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Exodus Chapter 7

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¹ And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

² Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

³ And I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.

⁴ But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

⁵ And the Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.

⁶ And Moses and Aaron did as the LORD commanded them, so did they.

⁷ And Moses was fourscore years old, and Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto Pharaoh.

⁸ And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

⁹ When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.

¹⁰ And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the LORD had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

¹¹ Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.

¹² For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.

¹³ And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.

¹⁴ And the LORD said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

¹⁵ Get thee unto Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water; and thou shalt stand by the river's brink against he come; and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand.

¹⁶ And thou shalt say unto him, The LORD God of the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold, hitherto thou wouldest not hear.

¹⁷ Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

¹⁸ And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink; and the Egyptians shall lothe to drink of the water of the river.

¹⁹ And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone.

²⁰ And Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.

²¹ And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.

²² And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.

²³ And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this also.

²⁴ And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river.

²⁵ And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

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View All Exodus Chapter 7 Comments...

GiGi's Exodus Chapter 7 comment on 2/10/2022, 6:00pm...

,....continued

The first plague performed was to turn the water of the Nile into blood along with the water in the canals and side streams. The Nile was worshipped. Hapi was the spirit god of the Nile, Isis was the goddess of the Nile, Osirus' blood was said to the waters of the Nile. Khnum was said to be the guardian of the Nile. The Nile was truly the lifeblood of the people of Egypt. Aside from the Nile, fresh water was very scarce. Every living thing needs water to stay alive and the water of the Nile watered the crops and livestock to keep the land of Egypt as a major food source for the Mediterranean area.

This plague made the Nile no longer a life-sustaining source, but liquid poison, so to speak. Its waters were undrinkable and made people ill if they did. Whether it truly was blood or just red by some other organism we cannot know. But the text says that it was turned to blood, not turned red like blood. So, I think it really was blood, but not pure blood like the blood of Christ. It was tainted blood. The magicians were able to perform this same act by magic. So, Pharaoh was not troubled much. He returned to his palace fairly unconcerned and hardened his heart more than before. Perhaps he had a well or stored water and thought that this water would not be blood. But most likely upon inquiring, it was.

The fish in the Nile died, as well, and were unfit to eat. The Egyptians had a fish god and goddess, Hatmehit as goddess, and Rem as the god who fertilized the land.

GiGi's Exodus Chapter 7 comment on 2/10/2022, 5:45pm...

This chapter tells about the hardening of Pharaoh's heart even more and the beginning of the plagues God brings upon Egypt.

When Moses and Aaron met with Pharaoh, they always ordered Pharaoh to let the Israelites go. Moses and Aaron kept this outcome at the forefront, remembering that that is their sole mission, to secure the release of the Israelites from Pharaoh.

The Israelites were not going to leave Egypt in a stealthy way, nor by the Israelites rising up in battle and defeating the Egyptians. No, God wanted the Israelites to know for sure that it was He, their God who brings them out.

The Egyptians were polytheistic and had many gods they worshipped, many of them being animals. They also worshipped the Nile as its waters watered their land which would be only desert if it wasn't for the Nile. God told Moses that he would be as a god to Pharaoh. This may mean that Moses was going to be YHWH's representative or that Pharaoh would see Moses as another god by the time the release of the Israelites is accomplished. It does NOT mean that Moses is actually a 'god'' All gods beside YHWH are false idols. So, YHWH would not induct Moses as a 'god' because YHWH will never share His glory and place as the only God with anyone else.

The first sign miracle that Moses and Aaron performed together before Pharaoh was to turn the rod or staff into a snake. The magicians did the same magic trick, however, Aaron's rod/snake swallowed up the magician's rod/snakes. This is significant. God knew all of the false idols the Egyptians worshipped and the snake was one of them. It was named Apep and was the god of chaos. Also, Apep was said to pursue Ra (the chief god-sun god) each night in an effort to devour Ra so that the sun would not rise and the world would remain in darkness. So, when Aaron's snake devoured the magician's snakes this showed them that the God of Moses and Aaron was greater than Apep, having been devoured by the rod/snake of Aaron.

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