Chapter 7

1 Moses is encouraged to go to Pharaoh. 7 His age. 8 His rod is turned into a serpent. 11 The sorcerers do the like. 13 Pharaoh’s heart is hardened. 14 God’s message to Pharaoh. 19 The river is turned into blood.

1. A god to Pharaoh. Moses’ last objection (ch. 6:12, repeated in v. 30) was removed by God. Moses was reluctant to appear a second time before Pharaoh, who was so much his worldly superior, but God reminded him that as a representative of the God of heaven and earth he was superior to Pharaoh. Pharaoh’s power was but human; his was divine. He was to be to Pharaoh as “a god,” with authority and power to command obedience.

Thy prophet. As a prophet is a spokesman for God, so Aaron was to speak for Moses, to interpret his commands to Pharaoh and to the Israelites (see ch. 4:16).

3. I will harden. See on ch. 4:21.

Multiply my signs. God’s purpose to reveal His power both to Israel and to the Egyptians through a long series of miracles is here distinctly stated for the first time. Previously, three signs had been given (ch. 4:3–9) and one of the plagues had been mentioned (ch. 4:23). Now, signs and wonders were to be multiplied, far exceeding anything Moses himself could have expected (chs. 3:20; 6:6).

4. Lay my hand upon Egypt. God foresaw the obstinacy of Pharaoh, who had the privilege of setting his will against God’s, if he chose to do so. Thus there would be a great display of divine power, such as would attract the attention of all Egypt and of the surrounding nations as well. As a result, the power and majesty of the true God would be respected, and the nations would fear to interfere with His people (see Ex. 15:14–16; Deut. 2:25; 11:25; etc.).

Mine armies. Literally, “My hosts,” as in the RSV. As they left Egypt the Israelites “were unarmed, and unaccustomed to war” (PP 282; see also on ch. 13:18). Their organization for the journey was only partially completed when they left Goshen, and was not perfected until they reached Mt. Sinai.

5. The Egyptians shall know. Pharaoh had pretended not to know the God of the Hebrews (ch. 5:2), but Moses is assured that the Egyptians would become well acquainted with Him. They would have to recognize that He is the only true God and that other so-called gods are but wood and stone.

6. Moses and Aaron did. The obedience of Moses and Aaron to God was consistent and unquestioning from this time forward, until Aaron led out in the worship of the golden calf (ch. 32:21–24) and Moses smote the rock when commanded to speak to it (Num. 20:8–11).

7. Fourscore years old. Moses’ age is confirmed by the statement that he was 120 at the time of his death (Deut. 31:2; 34:7), which occurred 40 years after the Exodus (Deut. 29:5). Aaron’s age at death is given as 123 years (Num. 33:38, 39).

9. Shew a miracle. It was obvious that should Pharaoh grant them another audience he would require a display of their credentials, to verify their claim to being messengers of the most high God. As long as such a requirement was not made there was no need to perform miracles before him. For this reason they had worked no miracle at their former interview. Now, however, the time had come when their credentials would be demanded, and an express command was given them to exhibit the first sign (see ch. 4:3, 4).

Take thy rod. This was Moses’ shepherd staff, called also the “rod of God” (ch. 4:20). According to ch. 7:15–18, Moses was directed to go before Pharaoh to request that Israel be permitted to leave Egypt, and to announce that he would smite the waters of the Nile with the staff in his hand. From vs. 19 and 20 it is apparent that this miracle was performed by Aaron, who took Moses’ staff and stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. The staff that Aaron held over the Nile can therefore have been none other than the staff of Moses, which had been turned into a serpent. There was but the one staff, with which both Moses and Aaron performed miracles (PP 263).

10. It became a serpent. The Hebrew word here used for “serpent,” tannin, is not the same as that used previously, nachash (ch. 4:3), but it is improbable that a different species is meant. The two words are no doubt used synonymously.

11. The wise men. The “wise men” were educated in science and the art of writing. The “sorcerers” were charmers, who professed to be able to produce magic spells. The word translated “magicians” is the Egyptian equivalent of the Hebrew word translated “sorcerers.” Magic was the object of much attention and study in Egypt, as extant texts on magic show. It consisted to a large extent in charms that were thought to have power over and beasts, especially over reptiles. That these men must have experienced actual results in their practice of magic is obvious from the fact that they were held in such high esteem through the centuries. It must therefore be assumed that they performed at least some of their wonders by the power of evil spirits, though many were no doubt only trickery (see PP 264).

They also. The rods of the magicians did not actually become serpents, as did the rod of Aaron. Neither the magicians nor Satan himself could create life. Through the power of evil magic, their rods were made to appear to be serpents (see PP 264). As in ch. 8:18, they went through the motions, but did not achieve the same results.

12. Swallowed up their rods. Aaron’s serpent turned upon its rivals and devoured them, thus exhibiting marked superiority to them. Thus was the supremacy of the God of the Hebrews manifested in the very first miraculous sign performed in Pharaoh’s presence.

13. He hardened Pharaoh’s heart. Literally, “Pharaoh’s heart was hard.” The KJV here seems to attribute the result to a direct act of God. In v. 22 the identical Hebrew expression is translated, “Pharaoh’s heart was hardened,” as it is in the RSV rendition of v. 13. The miracle made no impression on his obdurate heart. So far as he could see, Moses and Aaron had done little more than his own magicians could do (see also on ch. 4:21).

As the Lord had said. God had forewarned Moses of the outcome of this interview with Pharaoh, lest Moses be disappointed by the king’s attitude. Whereas Moses knew in advance exactly what developments to expect, Pharaoh knew nothing except what Moses told him. This situation gave Moses a distinct advantage over Pharaoh.

14. See on ch. 4:21.

15. Get thee unto Pharaoh. God here imparts to Moses final instructions on announcing to Pharaoh the first of a series of divine judgments on the land of Egypt. Thebes was the capital of the country under Pharaohs of the Eighteenth Dynasty, but it is hardly conceivable that Moses performed these miracles there, hundreds of miles south of the Delta, where the land of Goshen was situated. Psalms 78:43 refers to the plagues as being wrought “in the field of Zoan.” Since the Biblical Zoan is the ancient Tanis, in the eastern Delta country, a city built seven years later than Hebron in Palestine (Num. 13:22), it must be that the king was in temporary residence at or near Tanis during the time of the plagues. It is known that there were royal palaces in various parts of the country.

He goeth out. This remark and that of ch. 8:20 imply that the king went to the river every morning. Inasmuch as the food and prosperity of Egypt were dependent upon the Nile (see on Gen. 41:34), one of the duties of the king was to worship at its banks each morning (see DA 265).

The rod. See on v. 9.

17. Thou shalt know. At a previous visit Pharaoh had declared, “I know not the Lord” (ch. 5:2). Moses now warns the rash monarch that he will soon be given an opportunity to learn something of the power of God (see ch. 9:14). The Nile god, the source of fertility and blessing, was to become an agent of death.

The plagues visited upon the Egyptians were designed not only to bring Pharaoh and his people to a recognition of the true God but also to destroy confidence in the power and protection of their false gods (ch. 12:12). Each of the ten plagues was painfully literal, and yet at the same time was directed against some phase of false religion. In the merciful providence of God, physical suffering occasioned by each plague was to lead the king and his counselors to reconsider their ways, that they might learn the folly of serving idols and the wisdom of cooperating with the God of heaven. In ancient Egypt the interests of king and priest were closely related, the king himself always being initiated into the priestly caste. Pharaoh and the priests rightly surmised that the stability of both church and state was at stake. The people and the counselors of the king, from more practical considerations, were ready to submit long in advance of the king and the priests (ch. 10:7). It was only following the tenth plague, as a result of which the next generation of royalty and of the priesthood died, that the latter were, for the moment, ready to submit (PP 272, 283). In the plagues that fell upon Egypt we behold a preview of the more terrible and extensive judgments of God soon to fall upon the earth (GC 269, 627).

Turned to blood. These words do not imply that the Nile waters would merely take on the color of blood, as some commentators have interpreted this passage, but rather that they would to all intents and purposes, actually become blood. It is beside the point to ask whether the water would have passed the various modern tests, microscopic and others, by which blood is analyzed. The water appeared to be blood, and was taken to be blood. It was not merely water discolored by red soil from Abyssinia. Some have suggested as a possible cause a high concentration of “cryptogamic plants and infusoria,” something similar to the “red tide” of microscopic organisms that kills millions of fish and brings a stench and an irritating gas to shores, bays, and inlets. It can be questioned whether water thus altered could fill all the specifications of this Biblical plague. Certainly the timing could not be controlled by man.

19. Upon the waters of Egypt. The change in the water extended to “the streams,” or different arms of the Nile, “the rivers,” or Nile canals, “the ponds,” or large standing lakes formed by the Nile, and all “the pools,” or artificial reservoirs where water was stored for use after the annual inundation. These four terms show an accurate knowledge of Egypt. Though Aaron was to stretch his arm over the Nile at but one place, the change would affect all Egypt.

In vessels of wood. It is not stated whether water in jars or other containers was drawn before or after the miracle.

22. The magicians of Egypt did so. Just as during Moses’ previous visit, the magicians were again consulted. Once more they counterfeited a genuine miracle by seeming to transform a certain quantity of water into blood. The question as to where the water the magicians used came from is answered in v. 24, which implies that newly dug wells furnished satisfactory drinking water. That the magicians actually turned the water into blood is not necessarily implied in the vague expression “did so.” They needed only to convince Pharaoh that they were able to do what Moses and Aaron had done. No critical examination was given their pretended miracle, which, in spite of being a trick, consequently passed as genuine. Had these men possessed the power they claimed to have they should have been able to turn the bloody water of the Nile back into normal water. That the king was satisfied with an imitation miracle shows stupidity, in his case probably the result of his hardened heart. He believed what he wanted to believe.

23. Pharaoh turned. Convinced that Moses and Aaron were merely magicians possessing powers slightly superior to those of his own magicians, Pharaoh dismissed God’s messengers and returned to his palace. The sufferings of his country, deprived of its life-giving supply of water, made little impression upon his hardened soul.

24. The Egyptians digged. Suffering greatly, the Egyptians dug wells to satisfy their needs during the emergency. Owing to the nitrous quality of the soil of Egypt, well water has a bitter and brackish taste. It sufficed, however, for drinking and cooking purposes for the duration of the plague (v. 25). The water supply of the Hebrews may not have been affected, inasmuch as only the Egyptians are mentioned as digging for water. Such a distinction is not stated here, but seems to be implied. In later plagues, Moses specifically notes such a distinction (see chs. 8:22; 9:4; etc.).

25. Seven days. This time note has been regarded as fixing the interval between the first plague and the second, but it is more natural to regard it as marking the duration of the first plague (see PP 265). The intervals of time between one plague and the next are not given. It is evident that the plagues continued over a period of several months. The nature of the various plagues, and the time intervals noted by Moses, indicate a period of time lasting, possibly, from the late summer to early spring.

Ellen G. White comments

1-25PP 263-265, 334

2-4PP 263

5     PK 369

10   SR 116; 1T 264

10-12PP 263

12   1T 292; 5T 696

13   1T 265

14   5T 274

15-17PP 265

16   6T 9

19, 20  SR 116

20-25PP 265