instigating the plagues, starting ... And The LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron..., whereas it is always Moses who is involved in either carrying out, or stopping, the plagues in JE.
Historicity
The vast majority of scientists and secular thinkers believe the plague stories are simply mythical or allegorical, or inspired by passed-down accounts of disconnected natural disasters. Some, however, have speculated on possible natural inspirations behind the story of the succession of plagues.
Archaeology
There is archaeological material that some Christian archaeologists, such as William F. Albright, have considered historical evidence of the Ten Plagues; for example, an ancient water-trough found in El Arish bears hieroglyphic markings detailing a period of darkness. Albright, and other Christian archaeologists have stated that such evidence, as well as careful study of the areas ostensibly travelled by the Israelites after the Exodus, make discounting the biblical account untenable, though without persuading any archaeologists who do not initially assume the Biblical account is accurate.
The Egyptian Ipuwer papyrus describes a series of calamities befalling Egypt, including a river turned to blood, men behaving as wild ibises, and the land generally turned upside down. However, this is usually thought to describe a general and long term ecological disaster lasting for a period of decades, such as that which destroyed the Old Kingdom. The document is usually dated to the end of the Middle Kingdom, or more rarely, to its beginning, fitting the Old Kingdom destruction, but in both cases long before the usual theorized dates for the Exodus.
Immanuel Velikovsky decided that the Egyptian papyrus did, in fact, describe the events of Exodus, along with the major natural catastrophes that he thought preceded it; in his opinion it was the conventional chronologies of Egypt that were wrong by several hundred years.[1] His theory has never gained credibility among Egyptologists, not even those who are evangelical Christians such as Kenneth Kitchen.
Natural explanations
As noted above, some science writers and Bible researchers have suggested that the plagues were passed-down accounts of ordinary natural disasters, and not supernatural miracles. Natural explanations have been suggested for most of the phenomena:
- (plague 1) The blood in the Nile could have actually been pollution caused by volcanic activity, which, due to the colour of Nile silt, could make the Nile turn blood red, and would also render it undrinkable
- (plague 2) Abnormal rapid growth of algae, possibly triggered by such alteration to the chemistry of the Nile, could have caused frogs to leave the river
- (plague 3/4) In turn, the lack of frogs in the river, could have brought hordes of insects, which are usually kept in check by the frogs feeding on them
- (plague 5/6) Such a spread of insects, including mosquitos, could easily spread disease, such as that causing boils.
- (plague 7) Volcanic activity not only brings with it ash, but brimstone, and also alters the weather system, occasionally producing hail. The hail could also occur as a completely independent natural weather event.
- (plague 8) The weight of hail will destroy most crops, leaving several insects and other animals without a normal food source. The remaining crops therefore would become targeted heavily, and thus be destroyed by swarms of locusts which would otherwise be distributed rather thinly.
- (plague 9) Darkness could be caused by unconnected events, such as a solar eclipse, or sandstorm. It could also be caused by volcanic ash, or more directly by an excessive number of locusts, whose population, if not kept in check by frogs, could become so large, that a swarm would literally block out the sun for all those who witnessed it.
- (plague 10) The double-selectiveness of the last plague - only the first born dying - does not have an obvious naturalistic explanation. However, there is a hypothesis that food left in storage was polluted by the vast amount of excrement of the plague of locusts, as well as Cladosporium, or black mould, growing in the crops. Because, traditionally, the first-born son received a double portion, they would have taken in more mildew and pollution than others. In effect, the first-born being more susceptable to allergies, toxins, and disease present in the crops, than others. On an outbreak of some dangerous toxin or disease, the first-born is thus more likely to receive fatal exposure than any others, and consequently there will be a significantly higher number of first-born deaths. An alternative interpretation of "firstborn" has come to mean the cream of the crop of Egyptian society instead of literal firstborns in every household, their victim status being caused by the same reason - they are the ones who are likely to greater consumption of a toxic food supply.
A candidate for a volcanic eruption that could have inspired the stories of the ten plagues is the eruption of the Thera volcano 650 miles to the northwest of Egypt. Controversially dated to about 1628 BC, this eruption is one of the largest on record, rivaling that of Tambora, which resulted in 1816's Year Without a Summer. Records of the enormous global impact of this eruption have been recorded in an ash layer deposit found in the Nile delta, tree ring frost scars in the bristlecone pines of the western United States, and a coating of ash in the Greenland ice caps, all dated to the same time and with the same chemical fingerprint as the ash from Thera.
According to the theory, the volcanic ash could have then polluted the Nile, turning it red, leading to frogs leaving the river. The ash, and lack of frogs in the river, also would have impacted the ecology of the Eastern Mediterranean, possibly resulting in the plagues of flies/lice, pestilence, and locusts. Hot ash coming into contact with skin could have caused the plague of boils, if it wasn't already caused by the lice/flies, and storms caused by the Theran ash cloud could have resulted in the plague of hail, and the ash would have subsequently blotted out the sun (a phenomonon well documented in the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens) to make day into night for the plague of darkness. However, all the proposed dates for this eruption are hundreds of years before the proposed dates of the Exodus; thus only a radical revision of the chronology, like Velikovsky's, or an abandoning of the connection between the Exodus and the plagues, can solve the problem.
These explanations do not account for the selectiveness the Torah attributes to the plagues: according to the Hebrew Bible the plagues damaged only Egyptans, while the Hebrews remained untouched. Typically, modern writers, and particularly skeptics, account for such details of the account as being pious exaggerations, or literary devices, intended to encourage faith.
Following the assumption that at least some of the details are accurately reported, many modern Jews agree that some of the plagues were indeed natural disasters, but argue for the fact that, since they followed one another with such uncommon rapidity, God's hand was behind them. Indeed, several Biblical commentators (Nachmanides and, more recently, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetzky) have pointed out that, for the plagues to be a real test of faith, they had to contain an element leading to religious doubt.
Morality
The last plague, if divine, has seemed to many to be a very cruel and unjustifiable punishment against the Egyptans, and is criticised for promoting an unethical schadenfreude("pleasure taken from someone else's misfortune"). A common and widely accepted Jewish Midrash explains the dreadful plague by expanding upon Exodus 10:28, where Pharaoh threatens to kill Moses:
- When Moses went to Pharaoh to demand of him that he let the people go, the whole event is happening in front of Pharaoh's first born son who teases and mocks his father for allowing the Hebrew shepherd to humiliate him. Enraged by the insult and mad with pride, Pharaoh resolved to have revenge for the plagues, and told Moses that he shall deal with the Hebrews in such a manner that a great cry will be heard in Egypt, such that has never been heard before. This was an allusion to the crimes of his father, who ordered the drowning of the male children of the Hebrews. Therefore, Pharaoh brought this harsh punishment upon his own people. His cruel plan was turned back upon him, so that what Pharaoh wanted to do to the Hebrews, God made to happen to him.
This Midrash justifies the last plague with two main arguments:
- Retribution in kind מידה כנגד מידה (Mida ke-neged mida): in the Bible the punishment fits to the crime, not only in severity, but also in symbolism. This is for a pedagogic reason: so that everyone, including the sinner himself, shall know why he has been punished by God.
- Self defence הקם להרגך, השכם להורגו (Ha-kam le-horgecha hashkem le-horgo): Pharaoh planned to slaughter all Hebrew children. By inflicting upon Pharaoh the same thing he planned for the Hebrews, his plan was thwarted.
The Plagues in Popular Culture
The Ten Plagues of Egypt were dramatized by the heavy metal group Metallica in their song "Creeping Death", on their 1984 release Ride the Lightning. Late bassist Cliff Burton came up with the title of the song while watching the 1956 Biblical epic The Ten Commandments, specifically when the Angel of Death moved among Egyptans, killing the firstborn in each family. The plagues were also dramatized as part of a modern horror film in The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971).
In the movie The Mummy (1999) the mummy of the pharaoh's high priest, Imhotep (related only in name to the historical Imhotep) brought with him the plagues of Egypt after he was released. The first, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth plagues were all depicted.
See also
External links
- The ten plagues chabad.org
Exodus - relevant chapters