She proposed that the unusually strong river overflow caused anthrax spores in contaminated soil to germinate and initiate the epizootic of plague 5 and attributed all but the hail of plague 7 to Nile overflow. In the late 1950s, Hort attributed the bloody appearance of the Nile River and the fish kill of plague 1 to reddish silt and freshwater flagellates ( Euglenia sanguinea, Haematococcus pluvialis) being carried downstream by torrential waters to overflow onto the flood plain of the Nile Delta.
#Hebrew bible in tamil serial
These are characterized by differing suggestions for origins of plagues 1 and 5, and whether there was a common source for some plagues, or alternatively serial connections between them. Over the past half-century, authors of four key papers have put forward competing scientific views. In parallel with scientific advances, succeeding authors have offered progressively rational explanations for the plagues, as well summarized by Marr and Malloy.
Firstborn Egyptians and their surviving firstborn animals die, while Israelites and their livestock live. Strong winds bear swarms of locusts to obliterate remaining crops. An especially severe thunderstorm with lightning and hailstones destroys crops near harvest.
An epizootic kills different types of livestock in pasture. Frogs leave the Nile for dry land, invade Egyptian homes and die, causing a great stench. the Nile River turns bloody, fouling drinking water and killing fish. In light of present day knowledge, we offer a fresh, cohesive, and rational explanation of these events, with the implication that they could recur. Indeed, biblical scholars in a 21st century translation of the Old Testament concede that from an historical standpoint, the first nine plagues resemble natural events well known in the Middle East, save for their patterns and rapid succession. The vivid Old Testament saga of the 10 plagues that devastated the land of Egypt and its people (Exodus 1-12) has intrigued some to seek rational explanations for a chronicle of disasters that befell one population yet spared another.