Exodus 7:18
in Exodus 7The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And 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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Exodus 7
Commentary
5 notes on this verseThe Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water - The force of this expression cannot be well felt without taking into consideration the peculiar pleasantness and great salubrity of the waters of the Nile. “The water of Egypt,” says the Abbe Mascrier, “is so delicious, that one would not wish the heat to be less, or to be delivered from the sensation of thirst. The Turks find it so exquisite that they excite themselves to drink of it by eating salt.
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.
This site's exposition
The fish in the Nile will die
The LORD names three results in advance: dead fish, a stinking river and water the Egyptians cannot drink. The Nile was Egypt's drinking water and food supply, so the sign struck daily life. Adam Clarke cites a French writer's praise of the sweetness of Nile water to show how bitter the loss would be.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And the fish that is in the river shall die,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Shall lothe - The water of the Nile has always been regarded by the Egyptians as a blessing unique to their land. It is the only pure and wholesome water in their country, since the water in wells and cisterns is unwholesome, while rain water seldom falls, and fountains are extremely rare.
The words behind it
12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַדָּגָ֧ה | vehadagah | and the fish | H1710 → | |
| אֲשֶׁר־ | ʾasher- | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| בַּיְאֹ֛ר | bayor | [is] in the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| תָּמ֖וּת | tamut | it will die | H4191 → | 839 times |
| וּבָאַ֣שׁ | uvaash | and it will stink | H887 → | 17 times |
| הַיְאֹ֑ר | hayor | the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
| וְנִלְא֣וּ | venilu | and they will be weary | H3811 → | |
| מִצְרַ֔יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4713 → | 70 times |
| לִשְׁתּ֥וֹת | lishtot | to drink | H8354 → | 217 times |
| מַ֖יִם | mayim | water | H4325 → | 581 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הַיְאֹֽר׃ ס | hayor | the River | H2975 → | 65 times |
וְהַדָּגָ֧הand the fish
vehadagahH1710 →
אֲשֶׁר־which
ʾasher-H834 →5497 times
בַּיְאֹ֛ר[is] in the River
bayorH2975 →65 times
תָּמ֖וּתit will die
tamutH4191 →839 times
וּבָאַ֣שׁand it will stink
uvaashH887 →17 times
הַיְאֹ֑רthe River
hayorH2975 →65 times
וְנִלְא֣וּand they will be weary
veniluH3811 →
מִצְרַ֔יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4713 →70 times
לִשְׁתּ֥וֹתto drink
lishtotH8354 →217 times
מַ֖יִםwater
mayimH4325 →581 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הַיְאֹֽר׃ סthe River
hayorH2975 →65 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
Numbers 11:20but for a whole month—until it comes out of your nostrils and makes you nauseous—because you have rejected the LORD, who is among you, and have cried out before Him, saying, ‘Why did we…
it leads to
- Psalms 106:15
So He granted their request, but sent a wasting disease upon them.
- Numbers 21:5
and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
- Psalms 78:27–30
He rained meat on them like dust, and winged birds like the sand of the sea.
- 1 Samuel 10:19
But today you have rejected your God, who saves you from all your troubles and afflictions, and you have said to Him, ‘No, set a king over us.’ Now therefore present yourselves before the…
- Psalms 106:15
Through
Numbers 21:5and spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you led us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread or water, and we detest this wretched food!”
it leads to
- Psalms 78:19
They spoke against God, saying, “Can God really prepare a table in the wilderness?
- Numbers 16:13–14
Is it not enough that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the wilderness? Must you also appoint yourself as ruler over us?
- Numbers 16:41
The next day the whole congregation of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, “You have killed the LORD’s people!”
- Exodus 17:2–3
So the people contended with Moses, “Give us water to drink.” “Why do you contend with me?” Moses replied. “Why do you test the LORD?”
- Psalms 78:19
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).