Bible Study Exodus 7
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Exodus 7 · WEB

Aaron's Staff and the First Plague: Water to Blood

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Yahweh said to Moses, "Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
2You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4But Pharaoh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring out the children of Israel from among them."
6Moses and Aaron did so. As Yahweh commanded them, so they did.
7Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three years old when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
9"When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, 'Perform a miracle!' then you shall tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and throw it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.'"
10Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as Yahweh had commanded; and Aaron threw down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.
12For they each threw down their rods, and they became serpents; but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
13Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
14Yahweh said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he goes out to the water. You shall stand by the river's bank to meet him; and the rod which was turned to a serpent you shall take in your hand.
16You shall tell him, 'Yahweh, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and behold, until now you haven't listened."'
17Yahweh says, 'In this you shall know that I am Yahweh. Behold, I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18The fish that are in the river will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will loathe drinking water from the river.'"
19Yahweh said to Moses, "Tell Aaron, 'Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"
20Moses and Aaron did so, as Yahweh commanded; and he lifted up the rod and struck 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.
21The fish that were in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians couldn't drink water from the river; and the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he didn't listen to them, as Yahweh had spoken.
23Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn't even take this to heart.
24All the Egyptians dug around the river for water to drink; for they couldn't drink the river's water.
25Seven days were fulfilled after Yahweh had struck the river.
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Summary

God commissions Moses as "God to Pharaoh" and Aaron as his prophet, and forewarns that Pharaoh's heart will be hardened so that God's signs will multiply. Moses is now eighty years old. Aaron's staff becomes a serpent before Pharaoh, and though Egyptian magicians replicate the feat, Aaron's staff swallows theirs. The first plague — water turned to blood — strikes the Nile and all water sources in Egypt. The Egyptians cannot drink; the fish die; the river stinks. Pharaoh's magicians again replicate the sign, giving Pharaoh an excuse to dismiss it, and his heart remains hard for seven days.

Themes

  • The plagues as revelation: "you shall know that I am Yahweh"
  • The contest between God and the powers of Egypt
  • The hardening of Pharaoh's heart and human responsibility
  • The Nile — Egypt's lifeblood — as the first target of judgment

Key verses

  • Ex 7:12 — “Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.”
  • Ex 7:17 — “In this you shall know that I am Yahweh.”
  • Ex 7:5 — “The Egyptians shall know that I am Yahweh, when I stretch out my hand on Egypt.”

Context & background

The Nile River was the economic and religious lifeline of ancient Egypt, worshipped in the god Hapi. Turning the Nile to blood was a direct assault on one of Egypt's most revered deities. Modern Egypt's Nile still flows through the same region — from south to north, emptying into the Mediterranean Sea. The plagues are often interpreted as a series of ecological disasters that built upon one another (blood → frogs → lice → etc.), but the text presents them as direct divine acts. Egyptian magicians are identified in 2 Timothy 3:8 as Jannes and Jambres. The fact that the magicians could replicate only the first few plagues — but not reverse them — reveals the limits of their power.

Cross-references

  • 2 Timothy 3:8 — Paul names the Egyptian magicians Jannes and Jambres, who opposed Moses.
  • John 2:1-11 — Jesus' first miracle of turning water to wine may be read against the first plague — where God turns water to death, Christ turns it to joy.
  • Psalm 78:44 — The psalmist recalls God turning Egypt's rivers to blood.
  • Revelation 16:3-4 — The bowls of judgment in Revelation include rivers and seas turning to blood, echoing the first plague.

Check your reading

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  1. Observe

    How old were Moses and Aaron when they spoke to Pharaoh (v. 7)?

  2. Observe

    What happened when Aaron's staff and the magicians' staffs all became serpents (v. 12)?

  3. Interpret

    Why did God target the Nile first?

  4. Interpret

    The magicians could replicate the signs but not undo them. What does this suggest theologically?

  5. Apply

    Pharaoh "didn't even take this to heart" (v. 23) despite undeniable signs. What warning does this give modern readers?

  6. Apply

    The phrase "you shall know that I am Yahweh" recurs throughout the plagues. How should this shape our view of hard providences?

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