Post by Jinsei on Mar 30, 2007 14:56:48 GMT -5
I found several websites that had various explanations as to what may have caused the 10 plagues. This one is pretty interesting, and not reliant on a volcano.
www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/plague.html
Water to blood
The Bible says: the Nile turned to blood at the touch of Moses's staff. Equinox says: a red- blooming algae called Pfisteria, which makes fish bleed, could have been the cause.
A hot river of magma would have killed the fish,and more frogs would have resulted from more frog spawn
Frogs
Pfisteria would have killed all the fish; no fish means more frog spawn, which means more frogs. And a polluted river would drive them on to the land in their millions.
A river turned to steam or filled in with rock would mean no water,dead frogs means lice
Lice
Without moisture the frogs died, removing the only obstacle to an insect explosion - and the biblical story is long before "lice" were distinguished from other insects.
All the possibly dead carcases from a volcano eruption would have drawn flies
Flies
The Bible says: there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh. Equinox says: fly swarms are not uncommon, and this plague was probably of stable flies, which bite.
A plague of flies carries disease thus dead animals
Sick animals
Equinox concludes that two diseases decimated Egypt's livestock: African Horse Sickness and Blue Tongue, transmitted by tiny midges (the "lice" of the third plague.
As well as glanders perhaps people were subject to molten ash which burnt the skin falling from above
Boils
A disease causing boils and blisters struck next - perhaps the ancient disease "Glanders", which is spread by stable flies. As a result, the crops went unharvested.
A volcano eruption might well cause atmospheric changes in an area where hail is likely perhaps it brought it on
Hail
Only last year hailstorms hit Israel and Jordan. They're not rare, but to the weakened Egyptians, whose crops were their whole livelihood, a hailstorm at this time would be a cruel blow.
A swarm of locusts can happen any time
Locusts
Again, locusts have been known to swarm since ancient times, stripping crops. But to the Egyptians, like the hail, a locust plague now couldn't come at a worse time.
Ash ejected into the atmosphere from an eruption might well have blackened the sky
Darkness
The Bible says a three-day darkness fell next .A sandstorm is the likely culprit: one in Cairo in 1997 blacked out the sky for three days. The sand would cover any food supplies remaining.
The young would have been the first to suffer an induced illnesses,and if food was scarce and the custom was the feed the eldest the young would be most likely to suffer
First-born die
Micro-toxins found in locust droppings contaminating the food were lethal; and in famine conditions the custom was to give the eldest double portions. End of story
The Bible says: the Nile turned to blood at the touch of Moses's staff. Equinox says: a red- blooming algae called Pfisteria, which makes fish bleed, could have been the cause.
A hot river of magma would have killed the fish,and more frogs would have resulted from more frog spawn
Frogs
Pfisteria would have killed all the fish; no fish means more frog spawn, which means more frogs. And a polluted river would drive them on to the land in their millions.
A river turned to steam or filled in with rock would mean no water,dead frogs means lice
Lice
Without moisture the frogs died, removing the only obstacle to an insect explosion - and the biblical story is long before "lice" were distinguished from other insects.
All the possibly dead carcases from a volcano eruption would have drawn flies
Flies
The Bible says: there came a grievous swarm of flies into the house of Pharaoh. Equinox says: fly swarms are not uncommon, and this plague was probably of stable flies, which bite.
A plague of flies carries disease thus dead animals
Sick animals
Equinox concludes that two diseases decimated Egypt's livestock: African Horse Sickness and Blue Tongue, transmitted by tiny midges (the "lice" of the third plague.
As well as glanders perhaps people were subject to molten ash which burnt the skin falling from above
Boils
A disease causing boils and blisters struck next - perhaps the ancient disease "Glanders", which is spread by stable flies. As a result, the crops went unharvested.
A volcano eruption might well cause atmospheric changes in an area where hail is likely perhaps it brought it on
Hail
Only last year hailstorms hit Israel and Jordan. They're not rare, but to the weakened Egyptians, whose crops were their whole livelihood, a hailstorm at this time would be a cruel blow.
A swarm of locusts can happen any time
Locusts
Again, locusts have been known to swarm since ancient times, stripping crops. But to the Egyptians, like the hail, a locust plague now couldn't come at a worse time.
Ash ejected into the atmosphere from an eruption might well have blackened the sky
Darkness
The Bible says a three-day darkness fell next .A sandstorm is the likely culprit: one in Cairo in 1997 blacked out the sky for three days. The sand would cover any food supplies remaining.
The young would have been the first to suffer an induced illnesses,and if food was scarce and the custom was the feed the eldest the young would be most likely to suffer
First-born die
Micro-toxins found in locust droppings contaminating the food were lethal; and in famine conditions the custom was to give the eldest double portions. End of story
www.fortunecity.com/emachines/e11/86/plague.html