● Moses (age 80) and Aaron returned demanding 'Let my people go'; Pharaoh (likely Ramesses II or Merneptah, 19th Dynasty) refused; ten escalating plagues struck Egypt: Nile turned to blood (Hapi defeated), frogs (Heqet), gnats/lice, flies, livestock disease (Hathor/Apis), boils (Sekhmet), hail and fire (Nut/Shu), locusts (Seth), three days of darkness (Ra defeated), death of the firstborn — each plague systematically humiliated a major Egyptian deity; Pharaoh’s heart 'hardened' ten times (sometimes by God, sometimes by himself); final plague at midnight killed every Egyptian firstborn including Pharaoh’s heir while Israelites protected by lamb’s blood on doorposts — direct parallel to Egyptian 'substitute king' rituals and the protective power of blood amulets.
