- Hebrew:
- ע׊ר ×××ת ×׌ר×× (Eser Makot Mitzrayim)
Ten Plagues of Egypt
Each year during Passover, at the seder meal, celebrants of the Jewish holiday recite the Ten Plagues of Egypt in sequence while removing 10 drops of wine from their cups. The list of 10 afflictions is found in the Book of Exodus, in which the Ten Plagues serve as a series of divine acts meant to force Pharaoh to free the Israelites from enslavement in Egypt.
In the Hebrew Bibleâs narrative in Exodus, Moses arises as a leader of the Israelites and a prophet of God. He is given divine assurance that his people will be freed. But his requests to PharaohââLet my people go!ââare rebuffed because Pharaohâs heart is hardened. This impasse instigates the Ten Plagues, which are listed below in English and Hebrew. Before each plague occurs, Moses requests that Pharaoh let the Israelites go, and, until the final plague, Pharaoh repeatedly refuses.
1. Blood (dam)
For the first plague, Mosesâ brother Aaron, with Pharaoh looking on, uses his miraculous staff (or rod) to turn the water of the Nile into blood. This act contaminates the water, kills all the fish, and makes the water non-potable. However, Egyptian magicians are able to do the same feat, and Pharaohâs heart remains hardened, despite the major environmental disruption.
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2. Frogs (tzefardeaĘż)
In the second plague Aaron causes frogs to emerge from the waterways and cover the land of Egypt. The amphibians clog up the Nile, homes, and the royal palace, making everyday life impossible. Pharaoh, though, remains unimpressed, as his magicians prove able to do the same.
3. Bugs (kinim)
The third plague, however, is beyond what Pharaohâs magicians can replicate. Aaron, with divine intervention, turns the dust of the land into gnats that irritatingly cover humans and animals throughout Egypt. In some English translations the afflicting insects are lice. Pharaoh, though, remains indifferent.
4. Swarms (Ężarov)
In the fourth plague God sends swarms to invade the houses of Pharaoh and his ministers. In some interpretations it is said to be swarms of flies and other interpretations read it as swarms of wild animals. But God spares from this plague the land of Goshen, where the Israelites live, indicating a distinction between Egyptian and Israelite communities.
5. Pestilence (dever)
The fifth plague that God imposes is a disease that impacts the livestock across the land. Horses, donkeys, camels, and herds and flocks of other livestock die from the pestilence. But only the Egyptiansâ livestock are affectedâthe Israelitesâ livestock survive.
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6. Boils (shechin)
For the sixth plague God instructs Moses to take soot from a kiln and throw it in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. The soot becomes dust that covers humans and animals, producing festering boils. These boils impact the Egyptians and even Pharaohâs magicians. Still Pharaoh is unmoved.
7. Hail (barad)
Before the seventh plague God tells Moses to relay to the Egyptians that they have thus far been spared annihilation in order to demonstrate divine power. But with the seventh plague, the degree of desolation increases. At Godâs instruction Moses stretches out his staff and brings about hailstorms that kill unprotected livestock, crops, and humans alike throughout Egypt, while sparing Goshen. After this catastrophe Pharaoh admits that he has sinned, but he does not yet liberate the Israelites.
8. Locusts (arbeh)
The eighth plague opens with a divine admission: God himself has hardened Pharaohâs heart to display the signs of his power. Moses brings about a plague of locusts that cover the land and eat all the remaining crops, fruit, and trees. There is utter devastation of vegetation. Pharaoh admits his wrongs and asks for forgiveness. Moses prays and God creates a wind that blows all the locusts into the Red Sea.
9. Darkness (choshech)
With Pharaoh still unwilling to release the Israelites, God instructs Moses to reach toward heaven and cast upon Egypt a darkness, the ninth plague, that lasts three days. It is described as a thick darkness that can be felt. No one can see anyone else or move about. Only the Israelites have light in their homes. Pharaoh and Moses attempt to bargain, and Pharaoh says that the Israelites can go but must leave behind their livestock. Moses does not accept that arrangement.
10. Plague of the firstborn (makat bechorot)
The final plague is the one that pushes Pharaoh over the edge. God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites to slaughter a lamb and place its blood on the doorposts and lintels of their homes. During the appointed night, God goes through the land of Egypt and kills the firstborn of all Egyptian families, including that of Pharaoh, and the firstborn of every animal. But those who place the blood on their doorposts are passed over during this last plague. This is the origin of the Passover holiday. A great cry erupts across Egypt. Pharaoh calls for Moses and Aaron and, at last, tells them to take their people and livestock and leave.
Variations on a theme
Although the Book of Exodus lists 10 plagues, Psalms 78 and 105 list seven plagues in varying orders. Scholars have debated the reason for the discrepancy; some scholars note that the Psalms are poetic and have their own internal logic, and others contend that the textual traditionâs list of plagues was initially fluid. Exodus itself does not mention âTen Plaguesâ as a set figure. In the Mishna, the codification of Jewish oral laws, rabbis debated the number of plaguesâRabbi Akiva considered there to have been 50 plagues in Egypt and 250 at the Red Sea. The set of 10 developed as the standard enumeration in the Haggadah, the liturgical text of Passover, which was first compiled in the early centuries of the Common Era and redacted toward the end of the first millennium.
In some modern Jewish congregations, contemporary afflictions and forms of oppression are incorporated into Passover observances alongside the traditional biblical plagues. One meaning given for removing drops of wine while recounting the plagues during the seder is that doing so diminishes the potential enjoyment of the wine. Because the plagues primarily impacted the Egyptians, some rabbis interpret this seder practice as expressing empathy for Egyptian suffering under Pharaohâs rule. Building on this understanding, some modern Jewish communities use the recitation of the plagues as an occasion for reflection on present-day social issues. These modern plagues might include antisemitism, inequality, discrimination, war and violence, the oppression of immigrants, and climate change. In this way the commemoration of the Ten Plagues of Egypt is expanded and extrapolated to resonate with contemporary experience, social consciousness, and global afflictions.