Exodus 9:1-35

The Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Plagues

1-7. The Fifth Plague:—Murrain, i.e. cattle plague.

Visitations of cattle plague are not uncommon in Egypt. An outbreak in 1842 carried off 40,000 oxen. The miraculous nature of the plague recorded here consisted in its occurring at a set time (Exodus 9:5), and in the exemption of the cattle of the Israelites, and of the cattle that were housed. This plague was, so far, the most destructive in its effects, entailing a much more serious loss of property than the former.