Exoduschapter 7

Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

A.Made as God to Pharaohvv. 1-7

1 The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. 2 You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land. 3 But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, 4 Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt. 5 And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.” 6 So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. 7 Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

B.The Rod That Swallowed the Serpentsvv. 8-13

8 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, 9 “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.” 10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent. 11 But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. 12 Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs. 13 Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.

C.The Nile Turned to Bloodvv. 14-25

14 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go. 15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. 16 Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But you have not listened until now. 17 This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood. 18 The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’” 19 And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.” 20 Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood. 21 The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt. 22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said. 23 Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart. 24 So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river. 25 And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.

Commentary on this chapter: read the Exposition

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Chapter summary

The plagues begin.

Read the rest, the context and the outline ▾Show less ▴

The plagues begin. Aaron's rod becomes a serpent; the magicians duplicate the sign, but Aaron's serpent swallows theirs. Then the first plague. The river of Egypt, Egypt's god and life-spring, turned to blood. Fish die; the land stinks; the Egyptians cannot drink. Seven days. The magicians produce a pale imitation with their enchantments. Pharaoh's heart is hardened. The chapter is the opening skirmish of a series. Each plague will touch a point in Egyptian religion. JFB: the judgments are not merely punishments; they are a systematic dethroning of Egypt's gods.

Drawn from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory, Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary, John Wesley, Notes on the Old Testament and John Calvin, Commentaries.

Context

Law · Moses — Exodus overview

A. 1–7 Made as God to Pharaoh
B. 8–13 The Rod That Swallowed the Serpents
C. 14–25 The Nile Turned to Blood

Top cross-references8 chapters ▾

Exodus 79 verses
- Exodus 7:2You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.
- Exodus 7:5And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.”
- Exodus 7:10So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.
- Exodus 7:11But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts.
- Exodus 7:17This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood.
- Exodus 7:18The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”
- Read Exodus 7: 3 more there →
Exodus 87 verses
- Exodus 8:5And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Stretch out your hand with your staff over the rivers and canals and ponds, and cause the frogs to come up onto the land of Egypt.’”
- Exodus 8:7But the magicians did the same thing by their magic arts, and they also brought frogs up onto the land of Egypt.
- Exodus 8:9Moses said to Pharaoh, “You may have the honor over me. When shall I pray for you and your officials and your people that the frogs (except for those in the Nile) may be taken away from you and your houses?”
- Exodus 8:15When Pharaoh saw that there was relief, however, he hardened his heart and would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.
- Exodus 8:18The magicians tried to produce gnats using their magic arts, but they could not. And the gnats remained on man and beast.
- Exodus 8:20Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, and when Pharaoh goes out to the water, stand before him and tell him that this is what the LORD says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- Read Exodus 8: 1 more there →
Exodus 45 verses
- Exodus 4:2And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied.
- Exodus 4:3“Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
- Exodus 4:9But if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground. Then the water you take from the Nile will become blood on the ground.”
- Exodus 4:15You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do.
- Exodus 4:21The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.
- Read Exodus 4 →
Exodus 104 verses
- Exodus 10:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the hearts of his officials, that I may perform these miraculous signs of Mine among them,
- Exodus 10:20But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would not let the Israelites go.
- Exodus 10:23No one could see anyone else, and for three days no one left his place. Yet all the Israelites had light in their dwellings.
- Exodus 10:27But the LORD hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he was unwilling to let them go.
- Read Exodus 10 →

4 more chapters this one speaks with

Exodus 143 verses
- Exodus 14:18The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
- Exodus 14:21Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and all that night the LORD drove back the sea with a strong east wind that turned it into dry land. So the waters were divided,
- Exodus 14:26Then the LORD said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea, so that the waters may flow back over the Egyptians and their chariots and horsemen.”
- Read Exodus 14 →
Exodus 93 verses
- Exodus 9:1Then the LORD said to Moses, “Go to Pharaoh and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- Exodus 9:11The magicians could not stand before Moses, because the boils had broken out on them and on all the Egyptians.
- Exodus 9:13Then the LORD said to Moses, “Get up early in the morning, stand before Pharaoh, and tell him that this is what the LORD, the God of the Hebrews, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may worship Me.
- Read Exodus 9 →
Acts 72 verses
- Acts 7:30After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
- Acts 7:36He led them out and performed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
- Read Acts 7 →
Exodus 111 verse
- Exodus 11:9The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh will not listen to you, so that My wonders may be multiplied in the land of Egypt.”
- Read Exodus 11 →

Cross-references from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge and OpenBible.info.