The Plague of Lice: Egypt’s Dust Turns Against Its Masters

Three weeks passed since the end of the plague of frogs. One could say that the task of clearing away the frogs has finally been completed. Somehow the terrible smell has faded, and now Egypt is in a stage of recovery. At last there is quiet. The frogs that croaked without pause have died, and to everyone’s relief, Moshe has not come with a warning about another plague (the plague of lice came without warning, as a punishment for Pharaoh’s repeated hardening of his heart despite previous warnings).

Life begins to return to its normal course. True, two terrible plagues struck after Moshe’s warnings, but overall things seem to be returning to what they were before: King Pharaoh still rules with strength, and Israel has not been freed from their labor. The burden of slavery has eased slightly, yet the Children of Israel continue working with mortar and bricks. It is true that Egypt has become impoverished from the plague of blood, the air is still polluted, fishermen have no livelihood, many families mourn their loved ones, and hospitals are overflowing, especially with infectious disease patients. Even the orthopedic wards are working overtime due to injuries caused by slipping on frogs. Still, as people say, life must go on. One cannot remain trapped in the past forever.

Lice Throughout the Land

Then suddenly it happened. One day, without any warning at all, their world darkened. All the dust of Egypt turned into lice. The silent ground itself came alive.

How did it happen? Moshe and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh and his advisers in the royal garden courtyard. Without warning, Aaron struck the earth with his staff, and in an instant all the dust of Egypt — down to a depth of half a meter, turned into lice. Ground that had never been touched by human hands remained unchanged, but every piece of soil that had been worked became infested with lice. Remember, you enslaved Israel with labor in the dust!

Not just one type, but fourteen kinds of lice were brought upon the Egyptians. If they had been of ordinary size, perhaps they could have been endured. But their size was terrifying, ranging from the size of a chicken egg to that of a goose egg.

The lice crawled over Pharaoh and the queen, bringing them shame and humiliation — the king and queen covered in lice! The magicians of Egypt, like all Egyptians, were covered from head to toe. The educated, refined Egyptian was now full of lice! Their clothing did not protect them; the lice reached their flesh and bit them. You sought to destroy a nation compared to dust — now something created from dust has come to punish you.

A Direct Assault

An Egyptian sits in his home and suddenly feels attacked from every direction. Sharp pains strike him like needles and arrows. Large lice roam freely across his body, biting and sucking his blood. They are frightening, disgusting, and above all painful. He does not understand what is happening and has no idea how to defend himself.

Even his chair begins to shift beneath him. The earthen floor has become a mass of crawling, biting creatures, making his seat unstable. The white plastered walls of his home now swarm with black insects. He cries out in fear and pain, his screams mixing with those of his wife and children. He jumps from his chair, but to no avail; now he himself sinks into the lice up to his thighs. The pain is unbearable.

He tries desperately to rid himself of them, scratching and tearing them away one by one, yet their numbers are overwhelming. The more he fights, the more arrive. The battle is lost from the start — madness, itching, pain, and despair.

The Egyptians jump and twist constantly, trying to shake off the torment. Their feet barely touch the ground because it is covered in lice. Each step causes new bites, forcing them to lift one foot after another.

After hours of nonstop movement, they become utterly exhausted. Yet where can they sit or lie down? Every position only increases the pain. As time passes, the problem worsens. They are starving and thirsty, but even eating and drinking becomes nearly impossible. Lice fill their faces and hands; opening the mouth risks more lice entering and biting the tongue and palate. Blood loss from the bites increases their thirst, yet drinking is agonizing. Holding a cup with bitten hands hurts; bringing it to swollen lips is painful; and the water itself is mixed with lice. Day and night they struggle, unable to work. You prevented Israel from serving God — now you are prevented from doing your work.

Silenced Voices

Imagine the scene: amid the struggle, the Egyptian hears screams. His small children, who were playing in the dust, sink into the lice and cry in pain and fear. With great effort he pulls them free, ignoring the terrible pain as the lice bite harder under pressure. He lifts them onto a table, but they remain covered from head to toe, still crying from the stings. Eventually their cries fade — not because the pain ends, but because crying itself hurts as lice bite their open mouths. It recalls the cries of Israelite children who were pressed into walls in place of bricks, their mouths sealed with mortar.

A Strike at the Building Site

What happens at the construction sites of the Jewish slaves? Suddenly the entire area turns black — and the black moves. The mortar becomes lice. The Egyptian overseers are covered and begin shouting and stumbling from the bites. Meanwhile, the Jewish laborer standing in the same mortar is untouched — not a single bite, not a single louse clings to him.

The overseer scratches furiously, furious to see his slaves sitting calmly while he writhes in pain. Yet he cannot punish them now. To the Egyptians’ frustration, the slaves simply leave and go home.

The plague strikes the animals as well. Donkeys, horses, camels, cattle, and even the “sacred” sheep are covered with biting lice. The animals cry out in pain and thrash about, just like their owners. You degraded Israel and compared them to beasts — now you are made equal to your beasts.

Pharaoh still refuses to be convinced. He calls his magicians to produce lice as well. They try, and fail. Why? Because magic cannot control something smaller than a barley grain, and lice in their natural size are tiny. Realizing their inability, the magicians admit, “It is the finger of God.” From this plague onward, their prestige declines. The most advanced nation in magic admits that this is not sorcery, but the work of the Creator.

The Aftermath

From the plague of lice onward, the labor imposed on Israel ceased. They stopped sweeping streets, working fields, and handling mortar, though they were not yet freed. The Egyptians now faced immense work themselves. Buildings once beautifully plastered now looked neglected, but their injured hands could not repair them.

Through this plague, God once again demonstrated His reality. Thus ended the first series of plagues, of the lesson God sought to teach Pharaoh and his people: there is a God who created the world from nothing. The Egyptians grasped this intellectually, yet their hearts still refused to release Israel.