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
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart [is] {insensitive}; he refuses to release the people. Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must wait to meet him on the bank of the Nile, and you must take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. read more. And you must say to him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Release my people that they may serve me in the desert, and, look, you have not listened until now." Thus says Yahweh, "By this you will know that I [am] Yahweh. Look, I [am about to] strike with the staff that is in my hand the water that is in the Nile, and it will be changed to blood. And the fish that [are] in the Nile will die, and the Nile will stink, and [the] Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile." '" And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch your hand out over the waters of Egypt and over their rivers, over their canals, and over their pools and over all of their reservoirs of water, so that they become blood,' and blood will be in all the land of Egypt and in [vessels of] wood and of stone." And Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh had commanded, and he raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile before the eyes of Pharaoh and before the eyes of his servants, and all of the water that was in the Nile was changed to blood. And the fish that [were] in the Nile died, and the Nile stank, and [the] Egyptians were not able to drink water from the Nile, and the blood was in all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did likewise with their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. And Pharaoh turned and went to his house, and {he did not take also this to heart}. And all of [the] Egyptians dug around the Nile [for] water to drink, because they were unable to drink from the water of the Nile. And seven days passed after Yahweh struck the Nile.
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh, and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, "Release my people so that they may serve me." And if you [are] refusing to release, look, I [am going to] plague all of your territory with frogs. read more. And the Nile will swarm with frogs, and they will go up and come into your house and into your {bedroom} and onto your bed and into the house of your servants and among your people and into your ovens and into your kneading troughs. And the frogs will go up against you and against your people and against all of your servants.'" And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the pools, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt.'" And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, and the frogs went up and covered the land of Egypt. And the magicians did likewise with their secret arts, and they brought up frogs over the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, "Pray to Yahweh, and let him remove the frogs from me and from my people, and let me release the people so that they can sacrifice to Yahweh." And Moses said to Pharaoh, "{I leave to you the honor} over me. When shall I pray for you and for your servants and for your people to cut off the frogs from you and from your houses? They will be left only in the Nile." And he said, "Tomorrow." And he said, "[Let it be] according to your word so that you will know that there is no one like Yahweh our God. And the frogs will depart from you and from your house and from your servants. They will be left only in the Nile." And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh, and Moses cried out to Yahweh over the matter of the frogs that he had brought on Pharaoh. And Yahweh did according to the word of Moses, and the frogs died from the houses, from the courtyards, and from the fields. And they piled them [in] countless heaps, and the land stank. And Pharaoh saw that there was relief, and he made his heart {insensitive}, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the land, and it will become gnats in all the land of Egypt.'" And he did so, and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and he struck the dust of the land, and it became gnats on the humans and on the animals; all of the dust of the land became gnats in all the land of Egypt. And the magicians did so with their secret arts to bring out the gnats, but they were not able, and the gnats were on the humans and on the animals. And the magicians said to Pharaoh, "It is the finger of God." But the heart of Pharaoh was hard, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
But if you are not [about to] release my people, look, I [am about] to send out flies among you and among your servants and among your people and in your houses; and the houses of Egypt will fill up with the flies and also the ground that they are on. But on that day I will distinguish the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I [am] Yahweh in the midst of the land. read more. And I will put a distinction between my people and your people; this sign will be tomorrow.'" And Yahweh did so, and a {severe} [swarm of] flies came to the house of Pharaoh and the house of his servants and in all the land of Egypt; the land was ruined because of the flies.
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Go to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me." But if you [are] refusing to release and you still [are] keeping hold of them, read more. look, the hand of Yahweh [is] about to be [present with] a very {severe} plague on your livestock that are in the field, on the horses, on the donkeys, on the camels, on the cattle, and on the sheep and goats. But Yahweh will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, and not a thing will die from all [that belongs] to the {Israelites}.'" And Yahweh set an appointed time, saying, "Tomorrow Yahweh will do this thing in the land." And Yahweh did this thing the next day; all the livestock of Egypt died, but from the livestock of the {Israelites} not one died. And Pharaoh sent [to check], and {it turned out} not even one from the livestock of Israel had died, but Pharaoh's heart was {insensitive}, and he did not release the people. And Yahweh said to Moses and to Aaron, "Take for yourselves full handfuls of soot from a smelting furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. And it will become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and it will become on humans and on animals a skin sore sprouting blisters in all the land of Egypt." And they took the soot of the smelting furnace, and they stood before Pharaoh, and Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens, and it became skin sores sprouting blisters on humans and on animals. And the magicians were not able to stand before Moses because of the skin sores, for the skin sores were on the magicians and on all [the] Egyptians. And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken to Moses. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Start early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh. Look, [he is] going out to the water, and you must say to him, 'Thus says Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, "Release my people so that they may serve me. For at this time I [am] sending all of my plagues {to you personally} and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth.
For at this time I [am] sending all of my plagues {to you personally} and among your servants and among your people so that you will know that there is no one like me in all the earth. For now I could have stretched out my hand, and I could have struck you and your people with the plague, and you would have perished from the earth. read more. But for the sake of this I have caused you to stand--for the sake of showing you my strength and in order to proclaim my name in all the earth. Still you [are] behaving haughtily to my people by not releasing them. Look, about [this] time tomorrow, I [am] going to cause very severe hail to rain, the like of which has not been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. And now send [word]; bring into safety your livestock and all that [belongs] to you in the field. The hail will come down on every human and animal that is found in the field and not gathered into the house, and they will die." '" Anyone from the servants of Pharaoh who feared the word of Yahweh caused his servants and livestock to flee to the houses. But whoever did not {give regard to} the word of Yahweh abandoned his servants and his livestock in the field. And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand to the heavens, and let there be hail in all the land of Egypt, on human and on animal and on all the vegetation of the field in the land of Egypt." And Moses stretched out his staff to the heavens, and Yahweh gave thunder and hail, and fire went [to the] earth, and Yahweh caused hail to rain on the land of Egypt. And there was hail, and fire [was] flashing back and forth in the midst of the very severe hail, the like of which was not in all the land of Egypt since it had become a nation. And the hail struck in all the land of Egypt all that [was] in the field, from human to animal, and the hail struck all the vegetation of the field and smashed every tree of the field. Only in the land of Goshen, where the {Israelites} [were], there was no hail. And Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, "I have sinned this time. Yahweh [is] the righteous [one], and I and my people [are] the wicked [ones]. Pray to Yahweh. The thunder of God and hail {are enough}, and I will release you, and {you will no longer have to stay}." And Moses said to him, "At my leaving the city, I will spread out my hands to Yahweh. The thunder will stop, and the hail will be no more, so that you will know that the earth [belongs] to Yahweh. But [as for] you and your servants, I know that you do not yet fear the presence of Yahweh God." And the flax and the barley were struck, because the barley [was in the] ear and the flax [was in] bud. But the wheat and the spelt were not struck, because they [are] late-ripening. And Moses went from Pharaoh out of the city, and he spread his hands to Yahweh, and the thunder and the hail stopped, and rain did not pour [on the] earth.
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt with the locusts so that they may come up over the land of Egypt, and let them eat all the vegetation of the land, all that the hail left behind." And Moses stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, and Yahweh drove an east wind into the land all that day and all night. The morning came, and the east wind had brought the locusts. read more. And the locusts went up over all the land of Egypt, and they settled in all the territory of Egypt, very {severe}. Before it there were not locusts like them, nor will there be after it. And they covered the surface of all the land, and the land was dark [with them], and they ate all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left, and no green was left in the trees nor in the vegetation of the field in all the land of Egypt.
And Yahweh said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward the heavens so that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt and so that [a person can] feel darkness." And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens, and there was darkness of night in all the land of Egypt [for] three days. read more. No one could see his brother, and {because of it no one could move from where they were} [for] three days, but there was light for the {Israelites} in their dwellings. And Pharaoh called Moses and said, "Go, serve Yahweh. Only your sheep and goats and your cattle must be left behind. Your dependents may also go with you." And Moses said, "Even [if] you yourself put into our hand sacrifices and burnt offerings and we offer [them] to Yahweh our God, our livestock must also go with us. Not a hoof can be left because we must take from them to serve Yahweh our God. And we will not know [with] what we are to serve Yahweh until we come there." And Yahweh hardened Pharaoh's heart, and he was not willing to release them. And Pharaoh said to him, "Go from me. {Be careful} not to see my face again, because on the day of your seeing my face you will die." And Moses said, "{That is right}. {I will not again see your face}."
And Moses said, "Thus says Yahweh, 'About the middle of the night I [will] go out through the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt will die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the slave woman who [is] behind the pair of millstones and every firstborn animal.
{And} in the middle of the night, Yahweh struck all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh sitting on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who [was] in the prison house and every firstborn of an animal. And Pharaoh got up [at] night, he and all his servants and all Egypt, and a great cry of distress was in Egypt because there was not a house where there was no one dead.
And the priest shall examine the infection on his body's skin, and [if] [the] hair in the infection turns white and the appearance of the infection [is] deeper than his body's skin, it [is] an infectious skin disease, and the priest shall examine it, and he shall declare him unclean.
And the priest shall examine it on the seventh day, and {if}, in his eyes, the infection has stayed [unchanged], the infection has not spread on the skin, then the priest shall confine him [for] seven days second [time].
then the priest shall examine the infection, and {if} its appearance [is] deeper than the skin and in it [is] thin bright red hair, then the priest shall declare it unclean--it [is] a diseased area of skin; it [is] an infectious skin disease of the head or the beard.
While the meat [was] still between their teeth, before it was consumed, Yahweh was angry with the people, and Yahweh struck a very great plague among the people.
the men who spread the evil report of the land died by the plague {before Yahweh}.
And Moses and Aaron said, "Take the censer, and put fire on it from the altar. Place incense [on it], and bring it quickly to the community, and make atonement for them, because wrath went out from the presence of Yahweh, and a plague has begun." And so Aaron took [it] just as Moses had spoken, and he ran into the midst of the assembly, for behold, the plague had begun among the people; so he gave the incense and made atonement for the people. read more. He stood between the dead and between the living, and the plague was stopped. Those who died by the plague were fourteen thousand seven hundred, besides those who died on account of Korah.
"Yahweh shall afflict you with the boils of Egypt and with tumors and with the scurvy and with {the skin rash that cannot be healed}.
And Yahweh thundered from the heavens, and the Most High uttered his voice [with] hail and coals of fire.
He sent among them flies that devoured them and frogs that destroyed them.
He spoke, and there came flies [and] gnats throughout all their territory. He gave hail for their rains [and the] fire of lightning in their land. read more. And he struck their vines and fig trees, and shattered the trees of their territory.
And immediately her {hemorrhage stopped} and she realized in her body that she was healed of her suffering.
In that hour he healed many [people] of diseases and suffering and evil spirits, and he granted sight to many blind [people].
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
But on that day I will distinguish the land of Goshen, where my people are staying, by there not being flies there, so that you will know that I [am] Yahweh in the midst of the land.
But against all the {Israelites}, from a man to an animal, a dog will not [even] {bark}, so that you will know that Yahweh makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.'
"And I will go through the land of Egypt during this night, and I will strike all of the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from human to animal, and I will do punishments among all of the gods of Egypt. I [am] Yahweh.
Who is like you among the gods, Yahweh? Who is like you--glorious in holiness, awesome [in] praiseworthy actions, doing wonders?
Now I know that Yahweh is greater than all the gods, {even in the matter where they the Egyptians dealt arrogantly against the Israelites}."
while the Egyptians [were] burying all the firstborn among them whom Yahweh struck. Yahweh [also] executed punishments among their gods.
[or the] plague [that] spreads in the darkness, [or the] destruction [that] devastates at noon.
For I [am] Yahweh, your God, the holy one of Israel, your savior. I give you Egypt [as] ransom, Cush and Seba in place of you.