Were Moses and Aaron the First Bioterrorists?
Journal Title: International Journal of Forensic Sciences - Year 2019, Vol 4, Issue 3
Abstract
The exodus of the Israelite slaves from Egypt was a momentous event in religious history. The Pharaoh had refused to free them until a series of ten plagues occurred sometime between 1570-1550 BCE. During the fifth plague, death of livestock resulted and during the sixth, boils appeared upon humans and animals. Anthrax was the most likely cause of both plagues. The carcasses of the animals that died during the fifth plague were probably incinerated in a furnace with resultant ashes which would have contained countless heat- resistant anthrax spores. Exodus 9:8 says: “And the Lord said unto Moses and unto Aaron, ‘Take to you handfuls of ashes from the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it toward the heaven in the sight of Pharaoh’”. Exodus 9:9 says: "And it (the anthrax contaminated ashes) shall become small dust in all the land of Egypt, and shall be a boil breaking forth with blains (sores) upon man, and upon beast, throughout all the land of Egypt". Cutaneous anthrax is a "boil-like" lesion that ruptures ("breaks forth") into an ulcer ("sore"), affecting humans and animals. Thus, Moses’ airborne release of anthrax spores was the proximate cause of the 6th plague of Egypt. This study suggests a novel interrelationship and transmission mechanism between these two sequential plagues. Chronologically, the next reported use of a bioweapon was in 1325 BCE when the Hittites used sheep infected with Francisella tularensis against the Phoenician city of Symra, occurring about 250 years after this first bioterrorism attack by Moses and Aaron.
Authors and Affiliations
Bullock JD
Keywords
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- EP ID EP746773
- DOI 10.23880/ijfsc-16000167
- Views 22
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