BEWARE
OF THE IDES OF MARCH
THE TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT IN THE MODERN DAY CONTEXT
Dear Reader,
We are entering the month of March and historically this
month has many premonitions and warnings. From the Greek ancient history, the
great Julius Cesar was assassinated on March 15th. As the story
goes. Everyone knows that the soothsayer in William Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" was talking about March 15 when he warned the Roman emperor to
"beware the Ides of March." We also all know Caesar's response:
"Nah, I gotta head into the office that day."
Death of Julius Cesar
The story and Shakespeare drama lives on as a reminder that
changes happen and the time between seasons are the ones to watch. We also have
learned about the ten plagues of Egypt when the Pharaoh did not listen to Moses
and suffered devastating plagues. So, here we go again – the global plague is
upon us. But first I want to reflect on the biblical ten plagues” from the more
modern and scientific perspective.
Scholars broadly agree that the Exodus is not a historical
account, and that the Israelites originated in Canaan and from the Canaanites.
Most scholars nevertheless believe that the Exodus has a historical basis of
some kind, even if this does not closely resemble the biblical narrative. The
Ipuwer Papyrus, written probably in the late Twelfth Dynasty of Egypt (c.
1991–1803 BCE), has been put forward in popular literature as confirmation of
the Biblical account, most notably because of its statement that "the
river is blood" and its frequent references to servants running away;
however, these arguments ignore the many points on which Ipuwer contradicts Exodus,
such as Asiatics arriving in Egypt rather than leaving and the likelihood that
the "river is blood" phrase is simply a poetic image of turmoil.
Attempts to find natural explanations for the plagues (e.g., a volcanic
eruption to explain the "darkness" plague) have been dismissed by
biblical scholars on the grounds that their pattern, timing, rapid succession,
and above all, control by Moses mark them as supernatural.
THE TEN PLAGUES OF EGYPT
1. The river Nile covered in blood - possible spread of red algae.
2. Frogs or poisonous toads - frogs breed in times of river floods.
3. Lice and ticks - animals distribute ticks to humans.
4. Swarms of flies - common event in hot weather.
5. Sick domestic animals - common in areas not cared for.
6. Skin rashes and boils - common in hot climates.
7. Land fires - dry weather and storms cause fires.
8. Locusts - common pests in Africa.
9. Three days of darkness - possible eruption of a volcano.
10. Death of children - viruses common in children before vaccines.
History and science.
Scholars are in broad agreement that the publication of the
Torah took place in the mid-Persian period (the 5th century BCE). The Book of
Deuteronomy, composed in stages between the 7th and 6th centuries, mentions the
"diseases of Egypt" (Deuteronomy 7:15 and 28:60) but refers to
something that afflicted the Israelites, not the Egyptians, and never specifies
the plagues.
The traditional number of ten plagues is not actually
mentioned in Exodus, and other sources differ; Psalms 78 and 105 seem to list
only seven or eight plagues and order them differently. It appears that
originally there were only seven (which included the tenth), to which were
added the third, sixth, and ninth, bringing the count to ten.
In this final version, the first nine plagues form three
triads, each of which God introduces by informing Moses of the main lesson it
will teach. In the first triad, the Egyptians begin to experience the power of
God; in the second, God demonstrates that he is directing events; and in the
third, the incomparability of Yahweh is displayed. Overall, the plagues are
"signs and marvels" given by the God of Israel to answer Pharaoh's
taunt that he does not know Yahweh: "The Egyptians shall know that I am
the LORD.” (Wikipedia)
What is a plague?
PLAGUE (in Gr.) λοιμός, in Lat. pestis, pestilentia), in
medicine, a term given to any epidemic disease causing a great mortality, and
used in this sense by Galen and the ancient medical writers, but now confined
to a special disease, otherwise called Griental, Levantine, or Bubonic Plague,
which may be shortly defined as a specific infectious fever, one variety being
characterized by buboes (glandular swellings) and carbuncles. This definition
excludes many of the celebrated pestilences recorded in history -such as the
plague of Athens, described by Thucydides; that not less celebrated one which
occurred in the reign of Marcus Aurelius and spread over nearly the whole of
the Roman world (A.D. 164–180), which is referred to, though not fully
described, by the pen of Galen; and that of the 3rd century (about
253), the symptoms of which are known from the allusions of St Cyprian. There is a certain resemblance between all
these, but they were very different from Oriental plague. “ The Plague” was
formerly divided into two chief varieties: (1) mild plague, pestis minor,
larval plague (Radcliffe), paste fruste, in which the special symptoms are
accompanied by little fever or general disturbance; and (2) ordinary epidemic
or severe plague, pestis major, in which the general disturbance is very
severe. Cases which are rapidly fatal from the general disturbance without
marked local symptoms have been distinguished as fulminant plague.
The new plague or CORONAVIRUS
In spite the current amazing scientific developments and
cures, the smart virus today has come out taking the world. This is definitely
called the “ FULMINANT” type of plague. Here is the latest news:
Global death toll from coronavirus now more than 3,000 and
growing.
The coronavirus death toll in mainland China increased by 42
Sunday (March 1), according to China’s National Health Commission (NHC). All
the new deaths were in Hubei province.
The additional deaths bring the total death toll in mainland
China to 2,912.
There have been 129 deaths reported outside mainland China,
raising the global death toll to 3,041.
Confirmed cases in mainland China increased by 202. Of those
cases, 193 were in Hubei province. That means there were nine new cases
reported in the rest of mainland China outside of Hubei.
Other deaths across the globe include:
54 deaths in Iran
34 deaths in Italy
20 deaths in South Korea
12 deaths in Japan
2 deaths each in Hong Kong and France.
1 death each reported in the Philippines, Taiwan, Australia,
Thailand and the United States
The total number of confirmed cases in mainland China is now
80,026, bringing the global total to 88,443. A total of 44,462 patients in
China have recovered and been discharged from hospital.
Battle against bubonic plague 100 years ago
Conclusion
History tells us of many plagues over time but not much
about a total GLOBAL plague or PANDEMIC that is testing our modern science and
technology. It is amazing to read that the solution to avoid coronavirus is to
keep washing your hands and avoid contact in public places. There is no vaccine
– as yet – and time will tell and surely we will come up with a vaccine like it
was done before. But we must be AWARE and learn from history!
Your comments are most welcome
Yaro Starak
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