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Exodus Chapter
Seven
New King James Version
(NKJV)
INTRODUCTION TO
EXODUS 7
Moses and Aaron are
ordered to go to Pharaoh
and require the dismission of the people of Israel
but they are told before hand that Pharaoh's heart would be hardened
and would
refuse to let them go
until the hand of the Lord was stretched out
and great
judgments were brought down upon
Egypt
and then they should come forth
Exodus 7:1
which
orders Moses and Aaron obeyed
and their age is observed
when this was done
Exodus 7:6 and they
are bid to work a miracle
when Pharaoh should demand one
by turning a rod
into a serpent
which they did; but Pharaoh's magicians doing the same in
appearance
his heart was hardened
Exodus 7:8 and then
they are directed to meet him at the river
and require the same as before; and
if he refused
to smite the waters of the river with the rod
and turn them
into blood
which they did
Exodus 7:15
but
Pharaoh's magicians doing the same by enchantments
he did not regard it
though the plague lasted seven days
Exodus 7:22.
Exodus 7:1 So the Lord said to Moses:
“See
I have made you as God to Pharaoh
and Aaron your brother shall be
your prophet.
YLT 1And Jehovah saith unto Moses
`See
I have
given thee a god to Pharaoh
and Aaron thy brother is thy prophet;
And the Lord
said unto Moses
.... In answer to his objection
taken from his own meanness
and
the majesty of Pharaoh
and from his want of readiness and freedom of
expression:
see; take notice
of
observe what I am about to say:
I have made
thee a god to Pharaoh; not a god by nature
but made so; he was so by commission and
office
clothed with power and authority from God to act under him in all
things he should direct; not for ever
as angels are gods
but for a time; not
in an ordinary way
as magistrates are gods
but in an extraordinary manner;
and not to any other but to Pharaoh
being an ambassador of God to him
and as
in his room and stead to
rule over him
though so great a monarch; to command
him what he should do
and control him when he did wrong
and punish him for
his disobedience
and inflict such plagues upon him
and do such miracles
before him
as no mere man of himself
and none but God can do; and even
exercise the power of life and death
as in the slaying of the firstborn
that
Pharaoh should stand in as much fear of him
as if he was a deity
and apply to
him to remove the plagues upon him
as if he was one:
and Aaron thy
brother shall be thy prophet; to declare the will of God revealed to him
by Moses from the Lord; so that this seems to be more than to be the mouth and
spokesman of Moses and interpreter and explainer of his words
or to be acting
the part of an orator for him; for Moses in this affair being God's viceregent
and furnished with a knowledge of the mind and will of God respecting it
as
well as with power to work miracles
and inflict plagues
was made a god to
both Pharaoh and Aaron; see Exodus 4:6 to
Pharaoh in the sense before explained
and to Aaron
he being his prophet
to
whom he communicated the secrets of God
and his will and pleasure
in order to
make the same known to Pharaoh. Thus highly honoured was Moses to be a god to a
sovereign prince
and to have Aaron to be his prophet.
Exodus 7:2 2 You
shall speak all that I command you. And Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh
to send the children of Israel out of his land.
YLT 2thou -- thou dost speak all that I command
thee
and Aaron thy brother doth speak unto Pharaoh
and he hath sent the sons
of Israel out of his land.
Thou shalt
speak all that I command thee
.... That is
to Aaron his prophet
whatever
the Lord made known to him in a private manner as his will to be done:
and Aaron thy
brother shall speak unto Pharaoh; whatsoever should be
told him by Moses
as from the Lord:
that he send
the children of Israel out of his land; this was the principal
thing to be insisted upon; and all that was said or done to him was to bring
about this end
the dismission of the children of Israel out of Egypt.
Exodus 7:3 3 And
I will harden Pharaoh’s heart
and multiply My signs and My wonders in the land
of Egypt.
YLT 3`And I harden the heart of Pharaoh
and have
multiplied My signs and My wonders in the land of Egypt
And I will harden
Pharaoh's heart
.... See Gill on Exodus 4:21.
and multiply my
signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt; work one miracle and
wonderful sign after another
until they are all wrought intended to be
wrought; and which he had given Moses power to do
and until the end should be
answered and obtained
the letting go of the children of Israel.
Exodus 7:4 4 But
Pharaoh will not heed you
so that I may lay My hand on Egypt and bring My
armies and My people
the children of Israel
out of the land of Egypt
by great judgments.
YLT 4and Pharaoh doth not hearken
and I have put
My hand on Egypt
and have brought out My hosts
My people
the sons of Israel
from the land of Egypt by great judgments;
But Pharaoh
shall not hearken unto you
.... Regard not what they said
nor answer
the demand they made
or obey the command of God delivered by them to him: this
the Lord apprised them of
that they might not be discouraged
and conclude
their labour would be in vain
their attempts fruitless
and they should never
gain their point
but spend their time
and expose themselves to danger to no
purpose:
that I may lay
mine hand upon Egypt; the inhabitants of Egypt
smiting them with one plague after
another
and particularly with the last
slaying their firstborn; every plague
was a stroke of his hand
and an effect of his mighty power and vengeance
and
more especially that:
and bring forth
mine armies; the children of Israel consisting of 600
000 men
besides women
and children
Exodus 12:37 which
divided into twelve tribes
made twelve fine armies
50
000 men in a tribe or
army upon an average:
and my people
the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; the word "and"
need not be supplied; if any supplement is necessary
the word "even"
would be better
since this clause is added by way of explanation
showing who
are meant by the armies of the Lord
his people to be brought out:
by great
judgments; inflicted upon the Egyptians.
Exodus 7:5 5 And
the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord
when I
stretch out My hand on Egypt and bring out the children of Israel from among
them.”
YLT 5and the Egyptians have known that I [am]
Jehovah
in My stretching out My hand against Egypt; and I have brought out the
sons of Israel from their midst.'
And the
Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord
.... Jehovah
the one
only true and living God; this they should know by the judgments executed upon
them
and be obliged to acknowledge it:
when I stretch
forth mine hand upon Egypt: especially the last time
to destroy the
firstborn:
and bring out
the children of Israel from among them; by which it would appear
that he was mightier than they
and obtained the end for which the plagues were
inflicted on them.
Exodus 7:6 6 Then
Moses and Aaron did so; just as the Lord commanded
them
so they did.
YLT 6And Moses doth -- Aaron also -- as Jehovah
commanded them; so have they done;
And Moses and
Aaron did as the Lord commanded them
.... After this they
never showed any reluctance
or made any objection to any message they were
sent with
or any work they were ordered to do
but went about it at once
and
performed it with all readiness and cheerfulness:
so did they; which is not
a superfluous and redundant expression
but very emphatic
showing with what
care and diligence they did every thing
and how exactly they conformed in all
things to the divine will.
Exodus 7:7 7 And
Moses was eighty years old and Aaron eighty-three years old when they
spoke to Pharaoh.
YLT 7and Moses [is] a son of eighty years
and
Aaron [is] a son of eighty and three years
in their speaking unto Pharaoh.
And Moses was
eighty years old
.... At this time
which is observed partly to show how long
Israel had been afflicted in Egypt; for their great troubles and miseries began
about the time of the birth of Moses
or a little before
as appears from the
above history; and partly to show the patience and forbearance of God with the
Egyptians
and how just and righteous were his judgments on them; with this
perfectly agrees Stephen's account of the age of Moses
Acts 7:23 and Aaron
eighty three years old
when they spake unto Pharaoh; so that they were men
that had had a large experience of things
and had been long training up for
the service designed to be done by them; they were men of wisdom and prudence
of sedate and composed countenances
and fit to appear before a king
whose age
and venerable aspect might command attention to them. Aben Ezra observes
that"in all the Scripture there is no mention of any prophets that
prophesied in their old age but these
because their excellency was greater
than all the prophets.'By this it appears that Aaron was three years older than
Moses. A Jewish chronologer saysF14Shalshalet Hakabala
fol. 7. 1.
that it is affirmed in an exposition of theirs
that Aaron prophesied to the
Israelites in Egypt eighty years
which is making him to be a very young
prophet when he first entered into the office. The Arabic writersF15Patricides
p. 26. apud Hottinger. p. 415. say
Miriam was at this time eighty seven
so
was seven years older than Moses
and four years older than Aaron; see Exodus 2:4.
Exodus 7:8 8 Then
the Lord
spoke to Moses and Aaron
saying
YLT 8And Jehovah speaketh unto Moses and unto
Aaron
saying
And the Lord
spake unto Moses and unto Aaron
.... After he had given them their
commission
and instructions to go to Pharaoh
and a little before they went in
to him:
saying
as follows.
Exodus 7:9 9 “When
Pharaoh speaks to you
saying
‘Show a miracle for yourselves
’ then you shall
say to Aaron
‘Take your rod and cast it before Pharaoh
and let
it become a serpent.’”
YLT 9`When Pharaoh speaketh unto you
saying
Give
for yourselves a wonder; then thou hast said unto Aaron
Take thy rod
and cast
before Pharaoh -- it becometh a monster.'
When Pharaoh
shall speak unto you
saying
show a miracle for you
.... To prove
that they came from God
the Jehovah they said they did
and that they were his
ambassadors
and came in his name
and made the demand for him; which when he
seriously reflected on things
he would be ready to require
hoping they would
not be able to show any
and then he should have somewhat against them
and
treat them as impostors:
then thou shalt
say unto Aaron
take thy rod; the same that Moses had in his hand at
Horeb
and brought with him to Egypt; this he had delivered into the hand of
Aaron
who was to be his agent
and with this rod do signs and wonders as he
did
and on account of them it is sometimes called the rod of God:
and cast it
before Pharaoh
and it shall become a serpent; as it became one before
at Horeb
when Moses by the order of God cast it on the ground
and afterwards
became a rod again
as it now was
Exodus 4:2 Hence
Mercury
the messenger of the gods with the Heathens
is represented as having
a "caduceus"
a rod or wand twisted about with snakesF16Vid.
Chartar. de Imag. Deorum
p. 136. imag. 48. .
Exodus 7:10 10 So
Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh
and they did so
just as the Lord commanded. And
Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants
and it became a
serpent.
YLT 10And Moses goeth in -- Aaron also -- unto
Pharaoh
and they do so as Jehovah hath commanded; and Aaron casteth his rod
before Pharaoh
and before his servants
and it becometh a monster.
And Moses and
Aaron went in unto Pharaoh
.... Into the palace of Pharaoh boldly
and
with intrepidity
clothed with such power and authority
and assured of
success:
and they did as
the Lord had commanded; they demanded in his name the dismission of the children of
Israel
and upon his requiring a miracle to confirm their mission
wrought one
as follows:
and Aaron cast
down his rod before Pharaoh
and it became a serpent: or a
"dragon"
as the Septuagint version; this word is sometimes used of
great whales
Genesis 1:21 and of
the crocodile
Ezekiel 29:3 and it
is very likely the crocodile is meant here
as Dr. LightfootF17Works
vol. 1. p. 702. thinks; since this was frequent in the Nile
the river of
Egypt
where the Hebrew infants had been cast
and into whose devouring jaws
they fell
and which also was an Egyptian deityF18Crocodylen adorat
Juvenal
Sat. 15. . Though no mention is made of Pharaoh's demanding a miracle
yet no doubt he did
as the Lord had intimated he would
and without which it
can hardly be thought it would be done; and ArtapanusF19Apud Euseb.
Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 435.
an Heathen writer
expressly asserts
it; for he says
"when the king required of Moses to do some sign or
wonder
the rod which he had he cast down
and it became a serpent
to the
amazement of all
and then took it by its tail and it be came a rod
again;'which is a testimony from an Heathen of the truth of this miracle.
Exodus 7:11 11 But Pharaoh also called
the wise men and the sorcerers; so the magicians of Egypt
they also did in
like manner with their enchantments.
YLT 11And Pharaoh also calleth for wise men
and
for sorcerers; and the scribes of Egypt
they also
with their flashings
do
so
Then Pharaoh
also called the wise men and the sorcerers
.... The cunning men and
wizards
a sort of jugglers and deceivers
who pretended to great knowledge of
things
to discover secrets
tell fortunes
and predict things to come
and by
legerdemain tricks
and casting a mist before people's eyes
pretended to do
very wonderful and amazing things; and therefore Pharaoh sent for these
to
exercise their art and cunning
and see if they could not vie with Moses and
Aaron:
now the
magicians of Egypt
they also did in like manner with their enchantments; or by their
secret wiles and juggles
making things seem to appear to the sight when they
did not really
but by dazzling the eyes of men by their wicked and diabolical
art
they fancied they saw things which they did not; for the word has the
signification of flames of fire
or of a flaming sword
or lance
which being
brandished to and fro dazzles the sight. The Targum of Jonathan gives the names
of two of these magicians
whom he calls Jannes and Jambres
as does the
apostle; see Gill on 2 Timothy 3:8.
JosephusF20Antiqu. l. 2. c. 13. sect. 3. calls these magicians of
Egypt priests
and ArtapanusF21Apud Euseb. ut supra. (Praepar.
Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 435.) says
they were priests that lived about
Memphis. According to the ArabsF23Arab. Geograph. Climat. 2. par. 4.
lin. 21.
the name of the place where they lived was Ausana
a city very
ancient and pleasant
called the city of the magicians
which lay to the east
of the Nile: their name in the Hebrew language is either from a word which
signifies a style
or greying tool
as FullerF24Miscell. Sacr. l. 5.
c. 11. thinks
because in their enchantments they used superstitious characters
and figures; or
as Saadiah GaonF25Comment. in Dan. i. 20.
from
two words
the one signifying a "hole"
and the other
"stopped"; because they bored a hole in a tree to put witchcrafts
into it
and stopped it up
and then declared what should be
or they had to
say.
Exodus 7:12 12 For
every man threw down his rod
and they became serpents. But Aaron’s rod swallowed
up their rods.
YLT 12and they cast down each his rod
and they
become monsters
and the rod of Aaron swalloweth their rods;
For they cast
down every man his rod
and they became serpents
.... That is
they seemed
to be so
as JosephusF26Antiqu. ut supra. (l. 2. c. 13 sect. 3.)
expresses it
but not really
in which he is followed by many; though some
think that the devil assisted in this affair
and in an instant
as soon as the
rods were cast down
removed them and put real serpents in their room:
but Aaron's rod
swallowed up their rods; that is
the serpent that Aaron's rod was turned into
swallowed
up the rods of the magicians
which never were otherwise than rods only in
appearance; or if real serpents were put in the room of them
these were
devoured by his serpent called his rod
because it was before turned into a
serpent
as Aben Ezra observes; though the Targums of Jonathan
Jarchi
and R.
Jeshua
suppose this was done after the serpent became a rod again; which makes
the miracle the greater and more wonderful
that a rod should devour other
rods; and supposing them real serpents
this was what the magicians could not
make their rods do
and in which they were outdone by Aaron.
Exodus 7:13 13 And
Pharaoh’s heart grew hard
and he did not heed them
as the Lord had said.
YLT 13and the heart of Pharaoh is strong
and he
hath not hearkened unto them
as Jehovah hath spoken.
And he hardened
Pharaoh's heart
.... Or
"notwithstanding the heart of Pharaoh was
hardened"F1ויחזק "attamen
obfirmatum est"
Junius & Tremellius. ; though he saw the rods of his
magicians devoured by rod; or "therefore"F2"Itaque"
Piscator. his heart was hardened
because he saw that the rods of his magicians
became serpents as well as Aaron's; in which there was a deception of sight
and which was suffered for the hardening of his heart
there being other
wonders and miracles to be wrought
for showing forth the divine power
before
Israel must be let go:
that he
hearkened not unto them; to Moses and Aaron
and comply with their demand
to dismiss the
people of Israel:
as the Lord had
said; or foretold he would not.
Exodus 7:14 14 So
the Lord
said to Moses: “Pharaoh’s heart is hard; he refuses to let the people
go.
YLT 14And Jehovah saith unto Moses
`The heart of
Pharaoh hath been hard
he hath refused to send the people away;
And the Lord
said unto Moses
Pharaoh's heart is hardened
.... Or "heavy"F3כבד "grave"
Montanus
Drusius. So Ainsworth.
dull and stupid
stiff and inflexible
cannot lift up his heart
or find in his
heart to obey the will of God:
he refuseth to
let the people go; which was an instance and proof of the hardness and heaviness of
his heart
on which the above miracle had made no impression
to regard what
God by his ambassadors had required of him.
Exodus 7:15 15 Go
to Pharaoh in the morning
when he goes out to the water
and 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.
YLT 15go unto Pharaoh in the morning
lo
he is
going out to the water
and thou hast stood to meet him by the edge of the
River
and the rod which was turned to a serpent thou dost take in thy hand
Get thee unto
Pharaoh in the morning
.... The next morning
a time in which the mind is most composed
and sedate
and fit to attend to what may be suggested:
lo
he goeth
out unto the water; the river Nile
either to take his morning's walk
and to
refresh himself at the waterside
as the Jerusalem Targum; or to observe
divinations upon the water
as a magician
as the Targum of Jonathan. So in the
TalmudF4T. Bab. Moed. Katon
fol. 18. 1. it is said
that the
Pharaoh in the days of Moses was a magician. Or rather
as Aben Ezra thinks
which he says is a custom of the kings of Egypt to this day
to go out in the
months of Tammuz and Ab
i.e. June
and July
when the river increases
to
observe how many degrees it has ascended
by which the fruitfulness of the
ensuing season was judged of. See Gill on Or else he went to worship the rising
sun
or the Nile
to pay his morning devotions to it: for not only Jarchi
and
other Jewish writers
say it was their chief god
but PlutarchF5De
lside & Osir. Vide Philo de Vita Mosis
l. 1. p. 617. also affirms
that
nothing was so much honoured with the Egyptians as the Nile; and both Theodoret
on this place
and AthanasiusF6Contr. Gentil p. 20. & de
Incarnatione
p. 73. elsewhere says
that they reckoned it a god
and
worshipped it as such; and it has been usual with other nations to worship
rivers
as AelianusF7Var. Hist. l. 2. c. 33. reports:
and thou shall
stand by the river's brink against he come; over against the brink
of the river Nile
in order to meet him:
and the rod
which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take in thine hand; as a terror
to Pharaoh
on sight of which he might be put in mind of what had been done
and by means of which he might fear other wonders would be wrought; by this it
appears
that after the rod had been turned into a serpent
it became a rod
again
as it did at Horeb
Exodus 4:4. Moses
having previous notice of all this
shows the prescience of God
and his
certain knowledge of future contingent events.
Exodus 7:16 16 And
you shall say to him
‘The Lord God of the Hebrews has
sent me to you
saying
“Let My people go
that they may serve Me in the
wilderness”; but indeed
until now you would not hear!
YLT 16and thou hast said unto him: Jehovah
God of
the Hebrews
hath sent me unto thee
saying
Send My people away
and they
serve Me in the wilderness; and lo
thou hast not hearkened hitherto.
And thou shalt
say unto him
.... Upon meeting him:
the Lord God of
the Hebrews hath sent me unto thee; still appearing in the
character of the ambassador of Jehovah
the God of the children of Israel:
saying
let my
people go
that they may serve me in the wilderness; the demand is
once more renewed
before any punishment is inflicted for refusal
that the
patience and forbearance of God might be the more visible
and his judgments
appear the more righteous when inflicted
as well as Pharaoh be left more
inexcusable. The reason of the demand is observed:
that they may
serve me; keep a feast
and sacrifice to him
as is before expressed
and
the place where is pointed at:
in the
wilderness; at Sinai
in Arabia
where were the mountains of Sinai and
Horeb; but the time of their service is not here expressed
as elsewhere
namely
three days:
and
behold
hitherto
thou wouldest not hear; and obey the voice of the Lord
upbraiding him with his
disobedience
and the hardness of his heart; but signifying it was not now too
late
though it was advisable to be quick
or the blow would be given
and the
plagues inflicted.
Exodus 7:17 17 Thus
says the Lord:
“By this you shall know that I am the Lord. Behold
I
will strike the waters which are in the river with the rod that is
in my hand
and they shall be turned to blood.
YLT 17`Thus said Jehovah: By this thou knowest that
I [am] Jehovah; lo
I am smiting with the rod which [is] in my hand
on the
waters which [are] in the River
and they have been turned to blood
Thus saith the
Lord
in this thou shalt know that I am the Lord
.... By the following
instance of his power and vengeance:
behold
I will
smite with the rod that is in my hand; which though in the hand
of Moses
Exodus 7:18 yet he
being his ambassador
and representing him
is said to be in the hand of the
Lord; and with this he threatens to smite
upon the waters
which are in the river; the river Nile
and the canals thereof:
and they shall
be turned to blood; and if this river was their god
it would abundantly appear that
the God of the Hebrews was Jehovah
and above all gods
and particularly above
theirs.
Exodus 7:18 18 And
the fish that are in the river shall die
the river shall stink
and the
Egyptians will loathe to drink the water of the river.”’”
YLT 18and the fish that [are] in the River die
and
the River hath stank
and the Egyptians have been wearied of drinking waters
from the River.'
And the fish
that is in the river shall die
.... Their element being changed
and they
not able to live in any other but water:
and the river
shall stink; with the blood
into which it should be congealed
and with the
putrefied bodies of fishes floating in it:
and the
Egyptians shall loath to drink of the water of the river; the very
colour of it
looking like blood
would set them against it
and create a
nausea in them; or "shall be weary"F8נלאו
"delassabuntur"
Tigurine version
Vatablus.
"Defatigabuntur"
Cartwright.
tired of drinking it in a little
time
through the loathsomeness of it; or be weary in digging about it
Exodus 7:24 to get
some clear water to drink of; or in seeking to find out ways and methods to
cure the waters
that so they might be fit to drink of
as Jarchi interprets
it.
Exodus 7:19 19 Then
the Lord
spoke to Moses
“Say to Aaron
‘Take your rod and stretch out your hand over
the waters of Egypt
over their streams
over their rivers
over their ponds
and over all their pools of water
that they may become blood. And there shall
be blood throughout all the land of Egypt
both in buckets of wood and pitchers
of stone.’”
YLT 19And Jehovah saith unto Moses
`Say unto
Aaron
Take thy rod
and stretch out thy hand against the waters of Egypt
against their streams
against their rivers
and against their ponds
and
against all their collections of waters; and they are blood -- and there hath
been blood in all the land of Egypt
both in [vessels of] wood
and in [those
of] stone.'
And the Lord
spake unto Moses
.... Pharaoh still being obstinate
and refusing to let the
people go:
say unto Aaron
take thy rod
and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt; upon all of
them in general
what were in the river Nile
or derived from it
as follows:
upon their
streams; the seven streams of the river Nile; see Gill on Isaiah 11:15.
upon their
rivers; the canals that were cut out of the river Nile
for the watering
of their fields and gardens
for they had no other river:
and upon their
ponds
and upon all their pools of waters; which were dug near the
river
or to which pipes were laid to convey the water thither:
that they may
become blood; and so not fit to drink:
and that there
may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt
both in vessels
of wood
and in vessels of stone; in which water were kept
in private houses
fetched from the river for the use of families; all which
were to be turned into blood everywhere
in all parts of the land
and in all
places mentioned
immediately upon Aaron's taking his rod
and smiting the
waters with it in that part of the river that was before him.
Exodus 7:20 20 And
Moses and Aaron did so
just as the Lord commanded. So 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.
YLT 20And Moses and Aaron do so
as Jehovah hath
commanded
and he lifteth up [his hand] with the rod
and smiteth the waters
which [are] in the River
before the eyes of Pharaoh
and before the eyes of
his servants
and all the waters which [are] in the River are turned to blood
And Moses and
Aaron did so
as the Lord commanded
.... Moses delivered the
rod to Aaron
who took it and went to the water side:
and he lift up
the rod
and smote the waters that were in the river; or "in
that river"F9ביאר εν τω ποταμω Sept. "in eo rivo"
Junius and
Tremellius
Piscator.
the river Nile
on the brink of which Pharaoh then
stood:
in the sight of
Pharaoh
and in the sight of his servants; his nobles and courtiers
who tended him in his walk to the water; for this was done before he returned
to his palace:
and all the
waters that were in the river were turned into blood; not only the
face of the waters looked like blood
but they were really turned into it; and
not only the surface of the water
but all the water that was in the river
wherever it flowed
and as far as it flowed in the land of Egypt.
Exodus 7:21 21 The fish that were
in the river died
the river stank
and the Egyptians could not drink the water
of the river. So there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
YLT 21and the fish which [is] in the River hath
died
and the River stinketh
and the Egyptians have not been able to drink
water from the River; and the blood is in all the land of Egypt.
And the fish
that was in the river died
.... Which was a full proof that the
conversion of it into blood was real; for had it been only in appearance
or
the water of the river had only the colour of blood
and looked like it
but
was not really so
it would not have affected the fishes
they would have lived
as well as before; and this plague was the greater affliction to the Egyptians
not as it affected their drink but their food
fish Numbers 11:5 being
what the common people chiefly lived upon; see Gill on Isaiah 19:8 and the
river stunk; the blood into which it was turned being corrupted through the
heat of the sun
and the dead fishes swimming upon it being putrefied:
and the
Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and they had
no other water to drink ofF11Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 29. ;
for rain seldom fell in Egypt
though sometimes it did in some places; see Gill
on Zechariah 14:18.
The water of the river Nile was not only their common drink
but it was
exceeding pleasant
and therefore the loss of it was the greater; it was so
remarkable for the sweetness and delicacy of its taste
that in the time of
Pescennius Niger
when his soldiers murmured for want of wine
he is reported
to have answered them
"what! crave you wine
and have the water of the
Nile to drink?'which Mr. Maillett
who lived sixteen years consul for the
French nation at Grand Cairo
confirms
and says
that it is grown to be a
common proverb
that whoever has once tasted it will ever after pine for itF12See
the Bishop of Clogher's Chronology of the Hebrew Bible
p. 287. ; with this
compare Jeremiah 2:18
and there was
blood throughout all the land of Egypt; in the river
wherever
it flowed
in all its streams and channels
and wherever any water was
collected out of it
or fetched from it
let it be in what reservoir it would.
This is the first plague executed on the Egyptians
and a very righteous one by
the law of retaliation for shedding the blood of innocent babes
through
casting them into this river; and this will be the second and third vials of
God's wrath
which will be poured on antichrist
or mystical Egypt
who will
have blood given to drink because worthy
see Revelation 16:3.
ArtapanusF13Apud Euseb Praepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 27. p. 435.
an
Heathen writer
bears testimony to this miracle
though he does not so fully
and clearly express it as it was; he says
"a little after
that is
after
the former miracle of the rod turned into a serpent
the Nile
that river whose
swelling waves overflow all Egypt
was smitten with the rod; and the water
being gathered and stagnated
boiled up
and not only the fishes were
destroyed
but the people perished through thirst.'
Exodus 7:22 22 Then
the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments; and Pharaoh’s heart grew
hard
and he did not heed them
as the Lord had said.
YLT 22And the scribes of Egypt do so with their
flashings
and the heart of Pharaoh is strong
and he hath not hearkened unto
them
as Jehovah hath spoken
And the
magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments
.... Who were
either in company with Pharaoh and his nobles
or were immediately sent for to
try their art
and confront Moses and Aaron with it; and who very probably got
a little water in a vessel
and by some juggling trick imposing upon
and
deceiving the sight of Pharaoh and his servants
made it look like blood; and
the devil might help them to a sufficient quantity of blood
and discolour the
water with it
and make it appear as if it was blood
and which was a poor
business; had they turned the bloody river into water again
they would have
equalled the miracle of Moses and Aaron
and done some service to their
country; but to deceive the sight of people
or to spoil a small quantity of
water that was good
by mixing it with blood
was but a mean and unworthy
action. Should it be asked from whence they had this water
when all was turned
into blood? it may be answered
either from Goshen
as the Targum of Jonathan
the waters of the Hebrews not being affected with this plague: though Aben Ezra
thinks they were; or from the sea
as Theodoret; but both these places were too
far distant to fetch water from
in the time that Pharaoh stayed here before
his return home: rather therefore this water was had from some habitation of
the Israelites in the city near at hand
where Pharaoh lived
or was dug for
immediately by the magicians
as in Exodus 7:24 or it
may be that all the waters were not immediately turned into blood
but
successively and gradually
first the river
and then its streams
&c. so
that there might be near at hand a pool of water
not yet turned into blood
and a vessel of water might be fetched from it
on which they exercised their
juggling art:
and Pharaoh's
heart was hardened: by seeing his magicians do what was similar to what Moses and
Aaron had done; and therefore concluded that it was not by the hand of God
but
owing to a magic art they were masters of
as his magicians were:
neither did he
hearken unto them; to Moses and Aaron
and what they said to him
to let the people
go:
as the Lord had
said; had before told he would not hearken to them
Exodus 7:4.
Exodus 7:23 23 And
Pharaoh turned and went into his house. Neither was his heart moved by this.
YLT 23and Pharaoh turneth and goeth in unto his
house
and hath not set his heart even to this;
And Pharaoh
turned
and went into his house
.... Turned away from Moses and Aaron
and
turned back from the river to which he came
and went to his palace in the
city; it being perhaps now about dinner time
when all before related had
passed:
neither did he
set his heart to this also: had no regard to this miracle of turning
the waters into blood
as well as he had none to the rod being turned into a
serpent
and devouring the rods of the magicians; he neither considered the one
nor the other
or seriously and closely thought of this
any more than of the
other.
Exodus 7:24 24 So
all the Egyptians dug all around the river for water to drink
because they
could not drink the water of the river.
YLT 24and all the Egyptians seek water round about
the river to drink
for they have not been able to drink of the waters of the
River.
And all the
Egyptians digged round about the river
.... On each side of it
in order to get clear water; and Aben Ezra thinks the Hebrews also
who were
affected with this
and the two following plagues
the frogs and lice: but it
is much more reasonable to conclude that they were free from them all. This
they did
for water to
drink: for there was none in the river
streams
ponds and pools
or in
vessels
in which they used to reserve it
and therefore could come at none but
by digging; and whether they obtained any in that way is not said:
for they could
not drink of the waters of the river; it being turned into
blood
and stunk so exceedingly; and though they might strain it
and make it
in some measure
drinkable
and might make use of the juice of herbs
and other
things
to extinguish their thirst
and the better sort might have a stock of
wine
yet multitudes must be greatly distressed
and many perish
as PhiloF14De
Vita Mosis
l. 1. p. 617. the Jew says they did.
Exodus 7:25 25 And
seven days passed after the Lord had struck the river.
YLT 25And seven days are completed after Jehovah's
smiting the River
And seven days
were fulfilled
.... Or there were full seven days
a whole week:
after that the
Lord had smitten the river
and turned it into blood; here the miracle
is ascribed to him; Moses and Aaron
and the rod they used
were only
instruments
nothing short of almighty power could do such a miracle; it seems
this lasted seven days at least. It began
as Bishop UsherF15Annal.
Vet. Test. p. 20. computes it
on the eighteen day of the sixth month
or Adar
part of February and part of March
and ended the twenty fifth of the same. It
is not said that Pharaoh requested to have it removed
though PhiloF16Ut
supra. (De Vita. Mosis
l. 1. p. 617.) says he did; his stubborn heart not
being humbled enough as yet to ask such a favour
and therefore perhaps it was
taken off without asking for it
to make way for another.
──《John Gill’s
Exposition of the Bible》