The 10 Plagues on Egypt’s Gods

Pesach, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, is celebrated in memory of the Exodus from Egypt and is one of the most important Jewish holidays. During the Exodus, God promised to judge all the gods of Egypt, and that the blood on the doorposts of the Jewish people would allow them to escape judgment.

The second plague caused frogs to rise from the Nile River, filling all of Egypt with frogs. Photo: GetArchive

Let my people go, so that they may worship me” was the message from the Lord that Moses delivered to Pharaoh when he was to free the children of Israel from slavery. When Pharaoh refused to release the people, the land was struck by 10 plagues, described in Exodus chapters 7–11. Even though Pharaoh appeared to regret his decision during the plagues, he refused to let the people go as soon as the suffering ceased.
The first plague turned the water of the Nile River into blood, killing the fish in the river. The river began to stink, and the Egyptians could not drink from it.
The second plague caused frogs to rise out of the Nile and cover the entire land of Egypt.
The third plague brought gnats from the dust of the earth, assailing both humans and animals in Egypt.
The fourth plague consisted of swarms of flies that harmed people and livestock — but only the Egyptians were affected, not the Hebrews.
The fifth plague struck Egyptian livestock with a plague so severe that all their animals died.
The sixth plague brought boils and sores that broke out on humans and animals throughout the land.

The seventh plague involved hail mixed with fire: “There was hail, and fire flashing back and forth among the hailstones… Only in the land of Goshen, where the children of Israel lived, was there no hail.”
The eighth plague brought locusts that consumed all the crops the hail had left behind.
The ninth plague caused a darkness to fall over Egypt — “a darkness that could be felt.” But in the places where the children of Israel lived, there was light everywhere.
The tenth plague caused the death of every firstborn in Egypt — from Pharaoh’s son to the firstborn of the servant woman and even the livestock. Before this plague came, Moses and Aaron gave instructions to their people regarding the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread: the Israelites were to slaughter a lamb, take some of its blood and apply it to both doorposts and the lintel of the houses where they would eat the Passover lamb. Then the angel of death would pass over their homes.

Turning the Nile into blood was a judgment on one of Egypt’s most important deities: Osiris, god of fertility, vegetation, and agriculture.
The plague of frogs targeted the most well-known frog deity, the goddess Heqet, who symbolized fertility, pregnancy, and childbirth.
The gnats from the dust of the earth were a plague that mocked Geb, Egypt’s primary earth god.
The fourth plague, flies, were used to decorate ritual items in ancient Egypt. Gods associated with flies included the goddesses Wadjet and Khepri.
The swarms that affected the livestock can be seen as a judgment against Hathor, the cow goddess, who was depicted as a woman, a cow, or a woman with a cow’s head. The goddess Isis later inherited Hathor’s symbols.

The sixth plague of boils was a direct affront to Egyptian gods such as Sekhmet (goddess of epidemics and cures), Thoth (god of medicinal cures), Isis (goddess of healing), and Nephthys (goddess of health).
Thunder, hail, and fire that destroyed everything and everyone not under a shelter challenged Nut, the sky goddess who was supposed to shield the land from disasters from the heights.
The plague of locusts struck at grain deities such as Neper, Nepri, Heneb, and Renenutet, as well as Isis and Set, two gods responsible for protecting the nation’s crops.
The ninth plague — darkness over all Egypt — was a direct blow to Ra, the sun god, who was revered above all others deities in Egypt and held authority over all other gods.
The tenth and final plague, where every firstborn in Egypt died, was a single devastating blow that struck everything and everyone at once. After this catastrophic final plague, the Israelites were ultimately set free.