Plagues of Egypt

Ten Plagues were brought down upon the land of Egypt when the pharaoh refused to allow Moses and the Hebrews to worship their god.1

  1. Water turned to blood — the water of the Nile turned into blood, causing the fish to die and making it unsuitable for consumption;
  2. Frogs — the land was overrun by frogs;
  3. Lice — the dust of the earth was turned into lice, which infested man and beast, but not the Israelites;
  4. Flies — uncountable flies were set loose, filling the buildings and houses of the Egyptians and covering the ground on which they stood;
  5. Murrain (pestilence) — livestock was afflicted with pestilence and all the livestock of the Egyptians died, but not those animals belonging to the Israelites;
  6. Boils — Moses and his brother Aaron took double-handfuls of soot from a furnace and threw it into the air. It turned into fine dust and caused festering boils on the Egyptians and their animals;
  7. Hail — hail rained upon Egypt, striking down man and beast alike. Every growing thing was smashed except in the land of the Israelites where not a single hailstone fell;
  8. Locusts — huge swarms of locusts covered the land and ate everything not destroyed by the hail;
  9. Darkness — darkness fell upon the land, a darkness so dense it could be felt. The Egyptians could not see or move for three days;
  10. Death of the firstborn — every firstborn in the land died; from the firstborn of the pharaoh to the firstborn of the servants and the animals, but not among the Israelites.

References

Notes

  1. Ex. 7-12.