The Ninth Plague: Darkness

The Ninth Plague: Darkness

Exo 10:21  And the LORD said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, even darkness which may be felt.

Exo 10:22  And Moses stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days:

Exo 10:23  They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

Anyone that has been through a power outage can relate to the total darkness aspect of this. With an outage you get the flashlights and candles and lanterns out and wait.  Then when the power is restored you sigh a sigh of relief and reset all the clocks.  However, "Darkness that can be felt"??? You go to strike a match or flick your lighter and nothing.  Not even a spark! No stars and moon at night for light either.  Utter blackness all around, you cannot even see another person if they were 2 feet away.  Your life is at a standstill. After a day of this I am sure you would start to feel like you were in a grave.  No heat or cooking either because coal gives off a glow from the heat.  Not only is this a physical fright but psychological and spiritual as well.  The Egyptians' god of the moon was horus. The reason for three days and nights of darkness is because by law after three days of no signs of life, one was considered to be lawfully dead. Bodies were left for three days to be observed for signs of life before the embalming  process was started.  How did this effect Pharaoh? His brother and sister were considered the sun and moon.

 

Picture from here

Related Articles

More From Holy Days Articles

A Meditation in Time

Walk in wisdom toward those who are outside, redeeming the time. Colossians 4:5
A Meditation in Time

Celebrating Rosh Hashana with Food

Food is an important part of the celebration of Jewish festivals. Not only does the preparation…
Celebrating Rosh Hashana with Food

Purim

The feast of Purim is a joyous occasion. It is celebrated each year on the 14th and 15th days…
Purim
Matzo Brei

Matzo Brei

Matzo Brei Serves 4 to 6 I decided to veganize my mom's old-fashioned Jewish Matzo Brei recipe…
Matzo Brei

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
Matzoh Vegetable Stuffing

Matzoh Vegetable Stuffing

Matzoh can take many forms during the eight days of Passover: crushed into meal for baking or…
Matzoh Vegetable Stuffing
Vegan Challah with Raisins

Vegan Challah with Raisins

Ingredients: 2 packages dry yeast 2 cups warm water (105°F-115°F) 1/2 cup sugar, divided 3…
Vegan Challah with Raisins
Chanukah Story

Chanukah Story

Around the year 200 BCE, Israel was under the rulership of the Syrians who were under the…
Chanukah Story

Spinach Matzo Balls

Editor's note: This recipe is part of Susie Fishbein's Tricolor Matzo Ball soup.Due to the high…
Spinach Matzo Balls

Lime-in-the-Coconut Macaroons

Lime zest is a fresh addition to macaroons, and a Microplane is our zesting tool of choice. If…
Lime-in-the-Coconut Macaroons

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

Purim Grogger

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

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


donation