I don't see this as a theist/atheist thing. I see this type of argument as still having a little Watchtower left on the brain (and it can happen to any of us who were once in that trap.) If we’ve only been exposed to the Watchtower interpretation of things this might seem odd to hear, but this neither an error nor a lack of rational thinking, and there’s been an understanding of these verses for a couple thousand years.
When I left the Witnesses in the 1990s I was completely unaware of the different take that “Christendom” and Jews have on the process of revelation (i.e., the inspiration of the Bible and inerrancy). While the details as to how literal the book of Exodus is may differ, the understanding is generally the same across the board: Exodus is not word-for-word history but is history told via a religious perspective. In in the instance of the first 20 or so chapters of Exodus, this format or “genre” is that of a song or legend.
Your True History Is Probably Just a Legend (Otherwise You’re Boring)
Now before you think of “legend” in the “strictest way” that the old JW persona may want you to, remember that legends aren’t necessarily false. For example the Legend of Paul Revere is a historical event, but it’s an event told in the genre of poetry, namely “Paul Revere’s Ride” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Paul Revere was a real person, an American patriot, and the “legend” tells of a true event, something that really happened.
While legends or “songs” are a type of genre that, while they can tell us a true story, they do not tell us the story in literal terms. You see, depending on which “side” you were on the actions of Paul Revere were either seen as that of a hero or an enemy. A legend tells “how” a person or a people view history, interprets how they viewed what happened, and it is through such a device that we find our identities in our history. (Legends are for that reason sometimes called a “song” too, such as in Franz Werfel’s Song of Bernadette.)
History is in the eye of the beholder--or the one telling the story. What may be seen as a victory to some is told as a defeat for others, but the historicity of the story remains regardless of what we think the events mean. This is the same with Exodus. It isn’t a historical report but a religious one.
The Cattle Should Be KILLED to Death (That Should Learn 'Em!)
And you see, mentioning that the animals die more than once is not an error. It is a purposeful technique in legendary expressionism—especially the ancient form which did not have their books published under the Dewy decimal system with indicators on the spine that read “legend” to tell them the genre in which their history was being expressed at any given time. So how do you tell the audience what type of literary device or format your story is in short of saying it in the title?
You use indicators. This one, with the cattle dying three times is called a “literary device.” Each genre type in Scripture (and there are many) has its own set of devices which helps the reader understand if they are being taught a moral lesson or being told history or if they are being told history in such a way as it is used to teach a moral, etc., etc.
As this thread discussion brings out, in Exodus the poor cattle die several times, three times to be exact—once in a plague, again during a hail storm, and then again in the plague of the firstborn.
Either the writers of Exodus were stupid, or the audience they were writing too was stupid, or we are (well, not really stupid, just unlearned in this, because this is not the only place such a thing happens in Exodus…I’ll let you discover those other instances on your own). Also this description of the animals dying three times was written and copied this way for centuries, and while we can tell through analytical study where corrections likely happened, this was not the case. This detail was written this way with a purpose.
Because it happens in such close succession within the structure of plagues that also uses a specific number (ten), then obviously it is a device (three deaths to the same animals—poor things). What is it telling the audience to whom the story was written for? Simple, that the God of the Hebrews is real with enough power to do anything (especially in comparison to the powerless carved figures that the Egyptians so highly revered—and eventually stuck “dead” by the Hebrew God).
This type of storytelling was not in any way exclusive to the Hebrews either. It is a form still used today. In fact, do you know that many of the details school children are taught in the United States about the ride of Paul Revere actually come from the legend but are not literally true? While this doesn’t mean the story isn’t true or that truth cannot be found from the legend of Paul Revere, it does teach us that “truth” is not limited to being expressed in mere accurate details.
Put The Blame for Misunderstanding Where It Belongs (Otherwise the WT Gets Away With It)
Now I didn’t study theology upon leaving the Witnesses or anything like that. I proudly became an average Joe and settled in to life after my exit some 20-plus years ago. While the details may differ, this is basic, “101”-type information found in most study editions of any Bible you can buy at any store that sells them.
If we don’t know this, even after leaving the Witnesses, it’s likely because we still have a lot of Witness dribble still clinging to the brain. It’s not necessarily our fault—more of the religious upbringing and legacy we can thank the Governing Body for.
Remember, the Witnesses teach that they have a corner on Bible knowledge and treat everyone else with a “gotcha sucka” approach, but in reality nothing like that is happening whatsoever. The book of Exodus is thousands of years old, and it has been revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike—and these people developed the systems of universities of higher learning we all benefit from today. With all their vast knowledge and contribution to society we are only fooling ourselves if we think we suddenly see something in a text generations have been studying for eons. That’s a Watchtowerism!
What? You’re the first person out of the billions of others among generations and millennia to uncover a “stumbling” point in Exodus? Really? I bet you believe in Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, and Congress too, right?--Stopping the Watchtower begins thoroughly stopping it in us first!