The Seventh Plague, 1823 painting by the British artist John Martin.
Part of the story of Pesach (Passover) is the Ten Plagues sent by G-d to convince the Pharoh to let the Jews leave slavery in Egypt.
The plagues were:
- Blood: All water in Egypt turned into blood. The only water around was from the Jews
- Frogs: There are 2 opinions on how the frogs came, but one thing is for sure. The frogs got everywhere, but left the Jews alone.
- Lice: A large infestation of lice infected all Egyptians. All the Jews were unharmed. Pharaoh was not warned of this plague.
- Wild Beasts: Large numbers of beasts (Lions, tigers, bears, ETC) roamed Egypt, looking for prey. Jews were unharmed by the animals.
- Animal Plague: The animals (Domesticated and non) were infected with an unknown disease and killed all beats and farm animals. No humans were directly harmed.
- Boils: Boils started appearing on the Egyptians. Jews were not effected. Pharaoh was not warned of this plague.
- Ice and fire hail: Balls of ice with fire inside them rained down on the Egyptians. The ice would explode on impact. This instance was contridictory to nature, but G-d did it anyways.
- Locusts: Locusts swarmed over all Egypt, reducing it to a wasteland.
- Darkness: The first 3 days, a fog went over Egypt. After, for 3 days the Egyptians couldn't move because the fog was so dense. The Jews could see in a small bubble around them. Pharaoh was not warned of this plague.
- Death of the Firstborn
So, were the plagues justified? If G-d hardened the Pharoh's heart, was it fair to punish him and his people, especially the innocents? Did the Pharoh still have free will?
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