EGYPT, PLAGUES OF. In the 7th, 8th, 9th, loth, and r2th chapters of Exodus, we have an account of a series of inflictions brought upon the Egyptians through the instrumentality of Moses and Aaron, for the purpose of constraining the ruling Pharaoh to allow the Israelites to leave his country, and escape from the bondage under which they had long been held there. These inflictions were ten in number, and are commonly spoken of as ' the plagues of Egypt.' We propose briefly to describe them in order, and then to offer some observations of a general kind on the narrative as a whole.
I. Moses having given the Pharaoh, in com pliance with his own request, a sign of his divine commission, and consequent right to demand the liberation of the Israelites in the name of God ; and the Pharaoh, in despite of this, having refused his demand, God commanded him to appear before the monarch as he walked by the side of the Nile, and threaten him, in case of his persisting in his refusal, with a judgment by which the waters of the river should be turned into blood. This was the first of the plagues ; for the Pharaoh having hardened his heart against the divine threatening, Aaron, at the command of Moses, ' smote the waters that were in the river ... and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood.' In the first instance this was probably confined to the waters of the Nile, else where could the magicians have found water on which to try their art, as we are told they did ? But as the king continued in his obduracy, the plague spread until the judgment fell on ' their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water,' and even on the water which they had in the arti ficial reservoirs and cisterns connected with their houses. There was thus (as is proleptically stated in ver. 21) ' blood throughout all the land of Egypt.' In consequence of this the fish in the river died, and the water became putrid, so that no one could drink it ; and the Egyptians, to whom the waters of the Nile are especially delicious (see Harmar, Observations, iii. 564, etc.), were forced to turn from it with loathing. It would appear, however, that the water, when filtered through the earth on the bank of the river, was restored to its salubrity, for the Egyptians, by digging round about the river, were able to supply themselves with water they could drink. This plague lasted for seven days, after which the water returned to its former state (Ezek. vii. ro-25). An interval having elapsed, Moses was again commissioned to demand the liberation of the people, and, in case of the monarch's refusing, to threaten to smite all his borders with frogs. Aaron was accordingly in
structed to stretch forth his rod over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds,' and having done so, the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.' This miracle also was imitated by the magicians ; they did so by their enchantments.' This probably served, as before, to confirm the Pharaoh in his obduracy ; but to him and his people the visitation itself seems to have been peculiarly distressing ; so much so that he was con strained to humble himself before Moses and ask him to ' entreat the Lord to take away the frogs,' and promised to let the people go (viii. 1-8). The species of reptile which was made the instrument of this infliction is probably the small frog of Egypt called by the natives elafda, the rana Mosaica of Seetzen (Reiser, iii. 245, 350, etc.) [TSEPARDEA.] In compliance with the request of Moses God removed the frogs from the dwellings of the Egyp tians. But as the king, when he saw there was respite, again hardened his heart, and refused to let the people go, God sent on him a third plague, that of DNn, rendered in the A. V. lice.' Aaron, in obedience to the divine command, smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man and in beast throughout all the land of Egypt. The magicians tried to rival this also but could not, and were compelled to acknowledge that ' this was the finger of God.' The rendering in the A. V. is supported by many high authorities, Bochart among the rest ; but the majority of more recent scholars follow the LXX. and the Vulg., which translate WI; by o-vicpcs and seiniiikes, and regard the insect in question as a species of gnat or mosquito. [KINN The next plague was that of the ,ati, which the LXX. render by Ktnib,uvia, or dog-i7y, while others make it the scaraba'ns, and others, with the A. V., a swarm of flies (from rill to nth) [Axon]. The last has as much in its favour as any of the others, and all travellers concur in attesting that even now one of the greatest pests of Egypt is the multitude of flies which at certain seasons infest the country, and torment both man and beast. By the invasion of this insect the land was corrupted, i.e., what before was pleasant and useful was spoiled, and be came noisome (comp. Barhebr. Chronic. Syr. p. 343) ; and the Pharaoh was again brought to pro mise the liberation of the Israelites, and entreat the offices of Moses to plead with God for the removal of the plague (viii. 2o-28).