[37] Exod. 2. 3.
[38] Exod. 1. 11. Transactions of Victoria Institute, vol. xviii., p. 85.
[39] Exod. 1. 14; 5. 12.
Next, as to the Ten Plagues. There is much local colouring here, and hardly one of them would have been suitable in Canaan. Moreover, the order in which they come is very significant, as it makes them agree with the natural calamities of Egypt.
(i.) The water being turned into blood cannot, of course, be taken literally, any more than when Joel speaks of the moon being turned into blood.[40] It refers to the reddish colour, which is often seen in the Nile about the end of June; though it is not as a rule sufficient to kill the fish, or render the water unfit to drink. And the mention of vessels of wood and stone[41] is interesting, as it was the custom in Egypt to purify the Nile water by letting it stand in such vessels; and the writer evidently knew this, and took for granted that his readers knew it too, though it seems to have been peculiar to that country.
[40] Joel 2. 31.
[41] Exod. 7. 19.
(ii.) Frogs are most troublesome in September.
(iii.) Lice, perhaps mosquitoes or gnats, and