Exodus — Chapter 7

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

2Thou 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.

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

4But 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.

5And 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.

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

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

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

9When 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.

10And 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.

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

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

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

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

15Get 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.

16And 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.

17Thus 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.

18And 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.

19And 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.

20And 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.

21And 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.

22And 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.

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

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

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

1And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

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

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

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

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

6And Moses and Aaron did so; as Jehovah commanded them, so did they.

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

8And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,

9When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Show a wonder for you; then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.

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

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

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

13And Pharaoh`s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.

14And Jehovah said unto Moses, Pharaoh`s heart is stubborn, he refuseth to let the people go.

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

16And thou shalt say unto him, Jehovah, the 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 hast not hearkened.

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

18And the fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river.

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

20And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah 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.

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

22And the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments: and Pharaoh`s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.

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

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

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

1So the Lord said to Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.

2You are to speak everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh that he must release the Israelites from his land.

3But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and although I will multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt,

4Pharaoh will not listen to you. I will reach into Egypt and bring out my regiments, my people the Israelites, from the land of Egypt with great acts of judgment.

5Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when I extend my hand over Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”

6And Moses and Aaron did so; they did just as the Lord commanded them.

7Now Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,

9“When Pharaoh says to you, ‘Do a miracle,’ and you say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ it will become a snake.”

10When Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, they did so, just as the Lord had commanded them—Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a snake.

11Then Pharaoh also summoned wise men and sorcerers, and the magicians of Egypt by their secret arts did the same thing.

12Each man threw down his staff, and the staffs became snakes. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.

13Yet Pharaoh’s heart became hard, and he did not listen to them, just as the Lord had predicted.

14The Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to release the people.

15Go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes out to the water. Position yourself to meet him by the edge of the Nile, and take in your hand the staff that was turned into a snake.

16Tell him, ‘The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you to say, “Release my people, that they may serve me in the wilderness!” But until now you have not listened.

17This is what the Lord has said: “By this you will know that I am the Lord: I am going to strike the water of the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned into blood.

18Fish in the Nile will die, the Nile will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile.”’”

19Then the Lord said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, over their canals, over their ponds, and over all their reservoirs—so that it becomes blood.’ There will be blood everywhere in the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.”

20Moses and Aaron did so, just as the Lord had commanded. He raised the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile right before the eyes of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.

21When the fish that were in the Nile died, the Nile began to stink, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. There was blood everywhere in the land of Egypt!

22But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts, and so Pharaoh’s heart remained hard, and he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron—just as the Lord had predicted.

23And Pharaoh turned and went into his house. He did not pay any attention to this.

24All the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water of the Nile.

25Seven full days passed after the Lord struck the Nile.

1Yahweh said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.

2You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.

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

4But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.

5The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them.”

6Moses and Aaron did so. As Yahweh commanded them, so they did.

7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8Yahweh spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,

9“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Perform a miracle!’ then you shall tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it become a serpent.’”

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

11Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.

12For they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.

13Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.

14Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.

15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he goes out to the water; and you shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.

16You shall tell him, ‘Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness:” and behold, until now you haven’t listened.

17Yahweh says, “In this you shall know that I am Yahweh. Behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.

18The fish that are in the river shall die, and the river shall become foul; and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink water from the river.”’”

19Yahweh said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”

20Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck 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.

21The fish that were in the river died; and the river became foul, and the Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.

22The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them; as Yahweh had spoken.

23Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn’t even take this to heart.

24All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn’t drink the river water.

25Seven days were fulfilled, after Yahweh had struck the river.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh; Aaron's rod becomes a serpent and swallows the magicians' rods, then the first plague turns the Nile to blood.

Authorship & Background

Author: Moses (see Chapter 1 notes for full authorship details).
Historical Context: Chapter 7 begins the plague narrative — God's systematic judgment on Egypt and its gods. God establishes the relationship between Moses, Aaron, and Pharaoh: Moses is "a god to Pharaoh" and Aaron is his "prophet" (v.1). The chapter records the sign of Aaron's rod becoming a serpent (swallowing the magicians' serpents) and the first plague: water turned to blood. Each plague targets a specific Egyptian deity — the Nile (Hapi, the Nile god) is struck first. The magicians can imitate but not reverse the plague. Pharaoh's heart hardens. The battle between YHWH and Egypt's gods has begun.
God's Commission Restated (vv.1-7): God makes Moses "a god to Pharaoh" — His authoritative representative (v.1). Aaron is Moses' "prophet" — spokesman (v.1). God forewarns: "I will harden Pharaoh's heart" (v.3) so that He may "multiply my signs and my wonders" (v.3). Purpose: "The Egyptians shall KNOW that I am the LORD" (v.5). Moses is 80, Aaron 83 (v.7).
The Sign of the Serpent (vv.8-13): Pharaoh demands a miracle (v.9). Aaron casts his rod — it becomes a serpent (v.10). Pharaoh's magicians (Jannes and Jambres — 2 Timothy 3:8) replicate it (v.11). But Aaron's rod SWALLOWS theirs (v.12) — God's power consumes counterfeit power. Pharaoh's heart hardens (v.13).
The First Plague: Water to Blood (vv.14-25): God sends Moses to meet Pharaoh at the Nile in the morning (v.15). The demand: "Let my people go" (v.16). The warning: "In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD" (v.17). Aaron strikes the Nile — all water becomes blood (vv.19-20). Fish die, the river stinks, Egyptians cannot drink (v.21). The magicians replicate it (v.22) — they can make the problem worse but cannot fix it. Pharaoh is unmoved (v.23). The plague lasts seven days (v.25).

Map & Geography

  • Egypt — Pharaoh's court: The confrontation between Moses/Aaron and Pharaoh continues.
  • The Nile River (v.17): Site of the first plague — water turned to blood. The Nile was worshipped as a god (Hapi); God strikes at the heart of Egypt's religion and economy.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the plague as judgment on Hapi (the Nile god), the significance of Aaron's rod swallowing the magicians' rods, and the progressive hardening of Pharaoh's heart.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "Aaron's Rod Swallowing the Rods" on v.12 (MTP Vol. 21, No. 1239) "Aaron's rod SWALLOWED UP their rods — it did not merely match them or outperform them. It consumed them. God's truth does not merely compete with error — it devours it. The gospel does not stand alongside false religion as an equal option — it swallows it whole. Let the magicians produce their best tricks — God's power will consume them all. And note: the magicians could IMITATE but never REVERSE. They could turn water to blood but could not turn blood back to water. Satan can make problems worse; only God can solve them."

Reflection

  • 1. "The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD" (v.5). God's judgments have a revelatory purpose — they reveal who He is. Even in difficult circumstances, God is making Himself known. Are you paying attention?
  • 2. "Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods" (v.12). God's power doesn't merely compete with counterfeit power — it consumes it. Whatever false thing you're trusting in, God's truth will ultimately swallow it. Trust the real over the imitation.
  • 3. The magicians could imitate but not reverse (v.22). Satan can make problems worse but cannot solve them. Only God can turn blood back to water, death back to life, bondage back to freedom. Where are you looking for solutions — to counterfeits or to God?
  • 4. "Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he set his heart to this" (v.23). Pharaoh saw the miracle and walked away unmoved. You can witness God's power and still refuse to respond. Don't harden your heart to what God is showing you.
  • 5. Moses is 80 years old (v.7). God's greatest work through Moses begins at 80. It's never too late for God to use you. Your age, your past failures, your "uncircumcised lips" — none of it disqualifies you when God commissions you.