Exodus
Chapter 7
The Lord said to Moses:
“See, I have made you like a god in Pharaoh’s eyes; and Aaron, your brother, will be your prophet.
You will tell Aaron all that I command you, and he will tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel leave the country.
But I will make him stubborn, and although I multiply my signs and miracles,
he will not listen to you. Then I will use my power and lead my armies, my people, the Israelites out of Egypt using great punishments.
Then the Egyptians will know that I am the Lord when they see with what power I bring the people of Israel out of their country.”
Moses and Aaron did exactly what the Lord had commanded.
Moses was eighty and Aaron eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.
The Miraculous Staff
The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying:
“When Pharaoh speaks to you and tells you to perform a miracle to prove the truth of what you say, you will say to Aaron: ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a snake.’”
Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did what the Lord had commanded. Aaron threw his staff before Pharaoh and his ministers, and it became a snake.
Pharaoh then summoned wise men and magicians, and they, too, the magicians of Egypt, did the same through their secret arts.
Each one threw his staff down, and they turned into serpents. But Aaron’s staff swallowed the magicians’ staffs.
However, Pharaoh was obstinate and did not listen to them, just as the Lord had said.
The First Plague: Water Is Turned into Blood
The Lord said to Moses:
“Pharaoh is stubborn; he has refused to let the people leave.
So you will go to Pharaoh in the morning when he goes to the water. Wait for him on the bank of the river and hold in your hand the staff that turned into a serpent.
You will say to him, “The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to say to you: ‘Let my people go to worship me in the desert, but so far you have not listened.
By this, you shall know that I am the Lord: Look, I will strike the water of the Nile with the staff I have in my hand, and it will turn into blood!
The fish in the river will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will no longer be able to drink its water.’”
The Lord said to Moses:
“Say to Aaron: ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, rivers, canals, ponds, and pools of water; and they will turn into blood. There will be blood throughout Egypt, even in vessels of wood and stone.’”
Moses and Aaron did as the Lord had commanded.
Aaron raised his staff and struck the waters of the Nile, in the presence of Pharaoh and his ministers, and all the water in the Nile turned to blood.
The fish in the river died, and the Nile became contaminated so that the Egyptians could no longer drink its water.
Blood was all over Egypt.
The Egyptian magicians, however, could do the same with their secret arts, and Pharaoh remained unmoved. As the Lord had foretold, he refused to listen to Moses and Aaron.
Pharaoh returned to his house as if nothing of importance had happened.
And yet all the Egyptians were digging near the Nile for water because they could not drink from the river.
The Second Plague: Frogs
Seven days passed after the Lord had struck the Nile.
The Lord said to Moses:
“Go to Pharaoh and tell him that the Lord says, ‘Let my people go to worship me!
If you refuse to let them leave, I will punish the country with a plague of frogs.
The Nile will swell with frogs. They will invade your house, your bedroom, and your bed, your servants and your people’s houses, your ovens, and your kneading bowls.
Over you and your people, the frogs will climb.’”
Commentaries
Moses’ Mission II.
Why does the phrase “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart” (7:3) appear? Why does God give an order knowing it will be ignored? We see the same phrase in 3:19 and 4:21. The purpose was to highlight God’s complete control over every situation; however, this does not mean that human free will is suppressed. God’s will aims only to save and rescue, not to dehumanize or oppress, as seen with Pharaoh, who embodies the opposite of free will.
The Miraculous Staff.
Even though Moses and Aaron appeared before Pharaoh as messengers of the Lord in 5:1-5, and we already know the outcome, they do so again here as if it were the first time. This shows a clear example of a double narrative. The first relates to an older tradition associated with the Yahwist literary and theological source (J), while the second originates from the narrative of the Priestly tradition (P).
The final authors of the Pentateuch did not eliminate different narratives, even if some seemed repetitive and others contradictory. Their goal in gathering these stories was likely to highlight that the Lord revealed Himself as a God who cares for those anonymous enslaved people in Egypt. He will always be interested in helping the oppressed, wherever and whenever they may be, throughout human history. This encounter between Moses, Aaron, and the Egyptian king ultimately represents a clash between the defender of the oppressed and the arrogant Pharaoh, who shows no hesitation in defying divine power. This episode serves as a preview of future displays of power between these two forces. Aaron’s swallowing of the various rods foreshadows that, despite the Pharaoh’s great power, the Lord’s power far surpasses that of the Pharaoh.
The First Plague: Water Turns to Blood.
Much has been written and speculated about the series of events that start with Aaron’s staff transforming into a serpent and the quick replication of this act by the magicians and sorcerers of the court. All these events, except the tenth plague (the death of the firstborn), are connected to nature in some way. They serve as examples of God’s extraordinary acts. The author not only aims to remind us that the ancestors left Egypt long ago, but also emphasizes that the Lord led them out by performing numerous miracles. It was certainly not easy, as Pharaoh’s strength and power tried to block them, but against the Lord’s power, no strength or might can prevail—especially when that confrontation is to defend and rescue the weak and enslaved.