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Going Biblical: Fascinating Divine Punishments Recounted in the Old Testament

Khalid Elhassan May 9, 2025 19 min

Punishment - The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden — The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. Encyclopedia Britannica

18. The Plagues of Egypt

The first plague, Water Is Turned Into Blood, by James Tissot. Christian Theological Seminary

The plagues of Egypt, described in the Book of Exodus, were a dramatic series of divine punishments visited upon Egypt’s Pharaoh for enslaving the Israelites and refusing to let them go. Through Moses and his brother Aaron, God sent ten devastating plagues to pressure Pharaoh to release the Israelites.

The first plague turned the Nile River into blood, killed the fish, and made the water undrinkable. The second brought a massive infestation of frogs. When Pharaoh pleaded for relief, God removed the frogs, but Pharaoh hardened his heart and again refused to free the Israelites. So God sent a third plague, which turned dust into gnats or lice that afflicted people and animals. As seen below, things got worse.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.