Exodus 7:1
in Exodus 7The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
KJV
And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
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This verse in Exodus 7
Commentary
16 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
With this chapter begins the series of miracles performed in Egypt. They are progressive. The first miracle is performed to accredit the mission of the brothers; it is simply credential, and unaccompanied by any infliction. Then come signs which show that the powers of nature are subject to the will of Yahweh, each plague being attended with grave consequences to the Egyptians, yet not inflicting severe loss or suffering; then in rapid succession come ruinous and devastating plagues, murrain, boils, hail and lightning, locusts, darkness, and lastly, the death of the firstborn.
This site's exposition
I have made you like God to Pharaoh
on Exodus 7:1-2
Verse 1 gives a working definition of a prophet, a man who speaks what he is given by another. Verse 2 spells the chain out: Moses speaks all he is commanded, and Aaron carries it to Pharaoh.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers5 voices
But if they think [Christ] is called God because he had an in-dwelling of the Godhead within him, as many holy men were (for the Scripture calls them gods to whom the word of God came)—they do not place him before other men but think he is to be compared with them. They consider him to be the same as he granted other men to be, even as he says to Moses: "I have made you a god unto Pharaoh." Similarly it is also said in the psalms: "I have said, you are gods."
Hence it is that through the influence of these three things Moses is made a god: for the sake of his military triumphs he brings all the elements under his control. He bids the sea to withdraw, its waves to solidify, its bottom to become …
So Moses was a god to Pharaoh, but a servant of God, as it is written. The stars which illumine the night are hidden by the sun, so much that you could not even know of their existence by daylight. A little torch brought near a great blaze is neither destroyed nor seen nor extinguished; but it is all one blaze, the bigger one prevailing over the other.
So also in Moses there was the figure of the future Teacher, who was to teach the law, preach the gospel, fulfill the old covenant, establish the new, give heavenly nourishment to the people, exceeding even human dignity to such an extent that he was given the name of God, as we have it written, with the Lord saying: 'I have made you like God to Pharaoh' (Exod. VII, 1). For he, the conqueror of all passions, not being captivated by any worldly allurements, who had, according to the purity of his heavenly demeanor, withdrawn all that conversation of his after the flesh from him, governing his mind, subjecting his flesh, and chastising it by a certain royal authority, was called by the name of God, after whose likeness he had formed himself by the abundance of perfect virtue.
"I said: You are gods, all of you sons of the Most High." Let Eunomius hear this, let Arius, who says that the Son of God is son in the same way that we are. That we are gods is not so by nature but by grace. "But to as many as received him he gave the power of becoming sons of God." I made man for that purpose, that from men they may become gods. "I said: You are gods, all of you sons of the Most High."
9 more voices on this verse
The Church Fathers1 voice
Moses was appointed god of the Egyptians when he who was giving the revelation spoke to him in this manner: "I have appointed you the god of Pharaoh." Therefore the title conveys an indication of some power, either protective or active. But the divine nature in all the names which may be contrived remains, just as it is, inexplicable, as is our teaching.
The Medieval Church2 voices
And there are some who so dominate all vices and all desires within themselves that by the very right of their purity they are called gods among men; whence also it is said to Moses: "Behold, I have made you a god to Pharaoh." Where then do these run except among the numbers of Dominations? For since that heavenly city consists of angels and men, to which we believe the human race ascends in such number as equals the elect angels who remained there, we too ought to draw something from those distinctions of the heavenly citizens for the use of our own way of life, and inflame ourselves with good pursuits toward growth in virtues. For the different ways of life of men correspond distinctly to the orders of individual hosts, and they are assigned to their lot through similarity of life.
I say that they are gods, lords and kings not by nature but because they have ruled over and dominated sufferings and because they have kept undebased the likeness of the divine image to which they were made—for the image of the king is also called a king. Finally … they have freely been united to God and [by] receiving him as a dweller within themselves have through association with him become by grace what he is by nature.
The Reformation1 voice
Moses again repeats, that consolation was afforded him in his anxiety, and a remedy given for his want of faith; since he was both armed himself with divine authority, and Aaron was appointed as his companion and assistant. For that he was "made a god to Pharaoh," means that he was furnished with supreme authority and power, whereby he should cast down the tyrant's pride.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
And the Lord said unto Moses,....
He was authorized to speak and act in God's name and stead, and, under the divine direction, was endued with a divine power to do that which is above the ordinary power of nature, and invested with a divine authority to demand obedience from a sovereign prince and punish disobedience.
The dispute between Moses and Pharaoh begins, and a famous trial of skill it was. Moses, in God's name, demands Israel's release; The contest is between the power of the great God and the power of a proud prince; and it will be found, in the issue, that when God judgeth he will overcome.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
I have made thee a god--"made," that is, set, appointed; "a god"; that is, he was to act in this business as God's representative, to act and speak in His name and to perform things beyond the ordinary course of nature.
I have made thee a god - At thy word every plague shall come, and at thy command each shall be removed. Thus Moses must have appeared as a god to Pharaoh. Shall be thy prophet - Shall receive the word from thy mouth, and communicate it to the Egyptian king, Exo 7:2.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
I. AND THE LORD SAID. This was in response to, how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips (Ex.:12).
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 1 further source is cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּ֤אמֶר | vaiyomer | and he said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָה֙ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| מֹשֶׁ֔ה | mosheh | Moses | H4872 → | 765 times |
| רְאֵ֛ה | reeh | consider | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| נְתַתִּ֥יךָ | netatikha | I have appointed you | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | a god | H430 → | 2601 times |
| לְפַרְעֹ֑ה | lefaroh | to Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וְאַהֲרֹ֥ן | veaharon | and Aaron | H175 → | 347 times |
| אָחִ֖יךָ | ʾachikha | brother your | H251 → | 630 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | he will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נְבִיאֶֽךָ׃ | neviekha | prophet your | H5030 → |
וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said
vaiyomerH559 →5305 times
יְהוָה֙Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
מֹשֶׁ֔הMoses
moshehH4872 →765 times
רְאֵ֛הconsider
reehH7200 →1300 times
נְתַתִּ֥יךָI have appointed you
netatikhaH5414 →2011 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםa god
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
לְפַרְעֹ֑הto Pharaoh
lefarohH6547 →274 times
וְאַהֲרֹ֥ןand Aaron
veaharonH175 →347 times
אָחִ֖יךָbrother your
ʾachikhaH251 →630 times
יִהְיֶ֥הhe will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
נְבִיאֶֽךָ׃prophet your
neviekhaH5030 →
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
Psalms 82:6I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
it leads to
- John 10:34–36
Jesus replied, “Is it not written in your Law: ‘I have said you are gods’?
- Psalms 82:1
God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:
- John 10:34–36
Through
Jeremiah 1:10See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:28
Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.
- 2 Corinthians 10:4–5
The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
- Isaiah 44:26–28
who confirms the message of His servant and fulfills the counsel of His messengers, who says of Jerusalem, ‘She will be inhabited,’ and of the cities of Judah, ‘They will be rebuilt, and I…
- Jeremiah 31:4–5
Again I will build you, and you will be rebuilt, O Virgin Israel. Again you will take up your tambourines and go out in joyful dancing.
- Ezekiel 36:36
Then the nations around you that remain will know that I, the LORD, have rebuilt what was destroyed, and I have replanted what was desolate. I, the LORD, have spoken, and I will do…
- Jeremiah 31:28
Through
1 Kings 17:23Then Elijah took the child, brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. “Look, your son is alive,” Elijah declared.
it leads to
- 2 Kings 4:36–37
Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite woman.” So he called her and she came. Then Elisha said, “Pick up your son.”
- 2 Kings 4:36–37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies9
About Exodus
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 15 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ambrose of Milan, Exposition of the Christian Faith 5.1.23; Ambrose of Milan, On Cain and Abel 1.2.7; Basil of Caesarea, LETTER 189; Gregory of Nazianzus, LETTER 101; Gregory the Dialogist, Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 34; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 14; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Damascene, ORTHODOX FAITH 4.15; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Peter Chrysologus, SERMON 43.