While doing my weekly Bible study I looked further into the first three plagues of Egypt. First looking at the false gods of Egypt, then noting the similarity to a prophecy in Revelation.
The Creator God introduces himself to Pharaoh who stated:
Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
God’s deliverance of Israel in Exodus 7:14–8:19 is not only a series of miraculous judgments but also a direct challenge to Egypt’s idols. The first three plagues target a principal “deity”, proving God’s sovereignty over the forces Egypt worshipped and relied on.
Plague 1: Water Turned to Blood – Striking Hapi
The Lord commands Moses and Aaron to strike the Nile, the life source of Egypt, and its waters become blood. Fish perish, the river stinks, and Egyptians cannot drink its water for seven days (Exodus 7:14–25).
The Egyptian God Hapi
Name
Mythological Role and Worship
Plague 2: Frogs – Overturning Heqet
God sends frogs “from the Nile” to overrun every household, oven, and kneading bowl in Egypt. When the plague is lifted at Moses’ intercession, Pharaoh hardens his heart again (Exodus 8:1–15).
The Egyptian Goddess Heqet
Name and Role
Portrayed as a frog or woman with a frog’s head; often holds ankh (life) or ivory birthing wands.
Mythological Relationships and Cult
Exo 1:15-21 KJV - 15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it [be] a daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? 19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women; for they [are] lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Plague 3: Gnats (Lice) – Humbling Geb
Aaron strikes the dust of the earth; it becomes lice on people and animals. Egypt’s magicians cannot replicate or remove this plague, and they confess, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:16–19).
The Egyptian God Geb
Name and Etymology
Geb (gbb), also “Father of Snakes,” personified the earth itself.Member of the Heliopolitan Ennead; son of Shu and Tefnut, husband of Nut.
Symbols
Depicted as a reclining bearded man, sometimes with goose or bull attributes, and green plants or barley growing on his body.
Associated with snakes (earth’s fertility and its hidden perils).
Mythological Role and Cult
Earth-giver of crops and judge in the divine tribunal.
No dedicated temple, yet invoked in the Pyramid Texts; his laughter was said to cause earthquakes.
By turning dust—Geb’s domain—into biting pests God asserts His authority over earth itself. Even Egypt’s sorcerers admit defeat, acknowledging divine fingerwork, yet Pharaoh’s stubbornness persists.
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In each of these first plagues, the Lord confronts key Egyptian deities tied to water, fertility, and earth. Through them, God demonstrates his total sovereignty over creation, exposes idolatry, and calls both Egypt and His own people to recognize Him as the one true God. The pattern sets the tone for the remaining plagues and for Israel’s journey into freedom under divine authority. It is also quite similar to the final days when the wrath of God is poured out on those who have received the mark of the beast.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 16:1-6 KJV - 1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and [upon] them which worshipped his image. 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]: and every living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.
The Creator God introduces himself to Pharaoh who stated:
Exodus 5:2 And Pharaoh said, Who [is] the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.
God’s deliverance of Israel in Exodus 7:14–8:19 is not only a series of miraculous judgments but also a direct challenge to Egypt’s idols. The first three plagues target a principal “deity”, proving God’s sovereignty over the forces Egypt worshipped and relied on.
Plague 1: Water Turned to Blood – Striking Hapi
The Lord commands Moses and Aaron to strike the Nile, the life source of Egypt, and its waters become blood. Fish perish, the river stinks, and Egyptians cannot drink its water for seven days (Exodus 7:14–25).
The Egyptian God Hapi
Name
- “Hapi” (ḥpj) personified the annual Nile inundation that deposited fertile silt.
- Referred to as “Lord of the River Bringing Vegetation.”
- Depicted as an androgynous figure with blue or green skin (water), pendulous breasts and belly (fertility), a ceremonial false beard, and often bearing offerings or an amphora of water.
- Regional symbols: papyrus and frogs in Lower Egypt; lotus and crocodiles in Upper Egypt.
Mythological Role and Worship
- Guardian of Egypt’s agricultural prosperity.
- Cult centers: Elephantine and Gebel el-Silsila, where priests monitored the nilometer to predict flood levels.
- Honored annually as the “Arrival of Hapi” when the Nile rose.
Plague 2: Frogs – Overturning Heqet
God sends frogs “from the Nile” to overrun every household, oven, and kneading bowl in Egypt. When the plague is lifted at Moses’ intercession, Pharaoh hardens his heart again (Exodus 8:1–15).
The Egyptian Goddess Heqet
Name and Role
- Heqet was the frog-headed goddess of fertility, childbirth, and renewal.
- Invoked as “She Who Hastens the Birth,” midwives wore her amulets for protection in labor.
Portrayed as a frog or woman with a frog’s head; often holds ankh (life) or ivory birthing wands.
Mythological Relationships and Cult
- Consort to Khnum in shaping and animating human life.
- Linked with Ra and mother to Heru-ur in Kom Ombo.
- Worship evidence dates to the Early Dynastic Period; temples at Qus and Kom Ombo; “Servants of Heqet” were midwives.
Exo 1:15-21 KJV - 15 And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one [was] Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: 16 And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see [them] upon the stools; if it [be] a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it [be] a daughter, then she shall live. 17 But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive. 18 And the king of Egypt called for the midwives, and said unto them, Why have ye done this thing, and have saved the men children alive? 19 And the midwives said unto Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women [are] not as the Egyptian women; for they [are] lively, and are delivered ere the midwives come in unto them. 20 Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty. 21 And it came to pass, because the midwives feared God, that he made them houses.
Plague 3: Gnats (Lice) – Humbling Geb
Aaron strikes the dust of the earth; it becomes lice on people and animals. Egypt’s magicians cannot replicate or remove this plague, and they confess, “This is the finger of God” (Exodus 8:16–19).
The Egyptian God Geb
Name and Etymology
Geb (gbb), also “Father of Snakes,” personified the earth itself.Member of the Heliopolitan Ennead; son of Shu and Tefnut, husband of Nut.
Symbols
Depicted as a reclining bearded man, sometimes with goose or bull attributes, and green plants or barley growing on his body.
Associated with snakes (earth’s fertility and its hidden perils).
Mythological Role and Cult
Earth-giver of crops and judge in the divine tribunal.
No dedicated temple, yet invoked in the Pyramid Texts; his laughter was said to cause earthquakes.
By turning dust—Geb’s domain—into biting pests God asserts His authority over earth itself. Even Egypt’s sorcerers admit defeat, acknowledging divine fingerwork, yet Pharaoh’s stubbornness persists.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
In each of these first plagues, the Lord confronts key Egyptian deities tied to water, fertility, and earth. Through them, God demonstrates his total sovereignty over creation, exposes idolatry, and calls both Egypt and His own people to recognize Him as the one true God. The pattern sets the tone for the remaining plagues and for Israel’s journey into freedom under divine authority. It is also quite similar to the final days when the wrath of God is poured out on those who have received the mark of the beast.
Rev 14:9 And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive [his] mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10 The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:
Rev 16:1-6 KJV - 1 And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven angels, Go your ways, and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth. 2 And the first went, and poured out his vial upon the earth; and there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and [upon] them which worshipped his image. 3 And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea; and it became as the blood of a dead [man]: and every living soul died in the sea. 4 And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters; and they became blood. 5 And I heard the angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which art, and wast, and shalt be, because thou hast judged thus. 6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.