![Scenes from Exodus f 16](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ad/Scenes_from_Exodus_f_16.jpg)
The Plagues of Egypt, in the account of the
book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...
, are ten
disaster
A disaster is a serious problem occurring over a short or long period of time that causes widespread human, material, economic or environmental loss which exceeds the ability of the affected community or society to cope using its own resources ...
s inflicted on
Biblical Egypt by the
God of Israel
God of Israel may refer to:
* God in Judaism, God as understood in Jewish theological discussion
* Yahweh, the national god of the ancient kingdoms of Israel and Judah
* Tetragrammaton, the four Hebrew letters YHWH as the name of God, and various ...
in order to convince the
Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the ...
to emancipate the enslaved
Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
, each of them confronting 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 ...
;
they serve as "signs and marvels" given by God to answer Pharaoh's taunt that he does not know Yahweh: "The Egyptians shall know that I am the ".
Plagues
1. Turning water to blood: Ex. 7:14–24
2. Frogs: Ex. 7:25–8:11/15
3. Lice or gnats: Ex. 8:12–15/8:16–19
4. Wild animals or flies: Ex. 8:16–28/8:20–32
The fourth plague of Egypt was of creatures capable of harming people and livestock. The Torah emphasizes that the ''‘arob'' (עָרוֹב "mixture" or "swarm") only came against the Egyptians and did not affect the Israelites. Pharaoh asked Moses to remove this plague and promised to grant the Israelites their freedom. However, after the plague was gone, Pharaoh hardened his heart and he refused to keep his promise.
Various sources use either "wild animals" or "flies".
5. Pestilence of livestock: Ex. 9:1–7
6. Boils: Ex. 9:8–12
7. Thunderstorm of hail and fire: Ex. 9:13–35
8. Locusts: Ex. 10:1–20
9. Darkness for three days: Ex. 10:21–29
10. Death of firstborn son: Ex. 11:1–12:36
Before this final plague, God commands Moses to tell the Israelites to mark a
lamb
Lamb or The Lamb may refer to:
* A young sheep
* Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep
Arts and media Film, television, and theatre
* ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut
* ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
'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 holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...
sacrifice recalls the time when the "passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt".
Composition and theology
![National Library of Israel, Rothschild Haggadah 2861723 486098](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ee/National_Library_of_Israel%2C_Rothschild_Haggadah_2861723_486098.jpg)
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, composed in stages between the 7th and 6th centuries, mentions the "diseases of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 7:15 and 28:60) but refers to something that afflicted the Israelites, not the Egyptians, and never specifies the plagues.
The traditional number of ten plagues is not actually mentioned in
Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
, 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)
* 105 (MBTA bus)
* 105 (Northumberland) Construction Regiment, Royal Engineers, an English military unit ...
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
Scholars broadly agree that
the Exodus
The Exodus (Hebrew: יציאת מצרים, ''Yeẓi’at Miẓrayim'': ) is the founding myth of the Israelites whose narrative is spread over four books of the Torah (or Pentateuch, corresponding to the first five books of the Bible), namely E ...
is not a historical account, that the Israelites originated in
Canaan
Canaan (; Phoenician: 𐤊𐤍𐤏𐤍 – ; he, כְּנַעַן – , in pausa – ; grc-bib, Χανααν – ;The current scholarly edition of the Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus T ...
and from the
Canaanites and that, while a small group of proto-Israelites probably did originate from Egypt, it did not happen in the massive way the Bible describes.
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 Dutch National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden, Netherlands. It contains the ...
, written probably in the late
Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt
The Twelfth Dynasty of ancient Egypt (Dynasty XII) is considered to be the apex of the Middle Kingdom by Egyptologists. It often is combined with the Eleventh, Thirteenth, and Fourteenth dynasties under the group title, Middle Kingdom. Some ...
(c. 1991–1803 BCE), 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.
Artistic representation
Visual art
![Lamentations over the Death of the First-Born of Egypt by Charles Sprague Pearce](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Lamentations_over_the_Death_of_the_First-Born_of_Egypt_by_Charles_Sprague_Pearce.JPG)
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, 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
''Israel in Egypt'', HWV 54, is a biblical oratorio by the composer George Frideric Handel. Most scholars believe the libretto was prepared by Charles Jennens, who also compiled the biblical texts for Handel's '' Messiah''. It is composed ...
'', 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.
Documentaries
* ''
The Exodus Decoded'' (2006)
Films
* ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
'' (1923)
* ''
The Moon of Israel'' (1924)
* ''
The Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments ( Biblical Hebrew עשרת הדברים \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדְּבָרִים, ''aséret ha-dvarím'', lit. The Decalogue, The Ten Words, cf. Mishnaic Hebrew עשרת הדיברות \ עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְ ...
'' (1956)
* ''
The Abominable Dr. Phibes'' (1971)
* ''
The Seventh Sign
''The Seventh Sign'' is a 1988 American apocalyptic drama horror film written by Clifford and Ellen Green and directed by Carl Schultz. The title and plot reference the seven seals described in the Book of Revelation, the final book of the New ...
'' (1988)
* ''
Moses'' (1995)
* ''
The Prince of Egypt
''The Prince of Egypt'' is a 1998 American animated musical drama film produced by DreamWorks Animation and released by DreamWorks Pictures. The first feature film from DreamWorks to be traditionally animated, it is an adaptation of the Bo ...
'' (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'', ''Dugandiodendro ...
'' (1999)
* ''
The Mummy
A mummy is an unusually well preserved corpse.
Mummy or The Mummy may also refer to:
Places
*Mummy Range, a mountain range in the Rocky Mountains of northern Colorado in the United States
*Mummy Cave, a rock shelter and archeological site in Par ...
'' (1999)
* ''
The Reaping
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (2007)
* ''
Exodus: Gods and Kings'' (2014)
* ''
Seder-Masochism
''Seder-Masochism'' is a 2018 American animation, animated musical film, musical List of films based on the Bible, biblical comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. The film reinterprets the Book o ...
'' (2018)
Image 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:
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 ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...
File:Martin, John - The Seventh Plague - 1823.jpg, The Seventh Plague: 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 ( , , ; 6 January 1832 – 23 January 1883) was a French artist, as a printmaker, illustrator, painter, comics artist, caricaturist, and sculptor. He is best known for his prolific output of wood-engravin ...
See also
*
Aaron's rod
Aaron's rod refers to any of the walking sticks carried by Moses's 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. T ...
*
Jochebed
*
Miriam
References
Further reading
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{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