John H. Sailhamer

“It is possible to argue that the nature of the “signs” themselves appears to be directed against the Egyptians’ concept of the universe. Within Egyptian religion, the universe was to exist in a harmonious whole, with each part contributing to the well-balanced system. The Egyptian word for this was maat. It was the responsibility of the pharaoh, as the incarnate god on earth, to maintain this balance (maat). The purpose of the “plagues” (signs) was thus to challenge this basic concept by showing that the pharaoh was powerless before the God of the covenant, Yahweh (Ex 12:12). What we see in the plagues, then, is an unmasking of Pharaoh’s claims to deity and his claim to rule the universe. Pharaoh was, in effect, taking credit for something in which he had no part, and the signs that Moses performed demonstrated that unmasking to both the Egyptians and the Israelites. In recording these events, the writer intended to show that only Yahweh is truly God: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may perform these signs of mine among them, and that you may tell in the hearing of your son, and of your grandson, how I made a mockery of the Egyptians, and how I performed my signs among them; that you may know that I am the LORD’ ” (10:1–2). Ultimately, each of the plagues leads up to the final plague—the death of the firstborn. The firstborn of Pharaoh was thought to be a second incarnate god. Hence his death would have meant an even greater threat to Egypt’s stability.”
― John H. Sailhamer, The Pentateuch as Narrative: A Biblical-Theological Commentary