Days 35-36 More Insights

The Ten | 10 | plagues upon Egypt:

Purpose of the Ten Plagues

1. To show God's people that he cares for them, that he is powerful, working on their behalf, and that he keeps his promises.

Therefore, say to the Israelites: “I am the LORD, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment. I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD.” (Exodus 6:6-8, NIV)

2. To leave a testimony for the succeeding generations.

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials so that I may perform these miraculous signs of mine among them
that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I dealt harshly with the Egyptians and how I performed my signs among them, and that you may know that I am the LORD.” (Exodus 10:1-2)

3. To show Egypt that the LORD is powerful and working in Israel's favor.

And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it. (Exodus 7:5, NIV)

4. To embarrass Egypt's gods, who could not save them from God's hand.

On that same night I will pass through Egypt and strike down every firstborn-- both men and animals-- and I will bring judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD (Exodus 12:12, NIV).

The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, by Walvoord and Zuck , © 1985, p.120, gives these additional insights into how the ten plagues challenged the false gods of the Egyptians. (Used by permission)

The Plagues and the Gods and Goddesses of Egypt

Plagues	References	Possible Egyptian Gods and Goddesses of Egypt Attacked by the Plagues
1. Nile turned to blood	Exodus 7:14-25	Hapi (also called Apis), the bull god, god of the Nile; Isis, the goddess of the Nile; Khnum, ram god, guardian of the Nile; and others
2. Frogs	8:1-15	Heqet, goddess of birth, with a frog head
3. Gnats	8:16-19	Set, the god of the desert
4. Flies	8:20-32	Re, a sun god; or the god Uatchit, possibly represented by the fly
5. Death of livestock	9:1-7	Hathor, a goddess with a cow head; Apis, the bull god, asymbol of fertility
6. Boils	9:8-12	Sekhmet, a goddess with power over disease; Sunu, the pestilence god; Isis, goddess of healing
7. Hail	9:13-35	Nut, the sky goddess; Osiris, the god of crops and fertility; Set, the god of storms
8. Locusts	10:1-20	Nut, the sky goddess; Osiris, the god of crops and fertility
9. Darkness	10:21-29	Re, the sun god; Horus, a sun god; Nut, a sky goddess; Hathor, a sky goddess
10. Death of the firstborn	11:1- 12:30	Min, the god of reproduction; Heqet, a goddess who attended women at childbirth; Isis, a goddess who protected children; Pharaoh's firstborn son, a god

Some gods and goddesses had more than one function or area of responsibility; also in ancient Egyptian religion many of the gods and goddesses who were worshiped in one city or location and/or at one period of time were believed to have assimilated the gods and goddesses of other areas and time periods. Their religion was thus often complex and at times even contradictory.

Source: Encyclopaedia Brittanica, under the word “Egypt”; Lionel Casson, Ancient Egypt (New York; Time-Life Books, 1965); Pierre Montet, Egypt and the Bible (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1968).

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