Exodus 8:19
in Exodus 8“This is the finger of God,” the magicians said to Pharaoh. But Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken.
KJV
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
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This verse in Exodus 8
Commentary
9 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The finger of God - This expression is thoroughly Egyptian; it need not imply that the magicians recognized Yahweh, the God who performed the marvel. They may possibly have referred it to as a god that was hostile to their own protectors.
This site's exposition
This is the finger of God
The magicians' confession, This is the finger of God, is the first occurrence of the phrase in Scripture. It returns at 31:18, where the tablets of stone are “inscribed by the finger of God”.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
Isn't the finger of God to be understood as being the Holy Spirit? Read the Gospel, and see that where one Evangelist has the Lord saying, "If I with the Spirit of God cast out demons," another says, "If I with the finger of God cast out demons." So if that law too was written by the finger of God, that is, by the Spirit of God, the Spirit by which Pharaoh's magicians were defeated, so they said, "This is the finger of God, … why can it not be said of it, "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has delivered you from the law of sin and death"?
Here I see a difficulty occurring to one of limited knowledge [of Scripture], that is, why miracles are also done by magical arts, for the magicians of Pharaoh also made serpents and other similar things. But what is a much greater cause of wonder is how the power of the magicians, who could make serpents, utterly failed when it came to very small gnats. For the sciniphs, by which the proud people of Egypt were afflicted, are very small flies. And there certainly the magicians who failed, exclaimed, "This is the finger of God." We are thereby given to understand that not even the angels and the spirits of the air, who transgressed and were cast from that home of sublime and ethereal beauty into this most profound darkness, as into a prison peculiar to them, could do anything that they could by means of their magical arts, if the power had not been given to them from above.
The Medieval Church1 voice
A commentator
BonaventureCollations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2 · Written in the 13th century.
proposed
"For in her is a spirit intelligent, holy, unique, manifold, subtle." This spirit lifts up the soul and teaches unforeseen things. "This is the finger of God" which the Pharaoh's magician cannot touch, that is, our mind. Many wise men possess the first faces of …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
It is certain they must all (as we say) knock under at last, as Julian the apostate did, when his dying lips confessed, Thou hast overcome me, O thou Galilean! God will not only be too hard for all opposers, but will force them to own it. How Pharaoh, notwithstanding this, was made more and more obstinate (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
25 And Pharaoh called for Moses and for Aaron, and said, Go ye, sacrifice to your God in the land. 26 And Moses said, It is not meet so to do; for we shall sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to the L ORD our God: lo, shall we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, and will they not stone us?
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:97%@v25-26
2 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, this is the finger of God,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
This is the finger of God - That is, The power and skill of God are here evident. Probably before this the magicians supposed Moses and Aaron to be conjurers, like themselves; but now they are convinced that no man could do these miracles which these holy men did, unless God were with him. God permits evil spirits to manifest themselves in a certain way, that men may see that there is a spiritual world, and be on their guard against seduction. He at the same time shows that all these agents are under his control, that men may have confidence in his goodness and power.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיֹּאמְר֤וּ | vaiyomeru | and they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| הַֽחַרְטֻמִּים֙ | hachartumim | the magicians | H2748 → | 11 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| פַּרְעֹ֔ה | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| אֶצְבַּ֥ע | ʾetzba' | [is] [the] finger of | H676 → | 31 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֖ים | ʾelohim | God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| הִ֑וא | hi' | it | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| וַיֶּחֱזַ֤ק | vaiyechezak | and it was strong | H2388 → | 291 times |
| לֵב־ | lev- | [the] heart of | H3820 → | 595 times |
| פַּרְעֹה֙ | paroh | Pharaoh | H6547 → | 274 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמַ֣ע | shama' | he listened | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֲלֵהֶ֔ם | ʾalehem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| כַּאֲשֶׁ֖ר | kaasher | just as | H834 → | 5497 times |
| דִּבֶּ֥ר | diber | he had said | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַיֹּאמְר֤וּand they said
vaiyomeruH559 →5305 times
הַֽחַרְטֻמִּים֙the magicians
hachartumimH2748 →11 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
פַּרְעֹ֔הPharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
אֶצְבַּ֥ע[is] [the] finger of
ʾetzba'H676 →31 times
אֱלֹהִ֖יםGod
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
הִ֑ואit
hi'H1931 →1879 times
וַיֶּחֱזַ֤קand it was strong
vaiyechezakH2388 →291 times
לֵב־[the] heart of
lev-H3820 →595 times
פַּרְעֹה֙Pharaoh
parohH6547 →274 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמַ֣עhe listened
shama'H8085 →1159 times
אֲלֵהֶ֔םto them
ʾalehemH413 →5510 times
כַּאֲשֶׁ֖רjust as
kaasherH834 →5497 times
דִּבֶּ֥רhe had said
diberH1696 →1141 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
Psalms 8:3When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have set in place—
it leads to
- Genesis 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
- Psalms 33:6
By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, and all the stars by the breath of His mouth.
- Psalms 111:2
Great are the works of the LORD; they are pondered by all who delight in them.
- Psalms 89:11
The heavens are Yours, and also the earth. The earth and its fullness You founded.
- Psalms 104:19
He made the moon to mark the seasons; the sun knows when to set.
- Genesis 1:1
Through
Matthew 12:28But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
it leads to
- Luke 11:20
But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
- Daniel 7:14
And He was given dominion, glory, and kingship, that the people of every nation and language should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and His kingdom is…
- Luke 11:20
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 14:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies5
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); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 155.3; Augustine of Hippo, THE TRINITY 3.7.12; Bonaventure, Collations on the Hexaemeron, Collation 2; Chuck Missler, Learn the Bible in 24 Hours; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.