7 Plagues Egyptian Old Testament. "Egyptian plagues"
The exact date of the disasters described in the Pentateuch is unknown; moreover, it is also unclear under which pharaoh all this happened. At least not a word is said about such an incident in the documentary sources of Egypt. And although at different periods Ancient Egypt really experienced hard times, there are no records of global catastrophes like the biblical ones in papyri. Some researchers tend to believe that this is due to the total death of educated scribes, and the fact that there was simply no one to capture the events. Others believe that no records were left so as not to document the shame of the pharaoh. However, if we assume that Egypt really suffered from a terrible punishment, is it possible to explain it in terms of modern science?
blood punishment
According to the legend, Moses turned the waters of the Nile into blood with the help of his rod, after which all the fish died out, and the water became undrinkable.
Scientists believe that a similar phenomenon (water coloration) could be caused by a bloom of red algae, which occurs in both fresh and salt water bodies. This, in turn, could be triggered by drought and climate change, which turned a full-flowing river into a viscous stream - a comfortable breeding ground for bacteria and toxic algae. The poison secreted by these organisms really makes the water unfit for consumption and destroys all living things. The toxins can also poison the air around contaminated water, causing breathing problems for those living in the immediate area. Another explanation could be a powerful volcanic eruption on the island of Santorini in 1628 BC. e., which caused a tsunami that hit the coast of Egypt (archaeological excavations in Egypt confirmed the presence of pieces of volcanic stone in the soil). Salt water that got into fresh springs could lead to the death of some species of fish, and a variety of blue-green algae could release nitrogen. During the flowering period, the algae acquires a reddish tint, which makes the water look like blood.
Execution by toads
The next punishment of the Egyptians was the invasion of frogs, which, according to Exodus, "covered the land of Egypt."
The release of frogs from the water, in turn, could be directly related to the first execution and the poisoned waters of the Nile. Amphibians left the contaminated habitat, which turned into a massive exit of frogs to land. History knows many cases of the “frog rain” phenomenon. This has happened in the recent past, for example, in 2010 in Greece, thousands of frogs climbed out of a lake in the north of the country in search of food and provoked a road collapse that lasted several days. Animal behavior is explained by environmental and climatic changes that make their habitats uninhabitable.
Execution by frogs. (pinterest.com)
The third misfortune that struck the Egyptians was the hordes of midges that scattered around the area. "And there were midges on people and on cattle."
A sharp increase in the population of insects could be caused by the mass exodus and extinction of frogs, which, as you know, feed on midges. In addition, dead fish thrown ashore contributed to their spread. Certain types of flies are infectious transmitters, some are even capable of carrying bacteria that cause plague.
Dogfly punishment
Following the midges that stuck around all people and livestock, a new punishment followed: the Egyptians were attacked by hordes of "dog flies", which "differed in fierceness and persistence."
Midge invasion. (pinterest.com)
The description of these creatures, which had signs of both flies and wild animals with a sting, resembles either a gadfly or a mosquito. There is an assumption that it could be snakes and scorpions. However, there is a possibility that the “dog flies” were actually something like an “autumn zhigalka”, sucking blood and being a carrier of dangerous diseases like staphylococcus aureus, sepsis and anthrax.
Pestilence
The logical turn of the events described above was the total death of livestock. Exodus says that all the livestock of the Egyptians perished.
Flies that feed on blood can harm a person, however, in the first place, it is animals that attack, infecting them with deadly diseases. This could trigger rinderpest. Similar epidemics were recorded for different years both in Europe and in Africa. The animals had fever, diarrhea, their body was covered with ulcers. According to another version, the plague came to Egypt from Asia, and the consequences were the same as when the disease was transmitted by flies.
Ulcers and boils
The next victim was the people of Egypt directly: Moses and his brother Aaron took a handful of soot, threw it into the air in front of Pharaoh, and the bodies of the Egyptians were covered with terrible boils.
Such an epidemic could have been the common smallpox, which causes the skin to blister and become reddish and swollen. Subsequently, the wounds heal, but scars and rashes remain. The infection is extremely contagious, and therefore it could provoke a mass disease. It is known that traces of this disease were found when examining the mummy of Pharaoh Ramses V. It is believed that smallpox came to Egypt about 3000 years ago.
Thunder, lightning and fiery hail
Another misfortune was a strong storm, and a fiery hail fell on the land of Egypt, and hail beat everything that was in the field, from man to cattle.
Darkness. (pinterest.com)
The disaster in the form of burning particles falling from the sky was most likely a consequence of the very volcanic eruption on the Greek island of Santorini. Together with a powerful tsunami, the ash storm turned into a real large-scale catastrophe and probably affected a vast territory.
Locust Invasion
Hordes of these insects came to Egypt along with a strong wind and devoured the crops, as well as all the vegetation.
The same volcanic eruption should be blamed for this: the ash cloud provoked serious climatic anomalies, expressed in precipitation and increased humidity. Such conditions are extremely comfortable for the reproduction of locusts.
Darkness
Pharaoh still refused to let the Jews go, and then Moses caused a "thick darkness" that spread over all the land of Egypt for three days.
This phenomenon could be caused either by the formation of a dense cloud of volcanic dust or by a simple solar eclipse. According to NASA, there was indeed a solar eclipse in 1223 BC. In both cases, the darkness could indeed be impenetrable.
Execution of the firstborn
The last disaster sent by God to Egypt was the wholesale death of the firstborn, which did not bypass, including the family of the pharaoh. Only Jewish babies were not affected by the attack.
Death of the pharaoh's firstborn. (pinterest.com)
The death of the first-born could be the result of both a massive epidemic, which, as discussed above, struck many Egyptians, or a consequence of the spread of a harmful fungus that infected the crops. In this case, everything was explained by the fact that the first-born were given food products that contained this harmful mold, which could provoke a fatal disease. And since it was the first-born males who were supposed to be the first to be fed, they could fall victim to a dangerous fungus.
Have you heard the expression "the plagues of Egypt"? So they say, expecting something terrible. This legend came from the Bible, which tells of the Ten Plagues of Egypt. Five chapters of the book of Exodus are devoted to describing how the Lord brings one disaster after another to Egypt. According to the Bible, the executions were sent in order for the stubborn Pharaoh to give permission to the Jews to leave the country and go to the Promised Land. It turns out that there is a materialistic explanation for all these terrible events.So, the second biblical book - Exodus - describes how hard the existence of the Jewish people under the yoke of the pharaoh. And so the Lord appeared to Moses in the form of a burning bush (a burning thorn bush) and commanded him to free his people from slavery and lead them to the Promised Land. Moses, together with his brother Aaron, came to Pharaoh and demanded in the name of the Lord to let the Jews out of Egypt, but Pharaoh, laughing at them, refused. It was then that the Lord unleashed the Ten Plagues on Egypt one after the other.
First, the water in the Nile turned to blood, the river became foul-smelling, and all the fish in it died out. But this did not impress the pharaoh. Then the Second Plague followed: the invasion of toads began. They "covered the land of Egypt," they climbed into the houses, into the beds of the Egyptians, into their ovens, into their food. Pharaoh was adamant. The Third Plague followed: the Egyptians and their cattle were attacked by countless clouds of midges. The pharaoh remained at his own. The turn of the Fourth Plague came: the houses of the Egyptians were filled with dog flies (according to the traditional interpretation, gadflies). They stung the Egyptians and their cattle, but, like the toads and midges before them, bypassed the Jews. This disaster also did not make the pharaoh come to his senses. The fifth plague was the death of the Egyptians' livestock, then the Sixth plague - their bodies (including Pharaoh's) were covered with ulcers and abscesses. Pharaoh was ready to surrender, but the Lord wanted him to let the Jews go not out of fear, but out of humility before Him, and Moses and Aaron were again refused. The seventh execution was a deadly fiery hail, the Eighth - an invasion of locusts that destroyed the entire crop, the Ninth - impenetrable darkness that no fire could dispel (the same Egyptian Darkness). Pharaoh, in his last conversation with Moses after the Ninth Plague, allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, but ordered them to leave their livestock, which survived all the disasters (the Egyptians did not have their own livestock). Moses refused, and the time came for the Tenth Plague, the most terrible.
The Lord commanded every Jewish family to slaughter a lamb, mark the entrances to their homes with its blood, and feast in their homes all night. At night, the angel of death descended to earth and went through Egypt, killing the first child in every family. Including the heir of the pharaoh was killed. The angel of death bypassed the houses of the Jews, which were marked with the blood of sacrificial lambs. After that, the pharaoh surrendered - he allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, taking all their property. The Exodus has begun. And in memory of the feast during the Tenth Plague of Egypt, which preceded the liberation from slavery, the Pesach holiday was established (from the word Pesach - bypass, bypass).
There are many attempts to find a materialistic explanation for all these bloody events. And here is another version put forward by a group of scientists - climatologists and biologists from Germany. At the University of Heidelberg, at the Institute for the Ecology of Water Systems and Fisheries, at the Institute of Atmospheric Physics, scientists studied traces of radioactive elements in stalagmites in Egyptian caves and, on the basis of this, were able to form an idea of two natural disasters that coincided in time, which could give impetus to the birth of the legend of the Executions.
The capital of Egypt in the 13th century BC, to which the Exodus dates, was the city of Per-Ramses (House of Ramses) in the Nile Delta. This city, according to archaeologists, was abandoned by the inhabitants about three thousand years ago. German scholars believe that the same natural disasters that in the Bible turned into the Plagues of Egypt were the reason why the Egyptians left Per-Ramses.
The main disasters that caused everyone else were two: drought and volcanic eruption. The researchers found that during almost the entire reign of Ramses II in Egypt there were abundant rains, the Nile regularly flooded, providing good harvests, and the country prospered. However, in the last years of the reign of Ramses came a drought. The Nile began to shallow, and its course slowed down. In the hot climate of Egypt, the consequences were inevitable: the water began to bloom. The algae Oscillatoria rubescens multiplied in the river. These algae are also called "burgundy blood" due to the fact that they give the water a dark red tint. This phenomenon can be observed in stagnant reservoirs today. So the First Egyptian plague came, in which "all the water in the river turned into blood, and the fish in the river died out, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river."
The subsequent disasters of Egypt, according to scholars, were the result of the first. Biologists know that in extreme situations that threaten mass extinction (for example, due to the rapid reproduction of poisonous algae), tadpoles due to a hormonal surge can develop into adult toads at an accelerated rate. Such an event took place in Egypt more than three thousand years ago. All this mass of born toads poured out of the Nile, which had become uninhabitable, in an avalanche in search of places where it was possible to hide from the heat.
There were no such places, and the toads began to die en masse from lack of food and the scorching sun. Their rotting corpses became food for insects, which, accordingly, rapidly multiplied. Insects, in addition to annoying people with bites, are the main carriers of infectious diseases. Here, after midges, an epidemic and epizootic followed, leading to a sharp increase in mortality among people, and the loss of livestock.
It seems that the cause of Executions One through Six was an extraordinary drought. What about the rest - how to explain the fiery hail, the invasion of locusts and the Egyptian darkness? It turns out that there was once a volcano in the Aegean Sea, on the Santorini archipelago. Its eruption in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC gave rise to many ancient myths and legends of the peoples of the Mediterranean. In particular, it is believed that the death of the civilization of the Cyclades as a result of the devastating eruption of the Santorini volcano and the earthquake became the primary source of the legend of Atlantis. Don't you find that the Rain of Fire and the Egyptian Darkness are very similar to the consequences of a major volcanic eruption, when clouds of ash obscure the sky and fall to the ground? As a result of the formation of the same clouds, weather anomalies could also occur, such as an increase in rainfall, which led to extreme breeding and migration of locusts.
So, all the Ten Plagues of Egypt receive quite scientific explanation.
Promising that otherwise God will punish Egypt. The pharaoh did not obey, and 10 disasters fell on Egypt, and each time after the pharaoh's new refusal to let the Jews go, another disaster followed:
- Blood punishment.
- Execution by toads.
- Invasion of blood-sucking insects (midges, lice, lice, bedbugs).
- Punishment with dog flies.
- Sea of cattle.
- Ulcers and boils.
- Thunder, lightning and fiery hail.
- Locust invasion.
- Unusual darkness (Egyptian darkness).
- Death of the firstborn.
blood punishment
Ulcers and boils
After that, the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to take a handful of furnace black and throw it high up in front of Pharaoh. So they did, and the bodies of the Egyptians and animals were covered with their terrible sores and boils.
And the pharaoh was afraid that he would suffer and itch for the rest of his life because of ulcers and abscesses and decided to let the Jews go. But God hardened his heart and gave him the courage to act according to his convictions, for he wanted Pharaoh to let the Jews go not out of fear, but out of the realization that not a single earthly king could argue with God. And again Pharaoh did not let the Jews go (Ex.).
Then God struck Egypt for the seventh time:
Thunder, lightning and fiery hail
A storm began, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and fiery hail fell on Egypt.
The Egyptians saw that a flame was burning in every hailstone and were horrified, because they realized that this was the wrath of the One Who can change the nature of things. Pharaoh then confessed to Moses and Aaron, asked them to pray to God for the hail to stop, promising that he would let the Jews go. Moses prayed to God, and the hail stopped. But again the pharaoh did not keep his promise.
And the eighth plague came upon Egypt:
Locust Invasion
A strong wind blew, and behind the wind hordes of locusts flew into Egypt, devouring all the greenery down to the last blade of grass on the land of Egypt.
And again Pharaoh asked Moses to beg for mercy from God, and again promised to let the Jews go. Moses called to God, and the wind blew in the other direction, and he carried away all the locusts. But again God strengthened the heart of Pharaoh, and again he did not let the sons of Israel go.
And the ninth plague began:
Unusual darkness
The darkness that fell on Egypt was unusual, it was thick and dense, so that you could even touch it; and candles and torches could not dispel the darkness. Only the Jews had light, while the Egyptians were forced to move by touch. However, soon the darkness began to thicken, fettering the movements of the Egyptians, and now they could not even move.
And Pharaoh called Moses, and told him that he was letting the Jews go, only they should leave their livestock. However, Moses told Pharaoh that the Jews would not leave their cattle. Then Pharaoh told Moses to leave and not come again, promising that if he came, he would be executed. And then Moses said that he would not come again, but that a punishment would befall Egypt, worse than all the previous ones put together, for all the first-born sons would perish in Egypt.
Execution of the firstborn
And the punishment promised by Moses did not pass Egypt, and at midnight the widespread death of the firstborn followed.
After all the first-born in Egypt (with the exception of the Jews) died in one night, the pharaoh surrendered and allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, and so began the Exodus.
Historicity of the plot
Criticism
In the history of Egypt, documented in sufficient detail by numerous hieroglyphic texts, neither the "executions of Egypt" in the form as they are described in the Bible, nor any other events that could be associated with these executions, are mentioned. Although there were many tragic events in the history of Ancient Egypt (for example, the invasion of the Hyksos and the uprisings that led the country into complete chaos), none of these events can be directly compared with the description of the "executions of Egypt." [ ]
Moreover, it is not known under which pharaoh and even during the era of which dynasty the exodus of Jews from Egypt took place. If the Egyptian executions took place, then in all likelihood this event was local and so insignificant that it did not arouse the interest of the Egyptian society and was not reflected in any written monuments, except for the Bible. [ ]
There are also inconsistencies in the description: for example, if the fifth plague destroyed all Egyptian cattle, then it is not known from which cattle the firstborn was destroyed during the tenth (Ex.), and also by what animals 600 chariots were harnessed, which were part of the pharaoh's army, which began to persecute the Jews ().
Response to criticism
However, the absence of written evidence of the ten Egyptian executions is often explained by the fact that, as it is said in the Ipuwer papyrus, all the scribes of Egypt were killed, and their records were scattered to the wind. Some researchers believe that the events of the Egyptian executions were so fresh in the memory of the Egyptians that they did not consider it necessary to write down their history and publicize the humiliation of the Egyptian people and the exit of the Jews from subordination to the pharaoh. [ ]
It should also be taken into account that Egypt constantly teetered on the brink of a civil war with the Hyksos. As described in the Bible, after the death of the pharaoh, the new pharaoh forced the Jews to build a new capital, Raamses, a couple of kilometers from the capital, Avaris, which had been ruled by the Hyksos since ancient times. Moses, who killed the overseer, apparently worked at this construction site (because, when he returned, he began the Exodus of the Jews precisely from Raamses). Considering that 600 thousand Jewish men left - three times the population of Avaris at that time - it can be assumed that these were the "Asians", whom the pharaoh drove the army and who are described in the Ipuver papyrus (which also mentions the "reddened sea", "poisoned water "and" pestilence).
Cattle could be bred from Jewish cattle that had not been subjected to pestilence, and could also be bought from other countries.
Some researchers refer to the Ipuver papyrus, finding in it many coincidences with the events described in the Bible. On this basis, it is concluded that the “executions of Egypt” took place, possibly, during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II and his son Merneptah.
Scientific research
Attempts are being made to scientifically substantiate the 10 Plagues of Egypt. A group of European scientists with the director of the New York Department of Health (English) Russian epidemiologist John Marr (German) Russian scientifically substantiated and linked in a logical sequence "10 Plagues of Egypt", in particular:
- The reddening of the water is a well-known phenomenon of "red tides" - a bloom of Physteria algae, emitting toxins and absorbing oxygen, which causes the death of fish and an exodus of toads. (According to amphibiologist Dr. Richard Vasasyuk, the word used in the Bible can mean any kind of anurans amphibians, according to him they were toads of the genus "bufo"; each toad lays a million eggs, which the dead fish stopped eating, which caused an explosion in the population).
- Dying toads and rotting fish bring in flies to carry the infection, the fly was positively identified as culicoides (English) Russian(a kind of midge). (In ancient times, there was no classification of flies, so scientists involved the director of the Mississippi Museum of Entomology Richard Brown, Andrew Shpilman, and the director of the Department of Animal Disease Research at the US Department of Agriculture, Roger Breeze, to the study.)
- The infective midge causes subsequent executions - loss of livestock and ulcers, identified as signs of glanders infection, transmitted by flies at a distance of 1.5 km.
- Thunder, lightning and fiery hail - alludes to the volcanic theory. The Bible directly describes a pillar of smoke and fire in the distance, to which Moses led the Jews for 11 days, debris falling from the sky, a mountain shaking underfoot. (Ex., Ex., Ex., Ex., Deut.)
- 3 days without the Sun is a sandstorm that lasted not the usual 1-2 days, but 3 days. The cause of a prolonged storm could be the destruction of crops and flora by locusts (the winds were not restrained by foliage) or a possible volcanic eruption that caused climatic anomalies and a volcanic winter.
- The death of the firstborn is explained by the toxins of the fungus Stachybotrys atra (English) Russian, bred in the upper layer of grain stocks, which got there from water or excrement of locusts. The infection could be the result of a combination of a number of cultural factors. According to Egyptian tradition, the eldest sons ate first in the family, receiving a double portion; cattle feed in the same way - the strongest eldest animal is the first to make its way to the feeder. The firstborn were the first to be poisoned, having received a double portion from the upper, infected grain stores. The Jews did not suffer from this execution, for they settled far from the large Egyptian cities and had independent food supplies. In addition, they were shepherds, not farmers, and a significant proportion of their diet was not grain, like the Egyptians, but meat and milk.
The volcanic theory of the Exodus is substantiated, that Executions are phenomena accompanying the explosion of volcanoes (in particular, the reddening of water).
Executions in culture and art
Music
- The story of the Exodus formed the basis of the first part of George Handel's oratorio "Israel in Egypt" (eng. Israel in Egypt; 1739).
- The lyrics of the song "Creeping Death" (1984) by the group "Metallica"Written on behalf of the angel of death, describing 10 Egyptian executions.
- The second album "Exodus" of the Russian group "Shokran" is completely dedicated to 10 executions, all 10 tracks of the album are named according to the names of the executions, and the lyrics describe the event of each execution [
His people, promising that otherwise God would punish Egypt. The pharaoh did not obey, and 10 disasters fell on Egypt, and each time after the pharaoh's new refusal to let the Jews go, another disaster followed:
- blood punishment
- Execution by frogs
- Invasion of blood-sucking insects (midges, lice, bedbugs)
- Dogfly punishment
- Pestilence
- Ulcers and boils
- Thunder, lightning and fiery hail
- Locust Invasion
- Unusual darkness (Egyptian darkness)
- Death of the firstborn
blood punishment
“And he lifted up the rod and struck the water of the river before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all the water in the river turned to blood, and the fish in the river died out, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink the water from the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.”
- Ex.7:20,21
All the water in the Nile, other reservoirs and containers turned into blood, but remained transparent to the Jews (and even the one that the Jews had turned into blood if the Egyptians tried to take it away). The Egyptians could only drink the water for which they paid money to the Jews.
James Tissot (1836–1902), Public DomainThen, according to legend, the pharaoh's sorcerers bought water from the Jews and began to conjure over it, they managed to turn it into blood, and the pharaoh decided that the punishment with blood was not the punishment of the Lord, but just witchcraft, and did not let the Jews go.
Execution by frogs
“And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, Stretch out your hand with your rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the lakes, and bring out the frogs on the land of Egypt. Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came out and covered the land of Egypt.”
-Ex. 8:5,6
As was promised to Pharaoh: “they will go out and enter into your house, and into your bedroom, and onto your bed, and into the houses of your servants and your people, and into your ovens, and into your kneaders” (Ex. 8:3) . Frogs filled the whole land of Egypt.
The second Egyptian plague is frogs. Illustration from the illustrated bible encyclopedia Archimandrite Nicephorus (1891) G.N. Petrov, Public Domain
The Egyptian sorcerers again began to conjure, and they managed to make it so that the frogs became even more, but they told the pharaoh that they did not know such witchcraft that would allow them to remove the frogs. Then Pharaoh told Moses that he would believe that God had punished Egypt and would let his people go if God removed all the frogs. After the disappearance of the frogs, the pharaoh decided to renege on his promise.
Invasion of midges
As a third punishment, a horde of midges fell upon Egypt, which attacked the Egyptians, stuck around them, climbed into their eyes, nose, ears.
“... Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the earth, and midges appeared on people and on cattle. All the dust of the earth became midges throughout the land of Egypt. The magicians also tried to produce midges with their charms, but they could not. And there were midges on people and on cattle. And the wise men said to Pharaoh, This is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said."
-Ex. 8:17-19
This time, the sorcerers could not help the pharaoh and said that they did not know such witchcraft, and that this must be all really the punishment of the Lord, and the Jews should be released. However, the pharaoh and this time was adamant.
And then God brought down the fourth plague on Egypt:
Dogfly punishment
“And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise early tomorrow and appear before Pharaoh. Behold, he will go to the water, and you shall say to him: Thus says the Lord: Let My people go, that they may serve Me. but if you do not let my people go, then, behold, I will send flies on you and on your servants and on your people and on your houses, and the houses of the Egyptians will be filled with flies and the very land on which they live; And in that day I will separate the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, and there will be no flies, so that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth; I will make a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow there will be a sign. So the Lord did: many flies flew into the house of Pharaohs, and into the houses of his servants, and into all the land of Egypt: the land perished from flies.
-Ex. 8:20-25
Clouds of these flies covered the people and filled the houses of the Egyptians. “According to Philo, the insect that served as the instrument of the fourth execution combined the properties of flies and dogs, was distinguished by ferocity and persistence. From afar, like an arrow, it rushed at a person or animal and, rapidly attacking, dug into the body with a sting and, as it were, stuck to it ”(Lopukhin’s Explanatory Bible). Most likely, the dog flies mean gadflies that haunted the Egyptians and their herds of animals.
The main lesson of this execution was that God openly revealed to Pharaoh and all the Egyptians the difference between them and the Jews. Dog flies were everywhere, except for the region of Goshen, in which the Jews lived; they were in every house except the houses of the Israelites: verses 22-23 “... that day I will separate the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, and there will be no flies, so that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth; I will make a division between my people and your people."
Such a division between the two peoples and their areas of residence in Egypt showed the pharaoh that the God of Israel is the Lord who sent the Egyptian executions, and that it is He who is the God over Egypt, surpassing all Egyptian deities and idols in strength and power. Then Pharaoh called Moses to him and again promised to let the Jews go, and after the disappearance of wild animals, he again broke his promise.
And the fifth plague came upon Egypt:
Doré (1832–1883), Public Domain
Pestilence
The livestock in the field died out among all the Egyptians, only the Jews were not attacked. And then Pharaoh realized that God was taking care of the Jews, but he became stubborn and still did not let the Jews go (Ex. 9:3-7).
Ulcers and boils
After that, the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to take a handful of furnace black and toss it high up in front of Pharaoh. So they did, and the bodies of the Egyptians and animals were covered with their terrible sores and boils.
And the pharaoh was afraid that he would suffer and itch for the rest of his life because of ulcers and abscesses and decided to let the Jews go. But God strengthened his heart and gave him the courage to act according to his convictions, for he wanted Pharaoh to let the Jews go not out of fear, but out of the realization that not a single earthly king could argue with God. And again Pharaoh did not let the Jews go (Ex. 9:8-11).
Then God struck Egypt for the seventh time:
Thunder, lightning and fiery hail
A storm began, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and fiery hail fell on Egypt.
“And the Lord brought forth thunder and hail, and fire poured out over the earth; and the Lord sent hail into the land of Egypt; and there was hail, and fire among the hail, exceedingly great, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since the time it was inhabited. And the hail overwhelmed all the land of Egypt, everything that was in the field, from man to cattle, and the hail overwhelmed all the grass of the field, and broke all the trees in the field.
-Ex.9:23-25
The Egyptians saw that a flame was burning in every hailstone and were horrified, because they realized that this was the wrath of the One Who can change the nature of things.
John Martin (1789–1854), Public Domain
Pharaoh then confessed to Moses and Aaron, asked them to pray to God for the hail to stop, promising that he would let the Jews go. Moses prayed to God, and the hail stopped. But again the pharaoh did not keep his promise.
And the eighth plague came upon Egypt:
Locust Invasion
A strong wind blew, and behind the wind hordes of locusts flew into Egypt, devouring all the greenery down to the last blade of grass on the land of Egypt.
And again Pharaoh asked Moses to beg for mercy from God, and again promised to let the Jews go. Moses called to God, and the wind blew in the other direction, and he carried away all the locusts. But again God strengthened the heart of Pharaoh, and again he did not let the children of Israel go.
And the ninth plague began: Exodus 10:13-15
Unusual darkness
“Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was thick darkness over all the land of Egypt for three days; did not see each other, and no one got up from his place for three days; but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.”
-Ex. 10:22-23
The darkness that fell on Egypt was unusual, it was thick and dense, so that you could even touch it; and candles and torches could not dispel the darkness. Only the Jews had light, while the Egyptians were forced to move by touch. However, soon the darkness began to thicken, fettering the movements of the Egyptians, and now they could not even move.
And Pharaoh called Moses, and told him that he was letting the Jews go, only they should leave their livestock. However, Moses told Pharaoh that the Jews would not leave their cattle. Then Pharaoh ordered Moses to leave and not come again, promising that if he came, he would be executed. And then Moses said that he would not come again, but that a punishment would befall Egypt, more terrible than all the previous ones put together, for all the first-born sons would perish in Egypt.
Doré (1832–1883), Public Domain
Execution of the firstborn
And the punishment promised by Moses did not pass Egypt, and at midnight the widespread death of the firstborn followed.
“At midnight, the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, who sat on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner, who was in prison, and all the firstborn of cattle”
-Ex. 12:29
After all the first-born in Egypt (with the exception of the Jews) died in one night, the pharaoh surrendered and allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, and so the Exodus began.
Photo gallery
Helpful information
Ten Plagues of Egypt
Historicity of the plot
Criticism
In the history of Egypt, documented in sufficient detail by numerous hieroglyphic texts, neither the "executions of Egypt" in the form as they are described in the Bible, nor any other events that could be associated with these executions, are mentioned. Although in history ancient egypt there were many tragic events (for example, the invasion of the Hyksos and the uprisings that led the country into complete chaos), none of these events can be directly compared with the description of the "executions of Egypt."
Moreover, it is not known under which pharaoh and even during the era of which dynasty the exodus of Jews from Egypt took place. If the Egyptian executions took place, then in all likelihood this event was local and so insignificant that it did not arouse the interest of the Egyptian society and was not reflected in any written monuments, except for the Bible.
There are also inconsistencies in the description: for example, if the fifth plague destroyed all Egyptian cattle, then it is not known from which cattle the firstborn was destroyed during the tenth (Ex. 11: 5), and also by what animals six hundred chariots that were part of the army were harnessed pharaoh, who began to persecute the Jews (14:7) (at the sea, the cattle in the field were destroyed, although "field" can be a country according to the source text, at the same time, the word "all" is not in the source text).
Response to criticism
However, the absence of written evidence of the ten Egyptian executions is often explained by the fact that, as it is said in the Ipuver papyrus, all the scribes of Egypt were killed, and their records were scattered to the wind. Some researchers believe that the events of the Egyptian executions were so fresh in the memory of the Egyptians that they did not consider it necessary to write down their history and publicize the humiliation of the Egyptian people and the exit of the Jews from subordination to the pharaoh.
It should also be taken into account that Egypt constantly teetered on the brink of civil war with the Hyksos. As described in the Bible, after the death of the pharaoh, the new pharaoh forced the Jews to build a new capital, Raamses, a couple of kilometers from the capital Avaris, which had been ruled by the Hyksos since ancient times. Moses, who killed the overseer, apparently worked at this construction site (because, when he returned, he began the Exodus of the Jews precisely from Raamses). Considering that 600 thousand Jewish men left - three times the population of Avaris at that time - it can be assumed that these were the "Asians", whom the pharaoh drove the army and who are described in the Ipuver papyrus (which also mentions the "reddened sea", "poisoned water "and" pestilence).
Some researchers refer to the Ipuwer papyrus, finding in it many coincidences with the events described in the Bible. On this basis, it is concluded that the "executions of Egypt" took place, possibly, during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II and his son Merneptah.
Scientific research
Attempts are being made to scientifically substantiate the 10 Plagues of Egypt. A group of European scientists with the director of the New York Department of Health (English) Russian. epidemiologist John Marr (German) Russian scientifically substantiated and linked in a logical sequence "10 Plagues of Egypt", in particular:
- The reddening of the water is a well-known "red tide" phenomenon - a bloom of Physteria algae emitting toxins and absorbing oxygen, which causes the death of fish and an exodus of toads. (According to amphibiologist Dr. Richard Vasasyuk, the word used in the Bible can mean any kind of tailless amphibian, according to him it was a type of toad "bufo"; each toad lays a million eggs, which the dead fish stopped eating, which caused an explosion in the toad population. )
- Dying toads and rotting fish cause the arrival of flies - carriers of infection, the fly was accurately identified by signs as culicoides (English) Russian .. (In ancient times there was no classification of flies, so scientists attracted the director of the Mississippi Museum of Entomology Richard Brown, Andrew Shpilman, to the study, and Director of the Division of Animal Disease Research at the USDA, Roger Breeze.)
- The infective midge causes subsequent executions - the loss of livestock and ulcers, identified as signs of infection with glanders, transmitted by flies at a distance of 1.5 km.
- Thunder, lightning and fiery hail - alludes to the volcanic theory. The Bible directly describes a pillar of smoke and fire in the distance, to which Moses led the Jews for 11 days, debris falling from the sky, a mountain shaking underfoot. (Ex. 9:23-25, Ex. 13:21-22, Ex. 19:18, Ex. 24:15-16, Deut. 1:33)
- 3 days without sun sandstorm, which lasted not the usual 1-2 days, but 3 days. The cause of a prolonged storm could be the destruction of crops and flora by locusts (the winds were not restrained by foliage) or a possible volcanic eruption that caused climatic anomalies and a volcanic winter.
- The death of the first-born is explained by the toxins of the fungus Stachybotrys atra (English) Russian, which bred only in the upper layer of grain reserves, which got there from water or locust excrement, and its fermentation into a very strong poison - mycotoxin. Infection could be the result of a combination of a number of cultural factors: According to the Egyptian tradition, the eldest sons ate first in the family, receiving a double portion; cattle feed in the same way - the strongest eldest animal is the first to make its way to the feeder. The firstborn were the first to be poisoned, having received a double portion from the top infected grain stocks. The Jews did not suffer from this execution, for they settled far from the large Egyptian cities and had independent food supplies. In addition, they were shepherds, not farmers, and a significant proportion of their diet was not grain, like the Egyptians, but meat and milk.
The volcanic theory of the Exodus is substantiated, that Executions are phenomena accompanying the explosion of volcanoes (in particular, the reddening of water).
Executions in culture and art
Music
- The story of the Exodus formed the basis of the first part of G. F. Handel's oratorio "Israel in Egypt" (Exodus).
- Metallica wrote a song called "Creeping Death" that directly references some of the executions.
- The Akroma band devoted their entire album Seth, released in 2009, to describing ten Egyptian plagues.
- The Israeli band Amaseffer dedicated the entire Exodus of the Jews to the 2008 album Exodus - Slaves For Life
- The Louis Armstrong song "Go Down Moses" mentions the threat of the death of firstborns.
Cinema
- Harvest - the plot of the film is based on the local manifestation of 10 Egyptian executions in a small American town, the entire population of which is a satanic sect.
- The Prince of Egypt is a cartoon adaptation of the events of the Exodus.
- Mummy (USA, 1999). The plot of the film: gold diggers in search of the treasures of the pharaoh disturbed the centuries-old peace of the tomb, and the mummy rises from the grave, bringing with it 10 disasters of Egypt.
- Lie to Me ("Lie Theory") Season 2 Episode 19, mention of 10 Egyptian executions by Lightman, after phone calls from a maniac
- Supernatural (TV series) (Supernatural) Season 6 Episode 3, Egyptian executions were sent to negligent police officers by a little boy, as well as to the messenger Raphael by Balthazar with the staff of Moses.
- The Creation of the World is an adaptation of the Old Testament.
- Haven (Haven) 2 season 1 series, Egyptian executions fall on the town.
- Ten Commandments (film)
Egyptian executions- ten punishments of God that befell Egypt for Pharaoh's refusal to release the people of Israel from Egyptian captivity. Described in the Old Testament, in the book of Exodus ().
The religion of Egypt at that time was polytheism - belief in several deities. Egyptian pantheon included a large number of deities of various significance. Each city had its own, especially revered cults. Natural phenomena were also deified: the sun, stars, wind, natural disasters. Animals, birds, reptiles and even insects also became objects of worship.
In addition, the ancient Egyptians mixed human and animal principles in their beliefs. An example is the goddess Sakhmet, a healer of diseases, depicted as a woman with the face of a lioness. Many pharaohs identified themselves with sphinxes during their lifetime and commanded to imprint this in stone. A number of sculptures of sphinxes, which are now in the Cairo Museum, testify to this. Some of them have survived to this day.
One of the key roles in the religion of Egypt was played by the pharaoh himself, who acted as the only "intermediary" between people and gods. The pharaoh was the supreme ruler and at the same time the high priest.
According to the beliefs of the Egyptians, the first pharaoh was the god Ra himself. Other gods ruled behind him. Later, the son of Osiris and Isis, the god Horus, appears on the throne. Horus was considered the prototype of all Egyptian pharaohs, and the pharaohs themselves were his earthly incarnation. Every real pharaoh was considered a descendant of both Ra and Horus.
From his very birth, the pharaoh was revered both as the supreme ruler and as a deity. It is quite natural that the ruler of Egypt asked Moses: “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him [and] let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go ”(). Moses' request was immediately rejected by Pharaoh. Then the Lord said something very unusual to Moses: “Look, I made you God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet” (). Thus, the pharaoh had a "rival". The living God of Israel opposed one of the earthly gods.
When reading the story of the ten plagues, one often comes across the repeated phrase: “ And you will know that I am the Lord your God» (; ; ; ; ). This phrase emphasizes the meaning of everything that happens. The Lord wanted to show both the Egyptians and the Jews that He is the true, all-powerful God. Therefore, even to the Pharaoh himself, the Lord said in the midst of 10 Egyptian plagues: "I have kept you to show my power in you, and that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth"().
Ten plagues of Egypt followed one after another, after another refusal of the pharaoh to let the people of Israel go:
- Turning water into blood ()
- Invasion of toads ()
- Invasion of midges ()
- Dogfly punishment ()
- Pestilence ()
- Ulcers and boils ()
- Thunder, lightning and fiery hail ()
- Locust Invasion ()
- Dark ()
- Death of the firstborn ().
Some interpreters point out that the Egyptian executions consistently humiliated and shamed the Egyptian idols (Ra, Isis, Hapi, Amon, etc.) who were unable to protect those areas on which the Egyptians attributed influence.
The total duration of executions falls within the period from July of one year to March of the next.
All ten plagues of Egypt are reflected in the psalms and.
Psalm 77:41-51 «… they did not remember his hand, the day when he delivered them from oppression, when he did his signs in Egypt and his wonders in the field of Zoan; and turned their rivers and their streams into blood so they can't drink; sent to them insects to sting them, and toads to destroy them; gave their earthly growth to the caterpillar, and their labor locust; grapes killed them hail and their sycamores with ice; gave up their livestock to hail and their flocks to lightning; He sent upon them the flame of His anger, and indignation, and fury, and disaster, an embassy of evil angels; leveled the path with his wrath, he did not guard their souls from death, and the cattle betrayed them pestilence; hit everyone firstborn in Egypt, the first fruits of power in the tents of Ham»;
Psalm 104:26-36 « He sent Moses his servant, Aaron, whom he had chosen. They showed among them the words of His signs and His wonders in the land of Ham. sent darkness and made darkness and did not resist his word. He turned their water into blood, and killed their fish. The earth has produced many toads even in the bedroom of their kings. He said and different people came insects, sketches to all their limits. Instead of rain sent to them hail scorching fire upon their land, and crushed their vines and their fig trees, and crushed the trees within them. Said and came locust and caterpillars without number; and they ate all the grass in their land, and ate the fruit of their fields. And hit everyone firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength».
Priest Gennady Egorov. "The Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament":
What is the fault of Pharaoh, if God, as it is said, "hardened the heart" his ()? After all, the pharaoh turns out in this case just a toy in the hands of God? This is not entirely true. The same action of God in different ways different people affects, depending on their own location. God's assistance to the Israelites serves as a strengthening of faith for the Israelites, and for Pharaoh as a source of more and more fierce resistance (cf. - "Pharaoh's heart hardened"; ). “The point is not that the opposition was put into the soul of the pharaoh by divine will, but that he, by his own choice, due to his tendency to vice, did not accept arguments that soften this opposition.” The more God performs His miracles and assists the Israelites, the more hardened Pharaoh becomes. Just like in the Gospel story we see: the more the Lord Jesus Christ reveals His messianic dignity, reveals His divinity, the more and more madly opponents take up arms against Him.
Commentary of the New Geneva Bible:
"I will harden the heart of the pharaoh" (). This expression means "I will make hard" rather than "cruel". In other words, the Lord will not influence Pharaoh in any way so that he changes his mind - Pharaoh will convince Moses by word and signs.
Explanatory Bible Lopukhin:
The pharaoh himself is the culprit of this state insofar as, due to his pride and self-interest, he does not want to obey the higher divine will recognized by himself and those around him (;): during the execution he is ready to release the Jews, after passing it refuses to do so. But, on the other hand, the pharaoh's sinful inclination would not have developed to such an extent if the divine command to release the Jews had not been addressed to him. In this respect, God is responsible for the hardening of his heart.
The opinions of interpreters regarding the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, which is here attributed to God, are different. There are only ten such statements. Eight of them (; ; ; ; ) contain the word chazaq, which means that the Lord made Pharaoh's heart "hard", immovable, so that his feelings for Israel did not change. Another Hebrew word qashah is used, meaning that the Lord made Pharaoh's heart "hard" or "insensitive". In 10:1, the third word kabed is used, indicating that God made Pharaoh's heart "heavy" or insensitive to divine influence. An examination of the context shows that these different words are used more or less interchangeably.
The other ten statements say that Pharaoh himself hardened his heart. Four of them (; ; ). He also continued to refuse after the fourth and fifth plagues, which fell upon the Egyptians, but did not touch the Israelites, which was reported to the king (). The hardness of his heart is even more evident in his breaking his promise to let Israel go on the condition that Moses and Aaron stop the execution, and in his forced confession of his sin (). Thus, when Moses was told before coming to Egypt that the Lord would harden the heart of Pharaoh (). But just as the sun has a different effect on different materials in accordance with their nature - it melts wax, but hardens clay, for example, so the action of the Spirit of God on people's hearts has a different effect depending on the state of the heart. The repentant sinner allows the Holy Spirit to lead him to change and salvation, but the unrepentant one hardens his heart more and more. The same manifestation of God's mercy in one case leads to salvation and life, and in the other - to condemnation and death - in each case at the person's own choice.
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