Reading the Bible: Exodus, Episode 2
Era of Magic. Hitting Egypt with Punishing Blows
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Last chapter ended with god saying to moshe to go stand in front of paroe another time.
Now god starts his speech to moshe. But now, even though this speech is quite moving, the people do not listen to him anymore. After the first failure they do not want anything to do with this prophet.
Then god asks moshe to go to paroe. Moshe responds “the people themselves don’t listen to me, how can the king will? I am a disabled in my speech” (6:12). So in the next phrase, god asks moshe and aharon to go to the king. First, aharon will be the mouth, but also emotional support to contradict the resistance of moshe with the obedience of aharon.
Genealogy
Then we have a pause for the lineage of the Levi tribe. Note that in order to describe Levi, they also start with his older brothers Reuven and Shimon, and Yehuda. But the younger brothers are not reminded after.
Levi (lived 137 years) -> Khat (lived 133 years) -> Amram (lived 137 years) -> Moshe (80 years old) and aharon (83 years old).
Then we are back to the conversation with god. And god asks moshe again to go. And again he refuses, saying “but I am disabled in my speech” (6:30). It seems like throughout this story this guy is deep inside his pain and does not follow the requests of god, even though he understands this is real.
Then again god commands both moshe and aharon, to go to paroe and they follow. So it seems like aharon has been the guy to push moshe to do the acts.
The magicians fight back
And now that they are just before entering paroe, God is saying to both of them (perhaps just to save time…).
Aharon and moshe enter to see the king. Aharon throws his staff, as God commanded, and it turned to an alligator. The Egyptian wizards arrive as well, and throw their staffs as well. They also create aligators. But the one made by aharon, fights them all and wins.
The next day god instructs Moshe to go to meet paroe on the river bed. Where he goes each morning, perhaps to shower. God instruct him to turn the water into blood. Every living creature inside the water will die as well.
The Egyptian wizards try to break this spell, but unsuccessful. Paroe is not yet convinced, thinking that they are just stronger wizards…
The Egyptians dig wells to find more water.
After 7 days, god tells moshe to go back to paroe. Ask him again to send the people. Threat him that a throng of frogs will come into Egypt, into the beds and houses.
The Egyptian wizards tried to contradict this spell as well, but were unsuccessful as well.
Paroe calls moshe and aharon, and asks them to remove the spell and in return he will let the people go. Moshe says its not me to decide this, but when would you like this to happen. Paroe asks for the next day. Moshe responds: “as you wish. It shall be done, and you will see that there is no other like God”.
But even when the frogs died, paroe become reluctant again to give freedom to the jewish. So god asks moshe and aharon to make another spell. Aharon will hit the ground with his staff and lice will roam the country. The wizards have now given up, and accepted the fact theat this is far more stronger magic than their, and they tell to paroe they can do nothing anymore.
God tells moshe to go another time to meet paroe on the nile at morning. Ask him to send again the Israel people (and since he will not), send throng of crickets onto the land. Some scientists explain that after the death of the frogs, insects could grow freely and uninterruptedly, so this actually also has scientific explanation. But the magic was, that these insects never arrive to the jewish lands, and only hit the Egyptian ones.
This by the way also means, that all the previous pains, might have hit also the jewish people. But from now on, the events happen only on Egyptian land.
After this event, paroe calls to moshe and asks him to go and pray to the god in Egypt (without the trip). Moshe refuses, and says that only if we walk for 3 days, we can do that quietly. Paroe negotiates and asks them not to go too fa (meaning that 3 days is a too long trip). Moshe agrees to speak with god and remove the crickets.
But paroe lies again.
God tells moshe to get back to paroe and claim that a terrible plague is coming as of tomorrow to the animals, but only to the Egyptian ones. Indeed things happen the way was told, and paroe even sent people to validate that the animals of the Jews stay alive and well.
Paroe stays.
God commands aharon and moshe to take dark powder and throw it to the sky before paroe. Egyptian men and animals will suffer from plague of boils. The wizards are now weak in front of all this and they are finally out of the game.
Paroe still stays strong.
God commands moshe to meet paroe at the nile the third time. He explains: I could send all my magics and kill you and the Egyptian people, but I do not do this in order for you to explain these strengths to the world. You will be my witness in explaining God’s powers.
But since paroe is still resisting, so tomorrow a strong hail will fall on Egypt. one that was never have seen in Egypt. I give you time to gather the people and your animals to a shelter, since whoever will stay outside, will die from the hail. Most people actually did put his animals in the shelter. Those who did not suffered the loss of them…
The hail was not even normal one. Fire was inside the hail, and when it hit the ground, it was as if a ball of fire, so the land was burning. This storm didn’t happen in the land of Jews.
Paroe calls to moshe and aharon and asks them to remove this again. “god is righteous and I am the evil one” (9:27). It sounds like this man is possessed. He really wants this to be done, but as if something stops him from doing so…
Moshe turns to be a confident guy, step by step, and now he responds that he will go immediately outside and call off this hail, so you will know that there is a god. It seems like his hesitancy is starting to go away.
He leaves paroe, removes the hail, but, as expected, paroe refuses again to send the people.
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