Egypt & Israel
In the biblical books that narrate Israel’s Exodus from Egypt and its journeys in the wilderness, it is not difficult to detect a series of contrasts between God’s treatment of the Egyptians and his treatment of the Chosen People.
Following the lead of the Book of Wisdom (or The Wisdom of Solomon), the earliest work to elaborate these contrasts, we may reduce their number to five—chumash—the mystic figure associated with the Torah. These five contrasts have to do with: (1) thirst, (2) hunger, (3) weather, (4) light, and (5) life.
First, because of the changing of the Nile into blood the Egyptians were deprived of water and suffered intense thirst (Ex. 7:17–24). The Book of Wisdom (11:5–7,14) sees this defiling of the Nile as a penalty especially appropriate to Egypt’s sin of drowning the newborn Israelite boys in that river.
The Israelites in the desert, on the contrary, suffered only a brief thirst, from which they were delivered by the miraculous water that flowed from the rock in the wilderness (Ex. 17:1–7; Num. 20:1–11; Wis. 11:4,8–10).
Second, with respect to hunger, Egypt was visited by plagues of vile animals (Ex. 8:1–32; 10:1–20; Wis. 11:15–16), so offensive to the Egyptians that the ensuing disgust ruined their appetite (Ex. 8:3; Wis. 16:3,9). Whereas the first plague caused terrible thirst, these later afflictions brought about great hunger.
The Book of Wisdom (11:15–16) regards this visitation by troublesome beasts as a punishment merited by the Egyptian worship of animals. The Lord could have punished them with large and impressive animals, but he chose to use lowly creatures in order the greater to humble them for their sins (11:17–19).
In contrast to the animals dispatched to plague the Egyptians, God sent a flock of quail to satisfy the hunger of the Israelites (Ex. 16:13; Num. 11:31–32; Ps. 105 [104]:40; Wis. 16:2). Once again, God’s provision for his people is contrasted with his punishment of their enemies.
Third, with respect to the “weather conditions” in Egypt, the Bible describes a plague of both hail and fire (lightning) that falls upon the Egyptians (Ex. 9:13–25; Wis. 16:16–19,22). Since this twofold plague destroys both livestock and plant life, it continues the theme of hunger from the preceding contrast.
In place of these destructive storms, Israel was fed with a miraculous bread that fell from heaven (Ex. 16:4–15; Num. 11:6–9; Ps. 78 [77]:25; 105 [104]:40). This heavenly bread, says the Book of Wisdom (16:20–21), accommodated itself to the taste of each person who ate it.
Fourth, Egypt was tormented by a thick darkness that covered all the land (Ex. 10:21–23). This darkness was so complete that it imprisoned the Egyptians in their houses. It was not only a material darkness but also a darkening of the mind, accompanied by deep fears and shadowy apparitions of guilt and terror. No fire of earth, the Egyptians found, could dissipate this darkness; on the contrary, the fire itself was dark (Wis. 17:2–6,11–21).
According to the Book of Wisdom (17:7–10; 18:4), this darkness permeating the land was a punishment for Egypt’s addiction to the dark, demonic arts of idolatry.
Patrick Henry Reardon is pastor emeritus of All Saints Antiochian Orthodox Church in Chicago, Illinois, and the author of numerous books, including, most recently, Out of Step with God: Orthodox Christian Reflections on the Book of Numbers (Ancient Faith Publishing, 2019).
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32.1—January/February 2019
Answers Secular & Religious by Allan C. Carlson
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