The Plagues

A few follow-ups from tonights lesson:

1) How long were the plagues?

We know the following:

• Moses was 80 when the first plague started (Exodus 7:7).
• The Israelites wandered in the desert for 40 years (Exodus 16:35 and many other references)
• Moses died at the age of 120 (Deuteronomy 34:7), after that there was 30 days of mourning (Deuteronomy 34:8) before the people entered the promised land (Joshua 1)

So, we can tell that the plagues could not have lasted more than a year because at the start of them Moses was 80 and he died at 120 and the last 40 years were spent wandering the desert.  Even if there was some rounding in these numbers, it is clear that the plagues did not last that long.  Based on the days given in the accounts most people think the whole thing lasted around 30 to 50 days.

2) More details on the plagues and gods whose authority was attached by each:

• Turned the water of the Nile into blood (Exodus 7:14-25)
• Hapi (or Apis) and Isis were the god and goddess of the Nile, respectively. 
• Frogs (Exodus 8: 1-15)
• Heqet was the goddess of birth, and had the head of a frog.  Due to this, many Egyptians considered frogs to be sacred.
• Gnats (Exodus 8:16-19)
• Set was the god of the desert (gnats came from the desert sands or dusts)
• Flies (Exodus 8:20-32)
• Ra the sun god (insects potentially blacked out the sun) and Uatchit who was represented by the fly
• Death of Livestock (Exodus 9:1-7)
• Hathor was a goddess with a cow head and Apis was the bull god
• Boils (Exodus 9:8-12)
• Sekhmet was the goddess of power over disease; Sunu was the pestilence god; and Isis was the goddess of healing
• Hail (Exodus 9:13-35)
• Nut was the sky goddess; Osiris was the god of crops and fertility; and Set was the god of storms
• Locusts (Exodus 10:1-20)
• Nut was the sky goddess and Osiris was the god of crops and fertility;
• Not the best quality, but I found the video clip from Planet Earth that I showed you on-line: Desert Locust
• Darkness (Exodus 10:21-29)
• Re and Horus were sun gods and  Nut and Hathor were sky goddesses
• Death of the firstborn (Exodus 11:1 - 12:30)
• Min was the goddess of reproduction; Heqet was the goddess of women and childbirth; Isis was the goddess who protected children; and Pharaoh's firstborn son, who was considered a god

(A lot of this info was taken from "The Bible Knowledge Commentary," Editors John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck.)