Why Were the Egyptians Punished? Understanding the Ten Plagues

Pharaoh is well-known for enslaving the Israelites, ordering the death of newborn boys by throwing them into the Nile, and refusing to let the Jewish people go free. But many wonder why were all the Egyptian people punished so harshly during the Ten Plagues? Wasn’t it just Pharaoh giving the orders?

The truth is, the Egyptians were far from innocent. Just as we don’t excuse Nazi soldiers who “were just following orders,” the Egyptian nation was actively involved in the suffering of the Jewish people. They participated in the oppression. They helped carry out Pharaoh’s cruel decrees and benefited from the free labor. The Torah says clearly, “Come, let us act wisely with them lest they multiply” (Exodus 1:10). It wasn’t just Pharaoh’s idea, it was a national mindset.

Who beat the Jewish foremen? Who actually carried out the drowning of babies in the Nile? Who enjoyed the comfort of a growing empire built on the backs of slaves? The Torah tells us that the Israelites built cities for Pharaoh: “They set taskmasters over them to afflict them with burdens, and they built storage cities, Pithom and Raamses” (Exodus 1:11).

The Torah describes how the Egyptians treated the Israelites with cruelty and ruthlessness. “And as they afflicted them, so they multiplied and spread, and they were in dread of the Israelites. The Egyptians made the Israelites serve with rigor. They embittered their lives with hard labor, in bricks and mortar and all kinds of work in the field, all their service which they imposed upon them with rigor.”

The Midrash adds heartbreaking details. When the Israelites couldn’t meet the daily quotas for bricks, the Egyptians embedded live Jewish babies into the walls as building materials. The cruelty was beyond imagination.

Even after witnessing plague after plague, the Egyptians were still not ready to let the Israelites go. It was only after the final plague, the death of the firstborn, that they finally gave in: “The Egyptians urged the people to leave quickly, for they said, ‘We are all dead men’” (Exodus 12:33). Without this fear of death, they never would have agreed to free them.

But even then, their change of heart didn’t last long. As the Israelites left, the Egyptians immediately regretted it and chased after them: “Pharaoh and his servants changed their minds regarding the people, and they said, ‘What have we done, letting Israel go from serving us?’ So he harnessed his chariot and took his people with him... And Egypt pursued them and overtook them camped by the sea” (Exodus 14:5).

Still, one might ask, why did Hashem harden Pharaoh’s heart? The Torah answers: it was to bring about the Ten Plagues and to demonstrate that Hashem alone controls everything: “So that you may tell your children and grandchildren how I made a mockery of Egypt and how I performed My signs among them, and you will know that I am Hashem” (Exodus 10:2).

Each plague wasn’t random, it was a direct message. The Egyptians believed in many gods, one for the river, one for the sky, others for animals and people. Hashem showed His complete control over all of nature, step by step. First, the Nile was struck. Then came frogs and lice, tiny creatures they couldn't control. Then plagues that affected animals and people, wild beasts, disease, boils. Then came hail and fire from the sky, showing control over the elements. Locusts destroyed crops. Darkness revealed Hashem’s power over light. And finally, the death of the firstborn proved that Hashem holds life and death in His hands.

We are incredibly fortunate that Hashem chose us from among all the nations and performed wonders for our ancestors that were never done for any other people. No other nation has ever experienced a revelation from Hashem like we did. This is not just national pride, it’s a truth rooted in divine history. Out of His deep love for our ancestors, Hashem chose the people of Israel and promised never to abandon us.

But the Ten Plagues weren’t only meant to show Hashem’s greatness. They also reveal a core belief in Judaism, the concept of reward and punishment. Rambam (Maimonides) explains that the Torah commands us to remember the terrible plagues Hashem brought upon Egypt: “So that you may tell your children... how I made a mockery of Egypt,” because these events strengthen our faith in prophecy and in the reality of divine justice.

Some mitzvot are even designed to remind us of specific plagues. For example, the mitzvah of redeeming the firstborn is directly tied to the final plague: “When Pharaoh stubbornly refused to let us go, Hashem killed all the firstborn in Egypt... therefore, I sacrifice to Hashem all firstborn males, and I redeem my firstborn sons.”

The Ten Plagues were a public demonstration of Hashem’s involvement in the world and of the truth of the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu. But how exactly do they teach us about reward and punishment?

Our Sages teach that Hashem judges each person measure for measure, middah k’neged middah. “In the measure that a person measures, so it is measured back to him” (Megillah 12b). This is one of the reasons we are encouraged to be forgiving because when we show mercy to others, Heaven will treat us with mercy as well.

The very same crimes committed by the Egyptians came back upon them during the plagues and again at the splitting of the sea. They drowned Jewish babies in the Nile and later, they themselves drowned in the Sea of Reeds. Through this, Hashem made the concept of reward and punishment visible to the entire world.