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Notes -
I couldn't begin to tell you; I know nothing about secular accounts of history in the ancient near East. My point was more that, if you accept the Bible's accounts of those miracles as true, then you shouldn't necessarily envy the ancients for having been present for them. Because those accounts also talk about how even those who saw the miracles weren't necessarily convinced.
The Pharaoh had magicians that could do cool supernatural things; YHWH's feats were simply superior. The Tanakh implicitly accepts the existence of other gods.
Another example is the prohibition on sacrificing to Moloch. Presumably this would not have been necessary unless people were actually being tempted to do such a thing. Why? Because it worked! (See 2 Kings 3)
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