Ten Makot, Makot Ten

The Mitzrim Were Punished Again and Again

What do the Plagues Undermine in Egyptian Society?

The Power of Magic in Egyptian Life

Photo credit: http://www.cartoondollemporium.com/jafar-king.jpg. Copyright 2007, CartoonDollEmporium.com.

Word and Magic

Egypt was the land of magic:

The Egyptians greatly valued magic and believed in the power of incantations – spoken words that have magical effects.

Photo credit: http://www.brooklynmuseum.org/images/sized/Magic_m.jpg.

Uses of Magic

• The Egyptians used magic to heal, to protect, to curse and to ensure the dead’s passage to the afterlife.

• The priests were the societal group to perform magical acts.

The dwarf god, Bes.Egyptians thought he protected women during childbirth.

Photo credit: http://www.crystalinks.com/bes3.jpg.

FORGET LASEK: WE’VE GOT TORTOISE BRAIN!

Cure for cataracts:Mix brain-of-tortoise with honey. Place on the eye and say:

There is a shouting from the sky darkness. There is an uproar in thenorthern sky. The Hall of Pillars fallsinto the waters. The crew of the sungod bent their oars so that the headsat his side fall into the water. Who leads hither what he finds? I lead forthwhat I find. I lead forth your heads. I lift up your necks. I fasten what has been cut from you in its place. I lead you forthto drive away the god of Fevers and allpossible deadly arts.

From Brier, Bob. Ancient Egyptian Magic. Quill Press: New York, 1981.

God Has a Plan:• לא Fלך:  ו Jה Lים, ל Lר Fצ Rך מ Tל Tם מ Tכ Fת Tן א Xי לא-ית Rי--כ Rת Fע Lי יד Rנ Jא Lו

זקה Jיד ח Fב• ר Tש Jי א Lתeא Fל Fפ Rל נeכ Fים ב Lר Fצ Rת-מ Tי א Rית Xכ Rה Fי ו Rת-יד Tי א Rת Fח Lשל Fו

ם Tכ Fת Tח א Lל Lש Fן, י Xי-כ Xר Jאח Fבו; ו Fר Rק Fה ב Tש lע Tא

Yet I know that the king of Egypt will let you go only because of a greater might.

So I will stretch out my hand and smite Egypt with various wonders which I will work upon them; after that he shall let you go.

Exodus 3:19-20

Moshe is not convinced . . .

אה Fר Rרו, לא-נ Fאמeי י Rי:  כ Rלeק Fעו ב Fמ Fלא יש Fי, ו Rינו ל Rמ Jא Lן לא-י Xה Fר, ו Tאמeי Lה, ו Tשeן מ Lע Lי Lוהוה Fיך י Tל Xא

ה Tט Lר, מ Tאמeי Lך; ו Tיד Fה( ב Tה-ז Lהוה, מזה )מ Fליו י Xר א Tאמeי Lו

פניו Rה, מ Tשeינס מ Lנחש; ו Fי ל Rה Fי Lצה ו Fהו אר Xכ Rל Fש Lי Lצה, ו Fהו אר Xיכ Rל Fש Lר ה Tאמeי Lו

But Moshe spoke up and said, “What if they do not believe me and do not listen to me, but say: God did not appear to you?”

God said to him, “What is that in your hand?” And he replied, “A rod.”

He [God] said, “”Cast it on the ground.” He [Moshe] cast it on the ground and it became a snake; and Moshe recoiled from it.

Exodus 4:1-3

 

Moshe is still unsure:ם Lם, גeש Fל Rש Rם מ Lמול ג Fת Rם מ Lי ג Rכeים אנ Rבר Fיש ד Rני, לא אeד Jי א Rהוה, ב Fל-י Tה א Tשeר מ Tאמeי Lו

י Rכeד לשון אנ Lב Fה וכ Tד-פ Lב Fי כ Rך:  כ Tד Fב Lל-ע Tך א Fר Tב Lאז ד Xמ

ר-- Xו Rאו ע Lח Xק Rש או פ Xר Xם, או ח Xל Rי-ישום א Rה לאדם או מ Tי שם פ Rליו, מ Xהוה א Fר י Tאמeי Lוהוה Fי, י Rכeלא אנ Jה

ר Xב Lד Fר ת Tש Jיך א Rית Xהור Fיך, ו Rם-פ Rה ע Tי Fה Tי א Rכeאנ Fך; ו Xתה, ל Lע Fו

But Moshe said to God, “Please, God, I have never been a man of words, either in times past or now that You have spoken to Your servant; I am slow of speech and slow of tongue.”

And God said to him, “Who gives man speech? Who makes him dumb or deaf, seeing or blind? Is it not I, God?

Now go, and I will be with you as you speak and will instruct you what to say.”

Exodus 4:10-12   

Moshe understands his role, but still does not want it:

לח Fש Rד-ת Lי Fח-נא ב Lל Fני; שeד Jי א Rר ב Tאמeי Lו

But he [Moshe] said, “Please, God, make someone else your AGENT.”

Exodus 4:13

Uh-oh! You shouldn’t have said that!

ח Lל Lל, ש Xרא Fי יש Xלה lהוה, א Fר י Lה-אמeה:  כeע Fר Lל-פ Tרו, א Fאמeי Lן, וeר Jאה Fה ו Tשeר, באו מ Lאח Fובר Fד Rמ Lי ב Rגו לeיח Fי, ו Rמ Lת-ע Tא

הוה, Fת-י Tי א Rת Fע Lל:  לא יד Xרא Fת-יש Tח א Lל Lש Fלו, לeק Fע ב Lמ Fש Tר א Tש Jהוה א Fי י Rה--מeע Fר Lר פ Tאמeי LוLח Xל Lש Jל לא א Xרא Fת-יש Tם א Lג Fו

Afterward, Moshe and Aharon went and said to Pharaoh, “Thus says Hashem, the God of Israel: Let My people go that they may celebrate a festival for Me in the wilderness.”

But Pharaoh said, “Who is God that I should heed Him and let Israel go? I do not know God, nor will I let Israel go.”

Exodus 5:1-2

ם Lג Fהוה, ו Fת-י Tי א Rת Fע Lלא ידLח Xל Lש Jל לא א Xרא Fת-יש Tא

How would you like to get to know God, Pharaoh? He’ll be happy to

get acquainted with you.

First Plague: Blood in the Nile

The Nile

Just a reminder that life in Egypt would have been impossible without the Nile.

Where are all the cities situated?

Photo credit: http://www.mideastweb.org/egypt_ancient_map.gif

Hapy: God of the Nile• Hail to thee, O Nile! Who

manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness, on this day whereon it is celebrated! Watering the orchards created by Re, to cause all the cattle to live, you give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Path that descends from the sky, loving the bread of Seb and the first-fruits of Nepera, You cause the workshops of Ptah to prosper!

Hymn to the Nile, ca. 2100 BCESunk relief of Hapy, god of the Nile

Photo credit: http://maelstrom.itgo.com/images/sunk_relief_of_the_god_hapy.gif.

Osiris was the major god associated with the Nile

• Osiris is shown with green skin probably to suggest his role as a fertility god

• Osiris was considered the backbone of Egypt

• If he was the backbone, as was the Nile, to hit the Nile was to paralyze Egypt!

• י    Rכeה אנ Xנ Rהוה:  ה Fי י Rנ Jי א Rע, כ Lד Xאת תeז Fהוה, ב Fר י Lה, אמeכדם Fכו ל Fפ Tה Tנ Fר-וeא Fי Lר ב Tש Jים א Lמ Lל-ה Lי ע Rיד Fר-ב Tש Jה א Tט Lמ Lה ב Tכ Lמ

• ים    Lר Fצ Rאו מ Fל Rנ Fר; וeא Fי Lש ה Lר תמות ובאeא Fי Lר-ב Tש Jדגה א Lה Fואeר Fי Lן-ה Rים מ Lתות מ Fש Rל

• Thus says the Lord, “By this you )the pharaoh( shall know that I am the Lord.” See, I shall strike the water in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood;

• and the fish in the Nile will die. The Nile will stink so that the Egyptians will find it impossible to drink in the Nile.

Exodus 7:17-18

Second Plague: Frogs

ך Fכב Fש Rר מ Lד Jח Lך, וב Tית Xב Fעלו ובאו ב Fים, ו Rע Fד Fר Lפ Fר, צeא Fי Lץ ה Lשר Fויך Tרות Jא Fש Rמ Fיך וב Tנור Lת Fך, וב Tמ Lע Fיך וב Tבד Jית ע Xב Fך; וב Tטת Rל-מ Lע Fו

The Nile shall swarm with frogs, and they shall come up and enter your palace, your bedchamber and your bed, the houses of your courtiers and your people, and your ovens and your kneading bowls.

Exodus 7:28

The Frog Goddess, Heqet, was Another Fertility Goddess

• She was associated with the moon – as often goddesses in the ancient world were

• The moon was said to control the ebb and flow of the water and therefore the one who was associated with the moon was a fertility goddess

• She is one of the eight gods/goddesses associated with creation and is the consort of Khnum, the ram-headed god who molds beings out of clay

• Heqet’s job was to bring the clay mounds to life

Heqet as Fertility Goddess

• Heqet was one of the goddesses associated with pregnancy and childbirth.

• Taweret, the hippopotamus goddess, was the main protector of pregnant women and their newborn children.

• But Bes, the dancing dwarf, we saw was also associated with a safe labor and the protection of newborn children.

Photo credit:

www.egyptianmuseum.org

Heqet was the patron goddess of MIDWIVES!

So what did Heqet do?

Plague the Third: Vermin

נם, Rכ Lי ה Rה Fת Lץ, ו Tר האר Lפ Jת-ע Tך א Lי Lהו ו Xט Lמ Fת-ידו ב Tן אeר Jט אה Xי Lורים Fצ Rץ מ Tר Tכל-א Fים, ב Rנ Rץ היה כ Tר האר Lפ Jמה:  כל-ע Xה Fב Lבאדם וב

Aharon held out his arm with the rod and struck the dust of the earth, and vermin came upon man and beast; all the dust of the earth turned to lice throughout the land of Egypt.

Exodus 8:13

“A man says this speech [for the Judgment of the Dead] when he is pure, clean, dressed in fresh clothes, shod in white sandals, painted with eye-paint, anointed with the

finest oil of myrrh.”

Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead

M. Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature, Vol.2, p.131

Ancient Egyptian toilet box

Herodotus, the famous Greek historian, said of the Egyptians:

“They are very careful to wear newly-washed linen all the time. They circumcise their children for the sake of cleanliness; they would rather be clean than better looking.”

Barber shaving the head of a soldierTomb of Userhat, 18th dynasty

ת  ל Tהוא, א Lיום ה Lהוה ב Fע י Lיוש Lא -ו Fר Lי Lרים; ו Fצ Rד מ Lי Rל--מ Xרא Fישל Lת ע Xים, מ Lר Fצ Rת-מ Tל א Xרא Fים.-יש Lת ה Lפ Fש

ר  לא Tש Jלה, אeד Fג Lיד ה Lת-ה Tל א Xרא Fא יש Fר Lי Lו

יהוה, Lינו, ב Rמ Jא Lי Lהוה; ו Fת-י Tאו העם, א Fיר Rי Lים, ו Lר Fצ Rמ Fהוה ב Fעשה י דו.  Fב Lה, ע Tשeמ Fוב

30 Thus the LORD saved Israel that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw the Egyptians dead

upon the sea-shore.

31 And Israel saw the great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians, and the people feared the LORD;

and they believed in the LORD, and in His servant Moses.

HOW’D WE GET OUT?