People have told stories about disasters throughout the ages. One of the oldest such stories is that of the 10 plagues in the book of Exodus, the disasters that forced the Egyptians to liberate the Israelites. These plagues packed enough catastrophes to fill a series of summer blockbusters: rivers of blood, invasions of frogs and insects, mass disease, fiery hail, smothering darkness, and the midnight deaths of all the firstborn. The story still resonates today, as people try to make sense of such calamities as pandemics, climate change, and war.
Religious studies scholar Steven Weitzman explores how artists, writers, activists, philosophers, believers, and unbelievers of later ages have reshaped the story to give expression to their trauma, outrage, guilt, humor, and hope. Tracing the interpretation and retelling of each plague, Weitzman discusses how this ancient account found new meaning among Jews, Christians, and Muslims and continues to shape how people understand the present and envision the future.
Weitzman’s new book, Disasters of Biblical Proportions: The Ten Plagues Then, Now, and at the End of the World (Princeton University Press), is available for purchase.
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