The Plagues of Egypt

A number of times in the Old Testament, it is stated that the plagues of Egypt, and in many ways the whole Exodus event, was a demonstration of the power and authority of God, showing his power to judge and overcome all the gods of Egypt. “The LORD executed judgements even against their gods” (Num 33:4). Before the Passover he declares, “For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgement: I am the Lord” (Ex 12:12). He also states that, “… and that you may tell your children and grand-children how I made fools of the Egyptians and what signs I have done among them - so that you may know that I am the LORD.” (Ex 10:12). Jethro declares: “Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods, because he delivered the people from the Egyptians” (Ex 18:11).

The Egyptians worshipped a multitude of different gods, including gods of the River Nile, gods of frogs, falcons and bulls. It is estimated that they worshipped as many as 2000 different gods. The Pharaoh was seen as the personification of these gods, and his son was seen as the next manifestation of the gods.

The plagues demonstrated that true sustenance only came from Yahweh, and not from these pagan Egyptian gods. This was a powerful demonstration for the Egyptians, who had to learn that the God of Moses was far more powerful than any of their gods, including their pharaoh. Each plague would be a serious challenge to the belief of all the people of Egypt in the power of these gods. It was also an important lesson to the Israelites, who will have to learn how to trust in the One True God as they leave Egypt to travel through the wilderness to the Promised Land.

The Serpent Confrontation (Ex 7:8-13)

One of the most important gods was Wadjet or Edjo, the serpent mother and protector of the delta. She was symbolised by the coiled cobra or urae, with hood enraged ready to strike, which was the symbol of Lower Egypt. Each pharaoh claimed his crown from her at his coronation. Statues of pharaohs are always portrayed with a snake on their forehead, representing their power over lower Egypt. Egyptian magicians claimed their power came from this serpent god. Their magical rods also had the head of a cobra with enraged hood.

In the first sign performed by Moses (Ex 7:8-13), he threw down his rod and it became a snake, which then ate the snakes that the magicians made from their staffs. It was this snake rod that Moses then used to strike the water to turn it into blood (7:15-18). The sign was a demonstration before Pharaoh that the God of Moses was more powerful than the snake god of the pharaoh and his magicians.

Moses and Aaron threw down the actual emblem of pharaoh before him. The snake on his forehead was the symbol of his deity and majesty, so to throw down a snake before him was to insult that symbol. Pharaoh's cobra had no power against Yahweh and it gave Pharaoh no protection against Yahweh.

First Plague: Nile turned to blood (Ex 7:15-25)

Hapi was the god of the River Nile, the life-blood of Egypt, and 'giver of life to all men'. Through the waters of the Nile, he was the bringer of fertility, and the nourisher of gods and man. He was portrayed as a big fat man covered in blue or green mud from the river, with water plants on his head, and carrying offerings of plants and flowers. The regular annual flooding of the Nile, known as 'the arrival of Hapi', brought great fertility to the soil from the sediment deposited by the flood waters. Turning the Nile to blood killed the fish, which were an important part of the Egyptian diet, so people could no longer eat or drink from the river. The river and its god could no longer supply food and water for the people.

Another god of the Nile was Anknet or Anukhet, who was the personification of the Nile, the protector of fresh water, and the nourisher of the fields. She had a crown of ostrich feathers, and carried a sceptre and an ankh.

Hatmehyt or Hatmehit the fish goddess, portrayed as a woman with a fish above her head, was the provider of a regular supply of fish from Nile.

Osiris was the god of agriculture, and the River Nile was his 'bloodstream'.

Khnum or Khnemu was the creator-deity, and god of the source of the River Nile.

Taweret was known as the 'Mistress of Pure Water". she was portrayed as a female hippopotamus standing upright, with human breasts, the limbs and paws of a lion, and the back and tail of a crocodile.

Second plague: Frogs (Ex 8:1-6)

Heqet, or Hegt was frog goddess, having a human body with the head of a frog. Being the goddess of midwifery, she assisted as a midwife at births, and blew the breath of life into human bodies. She controlled the multiplication of frogs and frog-eating crocodiles, but during the plague could not control the population of frogs.

Third plague: Lice or gnats (Ex 8:16-19)

The meaning of the Hebrew word used for 'lice' or 'gnats' is unclear. It could also refer to fleas, sandflies, ticks or mosquitoes. The priests and magicians had special rituals against lice and other insects.

Fourth plague: swarms of flies (Ex 8:20-32)

The Hebrew text uses the word for swarms, but does not specify the particular insect. Wadjet was the Egyptian god who served as the protector against insects.

Fifth plague: Death of cattle and horses (Ex 9:1-7)

Apis or Haap was the bull god, believed to be the embodiment of Ptah and Re, the most sacred god. The bull was the symbol of fertility and life, and the symbol of Pharaoh. He carried the sun represented as a disk on his head.

It was the calf god who was represented by the golden calf made by Aaron while Moses was up the mountain (Ex 32:4). After the division of the kingdom, Jeroboam of the northern kingdom of Israel made two golden calves, and set them up in sanctuaries in Bethel and Dan (1 Kg 12:28-30). Both Aaron and Jeroboam claimed that these were the gods that had brought the Israelites out of Egypt.

Hathor was the cow goddess, who had a woman’s head with cow’s ears, or female figure with cow’s head. She was the personification of the sky, goddess of festivity and love, protectress of women and of the king.

Other gods represented by cows or bulls are Mnevis the bull-god of the sun, depicted as a black bull with a solar disk and uraeus cobra. Buchis the bull-god of war, represented as a white bull with a black snout. Hesat the cow goddess of milk, represented by a cow lying down. Mehet-Weret the goddess who gave birth to the sun at the beginning of time, represented by a cow goddess with the sun disk between her horns.

Sixth Plague: Boils and sores (Ex 9:8-12)

Sekhmet was the goddess of plagues, who had the head of a lion. She was both the bringer and healer of pestilence and disease. Priests of Sekhmet were the doctors and vets in ancient Egypt, but could not heal the boils and sores of the plague.

Thoth was the god of medical knowledge, represented by a human with the head of an ibis, or baboon. Isis the goddess of healing was one of the major gods of Egypt, who helped people enter the afterlife. Nephthys was the goddess of health, as well as mourning and death. Imhotep was a deified physician.

Seventh plague: Hail and fire (Ex 9:13-35)

Nut was the sky goddess, a woman whose body arches across the heavens. She was blue and covered with stars, supported by her father, Shu . She ate stars in the morning, and gave birth to the stars in the evening. She also gave birth to Ra (sun god) in morning. She was believed to protect land from destructions coming down from the heavens, but could not protect Egypt from the hail and fire of the seventh plague.

Shu or Su was the god of light and air, who separated the earth from the sky and brought the wind, and supported the sky goddess Nut. He wore a headband with a feather. Maat was the goddess of truth, balance, law, morality and justice.

Eighth plague: Locusts (Ex 10:1-20)

Neper was the god of grain, and Nepit the goddess of grain, which would be eaten by locusts.

Renenutet was the goddess of the harvest represented by a woman with the head of a cobra.

Ninth plague: Thick darkness (Ex 10:21-29)

Re or Ra, (later became Amon-Re) was the sun god, the king of all the gods, and the ultimate deity of Egypt. He travelled across sky each day in a boat. He symbolised life, vitality and rebirth. He was a falcon headed man carrying ankh and sceptre, and crowned with the sun disk. Aten or Aton was the sun disk, with arm-like rays to give life to all. This god was proclaimed to be the sole deity by Akhenaton (14th cent BC).

Kheper, or Khepri was the dung beetle which pushed the sun across the sky, just as a dung beetle pushed balls of dung along the ground. He symbolised creation and family happiness. Model dung beetles called scarabs were often placed in mummies.

Tenth plague: Death of firstborn (including firstborn of Pharaoh) (ch 11-12)

Osiris or Asar was the ruler of the dead, including the previous Pharaohs, and the chief judge at the gateway to the afterlife. Osiris was killed by his evil brother Set, and his death was avenged by Horus.

Horus or Hor was the sky god and god of the living. He was the personal symbol of pharaohs, giving courage and protection. Horus represents the living pharaoh, and Osisis represents the dead pharaoh. The son of the living Pharaoh was the next manifestion of Horus. This would explain why the final plague broke the Egyptians when the first-born of the pharaoh died.

Pharaoh's Hard Heart

One of the difficult questions often asked during the study of the Book of Exodus is the problem of God hardening the heart of Pharaoh, which is one of the main themes in the conflict between Yahweh and Pharaoh in the first part of the Book of Exodus, used to explain Pharaoh's refusal to obey Yahweh's command to release Israel.

One of the three Hebrew words used to describe the state of Pharaoh's heart is to be heavy. Knowledge of the Egyptian understanding of the heart is essential to comprehend this issue. According to Egyptian sacred texts, the heart was the essence of a person, being the inner spiritual centre of the person and the most important part of a human being. It therefore played a critical part in the belief about the afterlife.

In the Egyptian Book of the Dead we see the importance of the heart in determining the outcome of judgement after death. When a person dies, Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the dead, calls for the heart of the dead person to be weighed against the feather of truth and righteousness. If the heart is heavier than the feather then the person is judged to be a sinner, and is cast to be devoured by the crocodile-headed goddess Amemit. If the heart is lighter than the feather, then the person receives the reward of eternal life, and enters into paradise.

Basically the Egyptians believed in a form of righteousness by works. Anyone whose heart was heavy-laden with bad deeds will be devoured, while anyone whose heart is filled with integrity, truth and good deeds will be taken to enjoy heavenly bliss.

By saying that Yahweh was making Pharaoh's heart heavy, the Book of Exodus is saying that Yahweh is acting as the judge of Pharaoh. Yahweh was weighing the heart of Pharaoh, and publicly declaring him to be judged as imperfect and therefore deserving condemnation. Their perfect god-king was not of pure and untainted character, as popular belief would claim.

There is a photograph of a judgement scene in the Book of the Dead in the British Museum Egyptian Gallery.