The Ten Plagues of Egypt

The Ten Plagues of Egypt are described in the Pentateuch disasters that befell the Egyptians for the refusal of the Egyptian pharaoh to release the enslaved sons of Israel. This led to the Exodus of the Jews from Ancient Egypt. According to the book of Exodus, Moses, in the name of God, demands from the pharaoh the release of his people, promising that otherwise God will punish Egypt. Pharaoh did not listen, and ten plagues were inflicted upon Egypt, each time after a new refusal of the pharaoh to release the Jews, the next disaster followed:

1. Turning Water to Blood.
2. Invasion of Frogs.
3. Invasion of Bloodsucking Insects (gnats, lice, fleas, bedbugs).
4. Punishment by Dog Flies.
5. Livestock Plague.
6. Boils and Sores.
7. Thunder, Lightning, and Hail.
8. Invasion of Locusts.
9. Plague of Darkness.
10. Death of the Firstborn.

Description

Turning Water to Blood

And Aaron lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

— Exodus 7:20,21

All the water in the Nile, other water sources, and containers turned into blood, but remained clear for the Jews (and even that which was with the Jews turned into blood if the Egyptians tried to take it).

Plague of Frogs

And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the land of Egypt.

— Exodus 8:5,6

The ancient Hebrew “צפרדע”, like the Old Slavic “жаба”, actually means a frog.

As promised to Pharaoh: “They shall come up, and shall come into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thine ovens, and into thy kneading troughs” (Exodus 8:3). Frogs filled the entire land of Egypt.

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The Egyptian magicians again tried to use magic to rid Egypt of the frog invasion, but the frogs only increased. As a result, Pharaoh was forced to turn to Moses for help.

…Then the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the Lord. Moses said unto Pharaoh, Glory over me: when shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain in the river only?

— Exodus 8:7-9

Subsequently, Pharaoh showed treachery and did not keep his promise to Moses, which served as the starting point for the next punishment.

Invasion of Gnats

As the third punishment, Egypt was struck by swarms of gnats, which attacked the Egyptians, swarmed over them, and got into their eyes, noses, and ears.

…And Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man, and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not: so there were lice upon man, and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.

— Exodus 8:17-19

This time, the sorcerers could not help Pharaoh and said that they did not know such magic and that, as it must be, it is indeed the punishment of the Lord, and the Jews should be released. However, Pharaoh remained unyielding even this time.

And then God brought upon Egypt the fourth plague:

Punishment by Dog Flies

And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh; lo, he cometh forth to the water; and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that they may serve me. Else, if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee, and upon thy servants, and upon thy people, and into thy houses: and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of swarms of flies, and also the ground whereon they are. And I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. And I will put a division between my people and thy people: to morrow shall this sign be. And the Lord did so; and there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh, and into his servants’ houses, and into all the land of Egypt: the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.

— Exodus 8:20-24

These flies covered people and filled the houses of the Egyptians. “According to Philo, the insect that served as the instrument of the fourth plague combined the properties of flies and dogs, was distinguished by its ferocity and persistence. From a distance, like an arrow, it flew towards man or animal and, swiftly attacking, pierced the body with its sting and seemed to stick to it” (Explanatory Bible by Lopukhin). Most likely, by “dog flies,” gadflies or horseflies are meant, which tormented the Egyptians and their herds.

The main lesson of this plague was that God openly revealed to Pharaoh and all the Egyptians the difference between them and the Jews. The dog flies were everywhere except in the region of Goshen, where the Israelites lived; they were in all the houses except the houses of the Israelites: verses 22-23 “…I will sever in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no swarms of flies shall be there; to the end thou mayest know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth; And I will put a division between my people and thy people.”

Such a division between the two peoples and their areas of residence in Egypt showed Pharaoh that the God of Israel is the Lord, who sent Egyptian plagues, and that He alone is the God over Egypt, surpassing in power and might all the Egyptian deities and idols. Pharaoh then summoned Moses and promised again to let the Jews go, but after the disappearance of the dog flies, he broke his promise again.

And Egypt was struck by the fifth plague:

Livestock Plague

All the Egyptian livestock in the field died, only the Jewish livestock remained unharmed. Pharaoh then realized that God cared for the Jews, but he hardened his heart and still did not let the Jews go.

Behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain. And the Lord shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children’s of Israel. And the Lord appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the Lord shall do this thing in the land. And the Lord did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died: but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one. And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

Exodus 9:3-7 KJV

Boils and Sores

After this, the Lord commanded Moses and Aaron to take handfuls of furnace soot and scatter it towards the heavens in the presence of Pharaoh. They did so, and painful boils broke out on the Egyptians and their animals.

Pharaoh was frightened that he would suffer from boils and sores for the rest of his life and decided to let the Jews go after all. But God hardened his heart and gave him the courage to act according to his convictions, for He wanted Pharaoh to release the Jews not out of fear but out of the realization that no earthly king can contend with God. And once again, Pharaoh did not release the Israelites (Exodus 9:8-11).

Then God struck Egypt for the seventh time:

Thunder, Lightning, and Hail

A storm arose, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and hail fell upon Egypt.

And the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the field, and brake every tree of the field.

— Exodus 9:23-25

The Egyptians saw flames in every hailstone and were terrified, realizing that it was the wrath of the One who could change the course of nature. Pharaoh then yielded to Moses and Aaron, asking them to pray to God to stop the hail and promising to let the Jews go. Moses prayed to God, and the hail ceased. But once again, Pharaoh did not keep his promise.

And Egypt suffered the eighth plague:

Invasion of Locusts

A strong wind blew, and behind it came swarms of locusts upon Egypt, devouring all the greenery down to the last blade of grass on the Egyptian soil.

Once again, Pharaoh asked Moses to intercede for mercy from God, and again promised to release the Jews. Moses appealed to God, and the wind blew in the opposite direction, carrying away all the locusts. But God strengthened Pharaoh’s heart again, and once again he did not let the Israelites go.

And the ninth plague began:

Plague of Darkness

Moses stretched out his hand toward the sky, and there was thick darkness over all the land of Egypt for three days; they could not see each other, and no one rose from his place for three days; but all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.

— Exodus 10:22-23

The darkness that fell upon Egypt was unusual; it was thick and dense, so that it could even be touched; and candles and torches could not dispel the darkness. Only the Israelites had light, while the Egyptians had to move about by feeling their way. However, soon the darkness became denser, hindering the movements of the Egyptians, and now they could not even stir.

Then Pharaoh called Moses and told him that he would let the Jews go, but they must leave their livestock behind. However, Moses told Pharaoh that the Jews would not leave their livestock. So Pharaoh ordered Moses to leave and not to come back anymore, threatening that if he did, he would be executed. Moses then said that he would not come back anymore, but that a plague, more dreadful than all the previous ones combined, would befall Egypt, for all the firstborn sons in Egypt would perish.

Death of the Firstborn

And Egypt did not escape the punishment foretold by Moses, and a widespread death of the firstborn occurred at midnight.

And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.

— Exodus 12:29

After all the firstborns in Egypt died in one night (except the Jewish ones, as they, according to the warning, had covered the doorposts with the blood of lambs so that the fate of the Egyptians would pass them by), Pharaoh surrendered and allowed the Jews to leave Egypt, thus beginning the Exodus.

Historicity of the Plot

It is unknown under which pharaoh and even during which dynasty the exodus of the Jews from Egypt occurred. If the Egyptian plagues indeed took place, then it is likely that this event was local in nature.

It should also be noted that Egypt was constantly on the brink of civil war with the Hyksos. As described in the Bible, after the death of the pharaoh, a new pharaoh compelled the Jews to build a new capital, Per-Ramesses, a couple of kilometers from the capital of Avaris, which had long been ruled by the Hyksos. Moses, who killed the overseer, apparently worked at this construction site (because upon his return, he began the Exodus of the Jews from Per-Ramesses). Considering that 600,000 Jewish men left (three times the population of Avaris at that time), it can be assumed that these were the “Asiatics” whom the pharaoh’s army pursued and who are also described in the Ipuwer Papyrus (which also mentions the “Red Sea,” “poisoned water,” and “plague”).

Some researchers refer to the Ipuwer Papyrus, finding many similarities with the events described in the Bible. Based on this, it is concluded that the “Egyptian plagues” may have occurred during the reign of Pharaoh Ramses II and his son Merneptah.

Scientific Research

Efforts are being made to scientifically substantiate the ten Egyptian plagues. A group of European scientists, along with John Marr, Director of the New York Department of Health, an epidemiologist, scientifically substantiated and linked the “Ten Egyptian Plagues” in a logical sequence, including:

• Water turning into blood – a phenomenon known as “red tides” – algae blooms of dinoflagellates, emitting toxins and depleting oxygen, causing fish kills and mass exodus of frogs. (According to amphibianologist Dr. Richard Vasasuk, the word used in the Bible could mean any type of tailless amphibians, in his version, they were Bufo toads; each toad lays millions of eggs, which stopped being consumed by dead fish, causing a population explosion).
• Dying frogs and rotting fish attract flies – disease vectors, the fly was precisely identified by signs as culicoides (a type of midge). (In ancient times, there was no classification of flies, so scientists engaged the director of the Mississippi Entomology Museum, Richard Brown, Andrew Spielman, and Roger Breeze, director of the Animal Disease Research Department of the US Department of Agriculture, in the research.)
• Infectious flies cause subsequent plagues – cattle disease and boils, identified as signs of sap infection transmitted by flies up to 1.5 km away.
• Thunder, lightning, and hail – hint at 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, falling debris from the sky, and a trembling mountain underfoot. (Ex. 9:23-25, Ex. 13:21-22, Ex. 19:18, Ex. 24:15-16, Deut. 1:33)
• 3 days without sunlight – a sandstorm lasting not the usual 1-2 days, but 3 days. The prolonged storm could have been caused by the destruction of crops and flora by locusts (winds were not restrained by foliage) or a possible volcano eruption, causing climatic anomalies and a volcanic winter.
• The death of the firstborn is explained by toxins from the fungus Stachybotrys atra, which proliferated in the upper layer of grain stores, getting there from water or locust excrement. Infection could result from a combination of cultural factors. According to Egyptian tradition, the eldest sons were the first to eat in the family, receiving a double portion; the same applies to livestock – the strongest eldest animal is the first to the trough. The firstborns were poisoned first, receiving a double portion from the upper, contaminated grain reserves. The Jews were not affected by this plague because they lived far from major Egyptian cities and had independent food reserves. Moreover, they were pastoralists, not farmers, and a significant part of their diet consisted of meat and milk.

The Volcanic Theory of the Exodus is justified, suggesting that the plagues were phenomena accompanying volcanic eruptions (specifically, the water turning into blood) and a limnological catastrophe.

Plot Parallels in Ancient Egyptian Literature

Egyptologists such as P. Montet and I. S. Katsnelson noted plot similarities between some of the “plagues” and similar motifs from the tale of Satni-Khamuase.

The turning of the waters of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7:20) resembles a similar motif in the aforementioned tale, where the sorcerer Gor predicts to his mother that if he is defeated, the water she drinks will turn red:

To this, Gor, the son of a negress, replied: If I am vanquished, the water you drink will become red as blood, and the food you eat will become red as blood, and the sky above your head will become red as blood.

The motif of the “Egyptian Darkness” (Exodus 10:21, 10:22) is analogous to the plot of the same tale, where one of the Ethiopian sorcerers boasts that he could, with his charms, leave Egypt without light:

If Amon permitted it, and if the ruler of Egypt could not punish me, I would then cast my charms upon Egypt and leave the people of Egypt for three days and three nights without light.

P. Montet concluded: “…the chronicler merely attributed to Moses tricks similar to those common to the sorcerers of Egypt.”

Plagues in Culture and Art

Music

• The story of the Exodus formed the basis of the first part of George Frideric Handel’s oratorio “Israel in Egypt” (1739).
• The lyrics of the song “Creeping Death” (1984) by the band “Metallica” are written from the perspective of the Angel of Death, describing the ten plagues of Egypt.
• The second album “Exodus” by the Russian band “Shokran” is entirely devoted to the ten plagues, with all ten tracks of the album named according to the names of the plagues, and the lyrics describe the event of each plague.
• One of the plagues – the death of the firstborn – is mentioned in the song “Go Down Moses” by American jazz musician Louis Armstrong.

Cinema

• 1923 – silent film by Cecil B. DeMille “The Ten Commandments.” Theodore Roberts played the role of Moses.
• 1956 – remake by Cecil B. DeMille of his silent film. Charlton Heston played the role of Moses.
• 1971 – horror film “The Abominable Dr. Phibes” starring actor Vincent Price. The inventive Anton Phibes avenges the death of his wife by devising elaborate murders based on the ten plagues of Egypt.
• 1995 – one of the episodes of the animated series “Rugrats” tells the story of Moses (Tommy Pickles plays this role), where he is an important figure in Egypt. The story of this plot is told by Tommy’s grandparents, Angelica (she plays the role of Pharaoh) and Dill.
• 1998 – animated film “The Prince of Egypt.”
• 1999 – in one of the episodes of the 10th season of “The Simpsons,” the second story tells both of the Egyptian plagues and the story of the Exodus, but in an alternative way.
• 1999 – “The Mummy” (USA). The disturbed mummy brings with it the ten plagues of Egypt.
• 2000 – “The Bible Collection” – adaptation of the Old Testament.
• 2000 – in the animated series “Family Guy,” one of the episodes depicts the plagues of Egypt. Unlike the others, these plagues were special because only one family suffered, not the entire city.
• 2006 – James Cameron: “The Exodus Decoded.”
• 2007 – “The Reaping.” The plot of the film is based on the local manifestation of the ten plagues of Egypt in a small American town, whose entire population represents a satanic sect.
• 2009 – TV series “Lie to Me” (season 2, episode 19): a serial killer gives the heroes riddles about the ten Egyptian plagues over the phone.
• 2010 – episode “The Third Man” of the TV series “Supernatural” (season 6, episode 3): the Egyptian plagues are sent by Moses’ staff.
• 2010 – TV series “Haven” (season 2, episode 1): the plagues of Egypt descend upon the town.
• 2012 – episode of “South Park,” “Jewpacabra.” Cartman sees heavenly punishments, and Kyle explains to him the reason for the plagues of Egypt.
• 2014 – “Exodus: Gods and Kings” directed by Ridley Scott. Christian Bale plays the biblical prophet Moses.
• 2015/16 – Brazilian biblical soap opera “The Ten Commandments” (Portuguese: Os Dez Mandamentos).
• 2018 – feature-length animated film “Seder-Masochism” by Nina Paley.
• 2020 – TV series “Sherlock: The Russian Chronicles.” Episodes 7 and 8 are dedicated to investigating a series of murders based on the ten plagues of Egypt.

Video Games

• The game “Rusty Lake Paradise” is based on the story of the ten plagues of Egypt.
• In the game “South Park: The Stick of Truth,” there is a combat class “Jew” with the ability “Egyptian Curse,” which unleashes all ten plagues of Egypt on the enemy.