What does the 10 plagues symbolises in the book of exodus?

Answer 1

they symbolize the only One True God's power over all false gods. each pague targeted one of the main "gods" in Egypt at thet time. those "gods" were not really gods at all! There is only one God.

Answer 2

The 10 plagues were aimed at the gods of Egypt and were designed to give proof of the power of the God of Israel over the gods of Egypt.

1. Nile turned to blood was aimed at Khnum, the guardian of the Nile; Hopi, the spirit of the nile; and Osiris, the giver of life whose bloodstream was the Nile.

2. Frogs were aimed at Heqt, the god of resurrection, who also assisted women in childbirth and whose form was a frog.

3. Gnats and 4. Flies were not aimed at any particular god.

5. Plague on cattle was aimed at Hathor, the mother goddess whose form was a cow and Apis, the bull god who was the living personification of Ptah ( the creator god ) and the symbol of fertility.

6. Boils were aimed at Imhotep, the god of medicine.

7. Hail was aimed at Nut, the sky goddess; Isis, the goddess of life and Seth, the protector of crops.

8. Locusts was aimed at Isis and Seth again.

9. Darkness was aimed at Re, Aten, Aturn and Horus: all of whom were sun gods of sorts.

10. Death of firstborn was aimed at Pharaoh, who was considered a god; and Osiris, the giver of life.

Answer 3

God brought ten plagues upon Pharaoh and the Egyptians, to persuade Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt:

1. Blood (waters turned to blood) [Exodus 7:19-25]
2. Frogs [Exodus 7:26-8:11]
3. Lice/Flies [Exodus 8:12-15]
4. Gnats [Exodus 8:16-28]
5. Strange Unknown Illness that Killed the livestock and cattle of the Egyptians [Exodus 9:1-7]
6. Boils [Exodus 9:8-12]
7. Hail [Exodus: 22-35]
8. Grasshoppers/ Locust[Exodus 10:12-20]
9. Darkness (for three days) [Exodus 10:21-29]
10. Death of the firstborn [Exodus 12:29-33]

After the tenth plague, Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites leave.

It is to be noted that none of the plagues affected the Israelites.

Answer:

1. Blood (דָם): Ex. 7:14-25

2. Frogs (צְּפַרְדֵּעַ): Ex. 7:25-8:11

3. Gnats (כִּנִּים): Ex. 8:12-15

4. Flies (עָרוֹב): Ex. 8:20-32

5. Pestilence (דֶּבֶר): Ex. 9:1-7

6. Boils (שְׁחִין): Ex. 9:8-12

7. Hail (בָּרָד): Ex. 9:13-35

8. Locusts (אַרְבֶּה): Ex. 10:1-20

9. Darkness (חוֹשֶך): Ex. 10:21-29

10. Death of the Firstborn (מַכַּת בְּכוֹרוֹת): Ex. 11:1-12:36

Jewish answer:

Exodus ch.7-12:

1. The water in Egypt turned to blood
2. Frogs swarmed over the land
3. Lice (not "gnats") swarmed over the land
4. A swarm of mixed animals (not just "flies") plagued the land
5. The Egyptian livestock died of disease
6. The Egyptians were afflicted with boils
7. Crop-destroying hailstorms
8. The land was overrun with locusts (not "grasshoppers")
9. Three days of darkness
10. Death of the Egyptian firstborn

(Exodus 7:19 - 12:30) Each of the plagues assaulted one of the gods of Egypt (Exodus 12:12). The first 3 plagues affected the Israelites too, but the rest were only on the Egyptians.

1. Blood. Turning the Nile(& all the waters of Egypt) into blood- disgraced the Nile god, Hapi, and when the fish died it slapped the Egyptian fish god.

2. Frogs, worshiped as the goddess Heqt brought disgrace to this goddess.

3. Gnats and

4. Gadflies invaded Egyptian homes , both discrediting the Egyptian god of Magic, Thoth, as the magic-practicing priests were unable to stop the influx

5. Plague on the livestock humiliated the cow goddess Hathor, Apis, and the sky goddess, Nut.

6. Boils plaguing the Egyptians disgraced "healing" gods such as Thoth, Isis, and Ptah.

7. Hail shamed the gods of nature, Reshpu, and again, Thoth, who was believed to have power over the thunder & rain.

8. Locust defeated the harvest gods, such as Min, who was believed to be a protector of crops.

9. Darkness humiliated the sun gods, Ra and Horus, and again, Thoth, who was thought to be the magical god of the sun, moon, and stars).

10. Death of the firstborn was the greatest humiliation for the Egyptian gods and goddesses, especially Pharaohs themselves, who felt that THEY were gods, sons of Ra (or Amon-Ra). The death of Pharoah's son, therefore, meant that one of their gods had actually died .

Answer 4

A number of commentaries have given answers. One is that they allude to the ten sephirot (in ascending order). Another (Rashi, quoting the Midrash) is that they represent the tactics which kings use in war. Another (K'li Yakar) is that they came to punish the Egyptians in a precise manner for the specific forms of wickedness of the Egyptians. Another commentary (Abarbanel quoted by K'li Yakar) says that the first three plagues confounded the idolatry of the Egyptians, the second three came to show God's power of discernment, and the final four plagues showed that God confounds Astrology and constellations at will. See the K'li Yakar for detail, since I'm summarizing.

Answer 5

As Pharaohs heart was hardened, god sent these 10 plagues to make him change his mind and release the jews.