Genesis 26 – Wells, A Woman, A Vow

Wells, A Woman, A Vow

Background and Printed Text: Genesis 26:1-33

Genesis 26:1 And there was a famine in the land beside the first famine that was in the days of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham). And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) went unto My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) king of the Palestinians—unto Sojourning (Gerar).

²And Yehovah appeared unto him. And He said, “Do not descend to Egypt. Abide in the land that I will say unto thee— ³sojourn in this land. And I was with thee. And I blessed thee. For I will give all these lands unto thee and unto thy seed. And I will stand the oath that I swore to Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) thy father. ⁴And I will multiply thy seed as stars of the heavens. And I will give all these lands to thy seed. And all races of the land will bless-themselves via thy seed ⁵[on the] heel that Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) hearkened-to my voice, and he guarded my guarding, my commandments, my statutes and my teachings.” ⁶And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) dwelt in Sojourning (Gerar).

⁷And the men of the place asked to his woman. And he said, “He is my sister,” for he feared to say “my woman” lest “the men of the place shall kill me concerning Multiple-Pouring because he is of beautiful appearance.”

⁸And he was because the days lengthened to him there. And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) king of Palestinians leaned-out in-unto the window. And he saw. And behold, He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) is laugh-making Multiple-Pouring his woman. ⁹And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) called to He-Will-Laugh (Isaac). And he said, “But behold, he is thy woman! And how said thou, ‘He is my sister’?” And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) said unto him, “Because I said, ‘Lest I will die concerning her.” ¹⁰And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) said, “What is this thou did to us? As a little, one of the people laid with thy woman! And thou wilt bring transgression upon us!” ¹¹And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) commanded all the people, saying, “The toucher in this man and in his woman—dying he shall die!”

¹²And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) sowed in that land. And he found in that year a hundred of barley! And Yehovah blessed him. ¹³And the man ‘biggened.’ And he walked, walking and ‘bigging’ until he ‘biggened’ very-much. ¹⁴And an acquisition of a flock was to him, and an acquisition of a herd, and much slavery.

And Palestinians envied him. ¹⁵And all the wells that his father’s slaves dug in the days of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) his father—Palestinians stopped them and filled them dust. ¹⁶And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) said unto He-Will-Laugh (Isaac), “Walk-thou from with us. For thou strengthened much more-than us! ¹⁷And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) walked from there. And he camped in Wadi of Sojourning (Gerar). And he dwelt there.

¹⁸And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) dwelt. And he dug wells of the water that they dug in the days of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) his father. And Palestinians stopped them after the death of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham). And he called to them names as names that his father called to them. ¹⁹And He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) slaves dug in the wadi. And they found there a well of waters of lives. ²⁰And the shepherds of Sojourning (Gerar) fought with He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) shepherds, saying, “The water is to us!” And he called the name of the well Contention because they Contended-themselves via him. ²¹And they dug another well. And they fought also concerning her. And he called her name Adversary {fem}. ²²And he advanced from there. And he dug another well. And they didn’t fight concerning her. And he called her name Broadways. And he said, “For now Yehovah broadened to us. And we shall be fruitful in the land.”

²³And he ascended Beersheba from there. ²⁴And Yehovah appeared unto him in that night. And He said, “I am the Gods of Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham) thy father. Fear not. For I am with thee. And I will bless thee. And I will multiply thy seed for the sake of my slave Father-Of-A-Crowd (Avraham).” ²⁵And he built an altar there. And he called via Name Yehovah. And he inclined his tent there. And He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) slaves excavated a well there.

²⁶And My-Father-The-King (Avimelech) walked unto him from Sojourning (Gerar), and Gripper (Akhuzat) his neighbour and Mouth-Of-All (Phicol) prince of his host. ²⁷And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) said unto them, “Why have ye come unto me? And ye, ye hated me! And ye sent me from with you!” ²⁸And they said, “Seeing, we saw that Yehovah was with thee. And we said, ‘An Oath shall be, na, betweens us—between us and between thee. And we shall cut a covenant with thee ²⁹if thou wilt do bad with us just-as we didn’t touch thee and just-as we did only good with thee! And we sent thee in peace! Thou art now Yehovah’s blessed!” ³⁰And he made to them a drinking-party. And they ate and drank. ³¹And they early-rose in the morning. And they swore, a man to his brothers. And He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) sent them. And they walked from with him in peace.

³²And he was in that day. And He-Will-Laugh’s (Isaac’s) servants came. And they told to him concerning firebrands of the well that they dug. And they said to him, “We found water!” ³³And he called her Oath. Therefore the name of the city is Well-of-Oath unto this day.

And Hairy is the son of 40 year. And he took a woman, Yehovah’s-Ruling daughter of My-Well the Hotty and Spices daughter of Oak the Hotty. ³⁵And they were bitternesses of spirit to He-Will-Laugh (Isaac) and to Multiple-Pouring.

I. Rerun (verse 1)

This land occasionally had famine. (This is still true today because of uncertain rainfall.) Isaac went unto Avimelech as his father had done. Avimelech was king of the Palestinians (the same group that is in the news about the Land of Israel, and is trying to set up a Palestinian state).

Questions

1. Why did Isaac go to the same place where his father had had such a strange and almost devastating experience (to Gerar and to its king)?

2. Why did famines occur?

3. Does Yehovah cause famines to occur?

4. Was this the same Avimelech that Avraham had met?

5. Who are these Palestinians?

II. The Intervention (verses 2-6)

Yehovah appeared to Isaac. He told him to not descend to Egypt, but instead to abide where he was (in Gerar, the Palestinian kingdom). Isaac did as he was told (verse 6).

Yehovah then stated that He was with Isaac, and He blessed him.

Yehovah promised that He will give all these lands unto Isaac and unto his seed. He stated that He will ‘stand’ the oath that He swore to Avraham his father—He will cause it to be upheld and fulfilled.

He vowed more: that He will multiply Isaac’s seed as stars of the heavens. He will then give all these lands to Isaac’s seed.

Yehovah explained how all races of the land will respond: they will bless themselves via Isaac’s seed. Why? This is because Avraham:

hearkened to His voice
guarded His guarding
guarded His commandments
guarded His statutes
guarded His teachings.

Isaac did as he was told; he dwelt in Sojourning.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah appear unto him (instead of just speaking to him)?

2. Why did Yehovah command Isaac to not descend to Egypt?

3. Why did Yehovah first say, “Abide in the land that I will say unto thee,” then after say, “sojourn in this land”?

4. Why is “And I was with thee” in the past tense?

5. What happens if God is with someone?

6. How can someone (who knows a little about the Bible) tell if a person has been blessed by Yehovah (in the same way that the Bible means by blessing)?

7. Yehovah said, “I will give all these lands unto thee and unto thy seed.” Identify the seed.

8. What does “stand the oath” mean?

9. What is the oath that Yehovah swore to Avraham?

10. If Yehovah multiplies Avraham’s seed as stars of the heavens, what will happen? (Keep in mind that there are billions of stars in some galaxies, and there are a huge number of galaxies. The planet can only hold and support a number of humans in the billions.)

11. Identify all these lands. The text that describes them is Genesis 15:18-21. Use the following maps to see what these lands include. I have given you clues for all, including when I could not find some. Then, once you have found as many as you can, draw a border around the area promised on Map 33.

The river of Egypt (Nile: Map 18)

The Euphrates River (Map 18)

Kenites (Map 33: also known as Midianites: find near the Red Sea)

Kenizzites (I couldn’t find them)

Kadmonites (I couldn’t find them)

Hittites (Map 18: you will find HITTITES. They lived between Carchemish, which is on the map, and the Orontes River area labeled in blue on the same map).

Perizzites (Map 18a: they lived around Mt. Carmel; you will find it by The Great Sea, known today as the Mediterranean Sea)

Rephaim (Map 21)

Amorites (Map 21)

Canaanites (Map 21)

Girgashites (I couldn’t find them; find Sea of Chinnereth on Map 18a, and look to the right, which is east. They may have lived there, but there is no label.)

Jebusites (They lived in Jerusalem, also called Salem: Maps 18 and 21)

12. Why wouldn’t all locations in the Bible be present on Bible maps?

13. What can cause a civilization, a people and cities to be completely destroyed so that there is no trace left?

14. Verse 4 states, “All races of the land will bless themselves via thy seed…” What land is this?

15. How will all races of the land bless themselves via Isaac’s seed?

16. Verses 4 and 5 tell who is responsible for all races being able to bless themselves (besides Isaac’s and Avraham’s seed). Who is responsible for this great ability to bless themselves?

17. Was Gerar a safe place for Isaac to dwell?

III. Danger! (verse 7)

Isaac’s wife was beautiful. The men in Gerar asked ‘to’ her. Isaac did what his father had successfully done: he said, “He is my sister.” He feared to say that she was his woman. He stated that the men of the place will kill him for Rebekah.

Questions

1. Yehovah appeared (verse 2) and blessed Isaac. Isaac lied regarding his wife Rebecca (verse 7). Did Yehovah ignore Isaac’s lying right after Yehovah had promised him blessing and safety?

2. Why did Isaac say, “He is my sister,” when his sister is a woman?

3. Was Isaac certain that the men of the place would kill him?

IV. The Truth Comes Out (verses 8-11)

Isaac stayed there for a while. Avimelech leaned out of a window (the Hebrew wording is “in-unto” the window). And he saw Isaac making Rebekah laugh. He may have been tickling her—he was doing something that showed that he was more than a brother to her.

Avimelech called Isaac and confronted him: “He is thy woman!” The king desired to know why Isaac had said that ‘he’ was his sister. Isaac replied, “Because I said, ‘Lest I will die concerning her.” Avimelech was upset: “What is this thou did to us? As a little, one of the people laid (had sexual intercourse) with thy woman! And thou wilt bring transgression upon us!”

Avimelech then commanded all the people with a threat: “The toucher in this man and in his woman—dying he shall die!”

Questions

1. What was “because the days lengthened to him there”?

2. Why did the king lean out ‘in-unto’ the window?

3. Why does the Hebrew language use such strange wording as “in-unto”?

4. What was so unusual about a brother tickling a sister?

5. Avimelech said, “What is this thou did to us?” Had Isaac done anything to them?

6. Was Avimelech that afraid of bringing transgression upon his people?

7. Why might Avimelech been afraid of transgression like this?

8. What does transgression mean?

9. How serious was Avimelech about keeping all his people from touching either Isaac or Isaac’s woman?

V. Isaac’s Prosperity (verses 12-14)

Isaac was temporarily safe. He planted in Gerar, the land of the Palestinians. He reaped one hundred times the amount of barley he planted—a huge harvest. Yehovah blessed him. He became very great. He moved the herds and flocks that he had to various pasture lands in the area, and they only increased. He also had a large number of slaves.

Questions

1. Does Yehovah always bless His favorites as He did Isaac (verses 12-14)?

2. Does Yehovah have favorites?

3. The text states that Yehovah blessed him. What is the purpose that Yehovah has for blessing someone?

4. What does ‘bigging’ mean?

5. Didn’t Isaac inherit all that his father Avraham had? Wasn’t Avraham very wealthy? Why did Isaac need to acquire more to become ‘big’?

6. Didn’t Isaac become big ‘on the backs of’ all the slaves who worked for him without pay? How could Isaac be a humble man when he owned humble slaves who had no chance for freedom?

VI. Envy (verses 14-17)

The Palestinians envied him. They tried to make life impossible for Isaac by stopping and filling in the wells that Avraham’s slaves had dug. Pressure finally reached Avimelech. He personally told Isaac to leave them. Isaac was now stronger than Avimelech’s people. Isaac was wise; he left.

There was a wadi (a valley formed by streams during the rainy season) in Gerar. He made camp there.

Questions

1. Did Isaac cause the envy of the Palestinians? Should he have been kinder to them, and show them the love of God? Should he have witnessed to them about Yehovah?

2. Why did the Palestinians plug up the wells (when water was so valuable, and they also could have used it)?

3. Why did Avimelech tell Isaac to leave the area (“Walk-thou from with us”)?

4. Should Isaac have stayed in the area (instead of leaving) because he had as much right to the land as the Palestinians (and even more because of Yehovah’s promise)?

5. Could Isaac have used passive resistance (refusing to obey commands from good authorities or from bad authorities) to protest the wrongs that the Palestinians were doing?

6. Were the Palestinians racists?

7. Should the modern Israelis leave and go settle somewhere else in order to seek peace with the Palestinians?

VII. Did They Dig! (verses 18-22)

Isaac began ‘redigging’ the wells of water that the slaves had dug for Avraham. He called the wells by the same names they previously had.

While digging in the wadi, Isaac’s servants found a well of the waters of lives.

The fighting now began. Palestinian herdsmen fought with Isaac’s herdsmen, claiming that the water was theirs. Isaac called the well Contention because they contended ‘via him,’ over the well.

Isaac’s men dug another well. The Palestinians also claimed that one. Isaac called her name Sitnah (Adversary), the feminine word for Satan.

Isaac and his men moved on to another location. They dug another well. The Palestinians didn’t pursue a fight. Isaac called the well Broadways. Isaac stated, “For now Yehovah broadened to us. And we shall be fruitful in the land.”

Questions

1. Why did they name wells?

2. What is a wadi?

3. Why did they dig in a wadi?

4. What are waters of lives?

5. Why did the Gerar shepherds fight with Isaac’s shepherds?

6. Did Isaac’s shepherds fight back?

7. Was fighting with the Gerar shepherds right?

8. Why would they name a well Adversary?

9. Why did the Gerar shepherds stop fighting?

10. Who was naming these wells?

11. What does “Yehovah broadened to us” mean?

12. What does “we shall be fruitful in the land” mean?

VIII. Another Appearance (verses 23-25)

Then Isaac ascended (went up) to Beersheva from there. Beersheva is located in a hot and dry part of the desert, but it has good wells of water.

Yehovah appeared to him that very night. He identified Himself as “the Gods of Avraham thy father.” He told him not to fear, again confirming that He is with Isaac. “I will bless thee. And I will multiply thy seed for the sake of my slave Avraham.” Isaac’s response was like that of Avraham: he built an altar there. He called via Name Yehovah.

Isaac inclined (put up) his tent there. His servants excavated a well in that location.

Questions

1. What did Yehovah look like when He appeared to Isaac?

2. What important five things did Yehovah tell or command Isaac?

3. Why did Yehovah start by identifying Himself?

4. Why did He next command him to not fear?

5. What does Yehovah being with him mean? What will happen or won’t happen to him?

6. What will occur if He blesses him?

7. What will occur if He multiplies his seed?

8. If Yehovah was with Isaac (verse 24), why did Isaac have so much trouble with the Palestinians?

9. Why will Yehovah do these things “for the sake of my slave Avraham” instead of for Isaac’s sake?

10. Why did Isaac call via (by means of) Name Yehovah after all the trouble, and not during the trouble?

11. What does “excavated a well” mean?

IX. The Guests (verses 26-31)

Avimelech walked unto Isaac with two companions: Akhuzat and Phicol. Phicol was the prince of Avimelech’s army!

Isaac was startled— “Why have ye come unto me?” “Ye hated me!” and “Ye sent me from [being] with you!”

They answered, “Seeing, we saw that Yehovah was with thee.” They continued, “An Oath shall be, na, ‘betweens’ us—between us and between thee.” (That really is the way they spoke.) “And we shall cut a covenant with thee if thou wilt do bad with us just-as we didn’t touch thee and just-as we did only good with thee! And we sent thee in peace! Thou art now Yehovah’s blessed!”

Consider the wisdom of Isaac: He made them a drinking-party! They ate and drank, and finally went to sleep. Then they rose early in the morning. That is when they vowed, a man to his brothers.

Isaac then sent them. They walked away from being with him in peace.

Questions

1. Why did Avimelech, Akhuzat and Phicol come? Why did Phicol accompany Avimelech?

2. Isaac said, “And ye, ye hated me!” Did Avimelech and his people really hate Isaac?

3. Isaac seemed hurt when he said, “And ye sent me from with you!” Did he have hurt feelings?

4. If the Palestinians saw that Yehovah was with Isaac, why did they send him away?

5. What does “We shall cut a covenant with thee if thou wilt do bad with us” mean?

6. Avimelech and his men continued by saying, “just-as we didn’t touch thee and just-as we did only good with thee!” Was that true?

7. If the above answer is that it wasn’t true, why didn’t Isaac argue with them and correct them?

8. Did the Palestinians send them away in peace?

9. Why did they say, “Thou art now Yehovah’s blessed!”?

10. Did Avimelech and his people fear Isaac?

11. What might have changed to cause the Palestinians to fear Isaac?

12. What might have happened if Isaac had refused to make this vow of peace?

13. How can the reader tell who the he is in “And he made them a drinking-party”?

14. Is a drinking party wrong before Yehovah?

15. Why did they wait until the morning to make vows to each other?

16. Did Isaac’s ways please Yehovah? Prove it.

X. A New Well (verses 32-33)

Isaac’s servants came on the very same day with good news. They told to him about firebrands of the well that they dug. And they said to him, “We found water!”

Isaac called the well by the name Oath. The name Beersheva means Well-of-Oath, and that is its name to this very day!

Questions

1. What does “firebrands of the well” mean?

2. The city had already been named Well-of-the-Oath in Avraham’s day. Why does the text record this as if it were the first time that it had been named this?

3. What day is “this day” in “Therefore the name of the city is Well-of-Oath unto this day”?

XI. A New Set of Wives (verses 34-35)

Esau was now 40 years old. He took a woman: ‘Yehovah’s-Ruling’. She is the daughter of a man named ‘My-Well’. They were Hittites (from the word for hot, and therefore they were Hotties). He took another woman (a second wife) whose name was ‘Spices’. She was the daughter of a man named Oak; again, they were Hittites.

These women were bitternesses of spirit to Isaac and to Rivka (Rebecca, Rebekah, Multiple-Pouring).

Questions

1. Was there a problem with Esau having a Hittite wife?

2. What does “they were bitternesses of spirit to Isaac and Rivka” mean?

February 25, 2009April 3, 2017

Plagues of Egypt

Plagues of Egypt Versus Egypt’s Gods

Document by Ann Miller

First Plague: Water into Blood

Exodus 7:17 Thus saith Yehovah, “In this shalt thou know that I am Yehovah. Behold, I will smite upon the water that is in the river with the staff that is in my hand. And it shall be turned into blood. ¹⁸And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink. And the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river.” ¹⁹And Yehovah said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Take thy staff. And stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians upon their streams, upon their rivers and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt in both vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ”

The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River under various names and symbols. It was called the father of life and the father of the gods. Thus, the first public miracle was a blow to a god of Egypt. The Egyptians abhorred blood. Their horror must have been extreme when they saw their sacred river and all other water in their country turned to blood.

Another source [What source?] says:
Anuket
Other Names: Anket, Anqet, Anukis.
Patron of the Nile and its inundation.
Appearance: a woman wearing a crown of reeds and ostrich feathers, often accompanied by a gazelle.

Description: Anuket was most likely an imported goddess from Nubia, and was worshipped as the ‘nourisher of the fields’, referring to the annual inundation of the Nile that deposited a layer of rich silt on the agricultural areas. She formed a triad with Khenmu and Satis, and in later times was identified with Nephthys. Her name means embrace, and may refer to the banks of the Nile that yearly would embrace the fields to bring fertility to the land.

Second Plague: Frogs

Exodus 8:5 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, “Stretch out thy hand with thy staff over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁶And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. And the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

Heqet (Heket) was a goddess of childbirth, creation and grain germination. She was depicted as a frog or a woman with the head of a frog, betraying her connection with water.

As a water goddess, she was also a goddess of fertility where she was particularly associated with the later stages of labour. In this way, the title of Servants of Heqet may have been a title applied to her priestesses who were trained as midwives.

Third Plague: Lice

Exodus 8:16 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Stretch out thy staff and smite the dust of the earth. And it shall become lice throughout the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷And they did so. And Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff. And he smote the dust of the earth. And there arose lice on man and on beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout the land of Egypt.

Geb (another god) was thought to represent the earth. He is pictured as reclining beneath the sky-goddess Nut. Geb, ‘the Great Cackler’, was represented as a goose. He was said to have laid the egg from which the sun was hatched.

Instead of the sky and the earth laying an egg representing the sun, the dust of the earth brought forth lice, which would in turn lay louse eggs on the Egyptians. They were big on being clean. Body lice don’t go along with being clean. They certainly don’t render priests clean.

Fourth Plague: The Swarm

Exodus 8:20 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh. Behold, he will go out to the water. And say to him, ‘Thus saith Yehovah, “Send my people! And they have served me! ²¹For if thou will not send my people, behold I will send a swarm upon thee and upon thy slaves and upon thy people and into thy houses! And the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of the swarm, and also the ground on which they are! ²²And I will distinguish the land of Goshen in which my people dwell in that day. And no swarm shall be there. And thou shalt know that I, Yehovah am in the midst of the land. ²³And I will segregate between my people and thy people! This sign shall be tomorrow!” ’ ” ²⁴And Yehovah did so. And the swarm came in a multitude into the house of Pharaoh and into the houses of his slaves and throughout the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted by the swarm.

The swarm corrupted the land. This attack was against every god that made the land (soil) profitable and productive.

5th Plague: Dead Cows

Exodus 9:4 And Yehovah will distinguish between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that the children of Israel have. ⁵And Yehovah appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow will Yehovah do this thing in the land. ⁶And Yehovah did this thing on the following day, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

This is also directed against the gods of Egypt who were supposed to be manifest in the various forms, all of which were considered sacred. Egyptians held every animal sacred. They worshipped almost every form of nature, sun, moon, stars, and rivers. Jupiter was adored in the form of a ram, Apollo a crow, Bacchus a goat, Juno a heifer, Diana a cat, Venus a fish, Mercury an ibis.

This attack was especially against Hathor, the cow goddess.

Sixth Plague: Boils

Exodus 9:8 And Yehovah said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take to yourselves handfuls of ash of the furnace. And Moshe shall scatter it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. ⁹And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils on man and on cattle breaking out with blisters throughout the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens. And it became boils with blisters breaking out on man and on cattle. ¹¹And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.

Ash from a furnace makes lye; lye is used in making soap. Soap cleans. Boils picture the opposite of a clean body.

The goddess Qadshu (alternately spelled Qudshu, Qodesh, Qadesh, Qadashu, Qadesha, Qetesh, Qedeshet, Kedesh) was a latter Egyptian goddess of sexuality. (The Hebrew word kedesh means holy-one, and also refers to temple whores in this form of the word.) They were considered clean ones. They would have been unable to do their sexual functions with boils in the worst places.

Seventh Plague: Hail

Exodus 9:22 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens that there may be hail throughout the land of Egypt upon men and upon cattle and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.” ²³And Moses stretched out his staff toward the heavens. And Yehovah gave voices and hail. And the fire ran along the ground; and Yehovah rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴And there was very grievous hail and fire mingled with the hail such as there had been none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵And the hail smote all that was in the field, both men and cattle throughout the land of Egypt. And the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. ²⁶There was no hail only in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel were.

The Egyptians had at least one god that controlled weather, and another god that dealt with chaos. Hail gave the Egyptians a taste of their gods as they had never seen. Yehovah controlled both the weather and the chaotic attacks.

Eighth Plague: The Locust

Exodus 10:4 “If thou refuse to send my people, behold, I will bring locusts into thy borders tomorrow. ⁵And they shall cover the face of the land so that ye will not be able to see the land. And they shall eat the residue of what escaped that ye have remaining from the hail, and shall eat every tree that ye have growing in the field. ⁶And they shall fill thy houses and the houses of all thy slaves and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day!” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

This plague was directed against the god Serapis who was supposed to protect the land from locusts and from Shu, god of the air. The creatures came at the command of Yehovah and went when He commanded them to go, proving He was the God of gods, and that the gods of Egypt were false and powerless.

Ninth Plague: Darkness

Exodus 10:21 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens, that there may be darkness in the land of Egypt so that one may feel darkness. ²²And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens. And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt three days. ²³They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

This plague was directed against Re the sun god who was supposed to protect from any curse of the sun and bring natural blessings of light, warmth, and fruitfulness and Thoth and Chons the moon gods. It pitted these gods against Set, the god of chaos and Bes guarding against evil spirits and misfortune.

One plague attacked multiple gods by showing their impotence or by making them stink.

Re (Ra) was the Egyptian sun god who was also often referred to as Re-Horakhty, meaning Re (is) Horus of the Horizon, referring to the god’s character. The early Egyptians believed that he created the world. The rising sun was the symbol of creation. The daily cycle of sunrise and sunset was obliterated during those days of felt darkness.

Tenth Plague: Slaughter of the Firstborn

Exodus 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne even unto the firstborn of the slavewoman who is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of cattle.

The death of the first born was a blow against all the gods of Egypt since they were worshipped as different animals. Slaying the firstborn of beasts as well as men was literally bringing judgment on the gods. When any idolatrous nation was destroyed, folks placed the blame on the gods who abandoned that nation or who were overcome by stronger gods.

Several gods of Egypt were supposedly protectors of the lives of men and beasts. The Pharaoh was considered a god, and his son the next god. No god of Egypt had the power to stand against the God of the Hebrews.

The Egyptian occult leaders spoke of the strength of the Gods of the Hebrews when they declared during the lice plague, “This is the finger of the Gods” (Exodus 8:19). If the finger of the Gods of Israel could do this, what could the hand of the Gods do? What could the arm of the Gods do? What could Yehovah the Gods of the Israelis do?

Thus, Yehovah used only ten smitings to undermine every Egyptian god and goddess. He even undermined the gods and goddesses of the dead whose services included transporting and protecting the dead to their resting places awaiting the next life. So many deaths and so much chaos didn’t permit ritual offerings and preparations to occur in their prescribed manners. Pharaoh himself was drowned in the sea before a slave population that didn’t touch him; the sea god killed the Pharaoh god. What shame would have been brought on the greatest power in the region! Not a single weapon was used against the Egyptians; yet their army was totally defeated by their gods — or was it by the Gods of Israel?