The 10 plagues of Egypt constitute one of the strangest collections of miracles in the Bible: water turned to blood, legions of frogs, dust turned to lice, boils—nowhere else in the Hebrew Bible do we see such a peculiar display of divine judgment. Have you ever wondered why?
In Exodus 12:12, God says, “[A]gainst all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord.” Numbers 33:4 states, “[U]pon their gods also the Lord executed judgments.” With as many as 2,000 different deities, Egypt had arguably the most eclectic mix of gods and goddesses in the ancient world. Each of the plagues would have represented a serious affront to these gods and their powers.
The following is a list of the biblical plagues, identifying exemplar Egyptian deities symbolized in and rendered powerless by each. (This list is by no means comprehensive. For more detail on this subject, see ‘Against All the Gods of Egypt’.)
