Most people are familiar with the Old Testament account of the 10 plagues brought upon Egypt (Exodus chapters 7-11). The plagues, however, we not arbitrary. They were each in opposition to the Egyptian gods they worshiped – starting with their weakest gods to Ra and Pharaoh himself.

In this way, God was showing He was over all other gods – something that would have been very obvious to the Egyptians who worshipped them.

Plagues and the Egyptian gods they showed dominion over:

1. Water turned to blood – showed dominion over the Egyptian god Hapi – the god of the Nile, the water bearer.
2. Frogs from the Nile – showed dominion over the Egyptian goddess Heket (Heqet)– the Goddess of Fertility, Water, Renewal and had the head of a frog
3. Lice from the dust of the Earth – showed dominion over the Egyptian god Geb – Egyptian god of the dust of the Earth
4. Swarms of flies – showed dominion over the Egyptian god Khepri – Egyptian god of creation with the head of a dung beetle
5. Death of cattle and livestock – showed dominion over the Egyptian goddess Hathor – the goddess with head/appearance of a cow
6. Ashes turned to boils and sores – showed dominion over the Egyptian goddess Isis – the goddess of healing, protection, and magic
7. Hail rained down in the form of fire – showed dominion over the Egyptian goddess Nut – the goddess of the sky and stars
8. Locusts sent from the sky – showed dominion over the Egyptian god of Seth – god of storms and disorder
9. Three days of complete darkness – showed dominion over the Egyptian god Ra – the sun god – the highest of their gods.
10. Death of the firstborn – showed dominion over Pharaoh as a living son of Ra himself.

Links:

• https://www.stat.rice.edu/~dobelman/Dinotech/10_Eqyptian_gods_10_Plagues.pdf
• https://time.com/5561441/passover-10-plagues-real-history/