Pesach And The Ten Plagues In Egypt: A Revelation For Us

 Nadene Goldfoot                                         

The 10 plagues Moses spoke of coming to Egypt were:  

The plagues are: water turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, livestock pestilence, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the killing of firstborn males.                                  

All the 9 previous plagues that were listed in order were events caused by the eruption of a volcano on a Greek island close to Egypt.  It's well-known today and probably back then that animals sense things like volcanic eruptions that also cause earthquakes along their fault lines.  The plagues coming in a specific order, certainly follow this happening.  

 There was such a volcanic eruption on a Greek island at that time!!!  PROBING 20 feet into the soil of the Nile delta, American scientists have found tiny glass fragments from a volcano that they say could lend support to a theory linking a volcanic eruption to the seemingly miraculous events associated with the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt.

                                                               

Scholars for some time have tied the devastating eruption 3,500 years ago on Santorini, a Greek island also known as Thera, with legends of the lost continent of Atlantis and have cited it as a major factor in the fall of the Minoan civilization on Crete.

More recently, the eruption has been invoked to explain phenonema related to the Exodus, as described in the Bible. According to this controversial theory, the ash cloud from the eruption could account for the ''deep darkness over the whole land of Egypt, even a darkness that may be felt,'' and the ensuing tidal wave could have created the ''parting of the waves'' that swallowed the pursuing Egyptians and allowed the Israelites to escape.

During our Passover  (Pesach) Seder, we mention the list of the plagues visited upon the Egyptians, and an enumeration of the miracles performed by the Al-mighty for the formation and redemption of His people.  The 10th plague is the death of the 1st-born, the worst of the plagues.   When the Al-mighty slew the 1st-born sons of Israel, or fathers of 1st-born sons of Israel, or fathers of 1st-born sons under 13, fast on the day before Pesach, in gratitude to the Al-mighty.  So-all Jewish first-born sons under 13 are to fast on the day before Passover in gratitude to the Al-mighty.  It has been a custom for many centuries that this fast day is broken by a festive meal in celebration of the conclusion of the study of a book of the Talmud.  This usually takes place in the synagogue. 

All these events certainly could have been the results of the volcano erupting, but how  could the death of the 1st-born males be explained of only happening on top of reason, only to Egyptians?

First, Egyptian males and Israelite males had different customs and beliefs.  At the time, only Egyptian males practiced circumcision, a custom passed on by Moses to the Israelites, to be sure.  Women were not mentioned, so this plague only happened to Egyptian males.  It could lie with circumcised males.  Who had been circumcised?  Possibly it was a custom only practiced on first-borns to designate their status of being 1st born sons.  This plague hit not only the Pharaoh's son, but older 1st borns as well. 

     A Brit Milah-Circumcision Ceremony                                                 

                                                    

This is a special Jewish Brit Milah knife only used in circumcision

Possibly its cause was from something used in the act of circumcision.  I believe it was the knife, possibly a specially designed golden knife used only in all circumcisions on the 1st-born, as in Judaism, the act of circumcision is a public-done ceremony.  Because of this, the special knife could be full of germs that have entered the bodies of the 1st born.  At the most, possibly only the past 2 or 3 generations of 1st-borns were alive at the time.  After darkness had hit for 3 days, the air was full of viruses and bacteria from the 8 previous plagues, and caused the infested 1st born to die whereas other people had natural protection.  G-d moves in mysterious ways, but he uses methods involving earth's life.  It's been G-d's mysteries that cause man to really think.  

(Oh oh, my science adviser said that there would be no viruses and bacteria in the air because the volcanic ash was so hot it would kill everything off).  Nothing was there to cause the deaths just because they had been circumcised.)

There is nothing about ancient Egyptian beliefs or customs within my reach about this.  Update:  Only the 1st born Egyptians in my theory would have been circumcised.  One has to only know about  later Jewish customs of a Bris, and that Moses had delivered many laws to the Israelites, to figure that Egyptians might have also had a ceremony when the 1st born was circumcised.   Moses was a prince of Egypt, educated with the pharaoh's sons.   I hope Simchah Jacobovici agrees with me.  

The the pharaoh with the son who died, had not died.  Therefore, he was not a 1st born son.  For the  pharaoh's identification, it would help to know a pharaoh's age when he died and his son's death age, which all had to take place during the life of Moses, who Jewish time was between 1391 to1271 BCE and then be able to juggle other calendar times for the lives of the pharaohs. I have come up with Thutmose III of 1450 BCE that might fit.   

Update:  My family science adviser disagrees with me at the point of the volcanic ash would have nothing to do with the deaths of those circumcised.  So, I haven't found that part yet.  Sorry.  My theory goes on to be corrected.  

Resource:

The Historical Evidence Of The Plagues | The Exodus Decoded | Timeline: Simcha Jacobovici 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XObk07uabLI

Simcha Jacobovici;  author

https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2023/03/earths-development-of-culture-with.html