Pragas do Egito

A nona praga: trevas (Gustave Doré)

Deus enviou dez pragas desastrosas sobre o Egito no último ano de escravidão do povo israelita naquele país. Cada uma delas foi um ataque direto à parte do sistema religioso egípcio e tudo o que os egípcios consideravam sagrado. Estas pragas e a resposta egípcia para elas, fazem parte da história do Êxodo de Israel.

Antecedentes e Sincronia Provável

Tanto em 1491 aC quanto 1446 aC, Um novo líder tinha vindo para os filhos de Israel do deserto de Sinai, onde viveu por quarenta anos. Seu nome era Moisés. Originalmente, este Moisés tinha crescido na corte de Faraó (provavelmente Amenemhat III da duodécima dinastia), Mas teve que fugir depois que ele matou um egípcio e então descobriu que seu ato imprudente tinha sido amplamente conhecido.

Agora, quarenta anos depois, Amenemhet estava morto e outro rei, provavelmente Neferhotep I da Décima Terceira Dinastia, estava no trono. Moisés veio a este rei para exigir a libertação do povo israelita. Neferhotep recusou, mesmo depois de assistir a uma demonstração de que Moisés parecia ter sob seu comando um poder maior do que o de todos os magos da corte. Diante dessa recusa, Moisés orou a Deus, e Deus lhe garantiu que o Egito sofreria por essa intransigência.

As dez pragas em detalhes

A praga sobre o rio

Primeiro veio uma praga no Rio Nilo. Moisés atingiu a água com seu cajado de pastor, e o rio se transformou em sangue. O rio era "a" coisa que fazia do Egito uma grande nação - e, além disso, os egípcios o adoravam como um deus. E, no entanto, essa praga foi apenas o começo.

A praga das rãs

Em seguida, vieram dezenas de rãs para invadir as casas egípcias. As rãs eram um símbolo de Ísis, deusa da fertilidade. O problema com as rãs não era tanto sua presença pestilenta, mas sua morte em massa - um mau presságio, de fato.

A praga dos piolhos ou mosquitos

Os piolhos, representando o próprio deus da terra, eram criaturas desprezíveis para os egípcios, como permanecem até hoje .

A praga das moscas

A mosca doméstica comum (Musca domestica) é um símbolo do próprio Diabo, freqüentemente chamado de "Senhor das Moscas".

The Plague Upon the Cattle

A cattle plague killed Egyptian cattle only, leaving Israelite cattle alone. Cattle were sacred to at least two Egyptian gods, Hathor and Apis. The disease itself, called murrain in the King James Version, had symptoms quite similar to those of anthrax.

The Plague of Sores

Sores, or boils, were regarded universally as a punishment for sin. This was a direct humiliation of the court magicians—especially since this was the first plague that they could not explain away, nor duplicate.

The Plague of Hail and Fire

This plague was a direct slam on the Egyptians' habitual boast that they could direct the weather with their chants and mantras. The most likely explanation is a thunderstorm with hail. The "fire" was most likely lightning, a thing no Egyptian had yet seen.Predefinição:Reference (The vain speculation that this hail and fire was volcanic ash and lava has no Scriptural warrant.)

The Plague of Locusts

This was another slam against the agricultural shamanism of the Egyptians. Various insects, like the grasshopper or the cicada, are also known as locusts when they swarm. This was a greater swarm than the Egyptians had ever dealt with, and virtually destroyed their crops. The Bible gives no clue as to the taxonomic identity of these locusts, and very likely they are a unique class of creature, created specially for this event, like Jonah's "great fish."

The Plague of Darkness

Egypt was plunged into a darkness lasting three days (a recurrent motif in the Bible symbolic of the time that Jesus Christ would lie dead before His Resurrection). This was a slam against the king of Egyptian gods, called Ra or Re or Amun-Re.

The Plague Upon the First-born

Main Article: Passover

This Plague is the basis of Passover, the most important of all the Pilgrimage Feasts of the Hebrew calendar. The first-born, especially a son, always held special privileges and responsibility in any culture, and the Egyptian culture was no exception. Here we have another hard clue as to which Pharaoh might have been involved with Moses, in that the first-born even in the royal house died that fateful night.

Further History of the Exodus of Israel

The death of his son broke Neferhotep's spirit, and he permitted the Israelites to depart at last. The Israelites left in great haste, partly at the urging of the Egyptian people. Later, however, Neferhotep changed his mind and gave chase. In that chase, and in particular at the Red Sea crossing, Neferhotep lost his life.

Conventional history tells us that Neferhotep I reigned nine years in Egypt, and that his successor was not a son of his, but rather his brother, Sobekhotep IV. If Neferhotep I was indeed the Pharaoh of the Exodus, then he had no son because his son died in the Tenth Plague. Furthermore, no archaeologist has ever claimed to have found the mortal remains of Neferhotep. Presumably Neferhotep lies to this day beneath the waters of the Gulf of Suez.

See Also

• Egyptian chronology
• Exodus of Israel
• Biblical chronology dispute