Nadene Goldfoot
1. The Nile River was turned into blood. This was the primary source of water in the land and the heart of Egyptian life. Ex.7:14-25. The Egyptians believed the Nile River was a god, Hapi, and controlled the annual flooding of the Nile.
After the water turned to blood, "the fish in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, so that the Egyptians could not drink water," according to the Bible, Exodus chapter 7, verse 21, Tanakh, and English Standard version.
Those who lived in Goshen, Egypt, were saved from the plagues. They were the Israelites/ the Hebrews. This was because they were not close to the Nile, but lived away from that and the Egyptian population, in the Sinai which was closer to Canaan of that day-today's Israel.
The sudden appearance of red-hued waters in the Nile could have been caused by a red algae bloom, which appears when certain conditions enable a type of microscopic algae to reproduce in such great numbers that the waters they live in appear to be stained a bloody red. The latest I've learned is that when too much iron is in the water, it causes the algae to appear. Although a low level of iron cannot harm your health, it contains bacteria. In addition to this, high iron in water content leads to an overload which can cause diabetes, hemochromatosis, stomach problems, and nausea. It can also damage the liver, pancreas, and heart.
2. Frogs invaded everything. (Ex: 8:1-15)They eventually died and unleashed foul smells throughout the land. A frog to Egyptians was represented goddess of fertility and childbirth, Heget. The algae drove away the frogs who were looking for a better environment. Their dying bodies caused a smell that attracted the gnat, and then the flies and other insects. So the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into your house, into your bedroom, on your bed, into the houses of your servants, on your people, into your ovens, and into your kneading bowls. And the frogs shall come up on you, on your people, and on all your servants.” (Exodus 8:2-4).
And in May 2010 in Greece, thousands of frogs emerged from a lake in the northern part of the country, likely in search of food, and disrupted traffic for days, CBS News reported.
A gnat
3. Gnats/Lice: Dust turned into small insects, possibly gnats or lice. As Aaron struck the dust with his staff, a stream of bugs, believed to be either lice or gnats, swarmed across Egypt. The people of Egypt were tormented with these bugs, completely unable to escape them, no matter where they went. Still, the Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go. The Egyptian priests could not duplicate this plague. Egyptians said that gnats came from the "dust of the earth" and the god of earth was named Geb. (Ex:8:16-19).
4. Flies/mosquitoes: Flying insects, probably the tsetse fly. Psalm 78:45 suggests that the insects fed on the Egyptians-like mosquitoes. This next plague continues the theme of swarming insects. After the Pharaoh refused again to let God’s people go free, God sent a plague of flies throughout Egypt. The whole of Egypt were overrun by these pesky winged insects except for the land of Goshen as this is where the Israelites lived. The head of a fly or scarab beetle represented the god of the rising sun, Khepri. (Ex 8:20-32).
5. Death of livestock/livestock pestilence: A plague was sent on the Egyptian livestock in the fields. The plague of livestock, also known as the plague of pestilence, killed all of the domestic animals in Egypt. In Biblical times, people’s livelihoods would have depended on their animals, and so this plague would have been particularly devastating. To add to the Egyptians’ grief, they had to watch the Israelites’ animals go unhurt, while they dug graves for their own. The Israelites' livestock was unharmed. (Ex 9:1-7) A cow represented the mother and sky goddess, Hathor. A bull was the representation of Apis, an ancient Egyptian god who was sacrificed and reborn. Cows eat grass and the grass was full of dead insects that had suffered from pollution.
6. Boils appeared on both the Egyptians and their animals. Boil came out on the cows from eating polluted grass full of dead insects and the people who touched them caught the boils as well. Egyptian priests/healers could do nothing to help. (Ex 9:8-12) ‘Take for yourselves handfuls of ashes from a furnace, and let Moses scatter it toward the heavens in the sight of Pharaoh. And it will become fine dust in all the land of Egypt, and it will cause boils that break out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt’” (Exodus 9:8-9).
This plague is perhaps the most gory of them all. The sixth plague to fall on Egypt was the plague of boils. As the name suggests, this plague caused the people of Egypt to break out in awful boils all over their bodies. The pain must have been unbearable. The Egyptians were not the only ones to suffer, as the Egyptian animals were also struck with boils. The Israelites, however, were untouched. The god of healing and medicine was Imhotep, while the goddess was Sekhmet.
We learn that Egypt used male and female healers.
7. Hail: Egyptian lands were struck by a massive hailstorm. Some of Pharaoh's officials sided with Moses after this plague.(Ex.9:13-35) Their god of storms and disorder was Seth. The goddess of the sky was Nut. Hail forms when a thunderstorm updraft lifts a water droplet above the freezing level in the atmosphere. The frozen water droplet then accretes super-cooled water or water vapor, which freezes once it comes in contact with the frozen droplet. Updrafts are found when a wind blowing at a hill or mountain has to rise to climb over the hill. Updrafts can also be caused by the sun heating the ground. The heat from the ground warms the surrounding air, which causes the air to rise.
The hail involved in this plague was not like any that we have seen today. The Bible describes the hail that pelted down on Egypt as huge, destructive balls of ice that left no living thing unharmed. Some people were wise enough to seek shelter inside, but those who didn’t were killed on the spot. Again, the land of Goshen, where the Israelites lived, was completely untouched. This plague seemed to get through to the Pharaoh, as we see in Exodus that he sent for Moses and acknowledged his wrongdoings. For a second time, the Pharaoh promised to let God’s people go if the plague would stop. God stopped the hail, but Pharaoh did not let the Israelites go free.
Pakistan hit by locust swarm
8. Locusts ate every plant not destroyed in the hailstorm. Egyptian officials pleaded with Pharaoh to listen to Moses. (Ex 10:1020) The god who protected Egyptians against locusts was the god with the head of a locust, Serapia. They could have blown in on an updraft...have their own timetable of arrival. Once Moses left the Pharaoh’s palace, he lifted his arms to heaven and a wind from the East brought a swarm of locusts into Egypt. It is said that the sheer volume of locusts was so much that the sun was completely blocked out. The insects forged a path of destruction across the land. Again, Pharaoh begged Moses and Aaron to pray for an end to the plague. Moses agreed, and God sent a wind from the west to drive the locusts away. However, once the locusts were gone, Pharaoh’s heart hardened once again, and he refused to let the Israelites go.
9. Darkness, intense darkness descended upon the land for 3 days; so dark that it was described as if it could be touched. (Ex 10:21-29) It takes 4 gods to be associated with the sun; Ra, Amon-Ra, Atum, and Horus. We'll find that the eruption of the volcano's aftermath was complete darkness caused by the gases, cloud covering sunlight. The penultimate plague cast a cloak of darkness over Egypt. This darkness lasted for 3 days. During this time, the Egyptians trembled in fear, as not a glimmer of light could be seen across the land. The Israelites continued on as normal during this time in the land of Goshen, where the light still remained.
10. Death of the firstborn sons: G-d struck dead all firstborn males, including Pharaoh's son. Those with lamb's blood on their doorframes (Israelites) were spared. This is talked about during Passover. This plague was an attack on the lineage and deity of Pharaoh himself. We were not given the Pharaoh's name, but I believe it was Thutmose III. His 1st born son died. “Then Moses said, ‘Thus says the Lord: “About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt; and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne, even to the firstborn of the female servant who is behind the hand mill, and all the firstborn of the animals. Then there shall be a great cry throughout all the land of Egypt, such as was not like it before, nor shall be like it again. But against none of the children of Israel shall a dog move its tongue, against man or beast, that you may know that the Lord does make a difference between the Egyptians and Israel”’” (Exodus 11:4-7)
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. 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.
Even the gods of Egypt had turned against their own people as these plagues had their godly protectors and they didn't protect the people, they realized. The pharaoh still wouldn't listen.
Seven plagues were said to be brought on by Moses or Aaron raising his staff and three sent directly by G-d.
Edit: 3/24/23 on Goshen
Resource:
Exodus 6:28-7-19 specifically 14 with blood
https://jewishbubba.blogspot.com/2023/03/earths-development-of-culture-with.html
https://www.livescience.com/58638-science-of-the-10-plagues.html
https://www.peninsulawater.com/is-iron-in-drinking-water-harmful/
