Were the Ten Plagues Natural Disasters? Why the Torah Rejects “Scientific” Reinterpretations of the Exodus

Hello Rabbi, A relative of mine, a religious Jew, subscribed to National Geographic. He excitedly told me about a program he watched on the Ten Plagues, in which “experts” claim that the plagues occurred through natural processes, rather than through open miracles as we traditionally understand them. 

This relative seems to accept these views unquestioningly, arguing that they do not necessarily contradict faith — because perhaps God simply timed the plagues through nature. He also claims that the Israelites crossed the Red Sea at low tide, and that at the precise divine moment a high tide returned and drowned the Egyptians who pursued them, and so on.

What is the Rabbi’s opinion on this matter?
Thank you, Itai

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Dear Itai,

Did you know that we are approaching a generation in which nearly half the world denies the Holocaust? It is hard to believe, yet today almost all Arab countries promote this claim, supported by historians and academics of the highest caliber, arguing against our people.

If you examine their arguments closely, you will discover something astonishing: Holocaust deniers do not deny the existence of ghettos or extermination camps in Germany. Instead, they reinterpret them. According to their narrative, the Germans never intended to exterminate the Jewish people, but merely gathered Jews in “innocent” camps to transport them to Africa — and Jews supposedly died on the way from disease or “accidental” gas leaks.

With enough imagination and selective reading, any historical event can be distorted and minimized. One could just as easily claim that Napoleon never existed, and that the French invented him to boost national morale. Imagination, as we know, has no limits.

National Memory vs. Private Interpretation

We, however, know a basic truth: history transmitted faithfully by an entire nation, generation after generation, is historical fact. As honest people, we do not allow ourselves to distort such history to suit modern sensibilities or ideological agendas.

Unlike other religions, which are based on the private claims of a single prophet, the Torah of Israel is founded on national divine revelation, accompanied by supernatural events that shaped our people for thousands of years.

The claim that the Ten Plagues were merely “natural events” has been raised repeatedly throughout history — but it has never withstood serious scrutiny.

The Torah Leaves No Room for “Natural” Explanations

Anyone who studies the Exodus directly from the Torah, rather than from documentaries or rumors, quickly discovers that the text leaves no room for reinterpretation.

People in the ancient world were not ignorant of tides, weather patterns, or natural phenomena. Seafaring existed long before modern science, and people knew very well how to distinguish between tides and storms. The Torah does not attempt to describe familiar natural events — it explicitly describes supernatural intervention.

When the Torah states: “And the Children of Israel went into the sea on dry land, and the waters were a wall to them on their right and on their left” (Shemot 14:22), it is not poetic imagery or metaphor. It is a factual description of an event that defies nature.

The Plague of Blood: Not Nature, but Divine Precision

Consider the first plague: “And all the waters that were in the Nile were turned into blood… and the fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile stank” (Shemot 7)

The Torah emphasizes repeatedly: the water became blood. Not algae, not discoloration, but blood. The transformation occurred instantly, at the precise moment Aaron stretched out his staff, and it ended exactly seven days later.

No natural process can:

• Transform an entire river system into blood instantly

• Kill all fish simultaneously

• Reverse completely after a fixed, non-random period

Moreover, the plague affected only the Egyptians, not the Israelites. Had this been a natural event, the Jews would have suffered equally.

The Midrash adds that even stored water turned to blood for Egyptians, while the same container yielded fresh water when drawn by a Jew — further emphasizing intentional, selective divine action.

Lice from Dust: Acknowledged by Egypt’s Magicians

The Torah describes the plague of lice: “All the dust of the land became lice throughout the land of Egypt” (Shemot 8)

Dust does not turn into living organisms through natural means — certainly not instantly, across an entire country. Even Egypt’s own sorcerers admitted defeat: “This is the finger of God.”

Lice require hosts, time, and reproduction cycles. Yet here, millions appeared instantly and vanished just as suddenly — again, precisely timed.

Darkness That Could Be Felt

The plague of darkness lasted exactly three days: “They did not see one another, and no one rose from his place for three days — but for all the children of Israel there was light in their dwellings.” (Shemot 10)

This was not a sandstorm. It was a tangible, immobilizing darkness that affected Egyptians alone. Nature does not selectively distinguish between peoples, nor does it operate on a precise three-day schedule.

The Death of the Firstborn: Absolute Divine Knowledge

The final plague states clearly: “At midnight, the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt.”
(Shemot 12)

Every firstborn of humans and animals died simultaneously, at a precise moment. This requires:

• Knowledge of who is a firstborn

• Control over life and death

• Absolute precision across an entire nation

No disease, bacteria, or natural phenomenon behaves this way.

The Splitting of the Red Sea: Not Tides, but Revelation

Finally, the Torah describes the splitting of the sea: “The waters were a wall for them on their right and on their left.” (Shemot 14)

Walls of water do not form at low tide. The sea split at God’s command, stood upright all night, allowed an entire nation to pass, and then collapsed precisely when the Egyptian army entered.

The Torah concludes: “Israel saw the great hand that the Lord wielded against Egypt… and they believed in the Lord and in Moshe His servant.”

Why These Miracles Were Necessary

The Torah explicitly explains why God hardened Pharaoh’s heart: “So that you may tell in the ears of your son and your son’s son… and you shall know that I am the Lord.” (Shemot 10:1–2)

These were not natural coincidences open to reinterpretation, but miracles as signs to be transmitted across generations.

A National Revelation Unlike Any Other

The Exodus is not mythology. It is a national memory, reenacted annually at the Seder, passed down continuously by an entire people. No other nation can point to miracles on such a scale, witnessed collectively and preserved in uninterrupted tradition.

It is no coincidence that the two largest religions in the world acknowledge that God took Israel out of Egypt. Billions recognize this historical truth.