Plagues of Egypt

The Plagues of Egypt (Hebrew: מכות מצרים, Makot Mitzrayim), also called the ten biblical plagues, were ten calamities that, according to the biblical Book of Exodus, Yahweh inflicted upon Egypt to persuade the Pharaoh to release the ill-treated Israelites from slavery. The Pharaoh capitulated after the tenth plague, triggering the Exodus of the Hebrew people.

The plagues served to contrast the power of the God of Israel with the Egyptian gods, invalidating them. Some commentators have associated several of the plagues with judgment on specific gods associated with the Nile, fertility and natural phenomena. According to Exodus 12:12, all the gods of Egypt would be judged through the tenth and final plague: "On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn of both people and animals, and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD."

The reason for the plagues appears to be two fold: to answer Pharaoh's taunt, "Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go?", and to indelibly impress the Israelites with God's power as an object lesson for all time, which was also meant to become known "throughout the world".

According to the Book of Exodus, God hardened Pharaoh's heart so he would be strong enough to persist in his unwillingness to release the people, so that God could manifest his great power and cause his power to be declared among the nations, so that other people would discuss it for generations afterward. In this view, the plagues were punishment for the Egyptians' long abuse of the Israelites, as well as proof that the gods of Egypt were false and powerless. If God triumphed over the gods of Egypt, a world power at that time, then the people of God would be strengthened in their faith, although they were a small people, and would not be tempted to follow the deities that God proved false. Exodus 9:15–16 (JPS Tanakh) portrays Yahweh explaining why he did not accomplish the freedom of the Israelites immediately: "I could have stretched forth My hand and stricken you [Pharaoh] and your people with pestilence, and you would have been effaced from the earth. Nevertheless I have spared you for this purpose: in order to show you My power and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world."

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