Plagues, the Ten

The ten plagues of Egypt were successive divine judgments against Pharaoh and Egypt that culminated in the Exodus of Israel (Ex. 7-12). They escalated in severity: (1) water turned to blood; (2) frogs; (3) gnats/lice; (4) flies; (5) livestock disease; (6) boils; (7) hail; (8) locusts; (9) three days of darkness; (10) death of all Egyptian firstborns. The narrative presents them as a systematic confrontation with the gods of Egypt, with God explicitly declaring that through the plagues he will 'execute judgments against all the gods of Egypt' (Ex. 12:12) — each plague targeting an area under a specific deity's domain.

A series of notices about Pharaoh's hardening of heart — sometimes Pharaoh hardening his own heart (Ex. 8:15, 32) and sometimes God hardening it (Ex. 9:12; 10:1) — raises profound questions about divine sovereignty and human responsibility that Paul addresses directly in Romans 9:17-18. From the fourth plague onward, Israelites in Goshen were exempted, distinguishing God's people from Egypt. The tenth plague prompted the institution of the Passover sacrifice (Ex. 12:1-28) to protect Israelite firstborns and became the foundational annual memorial. Psalm 78 and 105 retell the plagues within the covenant history; Revelation's bowl judgments (Rev. 16) deliberately echo the plague sequence as the eschatological culmination of divine judgment on the enemies of God's people.