Chapter 7
1-9. Moses receives a command from God to go to Pharaoh.
1. But the Lord said to Moses: Look, I have made you God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet:
2. You will tell (him) everything that I command you, and Aaron your brother will tell Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go out of his land;
1-2. In response to the words of Moses: “How will Pharaoh listen to me?” The Lord says to him: “Look, I have made you God to Pharaoh.” You are not afraid of Pharaoh. I have determined to give you and, indeed, I will give you such power that he will fear you as his god. And if kings obey and listen only to God, recognizing Him as superior to themselves, then surely he too will ultimately submit to you; your tongue-tiedness, which you refer to as the reason for the king’s disobedience, will also not matter. Your brother Aaron will speak for you through your mouth as a prophet (4:15).
3. But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and will show many of My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt;
4. Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay My hand on Egypt and will bring My army, My people, the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt with great judgments;
5. Then shall (all) the Egyptians know that I am the Lord, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among them.
6. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded them, and so they did.
7. Moses was eighty, and Aaron (his brother) was eighty-three years old when they began to speak to Pharaoh.
8. And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
9. If Pharaoh says to you: Do a (sign or) miracle, then you say to Aaron (your brother): Take your rod and throw it (on the ground) before Pharaoh (and before his servants), it will become a serpent.
10-13. The first sign is the transformation of the rod into a serpent.
10. Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh (and his servants) and did as the Lord commanded (them). And Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
10. From a comparison of verses 15 and 17. of this chapter from its 19th Art. it follows without doubt that the rod of Aaron (10) is the rod of Moses, miraculously transformed into a serpent at Horeb (4:2-4) and appointed to serve as an instrument for subsequent miracles. If it is called Aaronic, it is because it passes into the hands of Aaron, like the words of Moses into his mouth (4:30). Expression of snakes, Heb. “tannin,” into which the rod is turned, signifies all sea or river monsters and is specially applied to the crocodile, as a symbol of Egypt (Isa. 51:9; Ezek. 32:2; Ps. 73:13). In this place, this term is thought to mean some particular type of serpent, perhaps an asp, or an ureus, the royal serpent.
11. And Pharaoh called the wise men (of Egypt) and the sorcerers; and these magicians of Egypt did the same with their spells:
12 Each of them cast down his rod, and they became serpents, but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
11-12. Contrasting the divine power, of which Moses was an organ, with the knowledge and art of his magicians, Pharaoh invites wise men and sorcerers. The term "wise men", Heb. "hakamim", literally skilled in the arts, means representatives of one of the classes of the priestly caste, and "sorcerer", Heb. “mekashefim” (speaking quietly, in a whisper), indicates persons who perform sorcery, in particular, the spell of harmful animals through the unclear muttering of a magical formula. These persons, also called the Magi (Heb. “hargumim”), and by the Apostle Paul and by the name Jannes and Jambres (2 Tim. 3:8, their names, with some variants, were preserved in Targ. Jonath., in the Talmud, etc. ) did with their spells secret magical art the same thing as Aaron, that is, they turned their rods into snakes. How they did this, the text does not indicate. The newest exegetes explain the transformation of rods into snakes through an analogy with the art of charming snakes, known in ancient Egypt and mentioned in the Bible (Eccl. 10:11), bringing them into a state of numbness, in which they became like sticks. The Fathers of the Church attribute the art of magicians to the power of the devil. If the transformation of the magicians' staffs into snakes served for Pharaoh as clear proof that there was no superiority on the side of Moses, then the next moment of the first sign - the absorption of the magicians' staffs by the staff of Moses should have convinced him of the greater power of the messenger of God and Jehovah himself, in whose name he works. As can be seen from Egyptian monuments, the rod and snakes were symbols, emblems of deity and attributes of royal power. And if the rod of Moses devours the rods of the magicians, symbols of the deity, then this is undoubted proof that the power and strength of the Lord, on whose behalf he appears, is higher than the power of the Egyptian gods. Pharaoh, who considered the Lord more powerless than his gods and therefore did not find it necessary to obey His demand to release the Jews, must now fulfill this command, as coming from the name of almighty God.
13. Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken (to them).
13. Pharaoh paid attention to the first half of the sign, did not take into account the second, and therefore, not finding in Moses any superiority over his wise men, he continued to persist.
14-25. The first execution is the transformation of water into blood.
14. And the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn: he does not want to let the people go.”
15. Go to Pharaoh tomorrow: behold, he will come out to the water, stand in his way, on the bank of the river, and take the rod that turned into a snake in your hand
16. And say to him: The Lord God of the Hebrews has sent me to say to you: Let My people go, so that they may serve Me in the wilderness; but behold, you have not listened until now.
17 Thus says the Lord: By this you will know that I am the Lord: with this rod that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the river, and it will turn to blood,
18. And the fish in the river will die, and the river will stink, and it will be disgusting for the Egyptians to drink water from the river.
14-18. Pharaoh's disobedience, resulting from the fact that he does not want to recognize the authority of the Most High over himself, His power and strength (5:2), leads to a whole series of signs and plagues, proving the superiority of the Lord over the gods of Egypt (17; 18:11). The first of these is the transformation of Nile water into blood. The prediction about it is given to the pharaoh at the time when he went “to the water” either for ablution, or to worship the Nile as a deity. The transformation of Nile water into blood, accompanied by the inability to drink it and the extinction of fish (18), was supposed to convince Pharaoh that Jehovah is Lord (17). As you know, Nile was one of the main deities revered throughout Egypt (Plutarch), was considered an emanation of Osiris and was deified under various names, among other things, the name of Gaia. In honor of him, “the life-giving father of everything that exists, the father of the gods,” temples were built (for example, in Nikopolis), sacrifices were made (in the temple of Jebel Semelech Ramesses II is depicted making a sacrifice to the Nile), holidays were established, etc. With the very first execution, this popular deity loses its beneficial properties (spoilage of water combined with the extinction of fish) depending on the actions of Aaron and Moses (17.20), submits, in other words, to the will of That God, whose representatives they are. Previously sacred, the Nile now becomes an object of disgust, desecrated, since blood, the symbol of Typhon, made, according to the views of the Egyptians, unclean of anyone who touched it. All this taken together served as obvious proof of the insignificance of the god of the Nile in comparison with the Jewish God. Blessed Theodoret assimilates this meaning of the first execution. To the question: “why did the first execution consist of turning water into blood?” he answers: “because the Egyptians thought highly of the river and, as a substitute for clouds, they called them god.”
19. And the Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron (your brother), Take your staff (in your hand) and stretch out your hand over the waters of the Egyptians: over their rivers, over their streams, over their lakes, and over every receptacle of their waters, and will turn into blood, and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in wooden and stone vessels.
20. And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded (them). And Aaron lifted up his 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,
19-20. The widespread change of water into blood is indicated, firstly, by reference to “rivers” Nile branches, “streams” numerous canals with which Egypt was cut for irrigation purposes, “lakes”-cisterns and “every receptacle of water,” swampy or muddy places, as well as reservoirs, built by Egyptians living far from the river, secondly, the remark: “there was blood throughout the whole land of Egypt” and, finally, a mention of digging wells (24).
21. And the fish in the river died, and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22. And the Magi of Egypt did the same with their spells. And Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the Lord had spoken.
23. And Pharaoh turned and went to his house; and his heart was not touched by this.
22-23. Based on the expression: “and the Magi of Egypt did the same with their spells,” one can think that they made the same significant change in the water as Moses and Aaron did. By imitating them, the Magi paralyzed the impression that Pharaoh should have received from the miracle: “And they did the same, and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.” According to the story of the book. Exodus, as well as the consciousness of other Old Testament writers (Ps. 77:44; 104:29), the first plague was a miraculous phenomenon that took place according to the will of God. Meanwhile, not only naturalists, but even biblical scholars of a positive direction consider it a natural phenomenon, the coloration of its water observed annually when the Nile floods. But such an identification of the transformation of water into blood with its natural coloring does not find any basis in the text. According to the Bible, the first plague falls at the time of the normal level of the Nile water, when the Nile flows in its banks. So, the pharaoh receives a prediction about the onset of execution at the moment when he goes to the river bank (15), the Egyptians are digging wells near the river (24). Both messages are understandable only on the assumption that the area adjacent to the Nile is not covered with water. The time of the first execution does not allow the thought of the Nile flood. The flood lasts from July to September, and the first execution falls in January, as can be seen from the following. According to the Bible, flax and barley especially suffered from the 7th plague: “flax and barley were killed, because the barley was eared, and the flax was seeded. But the wheat and spelt were not beaten, because they were late” (9:31-32). Since flax blooms in lower Egypt at the end of February, and in mid-March it is harvested and the barley is harvested, it is obvious that the seventh plague took place at the end of February or beginning of March. From this time until the last execution, which fell at the beginning of April, a month passed; Consequently, the last four executions took place within a month, separated from each other by almost a week. If the same time was used to determine the intervals separating the first six executions, then it took 1 1/2 months to complete them, with the first execution falling in January. Secondly, the flood of the Nile is not only not accompanied by spoilage of water, but even represents the cessation of its unhealthy state, in which it was in the previous time, during the period of the so-called green Nile. Thirdly, during a flood, the fish in the Nile do not die, and the flood itself does not last 7 days (v. 25), but from July to September. The totality of all these data does not allow us to identify the transformation of water into blood with its coloring during the Nile flood. The validity of this view is supported, among other things, by the authority of the fathers and teachers of the Church. “Water turned into blood,” says Blessed Theodoret, “accused the Egyptians of committing infanticide.” “Moses,” notes Ephraim the Syrian, “struck the waters of the river, and the waters turned into blood.” Cyril of Alexandria expresses the idea of the substantial transformation of water into blood even more clearly. “Is it possible to understand,” he asks, “how water was transformed into a blood creature?”
24. And all the Egyptians began to dig near the river to find water to drink because they could not drink water from the river.
25 And seven days were fulfilled after the Lord smote the river.
Chemical tricks
A trick with turning “water” into “milk”.
Dissolve a small amount in one glassBaCl 2 . and in the other - sulfuric acid (dilute solution). The resulting solutions will be transparent and will not look any different from water. Pour the solutions together to obtain a milky liquid. After completing the experiment, the solution must be removed, because the sediment will soon sink to the bottom, and the children will see that this is not milk at all.
This experiment can be performed differently:
Converting water into "milk" and "milk" into water:
Prepare a solution in one glassCaCl 2 , in the other - the same amount of solutionNa 2 CO 3 ,(the volume of the solution should not exceed 1/3 cup). The resulting solutions will not look any different from water. Drain both solutions and you will get a white liquid like milk. Immediately add the solution to the liquidHClin excess, the “milk” will instantly boil and become “water” again.
A trick with turning “water” into “blood”.
Pour clean water into a large glass. In another glass, prepare a solution of acetic acid (label it for yourself in some way). Prepare a solution in the next (third) glassNa 2 CO 3 , in the fourth - a solution of phenoflatein. Pour dry reagents with a small amount of water and stir until completely dissolved! All the resulting solutions will not differ in appearance from water. Now let's start the experiment.
First, you need to convince the children that the glasses contain clean water. To do this, you can take a few sips from a glass of water. Then pour all the water from the two glasses into a large glass (except the glass with acetic acid!). Before the children's eyes, the liquid will turn red, like blood! Add a solution of acetic acid to the resulting “blood” - the liquid will become discolored, the “blood” will again become “water”.
"Bloody wound" trick.
Prepare 2 ml. diluted solution -FeCl 3 and KNCS(or N.H. 4 NCS). For the experiment, you will need a plastic knife (as in sets of disposable tableware). You can demonstrate the trick on yourself, or you can call one of the guys. Rinse your palm with cotton wool moistened generously with the solution.FeCl 3, and a clear solutionKNCSwet the knife. After this, run the knife across your palm. “Blood” will flow copiously onto the paper placed in advance. Wash off the “blood” from your palm with cotton wool soaked in a solutionNaF. The “blood” will turn into “water”.
The trick is how to make the invisible visible.
These tricks work great with cobalt chloride.CoCl 2 . For the experiment, prepare a highly diluted solutionCoCl 2. Dip a pen into the resulting solution and draw or write something on paper. Let dry (it's better if you prepare the inscription in advance). After drying, the lines on white paper are almost invisible, because... crystalline hydrate formed during dryingCoCl 2 * 6 H 2 Opale pink color. But if you heat the leaf, some of the water of crystallization will be removed and the salt will turn blue. If you moisten it again (for example, by breathing on the paper or, even better, by holding it over steam), the inscription will disappear again, because crystalline hydrate is formed again.
To perform the trick, hold a piece of paper prepared in advance with an inscription over an electric stove or over an open flame, but at a sufficient distance so that the paper does not catch fire. Soon the inscription will appear and become bluish-blue in color. After this, re-moisten the leaf by holding it over steam or simply breathing on it. The inscription will disappear again. And this can be repeated many times.
"Eruption"
Pour a little potassium dichromate into a porcelain cup, then add a little magnesium powder, mix the mixture well and form a slide in the cup. We touch the top of the “volcano” with a burning torch. The burning mixture throws out a large number of sparks, it resembles a volcanic eruption. The volcano itself continuously grows and changes color, from orange to green.
Used Books:
Chemistry. 8th grade: Lesson developments for textbooks by O.S. Gabrielyan; L. S. Guzeya and others; G.E.Rudzitis, F.G.Feldman.- M.: VAKO, 2005.-368p.
I’m almost sure that I won’t mislead you and you yourself will unravel the mystery of such a “violation” of the laws of optics; but anyone who has not yet seen the experiments I have shown before will probably be perplexed by this experience. You say that in the first glass I had an alkaline solution of litmus, in the second - the same solution of methyl orange, and in the third, into which I poured the contents of the first two, - chlorine water.
You're right: that's how it was!
Water - into milk, milk - into water (Reversibility of chemical reactions)
We have already seen that it is possible to turn water into milk by combining colorless solutions of two salts to obtain a white precipitate suspended in water. Now I can show another way to obtain such “chemical milk”, but unlike the previously obtained one, it can turn back into water. You are already so initiated by me into the secrets of transforming various liquids into each other that there is no need to show you this experiment; It will be enough if I tell you how to do it.
Take two completely identical decanters. Fill one of them halfway with a clear, colorless soda solution. Hide another decanter with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid on the shelf of our “magic” table. Do not forget that the liquid level in it should be significantly lower than in the first, since you will have to pour part of the solution from the first. Place a glass half filled with solution on the table calcium chloride. All of these liquids are colorless, transparent and in appearance indistinguishable from pure water. Having said that you know how to turn water into milk, fill the glass that is on the table from the first decanter.
Soda (sodium bicarbonate) together with calcium chloride will give water-insoluble calcium carbonate and sodium chloride (table salt) remaining in solution. The liquid in the glass will become cloudy and from a distance will look quite similar to milk.
Bring the glass to your mouth (but under no circumstances drink!), as if tasting it, while simultaneously removing the decanter from the table and placing it on the shelf. Pretending that you didn’t like the taste of the milk, quietly replace the carafe by taking from the shelf the one in which you have a solution of hydrochloric acid, and pour the “milk” back into it. Shake the liquid and show the audience that it has returned to water. In this case, there will indeed be a reverse transformation - only, of course, not milk into water, but calcium carbonate again into soluble calcium chloride.
But be careful not to mix up the decanters in a hurry!
Conversion of water into “blood” (Qualitative analysis reaction)
There is a glass of water on the table in front of you. I take a piece of wax or paraffin and separate a tiny piece from it, and give the rest to you. You can make sure that this is really wax or paraffin, which, as you know, are insoluble in water. At the same time, carefully examine my “magic wand” (Fig. 8). This is the most ordinary glass rod. Before your eyes, I stick my piece of wax on its end and begin to stir the water in the glass with it. Nothing happens. Did the experiment fail?
Wait. Count to ten.
As soon as you say "ten", the water instantly turns into "blood".
I raise the glass, and you see - it is full to the brim of “blood”.
Rice. 8."Magic wand"
In a grain of wax, which I separated from the whole piece, I had previously hidden a tiny crystal ammonium thiocyanate. A few drops of ferric chloride were added to the water in advance, being careful so that it does not turn yellow. Otherwise, you should pour out part of the solution and add clean water to the glass. When you said “ten,” I lightly pressed the end of the stick on the bottom of the glass: with this I crushed the crystal of ammonium thiocyanate, freeing it from the waxy shell. After ammonium thiocyanate reacted with ferric chloride, it turned out thiocyanate iron, it turned the water blood red.
Our “trick” is performed every day in chemical laboratories around the world. This highly sensitive reaction serves to detect the slightest traces of iron during qualitative analysis, that is, the study of what chemical elements a given complex substance or mixture of substances consists of.
How to paint different colors with the same paint
If you don't feel bored sitting around for a few minutes doing nothing, I can boil a few red cabbage leaves in boiling water in front of you to extract the juice, which contains an organic dye that resembles litmus in its properties.
Well, the decoction is ready; I pour it into three plates and start dyeing. I put a piece of white cloth into the first plate and take it out green; I immerse the same piece in the second, but it turns purple; the third piece in the third plate is made crimson red. This chemical “miracle” and hundreds of others like it are the most common technique used by yarn and fabric dyers. It was known to the dyers of Ancient Egypt and India, where it was practiced thousands of years before our era.
It is called mordant staining. The rags that I immersed in the same paint turned different colors because before the experiment I soaked them in different substances, after which I dried them all. I treated the first one with a solution alum, the second - with a solution potash(potassium carbonate), moistened the third hydrochloric acid. The same paint, entering into a chemical reaction with different mordants, produces differently colored compounds.
The secret of the old dyers
The chemists of our day have given yarn and fabric dyers such an abundance of artificial organic dyes that dyeing with natural vegetable dyes has completely fallen out of use.
This was not the case in the last century. The choice of dyes in those days was not particularly rich, so dyeing masters had to find ways to dye yarn and fabrics in different colors with the same dye pigment.
One of the favorite paints of the old masters was a decoction of logwood. It could sometimes be found on sale, since the paints made from it were harmless and were used for coloring food substances. (Unfortunately, it should be noted that harmlessness is not one of the advantages of most artificial organic and mineral paints.) If you found logwood on sale (it was sold in the form of shavings), boiled it in a thin-walled flask and then poured the broth into cups and poured vinegar into one cup and alum solution into another (double sulphate of aluminum and potassium, sodium or ammonium), in the third - a solution of ferric chloride, you would understand how the same paint can be painted in different colors.
Chemical reagents can be used to detect food fraud. Campesh, for example, served as an excellent means to convict bakers of adding alum to the flour from which buns were baked. Alum was added to flour in order to improve the color of bread and increase its porosity. It cannot be said that this impurity is fatally poisonous, but, in any case, it is not completely harmless to the health of bread consumers. The best way to detect it is to soak the test bread in a fresh alcoholic infusion of logwood shavings, to which a small amount of ammonium carbonate has been added. The bread soaked in the campesh infusion is removed from the liquid and dried in a warm oven. If there was alum in it, then, depending on their quantity, the bread acquires a more or less pronounced blue color. In the absence of alum, the color of the dried bread will be red-brown.
Much more harmful and dangerous than a mixture of alum is the addition of crushed powder to musty and low-grade flour. copper sulfate. Meanwhile, at the beginning of the last century, bakers were repeatedly accused of “flavoring” bread in this way. To detect this impurity, the bread was moistened with a solution of acetic acid and then with a solution yellow blood salt (potassium iron-cyanide). In the presence of copper salts, the bread turns chocolate brown during this treatment.
First punishment: turning water into blood
14 Then the Lord said to Moses:
Pharaoh is stubborn and refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the river. Take the staff that turns into a snake and wait for the king of Egypt on the banks of the Nile. 16 Tell him: “The Eternal, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to say to you: “Let My people go to worship Me in the wilderness.” But you still haven't let them go. 17 Thus says the Eternal: “Now you will know that I am the Eternal. With the staff that I have in my hand, I will strike the water of the Nile, and the water will turn into blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, the river will become stinking, and the Egyptians will not be able to drink from it.”
19 The Eternal said to Musa:
Tell Harun: “Take the staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt - over the rivers and canals, over the ponds and all reservoirs: the water in them will turn into blood. Blood will be everywhere in Egypt, even in wooden and stone vessels."
20 Moses and Harun did as the Lord commanded them. He raised his staff in front of the pharaoh and his entourage, struck the water of the Nile, and it turned into blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river became so foul that the Egyptians could not drink from it. Blood was everywhere in Egypt. 22 But the Egyptian sorcerers did the same thing with their witchcraft. And stubbornness took possession of Pharaoh's heart. He did not listen to Musa and Harun, as the Eternal said. 23 The king of Egypt turned around and went into the palace without even thinking about all this. 24 And the Egyptians began to dig wells along the Nile to get drinking water. They could not drink from the river.
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From the book Cults and World Religions author Porublev NikolayThe transformation of Taoism into superstition The history of Taoism in China shows the changing fate of this religion. Sometimes emperors made it the official religion of their state, and sometimes they banned it, closing Taoist monasteries and exiling monks to distant provinces.
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From the book The Explanatory Bible. Volume 9 author Lopukhin Alexander9. For this is to Me as the waters of Noah: just as I swore that the waters of Noah would come no more to the earth, so I swore not to be angry with you and not to rebuke you. 9-10. These two verses represent a Divine oath given to confirm the immutability of the above - about the eternal mercy of God in
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From the book Old Testament with a smile author Ushakov Igor Alekseevich54. He who eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55. For My Flesh is truly food, and My Blood is truly drink. The idea expressed in the previous verse is repeated here in a strengthened form (the concept "is" is not indicated here
From the book God and His Image. An Essay on Biblical Theology author Barthelemy DominicFirst punishment: turning water into blood 14 Then the Eternal said to Musa: “Pharaoh is stubborn and refuses to let the people go.” 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the river. Take the staff that turns into a snake and wait for the king of Egypt on the banks of the Nile. 16 Tell him: “Eternal, God
From the book Essays on Comparative Religion by Eliade MirceaThe first punishment of the Lord in the world And the angry God became even more incensed than before and cried out to Eve: “By multiplying, I will multiply your sorrow in your pregnancy.” You will give birth to children in pain, and your man will rule over you. And he said to Adam: “Because you listened.”
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The Ten Plagues of Egypt, also called the Ten Plagues of the Bible, are ten plagues that, according to the biblical book, the Lord sent to Egypt to convince Pharaoh to release the Jews from slavery. The pharaoh surrendered after the tenth plague, which led to.
While proponents of biblical archeology claim that the story of the 10 plagues of Egypt is true, many historians consider them to be allegorical descriptions of natural disasters or political conflicts. For this reason, we will consider the biblical interpretation of the Egyptian plagues, as well as a different point of view on these events.
Biblical archaeologists who interpret the Egyptian plagues as a fact rely on the following archaeological finds:
- Found by William F. Albright at El Arish, a water vessel with hieroglyphic characters describing the period of darkness;
- The Egyptian Ipuwer Papyrus describing a number of disasters that befell Egypt, including the turning of river water into blood.
The Egyptian plagues are a contrast between the power of the God of Israel and the powers of the Egyptian gods. It is known that Egypt at that time was a polytheistic society where faith in many deities reigned. The Egyptian pantheon was numerous and had a very complex hierarchy. The pharaohs of Egypt also played an important role in the religion. They were intermediaries between people and gods, as well as high priests. The Egyptian Pharaohs were revered on a par with the gods, so Pharaoh was surprised at the persistence and audacity of Moses’ request to let his people go. Moses conveyed God's command:
Thus says the Lord God of Israel: Let My people go, that they may celebrate a feast for Me in the wilderness.
But Pharaoh said:
Thus, the pharaoh and the Egyptian pantheon had a “rival” - the God of Israel. In this confrontation, God often repeats the phrase:
And you will know that I am the Lord your God
The Lord wanted to show his people his power: the Lord of a small nation is able to resist the entire pantheon of Egypt - the superpower of that time.
The biblical story of the Ten Plagues of Egypt is important in terms of strengthening religion. If the God of Israel can triumph over the gods of Egypt, then God's people will be strengthened in their faith and will not be tempted to follow false pagan deities. Ten Plagues of Egypt caused enormous damage to the Egyptians, but did not affect the children of Israel.
It is believed that each execution was supposed to show the superiority of the one God over certain gods of the Egyptian pantheon.
| Egyptian execution | Gods of the Egyptian pantheon |
| Water turns to blood | · Hapi/Apis - god of the Nile; · Isis - goddess of the Nile; · Knum - guardian of the Nile; · Sebek – god of rivers and lakes |
| Invasion of toads | · Heket - toad-headed goddess |
| Midges | Set - god of the desert |
| Dog flies | · Whatshit - a god represented in the form of a fly |
| Livestock death | · Khasor – goddess with the head of a cow; · Apis – bull god; · Khnum – ram-headed god |
| Ulcers | · Sekmet - goddess of healing; · Sunu - god of epidemics; · Isis - goddess who heals diseases |
| hail | · Nut – goddess of the sky; · Osiris – god of the harvest; Set - god of storms |
| Locust invasion | · Osiris - god of the harvest; · Apis - god of fertility · Sokar – god of vegetation |
| Dark | · Ra – the supreme god of the sun; · Aten – one of the sun gods; · Horus – one of the sun gods; · Nut – goddess of the sky; · Khasor – goddess of the sky; Bast – goddess of sunlight |
| Death of the firstborn | · Min - god of procreation; · Heket - goddess who visits during childbirth; Isis is the goddess who protects children; · Bes is the patron saint of the family among common people; · Meskhent – goddess of childbirth and children; · Nekhbet – patroness of the children of the pharaoh; Renenet – goddess, patroness of children |
Each of the 10 plagues of Egypt affected a different aspect of the Egyptian religious belief system. The culmination was the death of the successor god - the firstborn son of Pharaoh. Ten Egyptian plagues followed one after another until Pharaoh decided to release the people of Israel.
Egyptian plagues are the essence.
We will look at the biblical interpretation of the 10 plagues of Egypt, and also give the opinion of historians about the possible causes of these events.
Turning water into blood
And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded [them]. And Aaron lifted up his staff 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. (Exodus 7:20-21)
According to the Bible, the waters of the Nile turned to blood. All streams turned into blood, and even the water in the vessels turned into blood. The Egyptian magicians were able to repeat the transformation of water into blood, and the Egyptians began to dig around the rivers, looking for drinkable water. Pharaoh only became angry after the first execution and did not agree to let the people of Israel go.
Turning water into blood- a common motif in the Bible. God even earlier invites Moses to turn water into blood as proof of the power of the Lord:
... if they do not believe these two signs and do not listen to your voice, then take water from the river and pour it onto dry land; and the water taken from the river shall become blood on the dry land (Exodus 4:9)
Historical version.
Probably about 3,000 years ago, some climate changes occurred in the area of the city of Pi-Ramses, which at that time was the capital of Egypt, which may have been the causes of the events described in the Bible as the plagues of Egypt.
Rising temperatures and drought have led to the shallowing of the Nile, which has turned into a shallow, dirty stream in which the number of toxic bacteria Oscillatoria rubescens has sharply increased. As they die and decay, Oscillatoria rubescens turns the water red.
Invasion of toads
After seven days had passed after the first execution, God ordered Moses to have his brother Aaron stretch out his hand with a rod over the rivers and streams and bring out the frogs from the water.
Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt [and brought out frogs]; and frogs came out and covered the land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:6)
The Egyptian magicians managed to repeat this miracle. Pharaoh asked Moses to pray to God to remove frogs from the land and dwellings, promising to release the people of Israel. Moses prayed to God and he removed the frogs, however, Pharaoh did not keep his word and became even more angry.
Historical version
A large number of toxic bacteria Oscillatoria rubescens not only turned the waters of the crushed Nile red, but also led to an invasion of frogs. The fact is that in an unfavorable situation, unlike many other species, the development of frogs from tadpoles is accelerated.
Infestation of midges
After another refusal from Pharaoh, the Lord told Aaron to send midges to Egypt.
So they did: Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and struck the dust of the ground, and midges appeared on people and on cattle. All the dust of the earth became midges throughout the whole land of Egypt. (Exodus 8:17)
The Magi were unable to repeat the third plague, but the angry Pharaoh refused to release the Jews.
Historical version
When the frogs that came out of the waters infected with Oscillatoria rubescens onto land died, the dominance of insects began, feeding on the numerous corpses of amphibians. This is how historians explain this and subsequent executions.
Punishment by dog flies
The next execution was the punishment of dog flies, which were not terrible for the Jews, but tormented the Egyptians and their livestock.
So the Lord did: a multitude of dog flies flew into the house of the Pharaohs, and into the houses of his servants, and into the whole land of Egypt: the land perished from the dog flies. (Exodus 8:24)
The fourth plague, like all subsequent ones, bypassed the Jews, who believed even more in the almighty God and God’s chosen people. Pharaoh had to make sure that the Lord not only distinguished where His people were and where Pharaoh’s people were, but was also ready to protect the people of Israel from disasters from which Pharaoh was unable to protect his people.
Pharaoh again promised to release the Jews if the Lord dealt with the flies, and again he did not keep his promise.
Cattle pestilence
The next plague, the plague of livestock, again did not affect the people of Israel.
And the Lord did this the next day, and all the cattle of Egypt died; and none of the livestock of the children of Israel died. (Exodus 9:6)
Egyptian cattle began to die from pestilence. Pharaoh was angry when he learned that the Hebrew cattle were not harmed and did not let the people of Israel go.
Historical version.
According to historians, the insects that multiplied as a result of the death of toads caused the fifth and sixth plagues - livestock pestilence and ulcers. Insects are known to spread disease, which may have led to an epidemic that decimated animals and humans.
Ulcers and boils
They took the ashes from the oven and appeared before the Pharaoh. Moses threw it to heaven, and there was inflammation with boils on people and on livestock. (Exodus 9:10)
This execution was not announced to Pharaoh. This was the first execution that directly threatened people's lives. The Magi of Egypt were stricken with the disease, as were all the common people. This showed the failure of the Magi. They realized the powerlessness of their gods. Pharaoh did not give up in his persistence.
Thunder, lightning and hail fire
This execution begins the final cycle of God's punishments - the most severe of all ten plagues. The last Egyptian plagues are described in more detail in the Bible than others.
...Moses stretched out his rod to the sky, and the Lord caused thunder and hail, and fire spread across the earth; and the Lord sent hail upon [all] the land of Egypt;
and there was hail and fire between the hail, [the hail] very great, such as had not been seen in all the land of Egypt since the time of its inhabitants. (Exodus 9:23-24)
Pharaoh did not repent even after this punishment. After this execution, Pharaoh was ready to release all the men, but Moses did not agree.
Historical version.
Probably, here we are talking about the strongest eruption of the Thera volcano on the Greek island of Santorini. The hail was the result of a collision of rain clouds with a cloud of volcanic ash.
During excavations in Egypt, pieces of volcanic stone were discovered, although there are no volcanoes on Egyptian territory. Tests have shown that the volcanic rock is similar to that found on Santorini.
Locust invasion
In this execution we again see God's intention to prove his power not only to Pharaoh, but also to the people of Israel. Locusts struck all of Egypt.
... And Moses stretched out his rod over the land of Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind over that land, which continued all that day and all night. Morning came and the east wind brought down the locusts.
And the locusts fell upon all the land of Egypt and lay throughout the whole land of Egypt in great multitudes: there had never been such locusts before, and there will never be such after this;
it covered the face of the whole earth, so that the earth could not be seen, and it ate up all the grass of the earth and all the fruit of the trees that had survived the hail, and there was no green left on the trees or on the grass of the field in all the land of Egypt. (Ex. 10:13-15)
Historical version.
The locust invasion could also be the result of a volcanic eruption. Ash fall could lead to an increase in humidity, and, consequently, to an increase in the number of locusts, for which very favorable conditions were created.
Dark
Moses stretched out his hand to heaven, and there was thick darkness throughout all the land of Egypt for three days; they did not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days; And all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. (Exodus 10:22-23)
The object of this Egyptian execution was the main deity of the Egyptian pantheon - the sun god Ra, whose representative on earth was considered the pharaoh.
Historical version
The darkness could have been caused by the accumulation of ash clouds after the same eruption. According to another version, it could be a solar eclipse or a sandstorm.
Death of the firstborn
After the 10th execution, sadness entered every home where there were children. This execution led to the liberation of the Jewish people.
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 the livestock. (Ex. 12:29).
At midnight, in every Egyptian family, including the family of the pharaoh, the first-born son was supposed to die. In previous plagues, Moses and Aaron played an important role, they warned Pharaoh about the execution and carried it out with the help of the Lord. The tenth plague was carried out by God alone.
Historical version.
A likely explanation for the tenth plague is damage to the grain by a poisonous fungus or mold. Since the first-born boys received the first portion of food, they died en masse.
It is customary to combine the ten Egyptian plagues into three cycles + the 10th plague. The executions of the first cycle brought disgust, the second - pain, and the executions of the third cycle have a natural origin and are universal in nature. Probably the ten plagues of Egypt took place over a period of 9 months from July to April.
The reaction of the pharaoh to each of the executions is also curious.
