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שְׁמוֹת֙ • Sh'mot
(“Names”)
The Second Book of Moses,
Commonly Called
Exodus
Exodus: Introduction •
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Ten Plagues for Ten False “Gods”
Parashot: Index 13. Sh'mot
14. Va'era
15. Bo
16. Beshalach
17.Yitro
18. Mishpatim
19. Terumah
20. Tetzaveh
21. Ki Tisa
22. Vayek'hel
23. Pekudei
Ten Plagues for Ten False “Gods”
The plagues that God brought upon Egypt were a direct
declaration of war on
Egypt’s false gods. Not one of their
“gods” — not even all of their “gods” combined — could stand
against just “the finger El Shaddai”
(Exod 8:19), the
God of Israel.
The number ten is significant in Hebrew
Gematria;
ten is the value of the Hebrew letter י (yud) representing
totality or fullness of quantity. Ten Egyptian plagues means Egypt
was “completely plagued.” Ten times God, through Moses, allows
Pharaoh to change his mind, repent, and turn to the one true God,
each time increasing the severity of the consequence of the plagues
suffered for disobedience to His request. Ten times Pharaoh, because
of pride (considering himself to be a god and therefore the peer of
the God of Israel, Exodus 5:2), refuses to be taught by the one true God, and
receives “judgments” through the plagues pronounced upon his head
from Moses, the deliverer.
In the table, the primary “god” that the
God of Israel was attacking is listed first.
PLAGUE |
EGYPTIAN
“GODS” |
NOTES |
1. Water to Blood
Exodus 7:14-25 |
- Hapi: god of the Nile
- Khnum: a ram god, the patron deity of Elephantine, who was said to control the Nile flood and give life to gods and humans
- Osiris: god of death and resurrection who rules the underworld and enlivens vegetation, the sun god, and deceased souls; the Nile was his bloodstream
|
- Partially duplicated by the Egyptian magicians
- Occurs in Goshen where the Israelites lived
- Lasted for seven days (seven is the number
of completion
of perfection)
- Dead fish, putrid smell
|
2. Frogs
Exodus 8:1-15 |
- Heqet: protector of women in childbirth,
represented in the form of a frog
- Hapi: god of the annual flooding of the Nile,
which produced the frogs
|
- Partially duplicated by the Egyptian magicians
- Magicians were able to produce frogs, but
only Moses was able to make them go away
- Occurs in Goshen where the Israelites lived
|
3. Lice
Exodus 8:16-19 |
- Geb: the primary earth god, was all over the
dust of the earth
- Aker: god of the earth and the horizon
- Sab: an earth god
|
- Not duplicated by the Egyptian magicians
- Occurs in Goshen where the Israelites lived
- Attributed to the “finger of God” (Exod
8:15), not even His whole hand, and certainly
not His mighty “outstretched arm” (Exod 6:6)
|
4. Flies
Exodus 8:20-32 |
- Khepri: god of creation and rebirth, had the
head of a fly
- Uatchit: another fly god of Egypt
|
- God now makes a separation between the
Egyptians and the Israelites
- No more plagues will occur in the land of
Goshen or have any affect on the Israelites
|
5. Disease on Livestock
Exodus 9:1-7 |
All the Egyptian gods and goddessed associated
with bulls and cows:
- Hathor: a major goddess; consort of the sky
god Horus and sun god Ra; often depicted as a cow;
when depicted as a woman she had a headdress of cow
horns and a sun disk
- Bat: a cow goddess from early in Egyptian history
- Apis: a live bull worshipped as a god at Memphis and seen
as a manifestation of Ptah
- Ptah: an Egyptian creator god who conceived the world and
brought it into being through the creative power of speech
- Hesat: goddess in the form of a cow; one of the
main cattle deities as she is the mother of Horus
and Ra and closely associated with the role of
royalty and kingship. She was said to provide
humanity with milk (called "the beer of Hesat")
and in particular to suckle the pharaoh
and several ancient Egyptian bull gods.
- Mehet-Weret: a celestial cow goddess; she gives
birth to the sun at the beginning of time, and in art
she is portrayed as a cow with a sun disk between her
horns. She is associated with the goddesses Neith, Hathor,
and Isis, all of whom have similar characteristics,
and like them she could be called the “Eye of
Ra.”
- Buchis /Montu: a sacred bull that was worshipped in the region of Hermonthis
- Mnevis: a bull god
- Menu-nesu-Ḩeru: a warrior bull god
- Sekhat-Hor: a cow goddess
- Shenty: a cow goddess
- Ảmi-urt: a cow goddess
- Neb-t au-t-ȧb: a cow goddess
|
- Death of livestock (horses, donkeys, camels,
cattle and flocks) severely affects not only
property, but food and livelihood
- Israel’s livestock untouched
|
6. Boils
Exodus 9:8-12 |
All the Egyptian gods and goddesses of healing
and protection of health:
- Isis: the goddess of medicine and peace
- Sekhmet: goddess of epidemics; a lioness goddess, both
destructive and violent and capable of warding off disease,
protector of the pharaohs who led them in war, the consort
of Ptah and one of many forms of the “Eye of Ra”
- Horus: a major god, usually shown as a falcon or as a
human child, linked with the sky, the sun, kingship, protection,
and healing; often said to be the son of Osiris
and Isis
- Haurun: a protector and healing god
- Serapis: a god of healing
- Imhotep: a healer god
- Setem: a god of healing
- Serket: a scorpion goddess, invoked for healing and protection
|
- Affects the physical bodies of all Egyptians
and their animals
- Pharaoh’s magicians are not even able to
stand in the presence of Moses
|
7. Hail & Fire
Exodus 9:13-35 |
All the Egyptian gods and goddesses of the sky,
atmosphere, winds, and storms:
- Nut: primary goddess of the sky
- Isis: a major sky goddess, daughter of Nut
- Horus: a sky god
- Hathor: a major sky goddess
- Ḥebit: an air goddess
- Sopdu: a major sky god
- Ba'al: sky and storm god (originally from
Syria and Canaan)
- Ami-Nu: a sky god
- Set: god of deserts, storms, disorder, violence
- Shu: god of the atmosphere
- Hebit: a goddess of air and atmosphere
- Renenutet: an agricultural goddess
- Neper: a god of grain
- Nepit: goddess of grain, female counterpart of Neper
- Heneb: a god of grain
|
- Worst hailstorm in Egyptian history
- Overwhelmed all the gods and goddesses of
nature
- Destroyed nearly all the plant crops in
Egypt
- The area of Goshen was left untouched
- Pharaoh confesses his sin but later recants
|
8. Locusts
Exodus 10:1-20 |
All the Egyptian gods and goddesses of
agriculture and general protection:
- Serapia: protector from locusts
- Seth: god of storms and disorder
- Neper: a god of grain
- Nepit: goddess of grain, female counterpart of Neper
- Heneb: a god of grain
- over 20 other protector gods and goddesses
|
- Consumed all agricultural products not
destroyed by hail
- Pharaoh offers a compromise
- The compromise is rejected
- Pharaoh again confesses his sin
|
9. Darkness
Exodus 10:21-29 |
All the Egyptian gods and goddesses of the sun,
moon, and light:
- Ra (Re): the foremost Egyptian sun god, involved in creation and the afterlife; ruler of the gods, father of every Egyptian king
- Atum: one of the manifestations of the sun and creator god; the god of pre-existence and post-existence
- Aten (Aton, Atonu, Itn): the disc of the sun and originally an aspect of Ra
- Amun: was a major ancient Egyptian deity who
merged with Ra to become Amon-ra
- Khonsu: a moon god, son of Amun and Mu
- Montu: a god of the sun and war
- Osiris: god of death and resurrection who rules the underworld
and enlivens vegetation, the sun god, and deceased souls
- Hathor: one of the most important goddesses, linked with the sky and the sun
- Horus: a major god linked with the sky and sun
- Thoth: a moon god
- Iah (Aah, Yah): a moon god
|
- Three days and nights of complete darkness
- Apparently light was still provided for the
Israelites in Goshen
|
10. Death of
Firstborn
Exodus 12:29-36 |
This plague was a final judgment on all of
Egypt’s “gods,” especially Pharaoh himself,
who was worshipped by the Egyptians because he was considered to be the greatest
of all the Egyptian
gods. It was believed that he was actually the son of Ra manifest in the flesh. Pharaoh
had killed all the sons of the
Israelites (Exod 1:15-22), now God kills all the
firstborn of Egypt, human and livestock[1] alike. Pharaoh
will let Israel go, but will later lose his entire army
in the Red Sea (Exod 14:26-28). |
1. The Hebrew word translated “cattle” in
Exod 12:29 is בְּהֵמָה (behemah), which also translates
as “animals” or “livestock.” [BACK]
Page originally posted on Sunday, 02
January 2021
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