The meaning of the ten plagues

1.      Introduction

Why was the Exodus from Egypt preceded by a series of ten plagues? Couldn't God have simply sent one great plague? Just the final one? The answer to this question is less obvious than you might think. We read that God said to Moses (Ex. 7:2-5):

“You shall speak to Aaron, and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, saying, ‘Let the Israelites go out of his land.’ But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt. Pharaoh will not listen to you; but I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring out my armies and my people the Israelites out of Egypt with great judgment. Then the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring out the Israelites from among them.”

Apparently, God wants to demonstrate His power to Pharaoh through the plagues, but this leaves open the question of why He uses 10 plagues for this purpose, and why these ones in particular. We gain more insight into this answer by considering the ways in which these plagues can be categorized. In this article, we will follow this rabbinic approach to the ten plagues.

2.      The Ten Plagues

The ten plagues are summarized as follows:

3.      Two groups of 5 plagues?

It's obvious to divide the plagues into two groups, just as the Ten Commandments are divided into two parts. And indeed, we see a striking difference between the first half of the plagues and the second half. The first five plagues consistently mention that Pharaoh hardened his heart. In the sixth plague, we read for the first time that the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart. And this observation is repeated in the eighth, ninth, and tenth plagues. In summary:

4.      Division of the parshas: 7 plus 3

In Jewish tradition, the Torah is divided into 54 parshas (plural of parasha). A parsha is a section of the Torah. A parsha is read each Sabbath, and occasionally two parshas are read, so that the entire Torah is covered in a year. Each parsha has a name that identifies it.
When we consider this division, it is striking that the plagues of Egypt are not grouped together. The first seven plagues belong to the parsha wa-‘era (Ex. 6:2-9:35), and the last three belong to the parsha bo (Ex. 10:1-13:16).
The Rabbis appear to have good reason to see a transition from the first seven plagues to the last three. In the first seven plagues, we read how Moses commands Pharaoh to let God's people go (Ex. 7:16; 8:1; 8:20; 9:1; 9:13). Pharaoh refuses, and then we read, in explanation of the announcement of the seventh plague (Ex. 9:13-16):

Then the LORD said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh and say to him, ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of the Hebrews: Let my people go, that they may serve me. For this time I will send all my plagues on you and your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. Now I could have stretched out my hand and smote you and your people with a plague, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this very reason I have let you remain, to show my power in you, so that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.’”

The first seven plagues were aimed at demonstrating God's greatness. But then the focus shifts to the approaching Exodus. Pharaoh's servants plead with him to let the people go, and for the first time, Pharaoh suggests he's willing to negotiate (Ex. 10:7-11):

Pharaoh's servants said to him, "How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the men go, that they may serve the LORD their God! Do you not yet know that Egypt is ruined?" Then Moses and Aaron were brought back to Pharaoh, and he said to them, "Go! Serve the LORD your God! Who exactly will go?" Moses said, "We will go with our young and our old, with our sons and daughters, with our flocks and herds, for we are holding a feast to the LORD." Then he said to them, "May the LORD be with you as I let you and your little ones go! Look out, for disaster is about to come upon you. Otherwise, please let the men go, that they may serve the LORD, for that is what you have requested." So they drove them out from before Pharaoh.

Pharaoh now wants to let the adults go, but without children and flocks. After the ninth plague, the children are allowed to go, but not the flocks. This is Moses' final encounter with Pharaoh. After the ninth plague, everything is focused on the impending Exodus, in which all the people, including their livestock, will depart.
Clearly, the Rabbis have a good reason for dividing the 10 plagues into 7 plus 3.

5.     Division into 5 times 2

The ten plagues prove to be a remarkable sequence. The first two plagues are related to water: the water turns to blood, and frogs emerge from the water. The next two, mosquitoes and horseflies, relate to the earth. Then, animals are affected by cattle plague, and humans by sores. The next step concerns the air with hail and locusts. And finally, we have two plagues that take place outside the material world: darkness and the death of the firstborn. The Egyptians had their own gods for each terrain, but here God demonstrates His power over all of creation, from the waters below to the air above. In the first two plagues, we see that the Pharaoh's magicians can imitate the phenomenon. In the third, they try but fail. And after that, they apparently don't even try anymore.

6.      Layout in 3x3 + 1

It also appears possible to divide the first nine plagues into groups of three. We must pay attention to the warnings to Pharaoh. Before the first plague, Moses meets Pharaoh on the banks of the Nile. For the fourth plague, Moses "stands before Pharaoh" while Pharaoh is on his way to the water, and for the seventh plague, he must "stand before Pharaoh." In all three cases, Moses meets Pharaoh early in the morning. For the second, fifth, and eighth plagues, we read that Moses must go to Pharaoh. And for the third, sixth, and ninth plagues, Pharaoh receives no warning at all.
This division into groups is also reflected when we consider those who suffered from the plagues. For the first three plagues, it is explicitly stated that the entire country was affected. For the fourth and seventh plagues, the land of Goshen is not affected. For the fifth and ninth plagues, Israel is excluded.
This division is further emphasized by Pharaoh's reaction. In the fourth plague, Pharaoh initially indicates that the people may leave, provided they remain within the land. In the seventh plague, the people are allowed to leave. Then, Pharaoh appears to negotiate with Moses. In the eighth plague, only the men are allowed to leave, then the livestock must remain behind, and finally, the entire nation and livestock leave.
In summary, this looks like this.

There's another linguistic peculiarity. This has to do with the plagues themselves. The third, sixth, and ninth plagues are indicated as gnats, boils, and darkness. In Hebrew, these are "m n k," "n g s," and "k s g," though we must remember to read from right to left. If we take the first letters of these three words, we again get "k s g." The second letters form the word "n g s," and the third letters form "m n k." In short, if you place the three words in a matrix, you can read them in two directions.

7.      Final note

By grouping the ten plagues, we gain more insight into their purpose. Although God tells Moses beforehand that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, it becomes clear that it was the Pharaoh himself who initially hardened his heart. Only in the second half of the plagues, from the sixth plague onward, is it God who hardened Pharaoh's heart.
There's also a visible transition from the seventh to the eighth plague. The first seven plagues were clearly aimed at demonstrating God's greatness, while the subsequent demonstrations focus on the coming Exodus from Egypt.
The division into five pairs shows how God demonstrates to Pharaoh His power over all the elements, from water to the supernatural world.
Finally, the division into three groups of three plagues. Linguistically, this division is clear, but it's unclear to me whether there's a deeper meaning to it.

Bas Krins