The Pillar of Fire; or, Israel in Bondage

by J. H. Ingraham

"I defy you and your God, and both of ye shall die!" answered Pharaoh, pale with anger.

Then Moses, turning calmly to Aaron, his brother, said, in my hearing, and in that of the king and all his people, "Take this rod of God, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and vessels of stone."

Aaron, obeying, stretched forth his hand with the rod and smote the water at his feet, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of the thousands of Egyptians present, and in a moment the Nile ran blood instead of water, the fish in hundreds rose to the surface and died, and the smell of blood filled all the atmosphere. The people uttered a great cry, and Pharaoh looked petrified with horror. From the galleys on the river, from the women on the opposite shore, from avenues, terraces, and plains, from every side, rose a loud and terrible wail, such as was never before heard. The king sought his chariot, and fled from the face of Moses and Aaron, and all was wild dismay. These two servants of the God, whose words had wrought this great wonder, then walked calmly away. I felt too much awed to come near them, and in my chariot sought my own palace. On the way I saw that the canals were red with blood, also the standing pools, the lakes, and every body of water. Men were running in every direction seeking for water; women wrung their hands, and despair and fear were impressed upon every countenance. As I passed the fountains in the court of Pharaoh's palace, I saw that they also spouted forth blood; and in the corridor and porticos, the water in the vases for guests, in the earthen jars for filtering, and in those which stood in the cisterns, was of the same crimson hue. When I reached my own apartments, lo! there also the water in the vases and ewers was of the color of blood. The voice of Moses, empowered by his God, had indeed turned all the waters of Egypt into blood. Surely, I said, now will the king let Israel go. In the afternoon I went forth, and saw the Egyptians digging everywhere for fresh water, along the canals and river. I drove out of the city towards Goshen, and saw all the people in motion and terror, for but few knew the cause of the awful visitation. After an hour I reached Goshen, the fair plain where Prince Jacob once dwelt, and where now the children of Israel dwell by hundreds of thousands. With joyful surprise I beheld, as I entered the province, that the canal was free from blood, the pools sparkling with clear water, and the fountains bright as crystal. As I rode on in the direction of the dwelling of Moses, I perceived that the plague of blood had not fallen upon the land where the Hebrews dwelt—only upon the Egyptians. This was a twofold miracle.

When Pharaoh found that water could be obtained by digging shallow wells, and also that Goshen was free from the plague, he sent for Jambres and Jannes, and offered to pardon them if they could turn water into blood. They commenced their incantations upon water dug up from his gardens—for the miracle of the rod covered only the waters at the time on the surface, whether in the river or in houses. After art had for some time been practised upon the water, to my surprise it was turned to the semblance of blood.

"See," cried Pharaoh with great joy, "the servants of Pharaoh are equal to the servants of the Hebrew God!"

"And O king," said Jambres vainly, "had the Hebrew juggler left us the Nile, we could have turned that also by our enchantments."

Then Pharaoh rewarded him with a chain of gold, and hardened his heart, and defied Moses and his God. But in three days afterwards all the fish died in the lakes, and river of Lower Egypt, and a stench of their flesh and of crocodiles and reptiles that perished by the blood in the river, and the difficulty of getting water, rendered Egypt almost uninhabitable. Thousands fled to the pure air and water of Goshen, where also I remained. Every hour I expected to behold a royal courier coming for Moses and Aaron, ordering them to appear before the king, to receive permission to lead the Hebrews out of Egypt. At the end of seven days the river and waters of Egypt resumed their natural color and purity, by God's permission, lest all the people of Egypt should die for Pharaoh's hardness of heart.

Then God appeared again unto Moses, and commanded him to go before Pharaoh with the same message as before. But the king, in great fury, ordered them from his presence, when Aaron stretched forth his hand over the streams, the river, the canals, lakes, and fountains, and in a moment myriads of frogs appeared on the shores, in the fields, in the streets, squares, corridors, terraces, gardens, groves, and porticos of the temples. They leaped upon every place, upon the people, upon the stairways. They found their way by hundreds into the houses and bedchambers, and upon the beds, tables, chairs of palaces and huts; leaped into the ovens and kneading-troughs, and occupied every place. In horror the priests closed all the temples, lest they should enter, and dying there, defile them. Even Pharaoh was obliged to shut himself up in the recesses of his palace to escape their loathsome presence.

In great alarm, he was about to send for Moses, when Jambres, his chief sorcerer, stood before him, and said:

"O king, believe not that the God of this Hebrew is greater than the gods of Egypt. Thy servants also can do this enchantment."