Exodus 1:22 Drawn Out with Questions and Proposed Answers

Drawn Out

With Questions and Proposed Answers

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 1:22-2:10

Exodus 1:22 And Pharaoh commanded to all his people, saying, “Ye shall cast every son childed riverward! And ye shall cause-to-live every daughter.”

Exodus 2:1 And a man from the House of My-Joined-[one] [Levi] walked. And he took a daughter of My-Joined-[one] [Levi]. ²And the woman conceived. And she childed a son. And she saw him, that he is good. And she hid him three moons.

³And she was not further able to hide him. And she took a papyrus box to him. And she tarred her via tar and via pitch. And she put the child into her. And she put into a reed upon the lip of the river. ⁴And his sister positioned herself from afar to know—what will he do to him?

⁵And the daughter of Pharaoh descended to bathe by the river. And her maidens are walking by the hand of the river. And she saw the box in the midst of the reed. And she sent her handmaid. And she took her.

⁶And she opened. And she saw him—a child! And behold, a youth is weeping! And she had compassion upon him. And she said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.” ⁷And his sister said unto the daughter of Pharaoh, “Shall I walk? And I will call a nursing woman to thee from the Hebrews [fem.]. And she will nurse the child to thee!” ⁸And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Walk!” And the virgin walked. And she called the mother of the child.

⁹And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage.” And the woman took the child. And she nursed him.

¹⁰And the child ‘biggened.’ And she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh. And he became to a son to her.

And she called his name Draw. And she said, “For I drew him from the waters.”

I. Genocide (Chapter 1, verse 22)

Pharaoh had gotten nowhere with the Midwives. He therefore commanded his own people to cast every Israeli son newly born to the river. “And ye shall cause to live every daughter.”

Questions

1. How many Egyptians were responsible to cast every Israeli son born to the river? They all were commanded to do this. Thus, he was commanding them to commit genocide—that is, to exterminate the Israelis by killing their boy babies.

2. He again repeated that he wanted the girl babies kept alive. Why keep them alive? He didn’t fear the female Israelis; they would make good wives and workers. He feared the male Israelis. This is often what occurs in racism.

II. Marriage and Horror (chapter 2, verses 1-2)

Life went on. A man from the House of Levi walked and took a daughter of Levi for a wife. The woman became pregnant. She childed a son. She saw the child: he is good. She hid the child three months.

Questions

1. Where did the man from the House of Levi walk? We would say that he went. He walked to some other location in Egypt where there were other Israeli women in order to obtain a wife.

2. Why did he take a woman from the same tribe (Levi) of which he was a part? The text doesn’t say why, but it is important in the events that will occur. Her family culture was probably familiar to him. The text doesn’t mention her parents or whether he made an agreement with them to obtain her.

3. Why does the text state, “And she saw him, that he is good”? She saw the child, and he immediately caused her to be fond of the little one. She also figured that she would be able to hide him—at least for a time—from the Egyptians. Had he been very noisy, she wouldn’t have been able to hide him.

4. The text states that she hid him three moons. What is the relationship between a month and a moon? In many cultures, periods of time were measured in moons—from new moon to new moon. This is where we get the word month, though the length of a moon cycle is 28 days. The moon cycles of 28 days will not work right over a year, since a part of a moon cycle will be left over after a year. This is why our calendar was adjusted with different numbers of days for different months, and why we need leap years (using February to add one and sometimes two days).

5. How could she hide an infant for three whole months? She was very good and very clever! I suspect that she stayed away from the Egyptians whenever she could. The text doesn’t give the details of how she did this; she must have been very clever!

6. What was happening among the rest of the Israelis regarding boy babies? Women were still getting pregnant, and boy babies were being born. The Egyptians were forcefully taking those babies and killing them at birth. There must have been great mourning and wailing throughout the area of the Israelis with this cruel policy. Yehovah would have His revenge for it later.

III. The End (verses 3-4)

A child of this age can be quite noisy. The mother could no longer hide this child. She had an idea. She took a box made of bulrush plant material, and brought it to the child. She tarred the box using both tar and pitch. The then put the child into the box.

She put the box into a reed plant upon the lip (shore) of the river.

In the meantime, the child’s sister positioned herself at a distance to know what an unnamed person will do to the child.

Questions

1. Why wasn’t she able to hide him any longer? Either her circumstance or the child’s circumstance was such that the Egyptians would find this child. She knew it would occur soon, so she made preparations for her loss.

2. Who gave her the idea of the papyrus box? The text doesn’t say who gave her the idea. It was quite an idea!

3. What is a papyrus? It is a plant that is strong, yet can be used to make paper. The following is a picture of it from Wikimedia.com, and from the Kew Gardens:

Papyrus - Kew Gardens

As you can see, it is a narrow, stout plant with thin leaves at the top that grows in water. It is quite strong, and can support some weight. It would make a good box.

4. Did she make the papyrus box? The text doesn’t say; it may have already been made. She waterproofed it.

5. What is tar and what is pitch? Tar is often made from pine tree resin (the sap of a pine tree) using heat. Pitch is similar, and is made from plants. They both produce a waterproofing thick substance.

6. Was the box that she made pretty? I suspect that it was very pretty in order to attract the eye!

7. Did she put the child straight into the box with no blanket? Again, the text doesn’t say, but I have a feeling that she made it comfortable for the little child.

8. What does “And she put into a reed upon the lip of the river” mean? She suspended the box from a reed that was strong enough to hold it above the water. It was in the reed—near the top, and quite reachable, near the leaves.

9. What is the lip of the river? It is the shore of the river—where the sand meets the water. It is called a lip because it is watered, just like your lip is watered inside your mouth.

10. Did his sister’s mother know that his sister had positioned herself to watch to see what would occur with the baby? That isn’t my impression. I can’t prove it, but I don’t think that the baby’s mother knew that her daughter was doing this.

11. Who is he and him in, “What will he do to him?” Again, I am proposing: He is Yehovah, and him is the baby. I know of no other he who was in the position to do anything with the child except for the king himself.

IV. The Box (verse 5)

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe by the river. She had maidens who attended her, walking by the hand (extension) of the river.

She saw the box—it was in the midst of the reed! She sent her handmaid; the handmaid took the box.

Questions

1. What is the hand of the river? Since a hand reaches, it must be a part of the river that reaches inland—like an inlet. That way, the waters are calm and free from the currents that might otherwise make the river dangerous.

2. How could she see the box in the midst of the reed? This is why I think the box was colorful—and not with just green! The box needed to be spotted by someone; else the baby would die in the box. That wasn’t the idea.

Wouldn’t it be fun to see what that box looked like?

3. Why did she send her handmaid? Handmaids were used to send on errands!

4. What is her in, “And she took her”? She is the box! A box is feminine in gender in Hebrew.

V. Identification and Need (verses 6-8)

Pharaoh’s daughter opened the box. She saw him—a child! And the youth is weeping! She had compassion on him.

She then said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.”

The child’s sister spoke to the daughter of Pharaoh: “Shall I walk? And I will call a nursing woman to thee from the Hebrews. And she will nurse the child to thee!” Pharaoh’s daughter replied, “Walk!” The virgin did exactly that, and called the mother of the child—her own mother—to come.

Questions

1. What does the wording of the text, “And she saw him—a child!” indicate? It indicates that she was quite surprised!

2. What was important about the youth weeping? That took a hold on the mothering instincts of Pharaoh’s daughter! That was excellent timing!

3. What did she do to show that she had compassion upon him? What would any woman do? She held him!

4. Pharaoh’s daughter then said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.” Why did she say this? Either this was in response to a question as to how this child got there, or it was a comment that Pharaoh’s daughter made in realization of what was occurring in her father’s kingdom.

5. We next see the child’s sister speaking to Pharaoh’s daughter. Wasn’t Pharaoh’s daughter startled to see a Hebrew youth suddenly appear and speaking to her? She doesn’t seem at all startled. It is as if this is a normal occurrence. Some of Pharaoh’s daughter’s handmaids could have been from the Israelis, for all we know.

6. The child’s sister volunteered, “Shall I walk? And I will call a nursing woman to thee from the Hebrews. And she will nurse the child to thee!” Wasn’t she quite bold to speak up like this and to offer to help in this way? She was bold, with all the boldness of a child! She spoke as if she knew of a lactating woman (a woman who had breast milk) who was available, since the child’s weeping indicated that the child was probably hungry.

7. What does the response of Pharaoh’s daughter (“Walk!”) indicate about her?

It indicates that she doesn’t know that this youth offering to get a woman for her is the child’s sister.
It indicates that she doesn’t know that the woman being brought is the child’s mother.
It indicates that she didn’t care about what her father commanded to the rest of the Egyptians; she was going to do what she wanted right under her father’s nose!

8. Why does the text say, “And she called the mother of the child,” instead of this: “And she called her own mother”? This is telling the reader of a very unusual circumstance: a mother is being summoned to take care of her own child!

VI. Orders (verse 9)

Pharaoh’s daughter commanded the mother, “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage.” The woman took the child, and she did as she was told. She nursed him.

Questions

1. What is so unusual about the command given by Pharaoh’s daughter: “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage”? Well, since when is a mother paid to take care of her own child? That is so unusual!

2. How did the Egyptians know that this woman had orders from Pharaoh’s daughter to take care of the child? Pharaoh’s daughter would have made certain that the woman and the child would not be harmed or bothered.

3. How did the child’s mother feel about this arrangement? The text doesn’t say. She now knew that the child would live: that is good. She also knew that the time with her child would be short. She had much to teach the child before he would be gone from her. She also knew that she could not disclose that she was the mother of this child; Pharaoh’s daughter would have seemed like a fool, had that happened.

4. Did other Hebrew parents manage to keep their sons alive? I suspect that there were some who did, but the text doesn’t say. I also suspect that a few of the Egyptians would have helped the Israelis. Few sons of the age of this baby lived among the Israelis.

VII. Adoption (verse 10)

The child ‘biggened’ (grew). She brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter. He became as her own son.

Pharaoh’s daughter called the child Draw (Moshe). She said, “For I drew him from the waters.”

Questions

1. How long did she wait to bring the child to the daughter of Pharaoh? The text again doesn’t say. Women in some cultures continue to breastfeed their children until they are five years old. This is especially important in places where there are dangerous diseases, since the mother gives immunity to her child if the mother has become immune. I propose that the child was breastfed for between three and five years, and likely closer to five is my guess.

2. Was bringing the child to the daughter of Pharaoh hard for her? It would have been both hard and exhilarating! Her child would become the grandson of the king!

3. Did Pharaoh’s daughter love him? You know she did!

4. Was the name Draw (Moshe) a good name for him? It was an excellent name! He will later do the same: he will draw all Israel out of Egypt!

March 25, 2010June 12, 2017

Exodus 1:22 Drawn Out

Drawn Out

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 1:22-2:10

Exodus 1:22 And Pharaoh commanded to all his people, saying, “Ye shall cast every son childed riverward! And ye shall cause-to-live every daughter.”

⁹And the daughter of Pharaoh said to her, “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage.” And the woman took the child. And she nursed him.

¹⁰And the child ‘biggened.’ And she brought him to the daughter of Pharaoh. And he became to a son to her.

And she called his name Draw. And she said, “For I drew him from the waters.”

I. Genocide (Chapter 1, verse 22)

Pharaoh had gotten nowhere with the Midwives. He therefore commanded his own people to cast every Israeli son newly born to the river. “And ye shall cause to live every daughter.”

Questions

1. How many Egyptians were responsible to cast every Israeli son born to the river?

2. He again repeated that he wanted the girl babies kept alive. Why keep them alive?

II. Marriage and Horror (chapter 2, verses 1-2)

Life went on. A man from the House of Levi walked and took a daughter of Levi for a wife. The woman became pregnant. She childed a son. She saw the child: he is good. She hid the child three months.

Questions

1. Where did the man from the House of Levi walk?

2. Why did he take a woman from the same tribe (Levi) of which he was a part?

3. Why does the text state, “And she saw him, that he is good”?

4. The text states that she hid him three moons. What is the relationship between a month and a moon?

5. How could she hide an infant for three whole months?

6. What was happening among the rest of the Israelis regarding boy babies?

III. The End (verses 3-4)

She put the box into a reed plant upon the lip (shore) of the river.

In the meantime, the child’s sister positioned herself at a distance to know what an unnamed person will do to the child.

Questions

1. Why wasn’t she able to hide him any longer?

2. Who gave her the idea of the papyrus box?

3. What is a papyrus?

4. Did she make the papyrus box?

5. What is tar and what is pitch?

6. Was the box that she made pretty?

7. Did she put the child straight into the box with no blanket?

8. What does “And she put into a reed upon the lip of the river” mean?

9. What is the lip of the river?

10. Did his sister’s mother know that his sister had positioned herself to watch to see what would occur with the baby?

11. Who is he and him in, “What will he do to him?”

IV. The Box (verse 5)

Pharaoh’s daughter came down to bathe by the river. She had maidens who attended her, walking by the hand (extension) of the river.

She saw the box—it was in the midst of the reed! She sent her handmaid; the handmaid took the box.

Questions

1. What is the hand of the river?

2. How could she see the box in the midst of the reed?

3. Why did she send her handmaid?

4. What is her in, “And she took her”?

V. Identification and Need (verses 6-8)

Pharaoh’s daughter opened the box. She saw him—a child! And the youth is weeping! She had compassion on him.

She then said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.”

Questions

1. What does the wording of the text, “And she saw him—a child!” indicate?

2. What was important about the youth weeping?

3. What did she do to show that she had compassion upon him?

4. Pharaoh’s daughter then said, “This is from the children of the Hebrews.” Why did she say this?

5. We next see the child’s sister speaking to Pharaoh’s daughter. Wasn’t Pharaoh’s daughter startled to see a Hebrew youth suddenly appear and speaking to her?

7. What does the response of Pharaoh’s daughter (“Walk!”) indicate about her?

8. Why does the text say, “And she called the mother of the child,” instead of this: “And she called her own mother”?

VI. Orders (verse 9)

Pharaoh’s daughter commanded the mother, “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage.” The woman took the child, and she did as she was told. She nursed him.

Questions

1. What is so unusual about the command given by Pharaoh’s daughter: “Walk this child. And nurse him to me. And I, I will give thy wage”?

2. How did the Egyptians know that this woman had orders from Pharaoh’s daughter to take care of the child?

3. How did the child’s mother feel about this arrangement?

4. Did other Hebrew parents manage to keep their sons alive?

VII. Adoption (verse 10)

The child ‘biggened’ (grew). She brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter. He became as her own son.

Pharaoh’s daughter called the child Draw (Moshe). She said, “For I drew him from the waters.”

Questions

1. How long did she wait to bring the child to the daughter of Pharaoh?

2. Was bringing the child to the daughter of Pharaoh hard for her?

3. Did Pharaoh’s daughter love him?

4. Was the name Draw (Moshe) a good name for him?

March 25, 2010June 12, 2017

Exodus 1:1 The Midwives QA Supplied

The Midwives

With Questions and Proposed Answers

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 1:1-21

Exodus 1:1 And these are the names of the children of Israel coming Egyptward with He-Will-Heel [Jacob]. They came, a man and His house: ²They-Saw-A-Son [Reuben], Hearkening [Shimon], My-Joined-[One] [Levi] and He-Confessed-Yehovah [Judah], ³There-Is-A-Wage [Issachar], They-Shall-Cohabit [Zebulun] and Son-Of-Right [Benjamin], ⁴Adjudicator [Dan] and My-Wrestling [Naphtali], Troop [Gad] and Happy [Asher]. ⁵And he was, every being exiting from the thigh of He-Will-Heel [Jacob]: seventy being(s). And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] was in Egypt.

⁶And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

⁷And the children of Israel were fruitful. And they swarmed. And they multiplied. And they became very very strong! And the land filled them!

⁸And a new king arose over Egypt who didn’t know He-Will-Gather [Joseph]. ⁹And he said unto his people, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel is multiple and stronger than we are! ¹⁰Come-on! We shall wisely-deal to him lest he will multiply. And he shall be, when they shall happen a war, and he will be gathered—even he—upon our enemies! And he will fight into us! And he will ascend from the land!” ¹¹And they set princes of slave-labour over him in order to humiliate him via their burdens.

And he built cities of warehouses to Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses. 12And whenever they will humiliate him, established, he will multiply. And established, he will spread! And they were cut-off from the faces of the children of Israel! ¹³And the Egyptians slave-drove the children of Israel via crushing. ¹⁴And they embittered their lives via hard slavery: via mortar and via bricks and via every slavery in the field with all their slavery that they slaved via them, via crushing.

¹⁵And the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives (the one whose name is Pretty [Shifrah] and the second whose name is Groan [Puah])─ ¹⁶and he said, “When ye child the Hebrews [fem.], and ye shall see upon the stones. If he is a son, and ye shall kill him! And if he is a daughter, and he shall live.”

¹⁷And the midwives feared the Gods. And they did not, just as the king of Egypt spoke unto them. And they caused-the-children-to-live.

¹⁸And the king of Egypt called to the midwives. And he said to them, “Why did ye this speech, and have caused-the-children-to-live?” ¹⁹And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrews [fem.] are not as women of the Egyptians [fem.]. For they are alive there! Before the midwife will come unto them, and they childed!”

²⁰And Elohim good-did to the midwives. And the people multiplied. And they strengthened very-much! ²¹And he was. For the midwives feared the Gods. And He made houses to them.

I. The Scene (verses 1-5)

The text starts with an overview of the children of Israel who arrived in Egypt. A list is given of the sons.

A total of seventy folks who came out of Jacob’s thigh came to Egypt. Joseph was already there.

Questions

1. How many of Jacob’s children went to Egypt? They all did!

2. Verse 5 states that these all came out of Jacob’s thigh. What does coming out of his thigh mean, and why did the Bible give this piece of information? The thigh of a man is where his groin is located, and thus his penis and testicles. The sperm from the testicles are what fertilize the egg in a woman so that she becomes pregnant. Thus, every person who was born to Jacob came out of his thigh!

This tells the careful reader that seventy persons (including children and grandchildren, and perhaps even some great grandchildren) were directly from Jacob! They didn’t include the persons that Shimon and Levi captured when they slaughtered the Hivites in Genesis 34.

II. The Change of Scene (verse 6)

Verse 6 is a short scene change. Joseph died, along with all that generation.

Questions

1. What is so important about telling readers that Joseph and all his brethren died? This sets the scene for what will happen next. The folks who remembered what things were like under Joseph all died. Those alive had just heard the stories.

2. The text states that Joseph and all his brethren died, “and all that generation.” Why did Yehovah need to mention that all that generation died? Wasn’t that obvious? A Biblical generation is not what most folks think it is. A generation has to do with an administration—that is, with what kind of government is ruling a people. It isn’t referring to a family and having children. Folks mistakenly think that once a baby is born, that baby is the new generation. The Bible sees generations in a totally different way. A generation can last forty or even more than one hundred years! If the style of government leadership remains the same, the generation is the same. If it changes, a new generation will now develop. You may have heard of the World War II generation or the Viet Nam generation. This is using generation in the way that the Bible uses it.

III. The Multiplication (verse 7)

The children of Israel were fruitful—they were productive. They swarmed in groups, and they multiplied, having many children. They also became physically and mentally very strong. The land filled them—they had plenty to eat—and they filled the land with a great population.

Questions

1. What does being fruitful really mean in the Bible? A person is fruitful if the person does good works—that is, if the person does what is morally right toward another person or ethically right in business and social things. Morality is all about right and wrong, righteousness and sin. Only a God/god can declare something as morally right or wrong. Ethics has to do with the right way to treat entire groups of folks in business and in dealings with them. When one group cheats another group, the cheating group is not practicing proper ethics. That will lead to violence.

If a person does what is right in the eyes of Yehovah toward another person, that person is doing a good work, and is therefore being fruitful to Yehovah. If a person sins, that person is doing a bad or an evil work.

The Israelis did right toward each other, and they prospered because of this. (When folks are violent toward each other, the societies in which they live become poor and unfruitful, with corruption taking all the good work that they do.)

Every person is compared to a tree. If a tree produces good fruit, that is a good tree. If a tree produces bad fruit, that is a bad tree. The same is true of every person. Are you producing good fruit?

2. What does “they swarmed” mean? This means that they began to congregate in groups because of the number of them and for business and social reasons. Thus, they were everywhere in some of the Egyptian markets, having things to sell. They also had social occasions like weddings where they gathered in large groups.

3. What does “they multiplied” mean? That means that they had many babies!

4. What is significant about their becoming very very strong? They will become a threat to the Egyptians, and they will be able to live well under harsh conditions. They will also become good fighters.

5. The text states, “And the land filled them!” What does this mean? Most (probably all) translators thought that this really meant that the land was filled with them—that their population became so big, that they were everywhere. Actually, they weren’t everywhere; they lived only in a few locations. Instead, the land provided food for them, and they had enough to eat. The land filled them so that they were not hungry. They did fill their cities, but that isn’t what the Hebrew text described.

IV. New King; New Fear (verses 8-11)

The new king was the new Pharaoh over Egypt. He didn’t know Joseph.

He told his people of Egypt, “Behold, the people of the children of Israel is multiple and stronger than we are! Come-on! We shall wisely-deal to [with] him lest he will multiply. And he shall be, when they shall happen a war, and he will be gathered—even he—upon our enemies! And he will fight into us! And he will ascend from the land!” They set princes over the Jewish slave labour pools in order to humiliate Israel by means of the burdens put on Israel.

Questions

1. What is important about there being a new king (pharaoh) who didn’t know Joseph? The previous pharaohs who knew Joseph was kind to the Israelis because of how Joseph saved Egypt from starvation. The new pharaoh didn’t know Joseph personally, and he didn’t know much about what Joseph was supposed to have done. Therefore, he didn’t feel the need to treat the Israelis as special. He instead saw them in a very different way.

2. Why did this new king talk to his people about the Israelis? The Egyptians began to become very nervous about the Israelis: they were multiplying and becoming very strong to the point that the Egyptians felt threatened by them. These are exactly the same reasons why many Southerners (in the United States) passed laws and humiliated the Black slaves who had been kidnapped from Africa. Just as the Israelis, the Black slaves had many children and became very strong—far stronger than the non-Black populations in the South. Folks who fear other folks because of superiorities tend to mistreat them, humiliate them, threaten them and even kill some of them to try to prove to themselves that they are superior (when they are in fact far inferior in the very ways they fear). Those who are wise know that every group has its strengths and weaknesses, and they trade with groups that have strengths in which they themselves have weakness.

The new king reacted in a typical racist manner.

3. What did the king and the Egyptians fear that the Israelis might do using their numbers and strength? They feared that the Israelis would turn on the Egyptians in a war, and join the battle on the side of the enemies! Then, they feared that the Israelis would ascend from the land of Egypt! The Israelis had become Egypt’s economy. If Israel left Egypt, the Egyptians would have to start doing their own work!

4. Was the fear of the Egyptians regarding the Israelis in war a reasonable fear? No, it wasn’t a reasonable fear. The Israelis would have fought on the side of Egypt in any war; the Israelis didn’t desire to be taken captive to a foreign land. They were doing well in Egypt.

The pharaoh and his people were becoming paranoid—that is, they were becoming fearful of the Israelis as if the Israelis desired to do them harm. Racism and paranoia always go together.

5. The pharaoh said, “Come-on! We shall wisely-deal to him lest he will multiply.” Wasn’t the people of Israel already multiplying? This pharaoh feared more multiplication. He thought he could stop it.

6. What was the official Egyptian answer to controlling the population growth and the strengthening of the Israelis? It was to make the Israelis into slaves, and to put them under slavemasters so that they would be humiliated. The Egyptians thought this would cause the Israelis to despair so much that they would stop having so many children, and they would be weakened.

V. Building Projects (verses 11-14)

Israel built two cities that held warehouses for Egypt: Pithom and Raamses.

Whenever the Egyptian slave captains humiliated Israel, Israel multiplied—had more children. Israel spread throughout Egypt. Finally, the Egyptians had to go through Jewish groups and faces to visit other Egyptians!

The Egyptians used crushing means to slave-drive the Israelis to work harder and harder. They made their lives bitter by the hardness of their slavery: by means of mortal and bricks and every type of labour in the field. They used crushing force to tell them what to do and where to go.

Questions

1. Who is he in, “And he built cities of warehouses to Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses”? He is Israel! Israel built those two very famous cities in Egypt!

2. The text states, “And whenever they will humiliate him, established, he will multiply.” Why did Israel multiply under humiliation? This generally occurs for any group and population when it is being mistreated. Members of that group tend to look for ways to find pleasure. One of the obvious ways to find pleasure is to have sex, and babies are born. Had the Egyptians realized this, they would not have done the very actions that certainly will increase Israel’s population! (Incidentally, the same thing happens during a war: those populations involved in the war tend to have a large increase in child births.)

3. Why did Israel spread under humiliation? A group that is being mistreated will try to find safe places to be to avoid the humiliation, if possible. Thus, the group will spread out. The more a large group is mistreated, the more members of that group will run and seek refuge elsewhere.

4. Who is they in, “And they were cut-off from the faces of the children of Israel,” and what was occurring? They are the Egyptians. There were so many Israelis, now, that the Egyptians were surrounded by Israelis. The group of Egyptians was cut into small groups by the large number of the Israelis. This made the Egyptians even more paranoid. Wherever they would go, Israelis were there, and the Israelis were stronger and tougher than the Egyptians. The Egyptians developed a fear of the Israelis and a desire to not be isolated from other Egyptians by the Israelis. This same fear occurs today by folks who feel surrounded by groups that they don’t know and of whom they are afraid. It is one of the main reasons why racism becomes very strong.

5. What was the response to this fear of the Egyptians? The response was this: “The Egyptians slave-drove the children of Israel via crushing.” This was the same response that many Southern slave-owners had to the increasing populations of African slaves kidnapped and brought to the United States. This continued in the United States after the Civil War.

6. What does embittered mean? It means to make bitter; to cause resentment; to remove joy and pleasure. The Egyptians were doing exactly the wrong thing.

7. What is mortar? It is what holds bricks and stones together. It can be like cement (as is used to make concrete) where it is liquid, first, then dries to become a very hard substance, or it can be like tar where it is a sticky and very thick liquid that acts like a solid after it is applied, but in any case it holds bricks and stones in place.

8. How are bricks made? They are made in several ways. Take straw and mud. Mix them together thoroughly. Heat the mixture in an oven at 500 degrees for an hour. See what you get when it cools. (They actually heat it above this.) The moisture goes out of the mud, and the straw and the mud connect together to form a very hard brick when it is done right. Mud alone is brittle if heated; it won’t support anything. Straw alone is weak; it won’t hold. Put the two together in this way, however, and a very, very hard substance results. It can be almost as hard as stone!

9. Who made these bricks? The Israelis made the bricks! Making many bricks is no fun! It is hot, dirty work, and after doing this for days, it makes life seem very bad.

10. What did the Israelis have to do that was included in “every slavery in the field”? They had to tend all the crops, including getting water to the crops by irrigating them. Irrigating isn’t so hard today, since there are electric pumps that can bring the water through pipes to the crops. Back then, there were no electric pumps, and pipes were very rare and hard to make. The water had to be hand-lifted if the fields were not below the water source, and the work was very hard and continuous.

There were many other field chores that the Israelis were forced to do. The Israelis had come as shepherds and cattlemen. Being forced to work in the fields was not what they were used to doing. Now, they had to do all the hardest work for the Egyptians, or get beaten.

11. What does via crushing mean? This is the Hebrew word that describes under much pressure. They were forced to work. If they didn’t work fast enough or hard enough, they were beaten and terribly mistreated.

VI. Abortion (verses 15-17)

The king of Egypt had a very modern idea for birth control. He spoke to the two heads of the Hebrew midwives (who birthed the babies)—to Pretty and to Groan, “When ye child the Hebrews, and ye shall see the gender of the baby upon the birthing stones. If he is a son, and ye shall kill him! And if he is a daughter, and he shall live.”

The midwives feared the Gods—Elohim—the Gods of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob. They did exactly what the king of Egypt didn’t speak unto them to do! They made certain that the children lived.

Questions

1. Why do you suppose that one girl baby had been named Pretty and another Groan at this time? (You will obtain various answers, of course. I propose that the one named Pretty was such a pretty baby. I propose that the one named Groan described how her parents felt about the harsh slavery.)

2. Why did the king call just two women of the midwives? The king was used to speaking to representatives—to individuals whom he could hold responsible for what he ordered. Had he called all the midwives into the palace, the number would have been large, and he would have feared an uprising. He wanted to cause fear in the Israelis and in his slaves; he didn’t want to be the one who feared.

These two women were viewed as being like rulers over all the midwives; whatever the king said, they were responsible to get the speech out to all the other midwives and to made certain that the king’s orders were followed.

3. What are the stones in, “ye shall see upon the stones”? They are the birthing stools or birthing areas that women used when bringing out children in childbirth. I cannot tell if the stones were large and shaped or if they were pebbles so that the child could be placed on a softer surface while being cleaned from the afterbirth. The king knew how childbirth was accomplished, and he knew that stones were where they would birth the babies.

4. The king said, “If he is a son, and ye shall kill him!” What was he commanding the midwives to do? He was commanding them to put the little boy babies to death when they came out. This is exactly the same as modern abortion. The idea is to take a baby that would live, given time and what it needs, and to kill the baby for whatever reason.

5. Is abortion wrong? Is abortion murder? Explain well. The answer to this question depends on the god/gods in which a person believes. Whenever any question includes right and wrong, this always becomes a question of the god/gods of the person doing the answering.

Many folks believe in gods that find no fault with all abortions. Those gods see abortion as a convenience for mothers. Folks who believe in those gods are not doing any wrong by having an abortion.

Other folks believe in gods that make distinctions on the basis of how the pregnancy took place. If the girl was raped, abortion is fine to those gods. If the girl wasn’t raped, and if she is old enough to carry the baby without danger to her, those gods don’t permit an abortion.

Still other folks believe in gods who see all abortions as being murder, and those who do the abortions as murderers.

There are other possibilities just as there are other gods.

The God of the Bible also teaches regarding these things. When Rebecca became pregnant, she went to ask Yehovah about it because the pregnancy wasn’t normal; there was much activity inside her. Yehovah told her,

Genesis 25:23 “Two races are in thy belly. And two folks will be separated from thine internals.”

So, Yehovah called the little ones races and folks—that is, large groups of persons before they were born.

When women put their unborn children to death for no other reason than their own convenience, this shows that they are idolaters—believing in idols—in false gods. Anyone who believes in the Gods of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob has no right to condemn or judge idolaters; that is Yehovah’s business, not his/her business, even if the idolaters are in his/her own family.

If a teenager or younger girl is too young to safely birth a child, and she becomes pregnant, aborting the child is wise; it isn’t wrong.

If parents force a teenager who becomes pregnant to abort her child, and she could safely have the child, and would have taken care of the child, working for its benefit, that is the idolatry of the parents. They are doing that for their own convenience even if the girl was raped. This isn’t the same as cleaning her out right after the rape occurred; such a cleaning out is fine. Whenever parents force a daughter to abort later in pregnancy when the daughter would carry the child with joy (and a little help), they are doing damage to her and to their relationship with her instead of considering her and whatever her faith is (or isn’t). Parents who truly love their children will consider their children in these matters, and will seek what is the highest, best interest of their children without regard to themselves. Of course, such love isn’t so common. Most folks think of themselves and their convenience; most folks are idolaters.

The men and boys who get girls pregnant are just as responsible for the pregnancy as the girls, and are often more responsible. If the Bible is Truth, they will be held responsible for all that they do and don’t do.

If you are ever asked if abortion is murder, remember that it depends upon the god/gods in which a person believes. Saints in the Bible valued human lives; they didn’t see them as inconveniences to be destroyed. They were out to save lives, not to destroy them. The image of God is on them.

6. Why does the text state, “and if he is a daughter…”? That he refers to the human child in a generic way—that is, as a human, not as a girl or boy. We would say, “and if it is a daughter.” But that doesn’t make more sense; the child isn’t an it!

7. Why did the king desire for them to keep the girl babies alive? He wanted the girls to grow up and provide more wives for the Egyptians! Many Israeli girls were pretty.

8. Verse 17 states, “And the midwives feared the Gods.” What does this mean, and what did they do that showed this? The fear the Gods (that is, the Gods of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob) includes the following:

It is to be aware that Yehovah (the Gods) will judge each person for what he/she has done and said in life. That awareness will cause a person to be very careful about what he or she does and says.
It is to know that Yehovah watches what each person says and does, and sometimes takes action for or against that person. (Some folks take this the wrong way, and think that God is punishing them for something they did or didn’t do when in truth they are just having the normal difficulties of life that have nothing to do with what they did or didn’t do.) Yehovah is very patient, and doesn’t usually respond right away to what folks do. He usually gives folks much time to begin to do right.
It is to know that Yehovah has all power, and He sees and knows what is happening. He sometimes takes action for a person using His power to bring things about. (That is why making a request to Him can be very good.)
It is to know that forgiveness is with Him. (That cannot be used as an excuse to do wrong!)
It is to refuse to do wrong even when the sometimes painful consequences of doing right seem very great. It is better to face God having done right than to face God having done wrong. Doing right sometimes is very expensive and painful, and doing wrong sometimes feels very good. A person who fears Yehovah knows that the good feelings that come with doing wrong will be much later followed by terrible pain that will last forever as a consequence of the sin (if the person doesn’t quit doing the sin and turn to doing right before God).

The midwives feared Yehovah much more than they feared what the king could or would do to them. The king was temporary, and life was temporary, but Yehovah is forever, and everlasting life (or death) is forever. Thus, the midwives did what was right in the eyes of Yehovah instead of what the king commanded them.

9. What does “And they did not, just as the king of Egypt spoke unto them” mean? This means that they did exactly what the king told them not to do: they saved the boy children alive.

10. How did they cause the children to live? They did what they could be aid the boy children in birth, and they nurtured them rather than killing them.

VII. The Excuse (verses 18-19)

The king of Egypt called the midwives. He said to them, “Why did ye this speech, and have caused-the-children-to-live?” The midwives responded unto Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrews are not as women of the Egyptians. For they are alive there! Before the midwife will come unto them, and they childed!”

Questions

1. Why did the king ask, “Why did ye this speech, and have caused-the-children-to-live?” Didn’t he know the answer? He knew the answer. He wanted to put fear into them. He was very angry, and he wanted them to know that he was very angry.

2. What does “Because the Hebrews [fem.] are not as women of the Egyptians. For they are alive there!” mean, and who are they in, “For they are alive there”? The Hebrew women are much tougher than the Egyptian women. They refer to the boy babies. They are alive there, indicating that the tough Israeli women already have living baby boys that they birthed without the midwives being present.

3. The midwives said, “Before the midwife will come unto them, and they childed!” Is this the truth? No! The midwives lied to the king. Midwives won’t be late for births if they can help it. What they said was a lie.

4. If what the midwives said was a lie, was that sin? No! It was an act of righteousness! (See how Elohim responds to see whether it is sin or not.) They lied to save the lives of innocent ones from the hands of guilty ones. That is always right to do before Yehovah!

5. At some time, you will probably hear a discussion like this: “When does life begin? Does it begin at conception, or at birth?” If you do, what is the right answer? The right answer is this: life does not begin at conception, and it does not begin at birth. It begins at Adam. The sperm and the egg that form the human embryo (the little baby immediately after fertilization) were already alive! Human life began with Adam, and that is the only right answer.

Yehovah places the soul (including the personality) of the little one after conception—after the egg and sperm connect to begin to form the human embryo, the littlest stage of the baby. Life is already there, however.

VIII. Yehovah’s Response (verses 20-21)

Elohim did good to the midwives. The people of Israel multiplied. They continued to grow even stronger. What happened next was because the midwives feared the Gods: Yehovah made houses to them!

Questions

1. In what ways did Elohim do good to the midwives? The text only mentions one way: He made houses to them. He did other things for them besides this. He made certain that the midwives were able to continue being midwives, and He provided for them so that they prospered. The king could have had them arrested and tortured or killed. Instead, the midwives did very well, and the people of Israel multiplied.

2. Did Yehovah want the Israelis to multiply in Egypt? Yes! That is why He sent them there!

3. Why did the Israelis become so strong (“they strengthened very much!”)? The very hard work built their muscles and their minds! Instead of hurting them, it did them much good!

4. What does “And he was” mean? This means that the event about to be described took place: the event was.

5. Why does the text again mention, “the midwives feared the Gods”? If something is mentioned twice in the Bible, it is very important! These women continued to fear the Elohim, and they continued to only do right. Israel prospered into a great race because of them!

6. What does “He made houses to them” mean? I can only take this in two different ways:

Yehovah built them houses in which to live; they came and found those pre-built houses waiting for them to occupy them.
Yehovah gave these woman households with many children of their own so that these women became mothers, grandmothers, great grandmothers, etc. with many offspring.

I don’t assume that Yehovah pre-built physical houses for them in which to live; I am certain that he gave these women many offspring who were a great delight to these women who risked their lives for Yehovah’s people Israel!

March 25, 2010June 12, 2017

Exodus 1:1 The Midwives

The Midwives

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 1:1-21

⁶And He-Will-Gather [Joseph] died, and all his brethren, and all that generation.

⁷And the children of Israel were fruitful. And they swarmed. And they multiplied. And they became very very strong! And the land filled them!

¹⁷And the midwives feared the Gods. And they did not, just as the king of Egypt spoke unto them. And they caused-the-children-to-live.

²⁰And Elohim good-did to the midwives. And the people multiplied. And they strengthened very-much! ²¹And he was. For the midwives feared the Gods. And He made houses to them.

I. The Scene (verses 1-5)

The text starts with an overview of the children of Israel who arrived in Egypt. A list is given of the sons.

A total of seventy folks who came out of Jacob’s thigh came to Egypt. Joseph was already there.

Questions

1. How many of Jacob’s children went to Egypt?

2. Verse 5 states that these all came out of Jacob’s thigh. What does coming out of his thigh mean, and why did the Bible give this piece of information?

II. The Change of Scene (verse 6)

Verse 6 is a short scene change. Joseph died, along with all that generation.

Questions

1. What is so important about telling readers that Joseph and all his brethren died?

2. The text states that Joseph and all his brethren died, “and all that generation.” Why did Yehovah need to mention that all that generation died? Wasn’t that obvious?

III. The Multiplication (verse 7)

Questions

1. What does being fruitful really mean in the Bible?

2. What does “they swarmed” mean?

3. What does “they multiplied” mean?

4. What is significant about their becoming very very strong?

5. The text states, “And the land filled them!” What does this mean?

IV. New King; New Fear (verses 8-11)

The new king was the new Pharaoh over Egypt. He didn’t know Joseph.

Questions

1. What is important about there being a new king (pharaoh) who didn’t know Joseph?

2. Why did this new king talk to his people about the Israelis?

3. What did the king and the Egyptians fear that the Israelis might do using their numbers and strength?

4. Was the fear of the Egyptians regarding the Israelis in war a reasonable fear?

5. The pharaoh said, “Come-on! We shall wisely-deal to him lest he will multiply.” Wasn’t the people of Israel already multiplying?

6. What was the official Egyptian answer to controlling the population growth and the strengthening of the Israelis?

V. Building Projects (verses 11-14)

Israel built two cities that held warehouses for Egypt: Pithom and Raamses.

Questions

1. Who is he in, “And he built cities of warehouses to Pharaoh: Pithom and Raamses”?

2. The text states, “And whenever they will humiliate him, established, he will multiply.” Why did Israel multiply under humiliation?

3. Why did Israel spread under humiliation?

4. Who is they in, “And they were cut-off from the faces of the children of Israel,” and what was occurring?

5. What was the response to this fear of the Egyptians?

6. What does embittered mean?

7. What is mortar?

8. How are bricks made?

9. Who made these bricks?

10. What did the Israelis have to do that was included in “every slavery in the field”?

11. What does via crushing mean?

VI. Abortion (verses 15-17)

The midwives feared the Gods—Elohim—the Gods of Avraham, Isaac and Jacob. They did exactly what the king of Egypt didn’t speak unto them to do! They made certain that the children lived.

Questions

1. Why do you suppose that one girl baby had been named Pretty and another Groan at this time?

2. Why did the king call just two women of the midwives?

3. What are the stones in, “ye shall see upon the stones”?

4. The king said, “If he is a son, and ye shall kill him!” What was he commanding the midwives to do?

5. Is abortion wrong? Is abortion murder? Explain well.

6. Why does the text state, “and if he is a daughter…”?

7. Why did the king desire for them to keep the girl babies alive?

8. Verse 17 states, “And the midwives feared the Gods.” What does this mean, and what did they do that showed this?

9. What does “And they did not, just as the king of Egypt spoke unto them” mean?

10. How did they cause the children to live?

VII. The Excuse (verses 18-19)

Questions

1. Why did the king ask, “Why did ye this speech, and have caused-the-children-to-live?” Didn’t he know the answer?

2. What does “Because the Hebrews [fem.] are not as women of the Egyptians. For they are alive there!” mean, and who are they in, “For they are alive there”?

3. The midwives said, “Before the midwife will come unto them, and they childed!” Is this the truth?

4. If what the midwives said was a lie, was that sin?

5. At some time, you will probably hear a discussion like this: “When does life begin? Does it begin at conception, or at birth?” If you do, what is the right answer?

VIII. Yehovah’s Response (verses 20-21)

Elohim did good to the midwives. The people of Israel multiplied. They continued to grow even stronger. What happened next was because the midwives feared the Gods: Yehovah made houses to them!

Questions

1. In what ways did Elohim do good to the midwives?

2. Did Yehovah want the Israelis to multiply in Egypt?

3. Why did the Israelis become so strong (“they strengthened very much!”)?

4. What does “And he was” mean?

5. Why does the text again mention, “the midwives feared the Gods”?

6. What does “He made houses to them” 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?