The Fifth Plague: Plague on Livestock

The Fifth Plague: Plague on Livestock

Ex 9:3  Behold, the hand of the LORD is upon thy cattle which is in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep: there shall be a very grievous murrain.

Ex 9:4  And the LORD shall sever between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt: and there shall nothing die of all that is the children's of Israel.

Ex 9:5  And the LORD appointed a set time, saying, To morrow the LORD shall do this thing in the land.

Ex 9:6 And the LORD did that thing on the morrow, and all the cattle of Egypt died:but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

Ex 9:7  And Pharaoh sent, and, behold, there was not one of the cattle of the Israelites dead. And the heart of Pharaoh was hardened, and he did not let the people go.

With limited knowledge of medicine when something unknown happened to an animal the Egyptians would go to the gods and make a sacrifice for a cure or seek a "wise one" or magician. This plague fell only on domestic animals. Murrainis best explainedin today's terms as anthrax, hoof and mouth, mad cow and streptococcus. Normally what would take weeks to wipe out herds of cattle and camels and sheep took hours.  This brought Egypt to a stand still.  Camels and donkeys were used to ride and to haul merchandise and supplies, so this was the equivalent of shutting down every truck and land shipping means known to man.  Great losses of food were suffered.  You cannot eat diseased animals.  It would take years to replace them, even if you imported new livestock.

Picture from here

Related Articles

More From Holy Days Articles

Future Fulfillment

As with each of the other Fall Holy Days, with Sukkot we look forward with eager anticipation…
Future Fulfillment

Passover Pineapple Crumble

Matzo meal makes a perfect crumble topping for a fruity dessert to round out the Passover meal.…
Passover Pineapple Crumble

Purim Grogger

This is one of our green crafts that reuse household objects and turn them into symbolic or…
Purim Grogger

Vegan Tzimmis

ShalomVeg.com Recipes• 10 large carrots; peeled, diced• 2 medium potatoes cubed• 3 yams, or…
Vegan Tzimmis
What is a Dreidel Really?

What is a Dreidel Really?

Dreidels are often used to play a game during Hanukkah to win chocolate coins also known as…
What is a Dreidel Really?

Tu B'shevat

Tu’B Shevat is the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat. Tu’B Shevat is when we celebrate the…
Tu B'shevat

Porkless Passover Toast

Introducing our exclusive brand new Shalom Adventure cartoon series Porkless created by the…
Porkless Passover Toast

Matza Pizza

Ingredients:• 1 matza• tomato paste• choice of toppings: mushroom, onions, peppers, artichokes,…
Matza Pizza

The Sixth Plague: Boils

Exo 9:8 And the LORD said unto Moses and unto Aaron, Take to you handfuls of ashes of the…
The Sixth Plague: Boils

Sweet Potato Kugel

SWEET POTATO KUGEL(From No Cholesterol Passover Recipes, by Debra Wasserman)Serves 12.…
Sweet Potato Kugel

Publish the Menu module to "offcanvas" position. Here you can publish other modules as well.
Learn More.


donation