The Ten Plagues of Egypt is a story related in the Book of Exodus. Exodus is the second of the first five books of the Judeo-Christian Bible, also called the Torah or Pentateuch.

According to the story of Exodus, the Hebrew people living in Egypt were suffering under the cruel rule of the Pharaoh. Their leader, Moses (Moshe), asked Pharaoh to let them return to their homelands in Canaan, but Pharaoh refused. In response, the Hebrew God inflicted 10 plagues on the Egyptians in a divine demonstration of power and displeasure designed to persuade Pharaoh to "let my people go," in the words of the spiritual "Go Down Moses."

Enslaved in Egypt

The Torah relates that Hebrews from the land of Canaan had lived in Egypt for many years, and had become numerous under the kind treatment of the kingdom's rulers. However, the Pharaoh became intimidated by the sheer number of Hebrews in his kingdom and ordered them all to be enslaved. Lives of bitter hardship ensued for 400 years, at one time including a decree from the Pharaoh that all male Hebrew children be drowned at birth.

Moses, the son of an enslaved woman who was raised in the palace of the Pharaoh, is said to have been chosen by his God to lead the Israelite people to freedom. With his brother Aaron (Aharon), Moses asked the Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave Egypt in order to celebrate a feast in the wilderness to honor their God. The Pharaoh refused.

Moses and the 10 Plagues

God promised Moses that he would demonstrate his power to convince Pharaoh, but at the same time, he would be convincing the Hebrews to follow his path. First, God would "harden the heart" of the Pharaoh, making him adamantly against the Hebrews' leaving. Then he would produce a series of plagues with escalating severity that culminated with the death of every firstborn Egyptian male.

Though Moses asked Pharaoh before each plague for his people's freedom, he continued to refuse. Ultimately, it took all 10 plagues to convince the unnamed Pharaoh to free all of Egypt's enslaved Hebrews, who then started their exodus back to Canaan. The drama of the plagues and their role in the liberation of the Jewish people are remembered during the Jewish holiday of Pesach, or Passover.

Views of the Plagues: Tradition vs. Hollywood

Hollywood's treatment of the Plagues as portrayed in movies such as Cecil B. DeMille's "The Ten Commandments" is decidedly different from the way that Jewish families regard them during the celebration of Passover. DeMille's Pharaoh was an out-and-out bad guy, but the Torah teaches that God was the one who made him so intransigent. The Plagues were less about punishing the Egyptians than showing the Hebrews—who were not yet Jews since they had not received the Ten Commandments—how mighty their God was.

At the seder, the ritual meal accompanying Passover, it is customary to recite the 10 plagues and flick a drop of wine from each cup as each plague is enumerated. This is done to remember the suffering of the Egyptians and to diminish in some way the happiness of a liberation that cost so many innocent lives.

When Did the 10 Plagues Happen?

The historicity of anything in ancient texts is dicey. Scholars argue that the story of the Hebrews in Egypt is most likely told about the Egyptian New Kingdom during the late Bronze Age. The Pharaoh in the story is thought to be Ramses II.

The following Biblical passages are line references to King James' Version of Exodus.