Infectious diseases occurring naturally or in punishment for sin, and other calamities sent by God. In (Gen 12:17), God strikes Pharaoh “with great plagues” because of Abram’s wife. This foreshadows later punishments inflicted on Pharaoh and his country at the time of Moses (Exod 7-12). In the Pentateuch, plague terms often describe punishment for Israel (Exod 5:3; Exod 30:12; Lev 26:25; Num 8:19; Num 14:12; Num 14:37; Num 25:8-9; Num 18-19:8; Deut 28:21; Deut 32:24; Exod 12:13). Later, Jeremiah and Ezekiel also threaten pestilence, sword, and famine as a threefold divine punishment.
