Reference: Plague
American
See PESTILENCE.
Easton
a "stroke" of affliction, or disease. Sent as a divine chastisement (Nu 11:33; 14:37; 16:46-49; 2Sa 24:21). Painful afflictions or diseases, (Le 13:3,5,30; 1Ki 8:37), or severe calamity (Mr 5:29; Lu 7:21), or the judgment of God, so called (Ex 9:14). Plagues of Egypt were ten in number.
(1.) The river Nile was turned into blood, and the fish died, and the river stank, so that the Egyptians loathed to drink of the river (Ex 7:14-25).
(2.) The plague of frogs (Ex 8:1-15).
(3.) The plague of lice (Heb kinnim, properly gnats or mosquitoes; comp. Ps 78:45; 105:31), "out of the dust of the land" (Ex 8:16-19).
(4.) The plague of flies (Heb arob, rendered by the LXX. dog-fly), Ex 8:21-24.
(5.) The murrain (Ex 9:1-7), or epidemic pestilence which carried off vast numbers of cattle in the field. Warning was given of its coming.
(6.) The sixth plague, of "boils and blains," like the third, was sent without warning (Ex 9:8-12). It is called (De 28:27) "the botch of Egypt," A.V.; but in R.V., "the boil of Egypt." "The magicians could not stand before Moses" because of it.
(7.) The plague of hail, with fire and thunder (Ex 9:13-33). Warning was given of its coming. (Comp. Ps 18:13; 105:32-33).
(8.) The plague of locusts, which covered the whole face of the earth, so that the land was darkened with them (Ex 10:12-15). The Hebrew name of this insect, arbeh, points to the "multitudinous" character of this visitation. Warning was given before this plague came.
(9.) After a short interval the plague of darkness succeeded that of the locusts; and it came without any special warning (Ex 10:21-29). The darkness covered "all the land of Egypt" to such an extent that "they saw not one another." It did not, however, extend to the land of Goshen.
(10.) The last and most fearful of these plagues was the death of the first-born of man and of beast (Ex 11:4-5; 12:29-30). The exact time of the visitation was announced, "about midnight", which would add to the horror of the infliction. Its extent also is specified, from the first-born of the king to the first-born of the humblest slave, and all the first-born of beasts. But from this plague the Hebrews were completely exempted. The Lord "put a difference" between them and the Egyptians. (See Passover.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
Then the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is become grievous, for he refuses to let the people go. Go unto Pharaoh in the morning; behold, he goes out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink before him and take in thy hand the rod which was turned to a serpent read more. and say unto him, The LORD, the God of the Hebrews has sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and, behold, until now thou hast not desired to hear. Thus hath the LORD said, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD; behold, I will smite with the rod that is in my hand the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water of the river. And the LORD spoke unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their streams, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and lifting up the rod, he smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his slaves; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that were in the river died; and the river became corrupted, so that the Egyptians could not drink the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did the same with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart hardened itself, and he did not hearken unto them, as the LORD had said. And Pharaoh turned and returned to his house, and even with all this he did not take this to heart. And in all Egypt they dug wells round about the river for water to drink, for they could not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled after the LORD had smitten the river.
Then the LORD spoke unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh and say unto him, The LORD hath said thus, Let my people go that they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold, I will smite all thy borders with frogs: read more. And the river shall bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come into thy house and into thy bedchamber and upon thy bed and into the houses of thy slaves and upon thy people and into thine ovens and into thy kneadingtroughs; and the frogs shall come up upon thee and upon thy people and upon all thy slaves. And the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch forth thine hand with thy rod over the rivers, over the streams, and over the ponds and cause frogs to come up upon the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt; and frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did the same with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and said unto them, Intreat the LORD that he may take away the frogs from me and from my people, and I will let the people go that they may sacrifice unto the LORD. And Moses said unto Pharaoh, Tell me: when shall I intreat for thee and for thy slaves and for thy people, to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses, that they may remain only in the river? And he said, Tomorrow. And Moses replied, Be it according to thy word, that thou may know that there is none like unto the LORD our God. And the frogs shall depart from thee and from thy houses and from thy slaves and from thy people; they shall remain only in the river. Then Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh; and Moses cried unto the LORD because of the frogs which he had brought against Pharaoh. And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and the frogs of the houses, of the villages, and of the fields died. And they gathered them together in heaps; and the land was corrupted. But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart and did not hearken unto them as the LORD had said. Then the LORD said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch out thy rod and smite the dust of the land, that it may become lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And they did so; for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man and in beast; all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did the same with their enchantments to bring forth lice, but they could not. And there were lice upon man and upon beast. Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God. But Pharaoh's heart hardened, and he did not hearken unto them as the LORD had said.
For if thou wilt not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies upon thee and upon thy slaves and upon thy people and into thy houses; and the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of all kinds of flies and also the ground upon which they are. And I will separate in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no kind of flies shall be there to the end that thou may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth. read more. And I will put redemption between my people and thy people. Tomorrow shall this sign be. And the LORD did so: that there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his slaves' houses and into all the land of Egypt; and the land was corrupted by reason of the swarm of flies.
Then the LORD said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh and tell him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go that they may serve me. For if thou refuse to let them go and wilt hold them still, read more. behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy livestock which are in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the cows, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous pestilence. And the LORD shall separate between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt so that nothing shall die of all that is of the sons of Israel. And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land. And the next day the LORD did that thing, and of all the livestock of Egypt many died, but of the livestock of the sons of Israel not one died. Then Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the livestock of the sons of Israel dead. But the heart of Pharaoh hardened, and he did not let the people go. And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Let each of you take handfuls of soot from the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward heaven in the sight of Pharaoh. And it shall become dust upon all the land of Egypt, which shall cause boils breaking forth with blisters upon man and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt. And they took the soot of the furnace and stood before Pharaoh; and Moses sprinkled it up toward heaven; and boils breaking forth with blisters came upon man and upon beast until the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were upon the magicians, and upon all the Egyptians. And the LORD hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he did hearken unto them as the LORD had spoken unto Moses. Then the LORD said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of the Hebrews, Let my people go that they may serve me. For otherwise this time I will send all my plagues upon thine heart and upon thy slaves and upon thy people that thou may know that there is none like me in all the earth.
For otherwise this time I will send all my plagues upon thine heart and upon thy slaves and upon thy people that thou may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For now I will stretch out my hand that I may smite thee and thy people with pestilence, and thou shalt be cut off from the earth. read more. For in truth I have placed thee to declare my power in thee, and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth. Thou even so dost exalt thyself against my people that thou wilt not let them go. Behold, tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now. Send therefore now and gather thy livestock and all that thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. He that feared the word of the LORD among the slaves of Pharaoh made his slaves and his livestock flee into the houses; and he that did not regard the word of the LORD left his slaves and his livestock in the field. And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand toward heaven that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon the men and upon the beasts and upon all the grass of the field throughout the land of Egypt. And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven, and the LORD raised his voice and it hailed, and the fire ran along upon the ground; and the LORD rained hail upon the land of Egypt. So there was hail and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became inhabited. And that hail smote throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both men and beasts; and the hail smote all the grass of the field and broke all the trees of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the sons of Israel were, was there no hail. Then Pharaoh sent and called for Moses and Aaron and said unto them, I have sinned this time; the LORD is righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Intreat the LORD that the thunderings of God and the hail might cease; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay here no longer. And Moses replied unto him, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will extend my hands unto the LORD; and the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail; that thou may know how that the earth is the LORD's. But I know thee and thy slaves from before ye began to fear the presence of the LORD God. The flax, therefore, and the barley were smitten, for the barley was headed out, and the flax was in stalk. But the wheat and the rye were not smitten; for they were late. And Moses went out from the presence of Pharaoh and out of the city and extended his hands unto the LORD; and the thunders and hail ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
Then the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand over the land of Egypt to bring the locusts, that they may come up upon the land of Egypt and eat all the grass of the land and all that the hail has left. And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of Egypt, and the LORD brought an east wind upon the land all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning, the east wind brought the locusts. read more. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt and landed in all the borders of Egypt. Very grievous were they; before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall there be such. For they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land was darkened; and they ate all the grass of the land and all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left; and there did not remain any green thing in the trees or in the grass of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt. And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven, and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days. read more. They did not see one another, neither did any rise from his place for three days; but all the sons of Israel had light in their dwellings. Then Pharaoh called unto Moses and said, Go, serve the LORD; only let your sheep and your cows remain; let your little ones also go with you. And Moses replied, Thou also must give us sacrifices and burnt offerings that we may sacrifice unto the LORD our God. Our cattle shall also go with us; not a hoof shall be left behind; for we must take thereof to serve the LORD our God; and we do not know with what we must serve the LORD until we arrive there. But the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he would not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Go from me, take heed to thyself to see my face no more; for in the day that thou seest my face thou shalt die. And Moses replied, Thou hast spoken well, I will not see thy face again.
And Moses said, The LORD hath said thus, About midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, and all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sits upon his throne even unto the firstborn of the maidservant that is behind the mill and all the firstborn of beasts.
And it came to pass, that at midnight the LORD smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the animals. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his slaves and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead.
and the priest shall look on the plague in the skin of the flesh, and if the hair in the plague is turned white and the plague looks deeper than the skin of his flesh, it is a plague of leprosy; and the priest shall recognize him and pronounce him unclean.
and the priest shall look on him the seventh day and see if the plague in his sight is stayed and the plague is not spread in the skin, then the priest shall shut him up seven days the second time.
then the priest shall see the plague; and if it looks deeper than the skin and the hair in it is yellowish and thin, then the priest shall pronounce him unclean; it is a dry scall, leprosy of the head or beard.
And while the flesh was yet between their teeth, before it was chewed, the wrath of the LORD was kindled against the people, and the LORD smote the people with a very great plague.
even those men that brought an evil report of the land, died by the plague before the LORD.
And Moses said unto Aaron, Take the censer and put fire in it from off the altar and put incense upon it and go quickly unto the congregation and reconcile them; for the wrath has gone out from before the face of the LORD; the plague is begun. Then Aaron took his censer as Moses said and ran into the midst of the congregation; and, behold, the plague was begun among the people; and he put on incense and reconciled the people. read more. And he stood between the dead and the living; and the plague was stayed. Now those that died in that plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those that died concerning the matter of Korah.
The LORD will smite thee with the boil of Egypt and with the hemorrhoids and with the scab and with the itch, of which thou canst not be healed.
The LORD thundered in the heavens, and the Highest gave his voice; hail stones and coals of fire.
He sent swarms of flies among them, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.
He spoke, and swarms of flies and lice came within all their borders. He turned their rain into hail, into flaming fire in their land. read more. He smote their vines also and their fig trees and broke the trees within their borders.
And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities and plagues and of evil spirits, and unto many that were blind he gave sight.
Fausets
deber, "destruction." Any sudden, severe, and dangerous disease. Maweth," death," i.e. deadly disease; so "the black death" of the middle ages. Nega', "a stroke" from God, as leprosy (Leviticus 13). Mageephah, qeteb, "pestilence" (Ps 91:6), "that walketh in darkness," i.e. mysterious, sudden, severe, especially in the night, in the absence of the light and heat of the sun. Rosheph, "flame," i.e. burning fever; compare Hab 3:5 margin (See EGYPT and EXODUS on the ten plagues.)
A close connection exists between the ordinary physical visitations of Egypt and those whereby Pharaoh was constrained to let Israel go. It attests the sacred author's accurate acquaintance with the phenomena of the land which was the scene of his history. "The supernatural presents in Scripture generally no violent opposition to the natural, but rather unites in a friendly alliance with it" (Hengstenberg). A special reason why in this case the natural background of the miracles should appear was in order to show that Jehovah was God of Egypt as much as of Israel, and rules "in the midst of the earth" (Ex 8:22)
By exhibiting Jehovah through Moses at will bringing on with unusual intensity, and withdrawing in answer to intercession at once and completely, the well known Egyptian periodical scourges which their superstition attributed to false gods, Jehovah was proved more effectively to be supreme than He could have been by inflicting some new and strange visitation. The plagues were upon Egypt's idols, the Nile water, the air, the frog, the cow, the beetle, etc., as Jehovah saith (Ex 12:12), "against all the gods of Egypt will I execute judgment" (Ex 18:11; 15:11; Nu 33:4). Ten is significant of completeness, the full flood of God's wrath upon the God-opposed world power. The magicians initiate no plague; in producing the same plague by their enchantments (which seem real, as demoniacal powers have exerted themselves in each crisis of the kingdom of God) as Moses by God's word, they only increase the visitation upon themselves. The plagues as they progress prove:
(1) Jehovah's infinite power over Egypt's deified powers of nature. The first stroke affects the very source of the nation's life, the Nile; then the soil (the dust producing the plague); then the irrigating canals breeding flies.
(2) The difference marked between Israel and Egypt; the cattle, the crops, the furnaces (wherein Israel was worn with bondage) represent all the industrial resources of the nation. The stroke on the firstborn was the crowning one, altogether supernatural, whereas the others were intensifications of existing scourges. The firstborn, usually selected for worship, is now the object of the stroke. The difference marked all along from the third plague was most marked in that on the firstborn (Ex 11:7). The plague was national, the firstborn representing Egypt: Isa 43:3, "I gave Egypt for thy ransom."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And I will separate in that day the land of Goshen, in which my people dwell, that no kind of flies shall be there to the end that thou may know that I am the LORD in the midst of the earth.
But among all the sons of Israel, from man to beast, not a dog shall move his tongue, that ye may know that the LORD shall make a difference between the Egyptians and the Israelites.
For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both among man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like thee, magnificent in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Now I know that the LORD is greater than all gods; for in the thing in which they dealt proudly he prevailed against them.
For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them, the LORD having also executed judgments upon their gods.
nor for the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor for the destruction that wastes at noonday.
For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Keeper; I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Before his face went mortality, and burning coals went forth from his feet.