Parashat Va'era (Exodus 6:2–9:35)
"The sound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook. Thy way is in the sea, and thy path in the great waters, and thy footsteps are not known. Thou led thy people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." — Psalms 77:18
Housed in the Museum of Leiden, in the Netherlands, is a crumbling papyrus unearthed in Egypt, near the pyramids at Saqqara, in 1822. The text is a cursive form of hieroglyphs called hieratic. It is a lengthy diatribe directed at the king by an Egyptian priest named Ipuwer. He details a litany of woes that has shaken the very foundations of the empire. The language of the scroll was first translated by Egyptologist Sir Alan Gardiner, and published in 1909 as The Admonitions of An Egyptian Sage. Years later, Gardiner would comment on the Ipuwer writings in his book, Egypt of the Pharaohs and was adamant regarding the actual origin of the text:
"This extremely tattered papyrus in the Leyden (sic) collection dates from no earlier than Dynasty XIX, but the condition of the country which it discloses is one which cannot be ascribed to the imagination of a romancer, nor does it fit into any place of Egyptian history except that following the end of the Old Kingdom."
Gardiner maintains that the text of this ancient scroll is describing the aftermath of catastrophes foretold by his ancestors. As additional proof, Gardiner offers that Ipuwer had recorded disasters he had actually witnessed. The old scribe places the blame for the kingdom’s ills squarely on the shoulders of Pharaoh. This corresponds to the Biblical account wherein the royal advisors ask their king to respond to the demands of Moses before it is too late:
Pharaoh’s officials said to him, ‘How long will this man be a snare to us? Let the people go, so that they may worship the Lord their God. Do you not yet realize that Egypt is ruined?’ — Exodus 10:7
In the papyrus, the author complains, “magical spells have been divulged,” which is akin to what Pharaoh’s seers might have expressed after their unsuccessful confrontations with Moses and Aaron. Ipuwer states:
"Behold, the secret of the land whose limits were unknown have been divulged…secrets of the kings of Upper and Lower Egypt are revealed."
Here the Egyptian sage addresses the court and mourns for the fallen state of his nation and people:
"Mirth has perished and is no longer. There is groaning throughout the land mingled with lamentations...the land is in darkness."
"Forsooth, the land turns round as does a potter’s wheel…Upper Egypt is waste…All is ruined…Oh that the earth would cease from its noise.
All is ruin!"
The most striking characteristic of this ancient record is how it details calamities remarkably similar to the Ten Plagues in the Torah. Compare the language of Ipuwer with the relevant passages from the Book of Exodus:
Plague of Blood
In Exodus 4:9, God instructs Moses:
"…you shall take some water from the Nile and spill it on the ground. The water that you will take from the Nile will turn to blood on the ground."
Papyrus 2:6 "Plague is throughout the land. Blood is everywhere."
Papyrus 2:10 "Forsooth, the river is blood."
Papyrus 7:4 "Behold Egypt is poured out like water. He who poured water on the ground, he has captured the strong man in misery."
Moses was instructed by God to meet with Pharaoh and begin his demands with a simple demonstration — to change his rod into a serpent then back to a rod. If that failed to impress, Moses was told to take water and spill it onto the ground, turning the water to blood thus signaling the beginning of the Ten Plagues. The statement by Ipuwur specifically notes this action of "He who pours water on the ground". The Egyptian sage characterizes this simple act as so powerful that it would, “capture the strong man in misery.”
Plague of Frogs
"Aaron stretched his hand out over the waters of Egypt and the frog came up. They covered the land of Egypt." — Exodus 8:2
The worst aspect of this plague was the incessant noise caused by the frogs:
Papyrus 6:1 0 "...that the earth would cease from noise, and tumult be no more!"
Plague of Hail
"Moses pointed his staff at the sky, and God caused it to thunder and hail, with lightning striking the ground. God then made it hail on the land of Egypt. There was hail, with lightning flashing among the hailstones." — Exodus 9:23-24
Papyrus 2:10 " Forsooth, Gates, columns and walls are consumed by fire; while the [.......] of the king’s palace stands firm and endures."
Papyrus 4:14
"Trees are destroyed…"
The preceding language, both from the Torah and the Ipuwer Papyrus might well be reporting the damage caused by a meteorite shower. Also note that pharaoh’s residence is spared — just as in the Biblical account.
Plague of Boils
"Moses threw ashes into the air. It caused a rash, breaking out in boils, in man and beast. The master symbolists could not stand before Moses as a result of the rash..." — Exodus 9:10-11
Horrible skin disorders swept throughout the land inflicting the Egyptians, as well as their livestock.
Papyrus 4:1 "Forsooth, hair has fallen out for everyone."
Papyrus 5:4 "Forsooth, all animals, their hearts weep. Cattle moan because of the state of the land."
In tandem with this punishment, the above verses also reference figures from the court of Pharaoh who are often called “magicians.” But some translations, such as The Living Torah, render the word as “symbolists” — in other words, those schooled in the knowledge of hieroglyphs. A. S. Yahuda, in his Language of the Pentateuch and Its Relation to Egyptian, informs us that the ancient Egyptian records portray these specialists as scribes. The Ipuwer text also supports this idea:
Papyrus 6:5-7 "The splendid Judgement Hall, its writings are taken away. Laid bare is the secret place that was. Forsooth, magical spells are divulged. Incantations are frustrated because they are remembered by men."
Plague of Insects
"The locust covered the entire surface of the ground, making the ground black. They ate all the plants on the ground and all the fruits on the trees, whatever had been spared by the hail. Nothing green remained on the trees and plants throughout Egypt." — Exodus 10:15
Papyrus 6:2-4 "Forsooth…no fruits or herbs are found…Forsooth grain has perished on every side."
Plague of Darkness
"Moses lifted his hand toward the sky, and there was an opaque darkness in all Egypt, lasting for three days." — Exodus 10:22
Papyrus 9:8-10 "Destruction…the land is in darkness".
Death of the First-Born
The most devastating blow was the death of the firstborn.
"It was midnight. God killed every firstborn in Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh, sitting on his throne, to the firstborn of the prisoner in the dungeon, as well as every firstborn animal." — Exodus 12:29
According to Rashi, the death toll increased through civil strife. Rioting and killing broke out after many of the Egyptian fathers ignored the pleas of their sons to release the Children of Israel. The Ipuwer text appears to make direct reference to this:
Papyrus 1: "A man looks upon his son as his enemy." Gardiner, the translator, states that language of Ipuwer reveals that the “evils of civil war are everywhere"
Papyrus 2:6 "Many dead men are buried in the river. The stream is a sepulcher and the place of embalming has become a stream."
Papyrus 4:3 " Children of Princes are dashed against walls. The offspring of nobility are laid out on the high ground. Khunum groans because of his weariness. Forsooth, those who were in the place of embalming are laid on the high ground."
The Sages tell us that each plague or strike was directed at one of the Egyptian gods, for example, Khunum was worshipped as the creator of life. In the Ipuwer text, the god groans from weariness. Gardiner, the translator, suggests that the old sage was moved to make this reference because there is the sense that the deity is wailing over the work of creating children who are doomed to perish at once.
Papyrus 7:4 "The residence is overturned in a minute."
Spoiling Egypt
Finally, before their departure, the Israelites are instructed to ask the Egyptians to share the enormous wealth of the nation—thus receiving their back wages for years of unpaid labor:
"The Israelites did as Moses had said. They requested gold and silver articles and clothing from the Egyptians. God made the Egyptians respect the people, and they granted their request." [The Israelites] drained Egypt of its wealth. — Exodus 12:35
Ipuwer again documents a parallel to this event:
Papyrus 2:4 "Forsooth, poor men have become the owners of good things. He who could not make his own sandals is now the possessor of riches."
Papyrus 3:3 "Gold, blue stone, silver, malachite, carnelian, bronze and Yebet stone and ….are fastened to the necks of female slaves."
Papyrus 3:10 "To what purpose is a treasure house without its revenues?"
Papyrus 8:2 "Behold the poor of the land have become rich, and [the possessor] of property has become one who has nothing."
The Mixed Multitude
As the Israelites took leave of Egypt they were joined by people who were not from the tribes of Israel as described in Exodus 12:38:
"And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle."
The above passage surely suggests that this was a rather large contingent of the Egyptian populace, including foreign-born naturalized citizens. If that is the case, then the following line from Ipuwer, which Gardiner found “hopelessly obscure,” makes perfect sense:
Papyrus 3:14 "Those who were Egyptians have become foreigners. "
In the wake of the plagues, Egyptian parents may have wanted their offspring to escape further woes by asking the Israelites to take surviving children into their households:
Papyrus 2:14 "The child of the lady has become the son of the maidservant."
Pillar of Fire
Now compare the description of Israel’s flight from the land and the miraculous clouds that accompanied them with another line from the Ipuwer text:
"God went before them by day with a pillar of cloud, to guide them along the way. By night it appeared as a pillar of fire, providing them with light." — Exodus 13:21
Papyrus 7:1 "Behold the fire mounted up on high. Its burning goes forth before the enemies of the land."
Near the conclusion of the Ipuwer text we find some of the bitterest words expressed by the forlorn sage. In columns twelve through thirteen, he accuses his king of lying. This is quite significant, considering that this was an era when the pharaoh was considered a son of a god. Ipuwer also seems to cast blame either on the gods, or pharaoh, for not detecting the nature of those who brought about the destruction of his nation:
"…Would that he perceived their nature in the first generation (of men); then he would have repressed their evils, he would have stretched forth (his) arm against it, he would have destroyed their seed and their inheritance."
The Ipuwer Papyrus remains a remarkable eye witness account that depicts the wonder, terror and misery that befell Egypt in the wake of the what must have been the Ten Plagues and the departure of the Children of Israel on their journey to the Promised Land. With that in mind, there is intriguing confession that may reflect a former idol worshiper turning away from the fallen gods that failed to save his people. And, it also appears to be someone who has come to know the God of Israel, a God whose name is never spoken aloud:
"Behold, he who was ignorant of his god, now offers to him with the incense of another, not known..." - Ipuwer 8:5
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