Exodus 7:17
in Exodus 7This 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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Exodus 7
Commentary
4 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Turned to blood - This miracle would bear a certain resemblance to natural phenomena, and therefore be one which Pharaoh might see with amazement and dismay, yet without complete conviction. It is well known that before the rise the water of the Nile is green and unfit to drink. About the 25th of June it becomes clear, and then yellow, and gradually reddish like ochre; an effect due to the presence of microscopic cryptogams and infusoria.
This site's exposition
I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand
on Exodus 7:17-18
The sign is aimed at Pharaoh's own question. He asked at 5:2 who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice, and the answer given here is in this thou shalt know that I am the LORD. What is struck is the Nile, which is where the Hebrew boys were ordered drowned at 1:22 and where the ark of bulrushes was laid at 2:3. Clarke gathers the traveller accounts of how good the water of the Nile was held to be, and that is what gives the loathing of verse 18 its weight.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Thus saith the Lord, in this thou shalt know that I am the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Behold, I will smite - Here commences the account of the Ten plagues which were inflicted on the Egyptians by Moses and Aaron, by the command and through the power of God. According to Archbishop Usher these ten plagues took place in the course of one month, and in the following order: - The first, the Waters turned into Blood, took place, he supposes, the 18th day of the sixth month; Exo 7:20. The second, the plague of Frogs, on the 25th day of the sixth month; Exo 8:2. The third, the plague of Lice, on the 27th day of the sixth month; Exo 8:16. The fourth, grievous Swarms of Flies, on the 29th day of the sixth month; Exo 8:24. The fifth, the grievous Murrain, on the 2d day of the seventh month; Exo 9:3. The sixth, the plague of Boils and Blains, on the 3d day of the seventh month; Exo 9:10. The seventh, the grievous Hail, on the 5th day of the seventh month; Exo 9:18. The eighth, the plague of Locusts, on the 8th day of the seventh month; Exo 10:12. The ninth, the Thick Darkness, on the 10th day of Abib, (April 30), now become the first month of the Jewish year; Exo 10:22. See Clarke’s note on Exo 12:2. The tenth, the Slaying the First-Born, on the 15th of Abib; Exo 12:29. But most of these dates are destitute of proof.
The words behind it
20 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֣ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בְּזֹ֣את | bezot | by this | H2063 → | 603 times |
| תֵּדַ֔ע | teda' | you will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּ֖י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֣י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָ֑ה | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הִנֵּ֨ה | hineh | here! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| אָנֹכִ֜י | ʾanokhi | I | H595 → | 359 times |
| מַכֶּ֣ה׀ | makeh | [am] about to strike | H5221 → | 499 times |
| בַּמַּטֶּ֣ה | bamateh | with the staff | H4294 → | 252 times |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בְּיָדִ֗י | beyadi | [is] in hand my | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | <on> | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הַמַּ֛יִם | hamayim | the water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֥ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּיְאֹ֖ר | bayor | [is] in the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| וְנֶהֶפְכ֥וּ | venehefkhu | and they will be changed | H2015 → | 94 times |
| לְדָֽם׃ | ledam | into blood | H1818 → | 360 times |
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
אָמַ֣רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בְּזֹ֣אתby this
bezotH2063 →603 times
תֵּדַ֔עyou will know
teda'H3045 →945 times
כִּ֖יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֣יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָ֑ה[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הִנֵּ֨הhere!
hinehH2009 →843 times
אָנֹכִ֜יI
ʾanokhiH595 →359 times
מַכֶּ֣ה׀[am] about to strike
makehH5221 →499 times
בַּמַּטֶּ֣הwith the staff
bamatehH4294 →252 times
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בְּיָדִ֗י[is] in hand my
beyadiH3027 →1618 times
עַל־<on>
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הַמַּ֛יִםthe water
hamayimH4325 →581 times
אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
בַּיְאֹ֖ר[is] in the River
bayorH2975 →65 times
וְנֶהֶפְכ֥וּand they will be changed
venehefkhuH2015 →94 times
לְדָֽם׃into blood
ledamH1818 →360 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 5:2But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.”
it leads to
- Exodus 3:19
But I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go unless a mighty hand compels him.
- Job 21:15
Who is the Almighty, that we should serve Him, and what would we gain if we pray to Him?’
- 2 Kings 18:35
Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”
- Exodus 3:19
Through
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.”
it leads to
- Exodus 14:18
The Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I am honored through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
- Exodus 8:22
But on that day I will give special treatment to the land of Goshen, where My people live; no swarms of flies will be found there. In this way you will know that I,…
- Exodus 14:18
Through
Psalms 9:16The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
it leads to
- Exodus 7:5
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.”
- Exodus 7:5
Through
Ezekiel 38:23I will magnify and sanctify Myself, and will reveal Myself in the sight of many nations. Then they will know that I am the LORD.
it leads to
- Psalms 9:16
The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah
- Revelation 19:1–6
After this I heard a sound like the roar of a great multitude in heaven, shouting: “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God!
- Psalms 9:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Exodus
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).