LET THE GAMES BEGIN!

The showdown begins The story of the plagues is told in cycles – specific themes (even exact phrases) are repeated Examples include: Let my people go, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, Pharaoh refused to listen, the Egyptian magicians did same with their magic arts, then they will know I am Yahweh/I will show them that I am Yahweh • also is also a pattern that links the first nine plagues The Nile water is turned to blood — Moses confronts Pharaoh in the morning The frogs fill the land — Moses appears before Pharaoh (presumably in the royal courts) Gnats infest the land — Moses does not meet Pharaoh and there is no warning Flies infest the land — Moses confronts Pharaoh in the morning An epidemic kills Egypt’s livestock — Moses appears before Pharaoh An epidemic of boils infects humans — Moses does not meet Pharaoh and there is no warning Hail destroys Egypt’s crops — Moses confronts Pharaoh in the morning Locusts destroys Egypt’s crops — Moses appears before Pharaoh Darkness envelopes the land — Moses does not meet Pharaoh and there is no warning