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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

16. The Origin of Passover

Punishment - The destroying angels passes through Egypt — The destroying angels passes through Egypt. Wikimedia

Before He sent the final plague, God ordered the Israelites to mark their doorposts with lamb’s blood so that the angel of death would “pass over” their homes – the origin of the Jewish festival of Passover. The final plague finally convinced Pharaoh to let the Israelites leave Egypt.

However, he later pursued them, setting the stage for Moses’ miraculous parting of the Red Sea to cross to the other side, and the drowning of Pharaoh and his army when the waters closed upon them as they continued their pursuit. The plagues of Egypt are viewed as a combination of divine punishment, and a show of God’s power and faithfulness. Each plague challenged Egyptian gods and beliefs, reinforced the Israelite God’s supremacy, and demonstrated His determination to free His people.

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.