- Book: [[Exodus]] - Previous chapter: [[Exodus 6]] - Next chapter: [[Exodus 8]] > [!summary] Summary > - [[Yahweh]] commissions [[Moses]] as "like God to [[Pharaoh]]" and [[Aaron]] as prophet, forewarning that [[Pharaoh]]'s heart will be hardened > - [[Aaron]]'s staff swallows the [[Egyptian]] magicians' staffs, but [[Pharaoh]]'s heart remains hard > - The first plague — [[Nile]] turned to blood — strikes [[Egypt]], but the magicians replicate it and [[Pharaoh]] is unmoved > [!info] Why is this here? > - Opens the plague narrative by establishing the theological framework: the plagues are not natural disasters but acts of divine judgment to make [[Yahweh]] known > - The magicians' limited ability to replicate signals their eventual defeat > - The purpose of [[Pharaoh]]'s hardened heart is stated clearly: so that God's signs multiply and [[Egypt]] knows he is Lord # Overview ## v. 1-7: Commission and framework - [[Moses]] is made "like God to [[Pharaoh]]"; [[Aaron]] is his prophet - God will harden [[Pharaoh]]'s heart; yet [[Egypt]] will ultimately know he is Lord - [[Moses]] is 80 and [[Aaron]] 83 — God uses older, unlikely servants ## v. 8-13: Staff to snake - [[Aaron]] throws his staff before [[Pharaoh]]; it becomes a snake - [[Egyptian]] magicians replicate the sign - [[Aaron]]'s staff swallows theirs — a sign of superior power - [[Pharaoh]]'s heart is hard; he does not listen > [!note] Magic and miracle > The magicians' replication is acknowledged — they had real power. But their power is inferior and is ultimately consumed. The contest will become lopsided as the plagues escalate. ## v. 14-24: First plague: [[Nile]] to blood - God sends [[Moses]] to [[Pharaoh]] at the [[Nile]]; the staff strikes the water - All water in [[Egypt]] turns to blood: fish die, river stinks, no drinking water - The magicians do the same; [[Pharaoh]] is unmoved and returns to his palace - [[Egyptians]] dig along the [[Nile]] for drinkable water ## v. 25: Seven days pass - A brief note that seven days elapsed before the next confrontation