represented the Canaanite god Baal or the Egyptian god Apis – which was
manifested as a living bull kept in a temple and mummified at death).
Why bother to prove YHWH’s power to the Egyptians, since they are not
being asked to convert to worshiping YHWH anyway? What is the point in
showing the Egyptians that you are stronger than their gods? Sounds a bit
like penis envy to me (later on in their Bible, the Hebrews note that
Egyptians have genitals like donkeys and ejaculations like horses (Ezekiel
23:20) so this is not a fatuous comment…).
Now, to be fair, on some occasions the text notes that the unnamed King
hardened his own heart (Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34), as opposed to eight times
when it states that YHWH hardened his heart. Is there some meaning here,
or is it just the usual sloppy drafting and lack of attention to detail we find
throughout the Hebrew Bible? For believers, it is a way out. A way to claim
that YHWH really wasn’t doing anything wrong, and it’s just our
misunderstanding of the text that makes us think YHWH was being a sadistic
bastard12.
The Final Plague
Now YHWH is ready to really let the Egyptians have it. After the last “heart
hardening” by YHWH, YHWH plans his final plague on the Egyptians, the
murder of every first born of both human and cattle. I am not sure why the
livestock just won’t stay dead.… But for some strange reason, YHWY doesn’t
know where the Hebrews are living anymore. All the other plagues explicitly
exempted the Hebrews. The land where they lived was not affected. No
fleas, frogs or hail came to bother them. They even avoided the boils. So
why now, when YHWH is going to kill lots of innocent people (and those ever
living livestock) does he need to have their houses marked so his Angel
knows who not to kill?13
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