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Egyptian Art

Exodus

What was the purpose of the ten plagues? Have you ever wondered why the first nine were performed? Why didn't God just do the last one first?

The answer may be the pantheon of Egyptian gods. By subjecting the Egyptians to the various plagues, God was demonstrating His power over the other gods. This was not like Elijah taking on the prophets of Baal. The Egyptians were polytheistic. God had to demonstrate He was more powerful than any of their gods.

  • Staff becoming a snake.
    Defeated gods: Naunet, Amaunet, Hauhet, Kauket, Thoth, Wadjet

  1. All of the water turned to blood, right from water already in buckets and jars, to ponds, canals, streams, even the Nile River. Then all of the fish of the river died, causing a terrible stench. (Exodus 7:14-24)
    Defeated gods: Hapi, Naunet, Nun, Sobek

  2. Frogs miraculously multiplied in number, so many that the land was infested with the normally aquatic creatures. Even people's houses had them inside. (Exodus 8:1-15)
    Defeated gods: Heqet, Tefnut

  3. Vast swarms of gnats (mosquitoes) tormented people and animals. (Exodus 8:16-19)
    Defeated gods: Amon, Shu

  4. Vast swarms of flies through the land, spreading disease. (Exodus 8:20-32)
    Defeated gods: Imhotep, Shu

  5. Disease on the livestock, horses, donkeys, camels, cattle, sheep and goats, but those of the Israelites were unharmed. (Exodus 9:1-7)
    Defeated gods: Apis, Hathor, Isis, Imhotep, Nut, Seth

  6. Festering boils on people and animals through the land. (Exodus 9:8-12)
    Defeated gods: Imhotep, Sekhmet

  7. Powerful hail storms that destroyed the standing crops. The hail stones were so big that any people or animals caught outside in the storm were killed. (Exodus 9:13-35)
    Defeated gods: Amon, Aton , Isis, Shu

  8. Locusts in such great numbers that the ground was covered with them. They devoured everything that survived the hail storm. (Exodus 10:1-20)
    Defeated gods: Amon, Hathor, Isis

  9. Darkness over the entire land for three days, but the Israelites had light in Goshen. (Exodus 10:21-29)
    Defeated gods: Apis, Horus, Kauket, Nut, Seker

  10. Death of the firstborn. (Exodus 11:1-10, 12:1-42)
    Defeated gods: Anubis, Bes, Hathor, Heqet, Min, Nephthys, Osiris, Taweret

This is a total of 30 Egyptian gods and goddesses. With these plagues, the majority of their gods were defeated. The exceptions were the minor deities who were specific in power, like goddess of a certain star, or god of the jackals.

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