The Pharaoh's Pursuit

(Exodus 13:17 - 14:31)

When the Israelites were at last freed by the Pharaoh, Jehovah did not guide them through the land of the Philistines, even though that was the shortest way to Canaan, for, he reasoned, they might encounter hostilities there, regret their decision, and return to Egypt.  Instead, he led them by an indirect route through the desert toward the Red Sea.  Even so, the Israelites marched out of Egypt like an army ready for battle. 

Moses carried with him the mummified corpse of Joseph, who, before he died, had solemnly charged his people, "Jehovah will visit you in the future and come to your aid.  At that time you must carry my remains with you when you leave Egypt.”

The Israelites journeyed from Succoth to Etham, where they camped on the edge of the desert.  Jehovah guided them in an pillar-shaped aerial vehicle that appeared like a cloud during the day and glowed like a fire at night, lighting the way.  By this means they could travel by both day and night, (for the ship was always in the sky, visible to the people).

Jehovah spoke to Moses, "Tell the Israelites that they should turn around and go back to camp beneath Pi-Hahiroth, which is between Magdal and the sea, opposite Baalzephon.  They should make their camp by the sea.  The Pharaoh will then assume that the Israelites, wandering about aimlessly, are trapped there, hemmed in by the desert.  I will make the Pharaoh stubborn and he will come after them.  I will then take my revenge upon the Pharaoh and his army so that the Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah."  And the Israelites did as they were ordered.

When the Pharaoh was informed that the Israelites had absconded, he and his court rued their decision to free them.  The men at court discussed it among themselves and groused, "What possessed us to let the Israelites escape from our service?”

And so the Pharaoh harnessed his war chariot and called out his attendants.  He assembled his elite corps of chariots, 600 of them, as well as all the other chariots of Egypt and the officers who commanded them.  (Jehovah made the Pharaoh stubborn so he would continue to pursue the Israelites.)  The Israelites had left victoriously, but now the Egyptians were chasing after them.  The chariots of the Pharaoh, the horses and the charioteers, followed the track of the Israelites.  And they caught up with them where they were encamped by the sea at Pi-Hahiroth, opposite Baalzephon. 

When the forces of the Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel espied them advancing toward them and were greatly alarmed.  They appealed to Jehovah -- and complained to Moses, "Are there no graves in Egypt that you have led us into the desert to die?  Why did you lead us out of Egypt anyway?  Didn't we tell you back in Egypt, 'Leave us alone and let us serve the Egyptians, for it's better to be their slaves than to die in the desert.'"

Moses proclaimed to the people, "Have no fear!  Stand your ground and witness how Jehovah will save you this day, for the Egyptians that you now see, you will never see again.  Jehovah will do battle for you while you hold your peace."

Jehovah said to Moses, "Why do you speak to me?  Speak to the children of Israel.  Tell them to advance.  Raise your staff and reach it out over the sea to divide it so the people of Israel may pass through the sea on dry land.  I will make the Pharaoh stubborn so he will pursue you.  I will then take my revenge upon the Pharaoh, his army, his chariots and his charioteers, and when I have done so, the Egyptians will know that I am Jehovah!”

The agent of Jehovah who had been guiding the people from the front now moved to the rear of their force.  Jehovah's vehicle, which had been in front of the Israelite encampment, also moved and took a position behind it, in between the camp of the Israelites and that of the Egyptians.  It was but dark cloud to the Egyptians, but it left the Israelites in light, such that all night neither camp came near the other. 

Moses stretched his arm over the sea and Jehovah caused a strong, hot east wind to part the waters of the sea.  It blew all through the night and created a path of dry land on the seabed between parted waters.  The Israelites, traveling out into the middle of the sea, tread upon the dry ground with the waters a wall beside them on the left and on the right.

The Egyptians, in hot pursuit, followed them onto the seabed, all the Pharaoh's chariots and their drivers.  Dawn had broken and Jehovah was observing the Egyptians from his glowing, cloud-like vehicle in the sky.  He threw the Egyptian army into disarray by clogging the wheels of their chariots so they had difficulty driving them.  The Egyptians declared, "Let us retreat from the Israelites, for Jehovah is fighting on their side against us!"

Jehovah then told Moses, "Stretch out your arm over the sea that the waters may return and come down upon the Egyptians, their chariots and charioteers.”

Moses stretched out his arm toward the sea, and at dawn it resumed its accustomed depth.  The Egyptians fled from it, but Jehovah brought the waters down upon them. When the waters returned, it inundated the chariots and their drivers; the entire army that came into the sea in pursuit were swept away and killed to the last man.  But the Israelites continued to march across the dry land in the middle of the sea with the wall of water to the right of them and to the left of them. 

Thus Jehovah saved the Israelites from the might of the Egyptians on that day.  Observing the dead bodies of Egyptians washing upon the shore, the Israelites appreciated the miraculous power that Jehovah had employed against the Egyptians.  And so they feared Jehovah and believed in him -- and in his servant Moses.

Notes
1.  The route the departing Israelites has been a matter of much speculation, even though the biblical text mentions specific place names.  Their direct route to Canaan was to the east, but they would have immediately run into the war-like Philistines, so, at Jehovah's behest, their course was directed southeast probably along what is now the Suez Canal.  Succoth is on the easternmost part of the delta region while Etham, to the southeast, is on the edge of a desert that stretches east into the Sinai. The location of Pi-Hahiroth, Baalzephon and Magdal (which means "tower" or "raised land") have not been definitely determined but is most likely near salt-water lakes that connect to the western arm of the Red Sea.  The crossing of the Red Sea, or Sea of Reeds as the text refers to it, is most likely here, in waters deep enough to drown chariots, but not so wide as to make crossing infeasible.  Other scenarios and other locations have, however, been suggested.

2.  Most translations describe Moses carrying with him the "bones" of Joseph with him to take back to Canaan to fulfill a promise his people made to the dying Joseph.  "Bones" probably mean "remains."  Joseph had been mummified so his corpse would have been wrapped and probably in a good state of preservation.

3.  Jehovah appeared to the Israelites in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, accompanying and guiding his people.  It is not clear what to make of this description, but it surely refers to some kind of airship in which Jehovah was riding.  For the ancients the only objects that could appear in the sky except for the heavenly bodies would be birds and clouds.  If the ship was described as a cloud it only means that it resembled a cloud more than anything else.  As for the pillar of fire, fire seems less likely than light.  Flames can only result from something burning; a burning object hovering in the sky is not plausible.  Illumination is always associated with fire, since, at that time, fire was the sole source of light save for the heavenly bodies, and it was probably generally assumed that the sun burned -- as indeed it does.  (It was not yet realized that the light of the moon was merely the reflected light of the sun.)  Thus, we have an airship that turned on its lights at night and, at one point, directed those lights to the Israelite encampment.  The pillar description must refer to the shape of the object, cylindrical and elongated, rather like the large, cigar-shaped UFOs that have been sighted in modern times.   A pillar, though, is thought of as upright and not on its side.  It's strange to think of an airship vertical instead of horizontal, except when taking off, but that might have been its normal attitude when hovering, as the ship must have been doing.  And it should not be overlooked that missiles and rockets might easily be described by ancients as pillars or columns.

4.  True to character, the Pharaoh, incorrigibly stubborn, reneges on his pledge to free the Israelites and decides to go after his slaves and bring them back.  Also, true to form, the Israelites are weak, vacillating, ungrateful, and skeptical; they want to go back to Egypt and return to slavery at the first sign of adversity.

5.  The Pharaoh is able to muster 600 chariots and more, as well as a huge army.  Where did all these men come from?  Plague survivors?  What did they have to eat in an Egypt whose food supply was destroyed by the just-described series of disastrous plagues?  Where did the horses come from?  Weren't they all killed off?

6.  Not only was Jehovah leading the people from his airship, but there is a reference to one of his agents that was apparently on the ground acting as a guide, probably taking orders from Jehovah himself in the ship above.  This is quite interesting, because he was not mentioned previously in the story.

7.  Jehovah has Moses stretch out his arm and his staff to summon an east wind to blow all night in order to separate the waters to make a path for the Israelites to walk dry shod through the middle of the sea.  This is preposterous on so many levels.  First of all, a wind, if it was capable of blowing all the water in the sea, would blow it to the opposite bank (and drown the Israelites); it could hardly form a passage in the midst of the water.  Some have suggested a reef might have been uncovered by a wind, but still, the water washed away from it would have come down upon the Israelites.  It simply isn't possible that enough water could have been displaced to later inundate the Pharaoh's chariots when sea levels returned to normal.  One might imagine a mammoth leaf blower could do the job described, but still, it would have to generate a super gale that would probably blow the Israelites back to Egypt.  A tsunami might have caused a receding of the sea before its inundation of the shore.  One feels that a memory of this sort of event might have inspired the story here.  However, the mechanism by which a path through the sea could be formed with the water held back like walls on each side is not really possible.  The parting of the sea, as it is told, is only feasible through some sort of miracle performed by mechanisms we cannot conceive.

8.  If the sea bed had been exposed and dried up by the wind, it seems unlikely that it would have been very passable, especially while it was still dark (unless Jehovah's pillar of fire was furnishing enough light for the Israelites).  Also, one has to consider how long it would take for the supposed two million people to make the passage.  Could this be completed in the wee hours of the morning?

9.  Before the sea returned to inundate the Egyptians, Jehovah clogged the wheels of the chariots so they would not make much progress.  Most translations describe Jehovah removing the wheels from the chariots, but this seems less likely.   Removing the chariot wheels would have been a difficult and senseless task.  (What could Jehovah have done, send down an invisible army of angels to unfasten the wheels from their axles, or shoot them all off with a laser gun?)  One supposes he impeded the progress of the chariots by simply reversing the drying up of the seabed and reconverting it to mud.  Thus, clogged wheels.

10.  At last the Israelites are impressed by Jehovah.  We will see how long this will last!         

The Exodus Begins

(Exodus 12:34 - 13:16)

The Israelites packed their bread dough before it could be leavened, bundled the bread pans in their cloaks, and carried them on their shoulders.  They did had Moses had bid: they procured from the Egyptians vessels and jewelry of gold and silver and apparel.  Jehovah had induced the Egyptians to view them favorably and so they complied with the Israelites and gave them whatever they demanded.  (Indeed, the departing Israelites despoiled the Egyptians of their wealth and possessions.)

The Israelites thus journeyed from the city of Ramses to Succoth.  They numbered about 600,000 men on foot, not counting children and the motley crew of people who accompanied them or the herds and flocks and the large amount of livestock.  The Israelites baked the unleavened dough they had taken with them when they left Egypt and made flat bread.  (They did not have time to leaven the bread since they undertook their journey in haste: they dared not delay and had no time to prepare a proper meal.)

The nomadic wanderings of the people of Israel who dwelt in Canaan and in Egypt comprised 430 years.  At the end of that time, to the day, the people of Jehovah  marched out of the land of Egypt arrayed in military formation.  This then was a night to remember, when Jehovah led them out of Egypt -- a night to be commemorated by future generations.

Jehovah told Moses and Aaron, "This is the ceremonial feast of Passover.  No stranger may take part in it and eat, but the purchased slave, if he has been circumcised, may join in it, but not the foreigner or the hired hand.  The feast shall be consumed within the house and nothing taken outside to eat nor should any bone be broken.  The entire Israelite community must observe these rules.  If a foreigner lives with you and is willing to observe the Passover, he must circumcise all male members of his family; then he may celebrate it in the same manner as native Israelites.  But if any man remains uncircumcised, he must not partake of the Passover meal.  These same rules will apply to the native as well as to the foreigner who lives among you.  The children of Israel abided by what Jehovah had told Moses and Aaron.

And so on this very day Jehovah ushered the people of Israel out of Egypt like an army.

And Jehovah told Moses, "Reserve for me all the firstborn, the offspring that emerges first from the womb of Israel, both of man and beast.  It shall be mine!"

Moses proclaimed to his people, "Remember this day when you left Egypt where you were slaves, for it was by the power of Jehovah that you were brought out of bondage.  (Therefore, keep in mind you shall eat no leavened bread.)  You were freed in the month of Abib.   So when Jehovah guides you into the land of the Canaanites, Hethites, Amorites, Hivites, and Jebusites, which he promised to your forefathers -- a land abounding in milk and honey, you must celebrate this event during this month in the years to come.  For seven days you will eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day there will be a feast to Jehovah.  Unleavened bread will be eaten for seven days; there will be no leavened bread in your possession, nor shall there be any leaven at all in your homes.

"On the day of the Passover feast, you will explain to your children. ‘We observe this custom because of what Jehovah did for us when we left Egypt.  It is intended to remind you like a stamp on your hands or a mark on your forehead that the commands of Jehovah should always be on your mind.  For it is by the power of Jehovah that you were brought out of Egypt.  You will, therefore, observe this tradition at this time of the year for all the years to come.' 

“When it comes to pass that Jehovah will lead you into the land of the Canaanites, which he promised to your forefathers, and settle you there, you will set aside all the firstborn animals, those who emerge first from the womb.  The males will belong to Jehovah.  The firstborn foil of a donkey may, however, be spared if a lamb or kid be offered in its place.  Otherwise, you must kill it by breaking its neck.  All of your firstborn sons may similarly have their places taken by sacrificial animals.

"And when the time comes that your son will question you, 'What is all this for?,' you will say to him, 'Jehovah brought us out of Egypt and freed us from slavery with his power.  When the Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Jehovah killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both men and animals.  That is why we sacrifice to Jehovah all the firstborn males, the offspring first out of the womb, although the firstborn of our children we redeem with a substitute sacrifice.’ It will be a reminder like a stamp on your hand or a mark on your forehead that it is through the power of Jehovah that we were brought out of Egypt."

Notes
1.  Several times it is mentioned that the departing Israelites "asked" their Egyptian neighbors to "borrow" their gold and silver -- according to most translations.  It's rather absurd.  First of all, the Israelites lived segregated from the Egyptians in Goshen; therefore, they would have no Egyptian neighbors.  Secondly, it is preposterous that the Egyptians would willing lend their precious items of gold and silver or clothes to absconding slaves who had brought catastrophe after catastrophe upon their country.  (Would a modern employer, when the Latina maid wants to go back to Mexico, "lend" her the family silver and the wife’s wardrobe after the maid had used magic to burn down the house and murder the baby?)  It is obvious that the Israelites, perhaps not too unjustly vengeful, plundered the country and looted its citizens with the sanction of their god Jehovah, who has yet to say anything against stealing.  This seems particularly cruel to the Egyptians who had suffered so much and who had died in vast numbers owing to the Israelites and to their Pharaoh's stubbornness.  Jehovah expresses no sympathy for the Egyptians: he is obviously not the god of "do unto others," "forgive your neighbor his trespasses," and "love your enemy."  Quite the contrary!

2.  The cities of Ramses and Succoth are in northeastern Egypt, the delta region, but the reference to them is probably anachronistic.  It is a foolish mistake, made by most who try to date the Exodus, that the place names accurately reflect names and locations that were current at the time of the story, rather than the time of the storyteller.  The Exodus, though not exactly as described in the Bible, could only have occurred during an intermediate period in Egyptian history, most likely the period between the Middle Kingdom and the New Kingdom.  The plagues may date to this period.  The emigration of the Israelites may have been part of the expulsion of the Hyksos at the beginning of the New Kingdom.  (The biblical narratives furnish a large number of jigsaw puzzle pieces, but they really can't be put together in any way that creates the picture on the box.)

3.  The wanderings, or sojourns of the Israelites, who had no country of their own but were forced to settle in foreign lands for various periods of time, are recorded as lasting 430 years.  It is unlikely that this means the duration of time the Israelites stayed in Egypt, but rather the time from their departure from Ur in Mesopotamia.  Some versions of Exodus (eg. the Samaritan Pentateuch) actually include Canaan in this sentence, as I have.   Calculated from Abraham’s emigration from Mesopotamia, the number of years is 215.  Even this less lengthy stay in Egypt is contradicted by the stated number of generations.  Moses is only a great grandson of Levi.   If Moses were really 80 years old, or 81, at the time, then that still makes less than 150 years as an upper limit for the time of their residence in Egypt, allowing a generous gap between generations.  But if Moses at the time of the Exodus were, say, 40 years old, which is more likely, the time spent by the Israelites in Egypt could easily amount to less than 90 years.  The protracted number of years is credible only if one permits the impossible longevity of all the biblical patriarchs.  It is certainly possible that a remarkable man of ancient times might live to be 90 or even 100 and that he might have children at an advanced age, but that all his descendants would do so is too improbable to be accepted.      

4.  The number of generations also makes preposterous the level of the Israelite population said to have participated in the Exodus -- 600,000 men, probably 2 million persons overall.  (Ancient sources always seem to exaggerate numbers, whether it is the number of soldiers in a battle or the number of years a past event occurred.)  Such a number could form a queue stretching from Egypt to Canaan!  Considering they all got ready to go in a single night, actually just the wee hours of the morning, credibility is pushed to the breaking point.  Such a vast movement of population en masse would simply not be possible for reasons that will be obvious.  It seems more likely that if the Exodus ever took place, it probably consisted of a few thousands persons, the number that would normally be produced in the number of generations cited.

5.  Jehovah's obsession with unleavened bread and his harping on the Passover feast is past annoying.  Amid the epic calamities in Egypt and the forthcoming liberation of his people, this, incredibly, seems of paramount importance to him.  --- So far, he has created two rules for his people, neither of them having anything to do with moral conduct.  The first is that males must be circumcised and, secondly, all must eat unleavened bread on the Passover.  (Violate the first and you will be put to death,  violate the second and you will be kicked out of the tribe.)  Then, he creates a third, every firstborn male belongs to him.  You wonder if he has the time, the appetite, and the capacity to consume all the animals to be sacrificed to him or to enjoy the smoky smell of their roasting flesh.  And you wonder how a poor tribe could afford this vast sacrificial waste of livestock.

6.  Abib is the first month of the ancient Jewish lunar calendar, occurring in March or April.

7.  It  might be mentioned at this point, concerning the origin of the Hebrew people, that while most modern historians believe the Exodus never occurred and that the Hebrews never lived in Egypt, but came from Canaan, most ancient historians ascribed the emergence of the Hebrews as a distinct people to their expulsion from Egypt.  The Roman historian Tacitus (circa 110 A.D.), who seems to have done some research on the subject, offers several fanciful theories as to their origin, but ends up agreeing with the first-century B.C. Greek historians Chaeremon and Lysimachus of Alexandria and Diodorus of Sicily that the Israelites were expelled from Egypt because they were diseased.  Moses emerged as their leader and saved them from perishing in the desert.  A less glamorous view of history than the one presented by Exodus!  (I might mention that more than a century ago a fraudulent genealogist foisted upon my mother’s family, the Blaisdells, a phony history  concerning its origins.  The bogus account claimed that their immigrant forefather was a Sir Ralph Blaisdell of Welsh descent, with royal connections, a coat of arms, and a ship of his own.  The family bought it until the truth was eventually revealed.  Ralph was just plain Ralph, bless him, a Lancashire tailor and tavern keeper who illegally left England and landed on a the coast of Maine in a ship that was then immediately wrecked by a storm.  --- I like the real story better!) 

8.  Among those who credit the Exodus, various dates have been suggested for it from the 16th to the 13th Centuries B.C., or even later.  A very long book could be written examining (and debunking) every claim.  The very fact that the Exodus cannot be dated is a tip-off to its fictional or, at best, semi-mythical provenance.  Confirming this is the fact that the Pharaoh of the Exodus is never named and bears no resemblance to any historical figure (least of all to Ramses the Great, generally believed to be the Pharaoh of the Exodus, courtesy of Cecil B. De Mille.)  Archaeological evidence is entirely missing, as is any confirmation from Egyptian historical sources. 

Passover

(Exodus 11:1 - 12:33)

Jehovah told Moses, "I shall bring one more plague down upon the Pharaoh and Egypt, and after that he will not only let you go, but will expel you.  Announce to all the people that every man and woman should procure from his neighbors vessels and jewelry of gold and silver."

(Jehovah had caused the Israelites to acquire a favorable reputation among the Egyptian people, and Moses was held in high regard by the Pharaoh's court and by the common people of Egypt as well.)

Moses announced to the Pharaoh, "Jehovah says, 'At midnight I will go abroad through the land of Egypt.  All the firstborn children in Egypt will then perish, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh who sits upon the throne to the firstborn of the servant girl who grinds corn upon the millstone -- even the firstborn of the animals.  There shall be an wailing outcry such there has never been in the land of Egypt nor will be again.  But among the Israelites there will be nary a murmur among men or beasts; not even a dog will bark. You will then see the clear distinction I, Jehovah, am making between Egypt and Israel.’ All those who serve the Pharaoh will bow down before me.  They will beg me, ‘Leave and take your followers with you!’  Then, only then, will I depart.”  And Moses, very angry, withdrew from the Pharaoh.

Jehovah told Moses, "The Pharaoh will not heed your words, compelling me to perform more miracles in Egypt.”

Moses and Aaron accomplished all the miracles in the Pharaoh’s presence, but Jehovah made the Pharaoh stubborn and he continued to refuse to let the Israelites leave the country.

Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron in Egypt.  "This month will be observed by you as the beginning of the year; this will be the first month in the year.  Inform all the assembled people of Israel. 'On the tenth of this month each man must take a lamb for his family, one for each household.  If the family is too small to eat an entire lamb then it will share with that of his next-door neighbor.  (Divide the meat according to the number of people and how much each will eat.)  The lamb must be perfect, a yearling male.  It may be a lamb, or it may be a goat kid.  It shall be carefully penned till the fourteenth of the month and then, at sundown, all the people of Israel en masse will slaughter their lamb (or kid).  Each shall take the blood of the lamb and smear it over the door posts and the lintel of the house in which the lamb will be eaten.  That night they shall dine on the roasted lamb with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.  (Don't eat it raw or boiled, but roast it whole on a spit over a fire.)  You will save nothing of the lamb, and any left-overs should be burned before morning.  When you eat it, you must do so in this manner: with your robe belted up, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand.  You should eat it quickly; this is Jehovah's Passover.  For this is the night when I will pass through the land of Egypt and kill all the firstborn, both man and beast and exact punishment upon the gods of Egypt -- I am Jehovah!”

“The blood on the house will be a sign that you are residing there.  When I see it, I will pass over you and spare you from the deadly plague that I will be inflicting upon the land of Egypt.” 

“For you this will be a day of remembrance and you will commemorate it throughout the ages as a feast day for Jehovah.  Your descendants will observe it forever as a part of religious law.  For seven days you will eat unleavened bread.  On the first day all leaven must be removed from your house and anyone who eats anything leavened during the seven days will be expelled from the community of Israelites."

"On the first day of Passover and again on the seventh day there will be a religious convocation.  On these days you will do no work at all except that necessary for the preparation of meals.  You will hold a feast of unleavened bread, as a remembrance of the day when I brought out of Egypt the assembled nation of Israel.  This day will be established as a religious festival and will be celebrated down through the ages.  From the evening of 14th day of the month until the evening of the 21st you will eat only unleavened bread.  For seven days no leaven must be found in your homes and whoever eats anything leavened, that person, whether he be a native or a foreigner, will be expelled from the community of the Israelites.  You will eat nothing leavened; wherever you may be living you must eat nothing but unleavened bread."

Moses convened the elders of Israel and told them, “Each family, pick out a lamb and slaughter it as a sacrifice for Passover.  Dip a hyssop branch into a basin of lamb’s blood and sprinkle the blood on the lintel and on both the door posts.  None of you must leave your houses till morning.  Jehovah will be passing through killing Egyptians, but when he sees the blood on the lintel and the  door posts, he will pass over those thresholds and bar the assassin from entering your houses and killing you.”

“You will henceforth observe this tradition as law among your descendants for all time to come.  When you settle in the land that Jehovah has promised us, you will keep this practice.  When it happens that your children will question you, 'What does this custom mean?'  You will tell them, 'It is the sacrifice to honor Jehovah's Passover, when he passed over the houses of the Israelites, sparing us while he killed the Egyptians.'"  And the people of Israel bowed their heads and prayed.  They then departed and did as Jehovah had commanded Moses and Aaron.

And so at midnight Jehovah put to death all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of the Pharaoh that sat on the throne to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.  The Pharaoh got up in the middle of the night, as did his court and all his subjects.  There was a huge outcry in Egypt, for there wasn't a single house in which there was not at least one death. 

During the night the Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and told them, "Get out and be gone from my people, both you and the rest of the Israelites.  Go worship your Jehovah as you wanted!  And take your herds and your flocks with you, as you wanted.  Just go -- and ask your god to bless me!”

The Egyptian people were eager to send the Israelites out of their country as soon as possible, for, as they said, "Otherwise, we’ll all be dead men!"

Notes
1.  Some of this section of the narrative seems disjointed, repetitive, even out of sequence (eg. the reference in the second sentence to the gold and silver vessels should come later in the narrative.)

2.  It is noted that Moses has acquired a reputation among the Egyptians.  You could understand how they could fear or hate the man who has brought about the almost total destruction of their country, but think highly of him?  Since he was the instrument by which his god had inflicted these catastrophic plagues, it is a great wonder he was not the target of mob violence.  How could they be kindly disposed to him?  Even the Pharaoh did not make good on his promise to put him to death if he ever appeared again at court.  Of course keeping promises wasn't this Pharaoh's strong point.

3.  The Tenth Plague planned by Jehovah involves perhaps the greatest act of wanton mass murder in the world's bloody history, the slaughter of the firstborn offspring of every Egyptian.  While the Hebrew word “bechor" is usually rendered "firstborn,” the eldest child, it can also mean, figuratively, the choice, the best, the strongest.  The biblical authors, though, probably meant it in a literal sense, this act of wholesale murder being the fulfillment of Jehovah's promise to kill the Egyptian firstborn because they had threatened the children of Israel, whom he regarded as his firstborn.  However much the act seems dependent upon miracle or supernatural magic, explanations abound to account for the death of the firstborn.  It has been pointed out that some diseases, the bubonic plague among them, often seem to strike the fittest rather than the weakest or affect the young rather than the old.  Contaminated food supplies may have been consumed more by the favored, eldest child than by the younger children, thus causing them to come down with fatal diseases more often.  Noxious gases emanating from the Nile have been blamed for causing instant, overnight death.  These and other more exotic explanations come far short of accounting for what is more easily and accurately explained by the near certainty that the death of the firstborn simply didn’t happen -- it is a fictional invention to illustrate the themes of the story.

4.  The death of the firstborn includes animals.  What animals could possibly remain after their complete (and repeated) extermination by the previous plagues -- house cats?

5.  If such an event as the death of the firstborn did really take place, it is puzzling that it was never recorded by Egyptian historians.  In fact, the plagues of Egypt, while part of traditional history of the people of the northern Kingdom of Israel, are not even mentioned by the prophets of the southern Kingdom of Judah.  It has been suggested that the plagues were, in fact, a late addition to Hebrew legendary history.  (Indeed, if all the plagues occurred as they do in Exodus, in the space of less than a year, Egypt would have soon ceased to exist -- no drinkable water, no crops, no food, no livestock, and most of its people dead.)

6.  The ceremony of the Passover meal (or seder) is herein described.  One wonders if Jehovah, or Moses, simply thought of the menu off the top of his head.  The symbolic significance of the unleavened bread, the bitter herbs, and so forth is evident, but it would have significance only as a commemoration.  The story seems an explanation for the origin of a later custom, rather like an apocryphal story about Jesus putting decorations on a pine tree.   Passover, of course, remains as an important Jewish holiday and, many of the faith observe the rituals meticulously. 

7.  Jehovah, who, so far, has demanded practically nothing of his followers in regard to their moral conduct, has become very zealous about dietary restrictions and ceremonial observances.  It is interesting that you may commit mass murder, sell your brother into slavery, have sex with your step-mother, lie, cheat, and steal and still be a part of the Hebrew community, but if you eat bread with a little yeast in it at the wrong time of the year, you’re kicked to the curb.

8.  The smearing of goat's blood on the door posts and lintels is similar to many folk traditions intended to ward off evil spirits from the threshold of the house.

9.  The means by which the Tenth Plague is accomplished is left vague -- for a reason: it it not really explainable.  Did Jehovah send out an army of angels to enter every residence in Egypt?  How many households might have existed in Egypt at that time?  It seems likely the population of Egypt would have been at least a couple million people, minus, though, the considerable number who must have perished during the previous plagues.  An army spread out over the country, even an invisible one, would be strained to accomplish the task.  The instrument, if not "human,” must have been intelligent because it had to figure out who was the firstborn in each household and, more than that, to determine what animals were firstborn and then put them all to death -- how?  If this holocaust was accomplished by some miraculous means, the will of God making it so, why then would God have any difficulty discerning what houses were occupied by Israelites?  (He was able to enter an Egyptian house and immediately recognize whether the pet dog was firstborn or not.)  Also, it should be pointed out that the Israelites all lived in Goshen, removed from the native Egyptians, so why was this even necessary?  But very little of this absurd story makes sense or can pass any test of logical, let alone, historic credibility.

10.  The instrument of death, whatever or whoever it was, needed that lamb's blood on the door in order to know what houses to pass over.  Why the requirement to slaughter some poor lamb in order to get blood to mark the threshold?  Why the complicated ceremonial rigmarole?  Why not just ask every Israelite to put an "X" or something on the door?  The answer is this: all religions and cults and secret societies devise complex, sometimes symbolic, sometimes meaningless rituals in order to nurture a sense of community (we, and only we, do this) and also to cultivate the mindset of unquestioning obedience. 

11.  On this one fateful night a whole lot happens.  The Israelites have their Passover seder, the firstborn of Egypt are all put to death, the entire population of the country (spread out over many hundreds of miles up and down the Nile) raise an outcry that the Pharaoh hears, the Pharaoh summons and receives Moses and Aaron (who seem to need no travel time at all between the Pharaoh’s capital and Goshen), and, as we shall see in the next section, the Israelites all get up, pack their bags, loot their neighbors, and are ready to embark upon an exodus to literally God knows where.  This is a dramatic compression of time that is simply jaw dropping.

12.  At some point one must ask why Jehovah has chosen to champion among all the peoples of the world this obscure tribe of barbaric nomads, whose leaders have generally been of devious and despicable character, while  all but destroying the great civilization of Egypt, whose monumental achievements in architecture, art, engineering, and social organization were triumphs of the ancient world.  What sort of values does Jehovah have?  Is he interested at all in fostering man's development or in the advancement of civilization, or does he merely want to dominate a flock of docile and obedient sheep and find means and excuses to satisfy his bloodlust?

13.  The unleavened bread of Passover, the Jewish matzah or matzo, flat, firm, and wafer-like, is bread made without yeast, a fungal microorganism that makes bread “rise.”  Yeast was first used by the ancient Egyptians, who were great bread makers.

14.  Hyssop is, in modern usage, a mint plant.  The biblical hyssop has not been positively identified, but its branches were used in purification rites.

The Plagues of Egypt, Part Three

(Exodus 9:13 - 10:29)
Jehovah said to Moses, "Get up early in the morning and confront the Pharaoh.  Tell him that Jehovah, the god of the Hebrews, tells you, 'Allow my people to make a sacrifice to me, or else I will bring to bear all my power against you, your servants and your subjects in order to convince you that there none like me on earth.  I could have used the power at my disposal to inflict such disasters upon you that you would all be wiped off the face of the earth.  But I have spared you for this purpose: to impress you with my power and to spread my fame throughout the world. --- You still lord over my people and refuse to let them go?   Beware!  Tomorrow at this time I will bring a devastating hailstorm, such has not been seen in Egypt from its establishment as a nation until now.  Therefore, send word at once that all your livestock and everything belonging to you in the fields must be taken inside, for men and animals, everything remaining outside and not under cover, will be killed when the hail falls.’”

Those among the Pharaoh's subjects who believed and heeded Jehovah's warning sought shelter for their workers and farm animals inside.  Those who disbelieved and ignored it, left their workers and animals outside in the fields.

Jehovah said to Moses, "Stretch out your arm toward the sky and bring down hail upon man and beast, upon every plant and tree in the land of Egypt."  Moses reached his staff up into the sky and, lo, Jehovah sent a storm of hail with thunder and lightning strikes upon the ground.  Jehovah made it hail all across the land of Egypt, and the the hail fell amidst flashes of lightning.  It was very severe -- nothing like it in all of Egypt from the time it had been founded.  Throughout the country the hail struck all that was left outside, killing both men and animals, beating down the grain in the fields and stripping of leaves every tree in the land.  Only in Goshen, where the Israelites lived, did the hail not fall.

The Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and confessed to them, "I was in error concerning this matter.  Jehovah is in the right.   I and my people are in the wrong.  All I ask is that you pray to Jehovah that he may put a stop to all this thunder and hail.  I will let your people go and you need not stay in this country any longer."

Moses responded, "As soon as I have left the city, I will reach my hands up to Jehovah, the thunder will cease and the hail will fall no more, so that you will know that earthly events are controlled by Jehovah. --- But as for you and your court, I know that you still do not respect the god Jehovah.”

(The flax and the barley crops were destroyed, for the flax was in the bud and barley was in the ear, but the winter wheat and the emmer wheat were not damaged, for they had not yet come up.)

Moses departed from the Pharaoh's capital and raised his hands up to Jehovah, thereupon the hail and the thunder ceased and no more rain fell.   But once he saw that the rain, the hail, and the thunder had stopped, the Pharaoh lapsed back into his evil ways, and he and his court became more obdurate than ever, fully determined to prevent the Israelites from going -- just as Jehovah had told Moses he would. 

Jehovah said to Moses, "Go, see the Pharaoh.  I have made him and his court obstinate so that I could manifest my divine power before them and so that you will be able to recount to your children and grandchildren how I have humbled the Egyptians and miraculously inflicted upon them these plagues, and you will thus remember the reason that I am your god."

When Moses and Aaron went to see the Pharaoh, they said to him, "Jehovah, the god of the Hebrews says to you, 'How long will you refuse to yield to me? Let my people go so they can sacrifice to me.  If you refuse and won't let them go, then tomorrow I will bring locusts into your country.  They will completely cover the surface of the earth and will devour all that was left by the hail.  They will eat every green thing that grows up in the fields.  They will invade your palaces, the residencies of your officials, and the homes of your subjects, and in numbers such as men have not seen since your ancestors began living in Egypt.’”  Moses then turned away from the Pharaoh and departed from his presence. 

The officials of Pharaoh's court said to him, "How long must this man continue to be our undoing?  Let his people go so they can worship their god.  Can't you see that the country has already been destroyed?"  And so the Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron back to his court and told them, "Go and worship Jehovah, your god.  But who is it among you that must go?"

Moses explained, "We will take along the old and the young, our sons and daughters, and our flocks and herds as well, for we must hold a feast honoring Jehovah."

The Pharaoh answered, “Jehovah will be with you indeed, if I let you take your children with you.  Who can doubt that you have some ulterior motive, some evil intent?  No,  just the men may go and sacrifice to Jehovah -- that's what you wanted all along, wasn't it?"  Immediately after, Aaron and Moses were forcible ejected from the palace.

Jehovah said to Moses, "Extend your arm over the land of Egypt so that the locust will appear, sweep over the country, and devour all that remains of the crops after the hailstorm."  Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt.  Jehovah stirred up a hot east wind that blew across the land all day and night, and in the morning, the wind brought hordes of locusts.  They spread over the entire land of Egypt, from one border to another, and their numbers were greater than had ever been or will ever be.  They covered the entire surface of the land so that the earth was darkened with them.   They consumed every bit of vegetation, the grain and whatever fruits that were spared by the hailstorm.  Indeed, nothing green, either the leaves on the trees or the plants on the ground, was left in the entire country of Egypt.

The Pharaoh urgently summoned Moses and Aaron back to his palace and apologized to them, "I have done wrong to your god Jehovah and to you.  Just this once forgive me and pray to your god Jehovah that he may spare me this deadly catastrophe."

After leaving the Pharaoh, Moses called upon Jehovah, who evoked a mighty wind from the west that blew all the locusts to drown in the Red Sea -- there remained not a single locust from one end of Egypt to the other.

But Jehovah made the Pharaoh hard headed and unbending, and he still refused to let the Israelites go.

Jehovah told Moses, "Extend your arm to the sky and there will settle over the land of Egypt a darkness so thick that men will grope their way in blindness.”  And Moses did stretch his arm to the sky and there came a terrifying darkness throughout the land for Egypt for three days.  No man could see his fellow, no one ventured abroad for three days.  However, wherever the Israelites lived, there was light. 

The Pharaoh sent for Moses and Aaron and told them, "You may go and sacrifice to your god.  Your children may go with you, but you must leave behind your herds and flocks."

Moses replied, "But you must allow us to make animal sacrifices to our god Jehovah.  All our livestock must go with us with nary a hoof left behind.  For they are necessary for our religious ceremonies, and we don't know exactly what will be needed for the sacrifice until we get there."

But again Jehovah made the Pharaoh obstinate, and he refused to let them go.  Moreover, Pharaoh warned Moses, "Be gone from my sight and make sure you don't show your face here again, for if you do, you will be put to death."

Moses responded, "So be it, you will not see my face anymore!"

Notes
1.  Jehovah's primary concern does not seem to be the welfare of the Israelites, except as it impinges upon their ability to make sacrifices to him.  He lets the Israelites suffer for generations under Egyptian bondage, but his primary beef is that he is not allowed to receive the devotion he is due.  The Pharaoh's obstinacy, which Jehovah continually nurtures, seems an excuse for Jehovah to flaunt his god-like powers, to assert his dominance over the Egyptian gods (who after the first couple of plagues are absent from the field of contest), and to wreak as much havoc as he can, which seems to be his way of getting kicks.  The Jehovah of Moses, even more than the Jehovah of Abraham, uses his power almost exclusively in a destructive way.  He doesn't build or teach and do anything to improve the character or living conditions of his people.  He may protect his people from the disasters and pestilences he creates, but when he gives something to his people it always something he has taken from someone else.  And he certainly doesn't mind if he kills and punishes thousands and thousands of innocent people, just because he can't get his own way.  The land and people of Egypt are all but destroyed because of the stubbornness of the Pharaoh.  Why doesn't he just punish the Pharaoh, give him a migraine or a case of the shingles?  And why does he make him so pig-headed, why not, if has the ability, make the Pharaoh compliant so that he will let the Israelites go?  It is his stated goal to make the liberation of the Israelites something spectacular and unforgettable,  so that his people will always remember him and be obligated to him.

2.  Hail, needless to say, is exceedingly uncommon in Egypt, but not entirely unknown.  A hailstorm so severe that it kills anyone caught out in it is, however, a bit of a stretch.  Some translations interpret lightning as being fire, in which case it sounds more like volcanic activity -- perhaps a memory of the Thera eruption.  It seems more likely, though, that lightning is meant here and not fire.

3.  When Moses is summoned by the Pharaoh, who falsely promises to let the Israelites go if Moses will bring the hailstorm to an end, the storm is still going on, the hail is still falling.  How does Moses protect himself from the lethal hail?

4.  The wheat, unlike the flax and the barley, are not destroyed by the hail since they have not yet come up.  Since winter wheat and emmer wheat (a variety cultivated at that time in the Middle East -- some translations incorrectly refer to spelt or rye) would have matured in March or April, this would place the hailstorm during the harvest time for flax and barley, in February.

5.  The locust invasion is the archetypal Biblical plague, but such infestations are far from rare and have occurred in modern times.  Beating the insects into the sea was a technique used by settlers in early Massachusetts, and luring them into Lake Michigan with high-pitched calls was effectively employed against giant grasshoppers in the 50's sci-fi film Beginning of the End.

6.  The threat of locusts is the last straw for members of the Pharaoh's court, who finally protest and urge the Pharaoh to give in to Moses.  The Pharaoh thus recalls Moses and seems willing to concede to his demands, but they bicker about terms.  Moses has never asked for freedom for his people, only the right for them to take a little time off so they can go into the desert and hold some religious ceremonies, with the assumption that they will then return to the former conditions of their servitude.  That Moses wants to bring along the children and all the livestock seems suspicious to the Pharaoh, who, believing they will not return, will allow only the men to go.  This is unacceptable to Moses, so the deal falls through and the Eighth Plague, that of locusts, goes into effect.  Then, after the Ninth Plague, that of darkness, the Pharaoh is willing to let all the people go, as long as they leave behind their livestock, which, Moses insists, are necessary.  Why the Israelites, who will have to slaughter some of their animals to feed Jehovah's bloodlust, need all of their livestock with them does not seem reasonable.  The Pharaoh, for once, does have a point.  Fed up, he gets mad at Moses and boots him out of the palace and tells him he will be killed if he ever returns.  (Extraordinary this took so long to happen: one would think that any ruthless despot worth his salt would have had Moses impaled after the first plague -- but then that would have ruined the story.)

7.  The plague of darkness, lasting three days, might have been due to a sandstorm, even a result of that stiff west wind that blew the locusts into the Red Sea. 

 

The Plagues of Egypt, Part Two

(Exodus 8:16 - 9:12)

Jehovah instructed Moses to tell Aaron, "Stretch out your staff and strike the ground that the dust may turn into midges that will infest the land of Egypt."

They did as they were told: Aaron stretched out his hand and with his staff struck the ground so that throughout Egypt the dust spawned midges to afflict both man and beast.  The Pharaoh's magicians attempted with their sorcery to summon forth midges as Aaron had done, but they could not successfully do so.  And so the midges remained a scourge to man and beast.

The magicians advised the Pharaoh, "This has indeed been wrought by the power of God," but the Pharaoh was unpersuaded and wouldn't listen to them -- just as Jehovah had foretold.

Jehovah told Moses, "Get up early in the morning and approach the Pharaoh when he goes down to the river to wash.  Say this to him: 'Jehovah tells you to let my people go so that they may make a sacrifice to me.  If you do not free them, I will send against you, against your servants and your subjects, swarms of flies.  Your palace and the homes of your people will be infested with swarms of flies; even the ground on which you stand will teem with them.  But the land of Goshen, where my people live, shall be set apart and no flies will appear there.  You will realize then that I am the master of earthly events, and what will happen tomorrow will be proof that am determined to preserve this division between my people and your people."

And Jehovah did as he promised: an horrendous swarm of flies invaded the Pharaoh's palace and the homes of his servants, spreading over Egypt so that the whole country was paralyzed by the flies.  The Pharaoh called in Moses and Aaron and told then, "You may make a sacrifice to your god, but do so here in this country."

Moses replied, "It would not be proper to do so, for if we did, we would be sacrificing animals that are worshiped as idols by the Egyptians, and if we sacrifice their idols in front of them, will not the Egyptians stone us to death?  We will go three-days journey into the desert and sacrifice to Jehovah our god as he has commanded us."

The Pharaoh answered, "I will let your people go so they can make their sacrifice to your god Jehovah in the desert, but you must not go quite so far away -- and you must make entreaties to your god for me."

Moses said, "Look, I will go out tomorrow and pray to Jehovah so that he will drive away the flies from the Pharaoh, his servants, and his subjects, but the Pharaoh must cease his deceitful dealing and allow my people to sacrifice to their god."

After Moses departed from the Pharaoh, he prayed to Jehovah, who answered Moses's entreaty and removed the swarms of flies from the Pharaoh, his servants, and his subjects so that not one insect remained.

But again, the Pharaoh was obstinate, reneged on his promise, and did not let the people go.

Jehovah then told Moses, "Go see the Pharaoh and tell him, Jehovah, the god of the Hebrews demands, 'Let my people go that they may worship me, for, if you refuse to let them go and hold them still, my fury will fall upon the animals of the field.  The horses, the donkeys, the camels, the cattle, the goats, and the sheep will all succumb to a virulent outbreak of murrain.'  I will isolate the livestock of the Egyptians from that of the Israelites, so that no animal belonging to the Israelites will die."

The time was thus ordained: "Tomorrow, Jehovah will inflict this upon the land!”  And, on the next day, he accomplished what he had promised.  All the livestock belonging to the Egyptians perished and of the livestock belonging to the Israelites, not one did.  Although the Pharaoh had been informed by scouts that none of the Israelite livestock had died, still he was uncompromising and did not let the people go.

Jehovah instructed Moses and Aaron, "Take some handfuls of soot from a kiln and, in the presence of the Pharaoh, disperse it into the air.  It will spread like dust throughout the land of Egypt and will produce in men and animals swelling boils that will blister."

And they took some soot and, in front of the Pharaoh, Moses dispersed it into the air, and, as a result, there broke out upon men and animals swelling boils that blistered.  Even the Pharaoh's magicians could not stand up in front of Moses because of the sores from which they suffered, (like all did in the land of Egypt).

But Jehovah still made the Pharaoh obstinate of mind so that he wouldn't listen to them -- just as Jehovah said.

Notes
1.  The insect instrumental in the Third Plague is not clearly defined in the Hebrew text.  Most often translations name lice or gnats.  There is, however, no species of lice that attacks both men and animals and they would not suddenly increase in numbers.  Gnats are not common in Egypt.  Neither is thus likely to be the culprit.  Midges, however, tiny, swarming insects, do seem to materialize from the dust and would fit the description.  Biting midges of the genus Culicoides are a common nuisance in Egypt, and their numbers can burgeon suddenly under certain climatic conditions.

2.  Again, with the Fourth Plague nothing specific is named, only "swarms."  Early translators thought this might mean "wild animals," but that really doesn't fit.  Generally it is thought that flies are what the swarms must have consisted of and that seems very reasonable.  House and horse flies, though, don't usually swarm and bite.  However, the stable fly does so and would fill the bill as the Fourth Plague.  They are, incidentally, more prolific than any other kind of fly and are a vector for many diseases.

3. The swarms of flies suddenly appear at Jehovah's behest, while the midges had to be summoned by Aaron with some magical passes.  Why the change in technique?  The Fifth Plague, the murrain, also comes without human agency, but to create the boils of Plague Six, Moses has to throw some soot or ashes into the air.

4.  The dying out of all the frogs -- and presumably toads -- would have caused the the fast-breeding insect populations on which they regularly fed to increase astronomically.

5.  The Israelites suffered under the first three plagues, but were not affected by the later plagues, perhaps because of Goshen's geographic location and the fact that it is removed from the main course of the Nile and closer to the sea.

6.  Moses realized that his people's custom of animal sacrifice was offensive to the Egyptians, who, despite their seeming love of animals, did practice animal sacrifice on a large scale, but with different methods and traditions.  There was less emphasis on the burnt offerings of meat favored by the Hebrews and more on the mummification of sacrificial victims.  The practice of Egyptian sacrifice of male (but not female) cattle is described by the Greek historian Herodotus (writing many centuries after the events of Exodus).  It might be noted that most meat sacrifices ended up as meals for the Egyptian priests!

7.  Moses, responding to the false promise of the forked-tongued Pharaoh, banishes the flies from Egypt, but, interestingly, there is no record of his getting rid of those pesky midges.

8.  Murrain, the Fifth Plague, is not a specific disease, but a catch-all term for any serious ailment affecting livestock.  It is not possible to identify the specific disease here.  It was, for various reasons, probably not anthrax, hoof-and-mouth disease, or rinderpest.  It might, though, have been a combination of African horse sickness and the related blue-tongue virus, which could have been easily spread by the Culicoides midges.  (These diseases have high mortality rates.)  Since this plague supposedly wiped out all the livestock in Egypt, one wonders how the Egyptians were ever able to replenish their stocks.

9.  The Sixth Plague, a disease causing boils and blisters on both men and beasts, is also a mystery.  The best candidate is a bacterial infection called glanders, which could have been spread by the stable flies.  Glanders mostly affects animals, but will spread to humans.  It was used by the Axis powers in World War I in an attempt to destroy enemy livestock.  The Japanese used it to sicken Chinese populations during World War II, and there were subsequent efforts (happily unsuccessful) to weaponize it as a biological warfare agent. 

10.  Since all the livestock in Egypt was dead as a result of the Fifth Plague, one might well ask what animals remained to be affected by the Sixth Plague -- wild animals, pets?

11.  There are several points on which the credibility of the story is strained.  Why would the Pharaoh allow his whole country to be destroyed just because he was too proud and too stubborn to allow a group of slaves to go into the desert to make a sacrifice to their god? --- They didn't ask to be free from bondage, only to be able to observe a religious holiday.  Was the Pharaoh a megalomaniac or merely a moron?  He wouldn't listen to his magicians who advised him that Jehovah was more powerful than their gods, but wasn't he also getting some input from his vizier, his political advisors, his officers, his military, his family?  Why weren't his people in revolt?  There is a suspension of belief necessary in accepting the fairy tale aspects of a story which is composed of both fantasy and probable fact.

The Plagues of Egypt, Part One

(Exodus 7:9 - 8:15)

Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, "When the Pharaoh will challenge you, ‘Convince us by performing a miracle,' you will tell Aaron to take your staff and cast it down before the Pharaoh; it will turn into a snake."

And so Moses and Aaron appeared before the Pharaoh and did what Jehovah had bid them, casting before the Pharaoh and his court the staff, which did indeed become a snake.  The Pharaoh, though, summoned all the wizards and sorcerers of Egypt, and with their expertise in magic they were able to do likewise: they each cast down their staffs and the staffs all turned into snakes just like Aaron's.  Aaron's staff, however, devoured all the others!

But just as Jehovah had predicted, the Pharaoh was stubborn and did not relent and did not free the people.

Jehovah spoke again to Moses, "Since the Pharaoh has not changed his mind and will not let the people go, see him again in the morning when he comes out to wash in the Nile.  Stand by the river bank and confront him carrying the same staff that was turned into a snake.  You will say to him that the god of the Hebrews has sent you and demands, 'Let my people go so that they can worship me in the desert -- a request that you have thus far refused to grant.'  And to prove to him that I am a god, you will dip into the waters of the Nile the staff you hold in your hand, and I will turn the river water into blood.  The fish in the river will die.  The river itself will stink and will sicken the Egyptians that drink from it.”

And Jehovah continued, "Tell Aaron to take the staff and stretch it out over all the waters of Egypt, the rivers, streams, pools, and ponds that they may all be turned into blood.  Let there be nothing but blood in the land of Egypt, even in water containers of both wood and stone."

Moses and Aaron did as they were instructed by Jehovah.  In the presence of the Pharaoh and his court, Aaron stretched the staff over the river, and the waters of the Nile were turned into blood.  The fish died, the river stank, and the people could no longer drink its waters: there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.

But the magicians of Egypt possessed the occult power to perform the same trick, so the Pharaoh was still adamant and refused to accede to Moses' demands, (as Jehovah had foretold).  He turned away from Moses and Aaron and returned to his palace, remaining unconvinced.

All the Egyptians, who could no longer drink the waters of the Nile, dug around the river bank for water.  This continued for seven days from the time that Jehovah had cursed the waters.

Jehovah then told Moses, "Go to the Pharaoh and tell him, 'Let my people go so that they may make a sacrifice to me.  If you do not free them, I will afflict your entire country with a plague of frogs.  The Nile will spew forth a swarming plethora of frogs.  They will enter your palace and your bedchamber.  They will even hop into your bed. They will invade the homes of your servants and subjects.  They will get into your ovens and cooking bowls.  And they will leap up, climb, and crawl all over you, your servants, and your subjects!’”

"Tell Aaron to stretch out his staff over the rivers, the streams, and the marshes and with it summon forth the frogs."

And Aaron did stretch out his staff over the waters of Egypt.  The frogs appeared and they soon covered the entire land.  But the wizards of the Pharaoh were able by their magic to similarly summon forth frogs onto the land of Egypt.  

The Pharaoh, though, saw Moses and Aaron and asked them, "Please tell your god to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let your people go so they can sacrifice to their god."

Moses replied to the Pharaoh, "Tell me the time when I may pray for you, your servants, and your people that the frogs may be taken away from your house and from the houses of your servants and subjects and be thenceforth confined only to the rivers."

"Tomorrow," was the Pharaoh's reply.

"Let it be as you say -- but you will see there is none like the god Jehovah.  The frogs will be banished from you and from your houses, from your servants and subjects and will remain only in the river."  After he and Aaron departed from the Pharaoh, Moses prayed to Jehovah concerning the frogs that had been brought against the Pharaoh.  Jehovah did what Moses had asked of him: the frogs that had infested the houses and courtyards and fields all perished.  The frog carcasses were piled in huge heaps and because of them, the whole country reeked.

But when the Pharaoh saw that there had been a deliverance, he resumed his stubborn attitude and refused to honor his promise -- just as Jehovah had predicted.

Notes
1. At this point in the narrative we seem to be lapsing into the realm of a fairy tale, with competing exhibitions of magical feats.  To impress the Pharaoh with Jehovah's power Moses has Aaron toss down his staff and make it turn into a snake.  One would think that an omnipotent, omniscient creator of the universe would manage something a little more impressive, if not a little more dignified.  What is remarkable is that the Pharaoh's magicians are able to perform the same trick.  (How did they do it?) There is an implied competition of Jehovah with the gods of Egypt.  The latter, while unfit subjects for Hebrew worship, are nowhere discounted as being nonexistent or impotent.  A modern interpretation might assert that the power of the Egyptian magicians came from Satan or the Devil, while that of Moses and Aaron, from God.  However, there was, at this time, no concept of a Devil, a god of evil, an antagonist against which Jehovah and the forces of good were arrayed.  This dualism would creep into religious thought at a later date, mostly as a result of Persian/Zoroastrian influence.

2.  It is amazing that the Pharaoh is so accessible to the spokesmen of his slaves: Moses is able to confront him when he takes his morning wash up in the Nile.  (Where is security!)  All through Egyptian history Pharaohs, even those foreigners who assumed the title, were aloof, godlike personages, hardly approachable to ordinary men.  Also, it is interesting there is no mention by the Pharaoh -- or by the storyteller -- that Moses is the adopted son of a Pharaoh's sister.   One would think that might have given Moses some clout at court, but it’s never spoken of.

3.  By stretching Moses' magic staff over the waters, Aaron is able to turn the water in to blood.  As the First Plague of Egypt, water all over Egypt is turned into blood.  Apparently Aaron traveled all over the country stopping at every pond and pool to make a pass with his staff and was somehow able as well to turn the water of every bowl and bottle, cup and urn in Egypt into blood.  This, and much of what ensues has the flavor of a fanciful folk tale, too absurd to be taken literally.

4.  The people of Egypt are without water for seven days.  One would think everyone would be pretty thirsty, if not dead by week's end.  There is a reference, though, to people digging along the river to find drinkable water.  Perhaps enough was found to keep the population hydrated.

5.  Suggestions have been made that a certain algae may have been responsible for making the Nile water turn red, or some mineral contamination at the river's source may have accounted for the change in the color of the water.  This may certainly have given rise to a memory of waters turning to “blood,” but it of course does not explain waters in containers turning to blood.

6.  The second plague, that of frogs, is able to be replicated as well by the Egyptian magicians, but apparently they are unable to get rid of the frogs they have summoned and so the Pharaoh, fed up with the amphibious infestation, cries "uncle."  He gives in to Moses' demands (and then reneges).  Moses avails upon his god to get rid of the frogs; Jehovah makes them all die, but why doesn't he do it one better and make their stinking carcasses disappear?

7.  Nearly all the plagues can be ascribed to either a change in climatic conditions or a natural calamity, the most likely culprit being the cataclysmic eruption of a volcano on the Aegean island of Thera, probably in the early 17th Century B.C. (although many place the events of Exodus at a much later date.)  The plagues could have all occurred sequentially as the story says, or they may have happened at different times.  The  Ipuwer papyrus, an Egyptian text, describes similar events taking place at the end of the Old Kingdom.  The plagues, however, do not seem to be an original part of the Moses saga.  In Deuteronomy Moses inexplicably makes no mention of them when recounting the highlights of his time in Egypt.  Chroniclers compiling the Books of Moses during and shortly after the Babylonian Captivity may have added the story of the Plagues to dramatize their narrative of the liberation of the Israelites.  There is also a strong possibility that the Plagues, if they occurred during the time of Moses, may have precipitated Israelite emigration from Egypt back to Canaan.  (Remember that the Hebrews left Canaan and settled in Egypt because of famine.)  Later, the Plagues would become an instrument by which Jehovah freed the Israelites.

8.  It must be mentioned that undermining the credibility of the story is the passive conduct of the Pharaoh.  Why does he continue to allow Moses to afflict his country with plagues?  Why doesn't he imprison or execute Moses and Aaron or at least take that darn staff away from them!  It makes no sense. 

Moses Confers with Jehovah

(Exodus 5:22 - 7:7)

Moses went back to confer with Jehovah and to vent his displeasure, "Master, why have you brought nothing but misery to this people?  Why did you send me anyway? --- Since I went to see the Pharaoh and spoke to him in your name, he has only done evil to this people and has certainly not freed them."

Jehovah replied to Moses, "You will see now the strong pressure I will put upon the Pharaoh: he will not only be willing to let the Israelites go, he will literally drive them out of the country."  He continued to speak to Moses, "I am Jehovah!  When I appeared to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, I called myself the All-Powerful God, but my true name, Jehovah, was not known to them.  I made an agreement with them that I would give them possession of the land of Canaan, where they had settled to dwell as foreigners.  I have heard the complaints and the cries for help of the Israelites whom the Egyptians hold in bondage, and I remember the contract I have with them."

"Tell the Israelites, 'I am Jehovah and I will deliver you from the oppressions of the Egyptians and free you from your bondage.  I will use my power to exact harsh punishments upon your persecutors, and I will rescue you from them.  I will embrace you as my own people and I will serve you as your god.   And you will know that I am your god when I free you from your bondage to the Egyptians and bring you to the land that I promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and make it your heritage.  I am Jehovah!’”

Moses told all this to the Israelites, but they scorned his words, depressed and dispirited as they were by the harshness of their servitude.

Jehovah spoke to Moses, "Go see the Pharaoh of Egypt and speak to him that he will allow the Israelites to leave his country."

Moses replied, "Look, even the Israelites won't listen to me, how will the Pharaoh heed my words, especially since I’m a poor speaker."

But Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron and gave them instructions concerning the Israelites and the Egyptian Pharaoh.  (He commanded them to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.)

These are the family heads of the tribes of Israel:

The sons of Reuben, Israel's oldest son:
Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi.

The sons of Simeon and the heads of his tribe's families:
Jemuel, Jamin, Ohad, Jachin, Zohar, and Shaul (whose mother was a Canaanite).

The names of Levi's sons (by the genealogical records):
Gershon, Kohath, and Merari.
(Levi lived 137 years.)

The sons of Gershon: Libni and Shimi.
The sons of Kohath:  Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel.  (Kohath lived 133 years.)
The sons of Merari: Mahali and Mushi
These are the families of Levi (by the genealogical records).

Amram married his father's sister Jochebed and she gave birth to Aaron and Moses.  Amram lived 137 years.

The sons of Izhar: Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri.

The sons of Uzziel:  Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri

Aaron married Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Naashon, and she gave birth to Nadab,  Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

The sons of Korah:  Assir, Elkanah, Abiasaph.  These are the forefathers of the Korhite clans.

Aaron's son Eleazar married one of the daughters of Putiel and she bore him Phinehas.

Above are the forefathers of the various clans of the Levite tribe.

It was this very Moses and Aaron who were commanded by Jehovah to, “Bring the Israelites out of the land of Egypt in an orderly exodus. “ It was this very Moses and Aaron who beseeched the Pharaoh to let them leave Egypt. 

At the time when Jehovah appeared to Moses in the land of Egypt, he told him, "I am Jehovah, tell the Pharaoh everything I will say to you.”  But Moses responded, "Look, I’m a poor speaker.  How will the Pharaoh pay any attention to my words?"

Jehovah assured him, "I have made you like a god over the Pharaoh and your brother Aaron will be like your prophet.  You will tell Aaron everything I say to you.  He will tell the Pharaoh -- tell him to send the Israelites out of Egypt.  I will make the Pharaoh obstinate, but I will perform more and more miracles and feats of magic.  Yet the Pharaoh will not relent until I punish his country severely.   Then I will marshal my people, the Israelites, and bring them out of Egypt like a marching army.  When I exert my power over Egypt and liberate the Israelites, it will dawn upon the Egyptians that I am indeed a god."

Moses and Aaron did as Jehovah had commanded them.   (When they confronted the Pharaoh, Moses was 80 years old and Aaron was 83.) 

Notes
1.  Moses has thus far been a failure as a liberator and as a spokesman for his people.  He has not only made the Pharaoh more determined not to let the Israelites go, but has goaded him into more severely oppressing them.  Moreover, he has lost the confidence of his own people.  Moses, therefore, goes to Jehovah who has put him up to it and blames him.  Jehovah reassures him with, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

2.  Jehovah makes the case to Moses that he is the same god who communed with his ancestors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  He claims that he never told them his real name, “Jehovah,” (YHVH),  but that he only called himself, rather grandly, "the All-Powerful God."  This is a curious passage.  Jehovah's insistence that he is the Hebrew national god strikes, at least this reader, as a case of protesting too much.  One can't help getting the feeling, based on the tone of this Jehovah's remarks and the unusual way in which he contacted Moses, that this is a different person from the god of Abraham.  The repeated insistence that he is, only strengthen the doubt.

3.  Moses speaks several times to Jehovah, but we are not told how and where these contacts occurred.  Did Moses keep going back to the Holy Mountain and converse again and again with the burning bush?  Was there telepathic contact?  Did Jehovah appear in human or some other physical form?

4.  One gains the impression that Jehovah, in his quest to have the Pharaoh release his people, doesn't really know what he's doing.  Rather than using the most effective means at his disposal he seems to be winging it.  But he is determined to show Egypt his power and create phenomena they will regard as miraculous and divine, so that they will know for sure that he is a god.  It seems that Jehovah is constantly aspiring to be a god, receiving the worship due a god, making demands in exchange for unfulfilled promises.  And again it must be mentioned that Jehovah presents himself as the god of the Israelites, not the god of any other people, not the universal God.  He occasionally does claim to be the Creator, but this is inconsistent with what he is actually able to do. 

5.  At this point, the story is becoming repetitious, as if the author has temporarily lost the thread of the narrative.  Interrupting the story is a catalog of the family heads of the Israelites, including the descendants of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi (with no mention of Israel's other tribes).  The genealogy shows us that Moses is the great-grandson of Levi and that his mother Jochebed was also his great aunt.  (So far we find no hint of any prohibition of incest.)   It also gives one an idea of the actual number of Israelites in bondage, several hundred, a few thousand? -- at any rate a far, far lower number than is otherwise suggested by the text wherein the Egyptians are fearful the Israelites will outnumber them.   The text seems to want to inflate the number of the Israelite population (to enlarge their importance?), but normal propagation for the number of generations cited simply cannot support anything above the level of a small tribe.

6.  Again we have abnormal longevity for Hebrew patriarchs.  Jehovah's decision after the Flood to shorten the life span of men to what we now know as normal has apparently not been put into full effect.  One feels that the long life spans are included not only to enhance the stature of important figures, but also to expand the time between generations and make it seem as if a longer period of time has elapsed between certain events than is really the case.  Moses' age at the time when he appeared before the Pharaoh is here given as 80 years.  This seems preposterous, but is necessary for the story since a certain number of known years will pass from his return to Egypt to his death.  Decades of extra years can only be inserted during his Midian period.  (Moses must have a number of years in accordance with his importance.)  The 80 years, though, hardly seems credible since Moses left Egypt a young man and married Sephora almost as soon as he arrived to live among the Midianites.  Two children were born.  When Moses returned to Egypt, one of them was a young child of circumsizable age.  Did he and Sephora wait fifty or sixty years to have children?  Not likely.  And an exile of 60 years or so doesn't seem very reasonable, nor does Jehovah choosing such an aged man to represent him make much sense.