Midrash su Salmi 78:44

Our sages of blessed memory said: The Holy One, blessed be He, followed the military tactics employed by kings when inflicting the plagues upon them. When the people of a province rebel, a human king dispatches his legions to surround them. First he dams up their water supply. If the people repent, well and good; but if not, he orders thunderous noises to be directed against them. If they are contrite, good; but if not, he commands that arrows be shot at them. If they relent (their actions), well and good; but if not, he sends barbarians against them. If they retract, good; but if not, he orders other reprisals to be taken against them. If they are contrite, well and good; but if not, he orders naphtha to be hurled upon them. If they are repentant, good; but if not, he catapults stones upon them. If they repent, good; but if not, he turns a large population against them. If they retract, good; but if not, he imprisons them. If they relent, good; but if not, he destroys their leaders. The Holy One, blessed be He, attacked Egypt with the tactics employed by a king. The first thing He did was to cut off their water supply, as it is said: And he turned their rivers into blood. They were not contrite, and He therefore brought tumultuous noises upon them. These were the frogs. R. Yosé the son of Hanina said: Their croaking was harder to bear than the havoc they wrought. Still they did not repent, and so he shot arrows at them. These were the gnats, as it is said: And there were gnats upon man, and upon beast (Exod. 8:13). They penetrated the bodies of the Egyptians like spears. However, they did not become contrite, and so He sent barbarians against them. These were the swarms, as it is said: And there came grievous swarms of beasts (ibid., v. 20). Still they did not relent, and so He took other reprisals against them. He brought the murrain: And all the cattle of Egypt died (ibid. 9:6). Nevertheless, they did not repent, and so He poured naphtha over them. These were the boils, as it is said: And a boil breaking forth with blains upon man and upon beast (ibid., v. 9). Still they were not contrite, and so He catapulted projectiles upon them. This was the hail. But even then they did not repent, and so he stirred up a large population against them, that is, the locusts. Even so, they did not mend their ways, and so He imprisoned them. This was the darkness, as it is said: And there was a thick darkness (ibid. 10:22). When they refused to repent, He killed their important men, as it is said: The Lord smote all the firstborn (ibid. 12:19).

(Exod. 10:21:) STRETCH OUT YOUR HAND TOWARD THE HEAVENS. The Holy One brought the plagues upon them in the order¹³Gk.: taxis. of a flesh-and-blood [king]. In the case of a flesh-and-blood king, when a state revolts against him, what does he do? He sends out legions¹⁴Lat.: Legiones. which surround it. First he {smashes} [dams up] their aqueduct.¹⁵Tanh., Exod. 3:4; PRK 7:11; PR 17:7; cf. Exod. R. 17:27. If they repent, well and good; but if not, he brings <war> cries against them. [If they repent, well and good; but if not, he shoots arrows at them. If they repent, well and good; but if not, he brings <the> legions against them. If they repent, well and good; but if not, he brings hand-to-hand combat¹⁶Gk.: dorimachos, literally: “fighting with the spear.” against them.] If they repent, well and good; but if not, he hurls naphtha¹⁷Gk.: naphtha. at them. If they repent, well and good; but if not, he hurls stones at them from a catapult.¹⁸Gk.: balistra. Then, if they repent, well and good; but if not, he stirs up {six legions} a lot of troops¹⁹Gk.: ochloi, i.e., “crowds.” against them. If they repent, well and good; but if not, he binds them in prison. If they repent, well and good; but if not, he kills their noble ones. So did the Holy One come against the Egyptians in the order of kings. First he {smashed} [dammed up] their aqueduct, as stated (in Ps. 78:44): HE TURNED THEIR NILES²⁰The word ye’orehem here would normally be translated “rivers,” but ye’orehem in the singular is also the proper name of the river Nile and reinforces the Egyptian context. INTO BLOOD <SO THAT THEIR STREAMS WERE UNDRINKABLE>. When they did not repent, he brought <war> cries against them. These were the frogs, as stated (in Exod. 8:8): <THEN MOSES CRIED OUT TO THE LORD> ABOUT THE MATTER OF THE FROGS…. Then, when they did not repent, he brought arrows upon them. These were the gnats, as stated (in Exod. 8:13 [17]): AND THERE WERE GNATS [UPON HUMAN AND UPON BEAST], for <each of them > entered an Egyptian body like an arrow. [Then, when they did not repent, he brought <the> legions upon them. These were swarms of flies, as stated (in Ps. 78:45): HE SENT SWARMS OF INSECTS AMONG THEM TO DEVOUR THEM. Then, when they did not repent, he brought hand-to-hand combat upon them, as stated. This is the plague.]²¹Cf. Tanh., Exod. 3:4, which adds here: “And it killed their livestock.” Then, when they did not repent, he hurled naphtha at them. <This corresponds to> the boils. Then, when they did not repent, he hurled stones at them from a catapult. This is the hail. Then when they did not repent even after that, he stirred up a lot of troops against them. These were the locusts. Then after that he put them in prison. [This is the darkness,] as stated (in Exod. 10:21): DARKNESS THAT CAN BE TOUCHED…. Then, when they did not repent, he killed all their eldest sons, as stated (in Exod. 12:29): THAT THE LORD SMOTE ALL THE FIRST-BORN.

Whatever the Egyptians devised against Israel, [the Holy One] brought against them. Those < Egyptians > devised for them to draw their water. What is written (in Ps. 78:44)? HE TURNED THEIR NILES INTO BLOOD SO THAT THEIR STREAMS WERE UNDRINKABLE. Those < Egyptians > devised for them to be laden as traveling traders.²²Gk.: pragmateutes. He sent frogs upon them and covered them with resin. Those < Egyptians > devised for them to work on the land. The Holy One made the land swarm with gnats. Those <Egyptians> devised that they should bear their children as a paidagogos.²³The Greek word designates a slave who was assigned to a child as an attendant and guardian. He sent lions, wolves, and bears among them. <If> an Egyptian had ten children, when he told Israel to bring them to the market place, the lion came and took one, the wolf one, the bear one, the leopard one, and the snake one. Then he came <back> to the Egyptian alone. The Egyptian said: Where are my children? Israel said to him: Sit down and I myself will render you an accounting: The lion took one <etc.>; and so <he continued> on, until he had given him an accounting. Now they (the Egyptians) devised that they would tend their livestock, but he sent out the plague among them, as stated (in Exod. 9:6): THEN ALL THE EGYPTIAN LIVESTOCK DIED. They intended that they would be bath attendants {bathe them}. He brought the boils upon them. They intended to stone them with stones. The Holy One brought the hail upon them, as stated (in Exod. 9:22): THAT THERE MAY BE HAIL <IN ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT >…. They intended that they would be their vine dressers. The Holy One brought the locusts, who ate their trees, as stated (in Exod. 10:15): AND THEY ATE ALL THE GRASS OF THE EARTH…. They intended to imprison them in prison. The Holy One brought darkness upon them, as stated (in Exod. 10:23): THEY COULD NOT SEE ONE ANOTHER…. They intended to kill them. The Holy One killed their first-born, as stated (in Exod. 12:29): THAT THE LORD SMOTE ALL THE FIRST-BORN. They intended to drown them in water. The Holy One also drowned them in water, as stated (in Ps. 136:15): BUT OVERTHREW PHARAOH AND HIS HOST IN THE REED SEA….