אנגלית - 4.2 מצגת אמונות ותרבות המצרים

What do we know about the Egyptian ruler and culture?

מה אנחנו יודעים על השלטון המצרי ועל התרבות המצרית?

Beliefs and symbols in Egyptian culture

Government based on evil and tyranny

Worsening of the slavery – the edict on cutting the hay

Imposing Taxes

hard work with clay and bricks

Pharaoh’s response: “Who is יהוה that I should heed him”

The reaction of the magicians. Power struggles against the God of Israel: “The Egyptian magician-priests did the same with their spells”

Ordering midwives to kill every male child and then ordering all Egyptians:“Every boy that is born you shall throw into the Nile”

Appointing the Israelites as taskmasters

The Nile River

The frog

The Nile The Nile was the source of the Egyptians livelihood. In the past this river was (and is even today) almost the only source of water in Egypt and the Egyptian economy depended on it. The Nile was also an important source of fishing and served as a major artery of transportation in Egypt. Because of Egypt's dependence on the Nile, it played an important and central place in their belief system and was associated with mystical powers. The Sages understood that the Nile was considered an actual god in Egypt, and that is why they believed that it was inflicted with the first plague. According to the Sages, turning the water into blood symbolized death and annihilation of the Egyptian river-god. The killing of the fish can also be perceived as harm to the Egyptian faith, because fish are one of the distinct symbols of the river-god. The fish themselves were also regarded as sacred in Egypt and were worshiped by the Egyptians. On the Ten Plagues: a theological and ecological approach. Author: Shmuel Cohen

CC BY 4.

See page for author, CC BY 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The Frog "The Egyptians attributed a divine power to the frogs in the Nile, and regarded them as a symbol of fertility [having children] ... The Torah teaches us that only the God of Israel rules the world, and He alone gives the power of fertility to his creations, as He wills. And these frogs, which are seen by the Egyptians as a symbol of fertility, can change [to be a symbol of infertility], if He [God] willed it. And precisely because of their excessive fertility [there were many frogs during the plague of frogs] – the frogs turned from a sign of blessing to a sign of a curse.” (Moshe David Kasuto's commentary on the Book of Names, Magnes Publishing House, 1959)