The Way to Succoth

Old Testament
Book Two: Exodus
Israel Enslaved in Egypt (cont'd)
Chapter 9: Plagues Number 5, 6, 7
Chapter 10: Plagues Number 8 and 9
Chapter 11: The Wind-up
The Institution of Passover; The Exodus from Egypt
Chapter 12: Passover: The rules, the genocide

This is actually a really good story. It's quite dramatic. Israel has its god, Egypt has its gods. It's god against god. And it keeps building and building. The only mistake the author makes is that the drama only goes in one direction. After each plague Pharaoh is closer and closer to letting the Israelites go. It would have been much better if there had been give and take. God seems to be winning at the first, then the Egyptian magicians come back and we think all is lost before God turns the tables and wins.

The climax is quite exciting. God has ratcheted up the pressure a little at a time but still Pharaoh won't budge. Then there is a pause, in Chapter 11, and God tells Moses that this is it, the final plague. For the final plague God of course resorts once again, as always to the murder of thousands of innocent people. And remember, not only innocent, but God himself caused the obstinacy that results in their deaths.

But then after the warning of the imminent carnage, there is a dramatic pause as God goes into great detail about the new rules for Passover. It's interesting once again how the authors took ancient traditions and recast them into the Israeli story. The notes say this ritual of sacrificing the lamb and so on was old. Many rules about unleavened bread and so on.

It is also interesting and important to note the things that "orthodox" religious people do not do even though the bible says to very clearly. Unleavened bread, yes they do. But what happened to smearing blood on the doorway? That's the whole point of the ritual.

And, why does God need the blood smeared--he surely already knows who's been naughty and who nice.

Then indeed God did kill every first-born in Egypt--that's what is being celebrated during Passover! How barbaric is that?! And finally Pharaoh lets the Israelites go.

The Israelites leaving Egypt would have been an amazing sight. Six hundred thousand men on foot!

Well, I know there's not much to this entry, but not a whole lot happened in this section. A few more plagues, a lot of rules regarding Passover, another genocide, and the beginning of the exodus.


--bibletoenail