12:12 firstborn. The firstborn, in whom the hopes of each family were invested, had the right of inheritance. No epidemic or accident could have been so selective.

on all the gods of Egypt . . . judgments. The death of firstborn humans and animals also constituted judgment on the Egyptian pantheon in that many of the sacred animals (which symbolized the gods) were killed. Furthermore, the impotence of Egypt’s deities to protect the land’s inhabitants was vividly demonstrated to all.