The Plagues of the Bible Explained

For three and a half millennia, people have wondered whether the story told by the book of Exodus was just a myth, or if it was a true account of a series of events that could be interpreted as nothing less than a divine miracle. It stretches the boundaries of belief to ponder the possibility, let alone the consequences, of the plagues of Egypt, as told by the Bible, having actually taken place.

But, perhaps, with today's most advanced science, we might yet be able to discover if these most unbelievable happenings, happened.

The key to discovering the facts behind the story of the plagues is in not just finding potential explanations for each event. If we are to seriously consider whether the events described in the Bible could have happened as laid out in innumerable texts, we need a comprehensive explanation that covers each of the plagues, individually and together.

To begin, let us explore each of the plagues and their potential real-world causes. If science can shed some light on the sequence of events, the entire course of the plagues should become clear as we proceed.

First, there is the river of blood. According to scripture, Moses's first act, which triggered the initiation of the sequence of plagues, was to turn the Nile River blood red.

Scientifically, there are a number of possible causes for a red river. Actual blood is one of the first that comes to mind. Throughout history, there have been reports of titanic battles between massive armies. Some of these battles were said to be so deadly that 'the waters ran red with blood'. Is it possible that, somewhere upstream, a gigantic clash of arms spilled enough blood into the Nile to cause such a change?

That scenario is unlikely in the extreme; there are no records of any kind that indicate a major war was underway anywhere in Africa during the time of the exodus. However, there is another explanation, one that involves another kind of titanic event, and one that was most assuredly recorded in history, all across the Mediterranean region.