In Egypt

In Egypt, the light/darkness theme is summed up in the mythology of the sun god Ra. As the chief god of Egypt, Ra’s power and thereby to the well-being of Egypt itself became linked with the symbolism of light and darkness (Allen, Genesis in Egypt, 51). Thus when the plague of darkness came over Egypt (Exod 10), it would have been interpreted as an attack on the Egyptian gods as well as on Egypt. God’s mastery of both light and darkness, followed quickly by His demonstration of sovereignty over death and life, was a decisive blow against Egyptian gods: The God of Israel was sovereign over light, darkness, life, and death. He is not simply linked to those realities in this world. Continued imagery of light and darkness in the story of the exodus (e.g., Exod 14:19–20) highlights this distinction between God and the Egyptian deities.