Bible Timeline · About 1446 BC, or about 1270 BC

The Ten Plagues and the First Passover

God sent ten plagues on Egypt when Pharaoh refused to let Israel go. On the last night the firstborn of Egypt died, but every home marked with the blood of a Passover lamb was spared. Israel walked out free the next morning.

Read it in the Bible: Exodus 7:14-12:42 Exodus 12:1-28 1 Kings 6:1 1 Corinthians 5:7 John 1:29 John 19:36

The ten plagues were ten disasters God sent on Egypt when Pharaoh refused to free the Israelites. They began with the Nile turning to blood and ended with the death of Egypt's firstborn. On that last night God told Israel to kill a lamb and put its blood on their doorposts, and He passed over every marked house. That night became the first Passover. The traditional date is about 1446 BC, from 1 Kings 6:1, or about 1270 BC in the time of Ramesses II on the later view. Christians see the Passover lamb as one of the clearest pictures of Jesus in the Old Testament.

Why Did God Send the Plagues?

Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh with a simple message from Yahweh. Let My people go. Pharaoh's answer was basically, Who is Yahweh, and why should I listen to him? Exodus 5:2. The plagues were God's answer to that question.

And the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” Exodus 7:5

The plagues were not random. They were a public showdown between the God of slaves and the gods of the most powerful empire on earth. God said so directly.

On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am Yahweh. Exodus 12:12

What Were the Ten Plagues in Order?

The Bible does not name Egypt's gods in these chapters. But Egypt worshiped the river, the sun, animals and Pharaoh himself, and many Bible teachers have matched each plague to a god it put to shame. Some matches are very clear, like the Nile and the sun. Others are more of a good guess.

Water turned to blood, Exodus 7:14 to 25. The Nile was Egypt's lifeline, honored through the god Hapi.
Frogs, Exodus 8:1 to 15. Heqet, a goddess of birth, was pictured with a frog's head. Now frogs were in the beds and the ovens.
Gnats or lice, Exodus 8:16 to 19. The dust of the ground came alive. Pharaoh's magicians could not copy this one and admitted, This is the finger of God.
Swarms of flies, Exodus 8:20 to 32. From here on God set apart Goshen, where Israel lived, so the plagues did not touch them.
Death of livestock, Exodus 9:1 to 7. Egypt honored sacred bulls like Apis and the cow goddess Hathor.
Boils, Exodus 9:8 to 12. Egypt had gods of healing, but even the magicians could not stand up.
Hail, Exodus 9:13 to 35. Storms came from the sky, honored through the sky goddess Nut.
Locusts, Exodus 10:1 to 20. They ate whatever the hail had left.
Darkness, Exodus 10:21 to 29. Three days of darkness you could feel. Ra, the sun god, was Egypt's top god, and he went dark. Yet Israel had light where they lived.
Death of the firstborn, Exodus 11 to 12. Pharaoh was treated as a god, and his firstborn son was the heir to the throne.

Why Did God Harden Pharaoh's Heart?

This question bothers a lot of readers, and it should get an honest answer. Exodus says both things. Pharaoh hardened his own heart, Exodus 8:15 and 8:32, and God hardened Pharaoh's heart, Exodus 9:12 and 14:4. Early on, the text mostly says Pharaoh did it himself. Later, God confirmed the choice Pharaoh kept making.

Christians have explained this in different ways. Many in the Reformed tradition stress that God is sovereign and used Pharaoh for His purpose, Romans 9:17. Many Arminian and Wesleyan Christians stress that God gave Pharaoh over to what he had already chosen. Both agree on the main point. Pharaoh was not an innocent man forced into evil. He was a slave master who had drowned babies, and God turned his stubbornness into a stage for His glory.

But I have raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power to you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth. Exodus 9:16

What Happened at the First Passover?

Before the last plague, God gave Israel exact instructions, Exodus 12. Each household picked a one year old male lamb with no defects. They kept it four days, then killed it at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month. They brushed its blood on the sides and top of the door frame with a bunch of hyssop. They roasted the lamb and ate it that night with unleavened bread and bitter herbs, dressed and ready to leave. Not one of its bones could be broken, Exodus 12:46.

The blood on the houses where you are staying will be a sign; when I see the blood, I will pass over you. No plague will fall on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt. Exodus 12:13

Notice that safety did not depend on how good the family inside was. It depended on the blood on the door. At midnight the firstborn of Egypt died, from Pharaoh's palace to the prison. A great cry went up across the land. Pharaoh called for Moses that same night and told Israel to get out. The Egyptians even gave them silver, gold and clothing on the way out the door, Exodus 12:35 to 36.

About 600,000 men on foot left, besides women and children, along with a mixed crowd of others, Exodus 12:37 to 38. Exodus 12:40 says Israel's stay in Egypt lasted 430 years. God told them to remember this night every year, and Jewish families still do at the Passover Seder.

When your children ask you, ‘What does this service mean to you?’ you are to reply, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to Yahweh, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt when He struck down the Egyptians and spared our homes.’” Exodus 12:26 to 27

When Did the Exodus Happen?

There are two main views, and both are held by serious, Bible believing scholars.

The early date, about 1446 BC. 1 Kings 6:1 says Solomon began the temple in the 480th year after Israel left Egypt. Solomon's fourth year is about 966 BC, which points to about 1446 BC. This is the traditional view and the one this Bible lists first.
The later date, about 1270 BC. Exodus 1:11 says the Hebrew slaves built the store cities of Pithom and Rameses. A city called Pi Ramesses was built by Ramesses II in the 1200s BC, so many scholars place the Exodus in his reign. Those who hold the early date answer that the name Rameses may have been updated by a later scribe, just as Genesis 47:11 already calls the area where Joseph settled his family the district of Rameses.

One stone helps on either view. The Merneptah Stele, carved for Pharaoh Merneptah in about 1208 BC and now in the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, lists Israel as a people living in Canaan. It is the oldest known mention of Israel outside the Bible. So Israel was in the land by then. The Archaeology page on this site has more on it.

How the Passover Points to Jesus

Jesus was crucified at Passover. His last supper with His disciples was a Passover meal, where He took the bread and cup and gave them new meaning. When John the Baptist first saw Him, he said it plainly.

The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29

John's Gospel even notes that the soldiers did not break Jesus' legs on the cross, to fulfill the rule about the Passover lamb, John 19:36. Paul sums it up in one line.

Get rid of the old leaven, that you may be a new unleavened batch, as you really are. For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. 1 Corinthians 5:7

That is the heart of it. In Egypt, judgment passed over every house covered by the blood of the lamb. Today, anyone who trusts in Jesus is covered by His blood, and judgment passes over them too. The Messianic Prophecies list on this site traces more of these pictures.

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Questions People Ask

What were the ten plagues of Egypt?

In order: water to blood, frogs, gnats, flies, death of livestock, boils, hail, locusts, darkness and the death of the firstborn. They are recorded in Exodus 7 to 12.

Were the ten plagues aimed at Egypt's gods?

Exodus 12:12 says God executed judgment on all the gods of Egypt. The text does not name specific gods, but Egypt honored the Nile, the sun, sacred animals and Pharaoh, so many teachers link each plague to a god it shamed. Some links, like the Nile and the sun god Ra, are stronger than others.

What is the meaning of the Passover?

Passover remembers the night God passed over the Israelite homes marked with the blood of a lamb while Egypt's firstborn died. It marks Israel's rescue from slavery. Christians see it fulfilled in Jesus, whom Paul calls our Passover lamb in 1 Corinthians 5:7.

When did the Exodus happen?

The traditional date is about 1446 BC, based on 1 Kings 6:1. Many scholars prefer about 1270 BC under Ramesses II. The Merneptah Stele shows Israel was already a people in Canaan by about 1208 BC.

Why did God harden Pharaoh's heart?

Exodus says both that Pharaoh hardened his own heart and that God hardened it. Many readers see God confirming the choice Pharaoh kept making, while others stress God's sovereign purpose. Either way, God used Pharaoh's stubbornness to show His power and make His name known, Exodus 9:16.

Sources

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