What we think we know may not always turn out to be true.

This is the same today as it

was in ancient times. Giving up our beliefs is not something easily done and usually requires a

great deal of convincing. In such a way, ancient Egyptians, and more specifically, their leaders

were forced to reflect on what they believed based on the evidence before them. Egyptians

depended on their gods, their rituals and their Pharaoh to not only explain the ways of the world

but to keep it in order. The events of the exodus of Israel challenged every aspect of Egyptian life

by assaulting its very foundation of religion and spirituality. This assault on Egyptian culture is

primarily presented through the actions of God and Moses on one side with Pharaoh and his

magicians on the other. It is through the book of Exodus’ descriptions of Pharaoh’s magicians

that the impact of ‘God’s finger’ on Egyptian culture is best understood.

It is common knowledge that the magician played an important role in ancient Egypt.

Life in those days regarded “the magician [as] an esteemed and influential member of Egyptian

society, exercising authority…by means of powerful words and actions” (Koulis). As a link to

the divine (often seen as a priest), the magician would invoke words of power and perform

sacred rituals to solve everyday problems in Egypt. Lesser magicians “…used magic to rid an

area of poisonous reptiles and insects” (Pinch), while their superiors focused on more important

issues. One example of this is that Egyptians believed that they had to perform rituals in order to

directly influence the rising and setting of the sun. This ‘repulsing of the dragon’ was a ritual

performed by magicians to prevent the sun-god Re from facing “peril of destruction from a

demon in the underworld, Apophis” (‘The Repulsing of the Dragon’, FYP Handbook, 5). It is

because of these rituals that it is acceptable that the magician was a symbol of religion to

Egyptians. Magicians were believed to be essential in helping keep the divine order of

everything, oftentimes believed to be a god-like force themselves: “Heaven thunders, the earth

trembles before [me], [I] am a magician, [I] am he who is possessed of magic” (The Pyramid

Texts, utterance 472, § 924). Powerful and as influential as they were, magicians were not gods,

but acted as stand-ins or visors of a god; Pharaoh (“Prieste Caste”).

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Almighty and all powerful, the Pharaoh, king of Egypt was not without his limitations.

Running the most advanced civilization in the world at the time was not always easy. Problems

were bound to arise that Pharaoh did not have a solution for. It is for this reason that Pharaoh

prized his scribes, soothsayers, wise men or magicians (“Prieste Caste”). They would provide

him with understanding or other points of view on difficult issues. A very predominant issue was

not always economical or political, but spiritual. The interpretation of dreams was a very

common thing among the Egyptians, but only the most important of revelations would come to

Pharaoh. The Bible gives an example us this: “…And Pharaoh awoke, and behold, it was a

dream. So in the morning his spirit was troubled; and he sent and called for all the magicians of

Egypt…” (Genesis 41:7-8). Even though this event occurs in an earlier generation of Egypt it

still exemplifies Pharaoh’s dependence on his magicians.

The later story of Israel’s exodus from Egypt provides its own set of problems for the

Pharaoh of the time. This Pharaoh, who proclaims ‘…I do not know the Lord…’ (Exodus 5:2),

becomes deeply perplexed by the supernatural events that later rise from Moses. The once exiled

prince returns to Egypt with a message: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people

go…’” (Exodus 5:1). This message was not taken seriously by Pharaoh, as he did not recognize

the God of the Hebrews. Pharaoh then, as God foresees, said, “Prove yourselves by working a

miracle,” (Exodus 7:9). By following God’s instruction Aaron, Moses’ brother, tossed his rod

before Pharaoh and it became a serpent. This was not something totally uncommon for a man to

accomplish in Pharaoh’s view, and so “...Pharaoh summoned…the magicians of Egypt, [who]

did the same by their secret arts” (Exodus 7:11). Even though “…Aaron’s rod swallowed up their

rods” (Exodus 7:12), the message of Moses continued to be unheeded. This is not surprising

considering Moses was raised in the presence of the royal magicians himself, possibly learning a
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spell or two in his lifetime. By replicating the sign of God, the magicians falsified Moses and his

message. Pharaoh’s heart became hardened, causing him to deny Moses’ request.

Moses then went on to deliver another, more serious demonstration of God’s power by

striking the Nile and all other bodies of water red, “…and there was blood throughout all the land

of Egypt. But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh’s heart

remained hardened…” (Exodus 7:21-22). It is not clear how much water the magicians of

Pharaoh transformed, or if they could even reverse the effect. But even after “[s]even days

passed…” (Exodus 7:25), Pharaoh was satisfied with the replication by his magicians “…and did

not lay even this to his heart” (Exodus 7:23). Again, by being able to reproduce ‘the work of

God’ the magicians were able to cast some doubt on the validity of Moses’ message and also on

the God of the Hebrews.

Continuing to follow God’s instructions, Moses and his brother once again came before

Pharaoh demanding that the Israelites be let go. Moses warned: “But if you refuse to let them go,

behold [God] will plague all your country with frogs…” (Exodus 8:2). Pharaoh once again

dismissed the demand of Moses and “[s]o Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt;

and the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt” (Exodus 8:6). Pharaoh’s magicians once

again succeeded in doing the same by their secret arts, bringing frogs upon the land of Egypt

(Exodus 8:7). This time, however, Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Entreat the Lord

to take away the frogs from me and from my people; and I will let the people go to sacrifice to

the Lord” (Exodus 8:8). Not only did Pharaoh recognize the God of Hebrews but he submitted to

Him, indicating the magicians were incapable of reversing this plague. To the Egyptians, the frog

goddess, Heket, was a symbol of life and fertility (Lindemans). By bringing this plague on the

Egyptians, God proved His superiority over the Egyptian gods. Despite this, Pharaoh once again

hardened his heart after tricking Moses into reversing the plague.
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God then spoke to Moses and told him, “Say to Aaron, ‘Stretch out your rod and strike

the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats throughout the land of Egypt’” (Exodus 8:16).

Aaron did as he was told and many gnats invaded the land. This time “[t]he magicians tried by

their secret arts to bring forth gnats, but they could not…And the magicians said to Pharaoh,

‘This is the finger of God…’” (Exodus 8:18-19). The magicians were in awe of this work. All

their prayers and all of their rituals were rendered useless, their gods became powerless. The

statement, even in its simplicity, symbolized the submission of all they had once believed to

Yahweh. They accepted that Moses may have told the truth. Later, the magicians, once thought

blessed by the gods of Egypt, “...could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils

were upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians” (Exodus 9: 11). These magicians went

from being rivalled in power with Moses to inferior men who could not even stand before him.

They soon found that they could not trust either in their gods or in their own abilities. What a

blow this must have been to their former confidence. This sense of inferiority soon turned into

fear of what the God of the Hebrews was capable of. The servants of Pharaoh became so

insecure that they even went as far as to doubt the judgement of Pharaoh, their god, by saying,

“…Let the men go…do you not yet understand that Egypt is ruined?” (Exodus 10:7).

The impact of the magicians’ acknowledgement and fear of the God of Hebrews is

immense; reflecting the views of the majority of the Egyptian populace. A foreign power

managed to overcome centuries of devout belief and generations of tradition in Egyptian culture.

In a short period of time, the Egyptians came to a sad realization, having had the very strength of

their civilization shattered, that the God of the ‘slaves’ was more powerful than their own. This

realization left not just magicians but all Egyptians with questions to answer.