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Exodus 7:20

in Exodus 7

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.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And 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.

KJV

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.

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This verse in Exodus 7

Commentary

8 notes on this verse

A commentator

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible · Written before 1832.

All the waters - were turned to blood - Not merely in appearance, but in reality; for these changed waters became corrupt and insalubrious, so that even the fish that were in the river died; and the smell became highly offensive, so that the waters could not be drank; Exo 7:21.

This site's exposition

he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters

on Exodus 7:20-21

The third sign given at the bush arrives as the first plague. At 4:9 Moses was told to pour water from the river on the dry land and it would become blood, which was given then as a sign to Israel and is done now to the river itself in the sight of Pharaoh and his servants. Commentators divide over whether the water became blood or the appearance of blood, with Clarke holding the change real because the fish died and the river stank, and Jamieson, Fausset and Brown leaving the question open on the ground that either was within God's power. The text reports the dead fish, the stench and the water no one could drink, and says nothing about the substance.

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

A commentator

Cassiodorus

EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 77.44 · Written before 585.

proposed

Just as we read in the Gospel that water was turned into wine, which denoted that people were changed for the better, so here its transformation into blood announces that sinners interpret the causes of spiritual things in a bodily sense. Blood is introduced here …

The Medieval Church1 voice

A commentator

Isidore of Seville

QUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, EX 14:1-2 · Written before 636.

proposed

Then the plagues are visited upon Egypt. They were carried out corporally among the Egyptians; they are now carried out spiritually in us, for Egypt is the figure of this world. The first plague is the one in which the waters are turned into blood. …

The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (1765)

Also they had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrew children, and now God made that river all bloody; thus he gave them blood to drink, for they were worthy, Rev. xvi, 6. Every creature is that to us which he makes it to be, water or blood.
And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded,....

A commentator

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

proposed

That which is water to-day may be blood to-morrow; what is always vain may soon become vexatious. A river, at the best, is transient; but divine justice can quickly make it malignant. See what mischievous work sin makes. if the things that have been our comforts prove our crosses, we must thank ourselves: it is sin that turns our waters into blood.
1 more voice on this verse

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Aaron lifted up the rod and smote the waters, &c.--Whether the water was changed into real blood, or only the appearance of it (and Omnipotence could effect the one as easily as the other), this was a severe calamity.

The words behind it

24 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיַּֽעֲשׂוּ־and they did

    vaiyaasu-H6213 →2628 times

  • כֵן֩so

    khenH3651 →771 times

  • מֹשֶׁ֨הMoses

    moshehH4872 →765 times

  • וְאַהֲרֹ֜ןand Aaron

    veaharonH175 →347 times

  • כַּאֲשֶׁ֣ר׀just as

    kaasherH834 →5497 times

  • צִוָּ֣הhe had commanded

    tzivahH6680 →494 times

  • יְהוָ֗הYahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • וַיָּ֤רֶםand he raised

    vaiyaremH7311 →190 times

  • בַּמַּטֶּה֙<in> the staff

    bamatehH4294 →252 times

  • וַיַּ֤ךְand he struck

    vaiyakhH5221 →499 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • הַמַּ֙יִם֙the water

    hamayimH4325 →581 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • בַּיְאֹ֔ר[was] in the River

    bayorH2975 →65 times

  • לְעֵינֵ֣יto [the] eyes of

    leeineiH5869 →887 times

  • פַרְעֹ֔הPharaoh

    farohH6547 →274 times

  • וּלְעֵינֵ֖יand to [the] eyes of

    uleeineiH5869 →887 times

  • עֲבָדָ֑יוservants his

    ʾavadavH5650 →799 times

  • וַיֵּהָֽפְכ֛וּand they were changed

    vaiyehafekhuH2015 →94 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • הַמַּ֥יִםthe water

    hamayimH4325 →581 times

  • אֲשֶׁר־which

    ʾasher-H834 →5497 times

  • בַּיְאֹ֖ר[was] in the River

    bayorH2975 →65 times

  • לְדָֽם׃into blood

    ledamH1818 →360 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

9 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Psalms 78:44He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.5 worksPsalms 105:29He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.5 worksHabakkuk 3:8Were You angry at the rivers, O LORD? Was Your wrath against the streams? Did You rage against the sea when You rode on Your horses, on Your chariots of salvation?3 worksNumbers 20:8“Take the staff and assemble the congregation. You and your brother Aaron are to speak to the rock while they watch, and it will pour out its water. You will bring out water from the rock and provide drink for the congregation and their livestock.”3 worksExodus 17:5–6And the LORD said to Moses, “Walk on ahead of the people and take some of the elders of Israel with you. Take along in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go.2 worksJohn 2:9–11and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not know where it was from, but the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside2 works
The other 3 cross-references, with their words ▾
Revelation 8:8Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,2 worksExodus 7:17–18This 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.2 worksExodus 17:9–12So Moses said to Joshua, “Choose some of our men and go out to fight the Amalekites. Tomorrow I will stand on the hilltop with the staff of God in my hand.”2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Revelation 8:8

    Then the second angel sounded his trumpet, and something like a great mountain burning with fire was thrown into the sea. A third of the sea turned to blood,

    it leads to

    • Exodus 7:17–21

      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…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Jeremiah 51:25

      “Behold, I am against you, O destroying mountain, you who devastate the whole earth, declares the LORD. I will stretch out My hand against you; I will roll you over the cliffs and turn…

    • Mark 11:23

      “Truly I tell you that if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and has no doubt in his heart but believes that it will happen, it will…

    • Revelation 8:7

      Then the first angel sounded his trumpet, and hail and fire mixed with blood were hurled down upon the earth. A third of the earth was burned up, along with a third of the…

  • Through

    Psalms 105:29

    He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.

    it leads to

    • Exodus 7:20–21

      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…

    • Psalms 78:44

      He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.

  • Through

    Psalms 78:44

    He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.

    it leads to

    • Psalms 105:29

      He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.

    • Revelation 16:3–6

      And the second angel poured out his bowl into the sea, and it turned to blood like that of the dead, and every living thing in the sea died.

Where this verse is studied

On this page

Studies1

About Exodus

Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Moses and Aaron Appear before Pharaoh — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain
Exodus: the study guide →Read Exodus 7 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Cassiodorus, EXPOSITION OF THE PSALMS 77.44; Isidore of Seville, QUESTIONS ON THE OLD TESTAMENT, EX 14:1-2; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in Exodus 7 →