Exodus 7 Study Notes
General
In Exodus 7:8-10, what sign does Aaron perform before Pharaoh?
Answer: He casts his staff to the ground, where it turns into a serpent
The LORD told Moses and Aaron that Pharaoh would demand a miracle, and that Aaron should then cast the staff to the ground in the king's presence, where it would turn into a serpent (7:8-9). They obeyed, and it happened exactly as God said, in front of the king and his court (7:10). This sign had first been given to Moses at the burning bush to show that the LORD had truly sent him (4:2-5), and God had told him to carry the staff for performing signs (4:17). Signs like this served as God's confirmation that His messengers really spoke for Him (Hebrews 2:4).
- Exodus 7:8-10 (BSB)“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.”God anticipates Pharaoh's demand for a miracle, and Aaron's staff becomes a serpent before Pharaoh and his officials.
- Exodus 4:2-5 (BSB)“And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.””The staff-to-snake sign was first given to Moses at the bush as evidence that the LORD had sent him.
- Exodus 4:17 (BSB)“But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.””God told Moses to take the staff so he could perform signs with it.
- Hebrews 2:4 (BSB)“and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”Shows that God confirms His messengers' word with signs and wonders, the function of the sign here.
Theological
What is the first sign performed before Pharaoh in 7:8-10, and what is its function?
Answer: Aaron's staff becomes a serpent, attesting that the two brothers come with the LORD's commission
Anticipating Pharaoh's demand for a wonder, the LORD directs Aaron to cast down his staff, which becomes a serpent before the king and his court (7:8-10). This is not yet a plague but a credential sign, like the one first given at the bush to authenticate Moses' commission (4:2-5; 4:17). Throughout Scripture, God attests His messengers by signs and wonders (Hebrews 2:4). The sign demonstrates that the LORD's representatives stand before Pharaoh with His authority.
- Exodus 7:8-10 (BSB)“The LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh tells you, ‘Perform a miracle,’ you are to say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh,’ and it will become a serpent.” So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.”God anticipates Pharaoh's demand for a miracle, and Aaron's staff becomes a serpent before Pharaoh and his officials.
- Exodus 4:2-5 (BSB)“And the LORD asked him, “What is that in your hand?” “A staff,” he replied. “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it. “Stretch out your hand and grab it by the tail,” the LORD said to Moses, who reached out his hand and caught the snake, and it turned back into a staff in his hand. “This is so that they may believe that the LORD, the God of their fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has appeared to you.””The staff-to-snake sign was first given to Moses at the bush as evidence that the LORD had sent him.
- Exodus 4:17 (BSB)“But take this staff in your hand so you can perform signs with it.””God told Moses to take the staff so he could perform signs with it.
- Hebrews 2:4 (BSB)“and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will.”Shows that God confirms His messengers' word with signs and wonders, the function of the sign here.
General
True or False: In Exodus 7:12, Aaron's staff swallows up the staffs of the Egyptian magicians.
Answer: True
This is true. Even though the magicians' staffs also became serpents, Aaron's staff devoured their rods (7:12). The magicians could copy the sign, but they could not match the power behind it. The outcome showed from the very first sign that the LORD is greater than any power Egypt could call on. Israel would later sing that no god is like the LORD (15:11), and Isaiah says the LORD overturns the omens of lying prophets and turns diviners into fools (Isaiah 44:25). Paul says the folly of these opponents of Moses became clear to everyone (2 Timothy 3:9).
- Exodus 7:12 (BSB)“Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.”Aaron's staff swallows the magicians' staffs, showing the LORD's power is greater.
- Exodus 15:11 (BSB)“Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”Israel's song confesses that no god is like the LORD, the truth this outcome displays.
- Isaiah 44:25 (BSB)“who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,”The LORD frustrates the signs of false prophets and makes diviners into fools.
- 2 Timothy 3:9 (BSB)“But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.”The folly of Jannes and Jambres became plain to all, as it begins to here.
Theological
True or False: 7:12 records that Aaron's staff devoured the rods of the magicians.
Answer: True
This is true. Although the magicians' staffs also became serpents, Aaron's staff swallowed theirs (7:12). The imitation is thus exposed as inferior at the moment it is performed, anticipating the LORD's triumph over the powers of Egypt. The LORD is incomparable among the gods (15:11); He overturns the omens of lying prophets and diviners (Isaiah 44:25), and the folly of those who withstood Moses was eventually made plain to all (2 Timothy 3:9).
- Exodus 7:12 (BSB)“Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.”Aaron's staff swallows the magicians' staffs, showing the LORD's power is greater.
- Exodus 15:11 (BSB)“Who among the gods is like You, O LORD? Who is like You—majestic in holiness, revered with praises, performing wonders?”Israel's song confesses that no god is like the LORD, the truth this outcome displays.
- Isaiah 44:25 (BSB)“who foils the signs of false prophets and makes fools of diviners, who confounds the wise and turns their knowledge into nonsense,”The LORD frustrates the signs of false prophets and makes diviners into fools.
- 2 Timothy 3:9 (BSB)“But they will not advance much further. For just like Jannes and Jambres, their folly will be plain to everyone.”The folly of Jannes and Jambres became plain to all, as it begins to here.
General
True or False: Exodus 7:7 says that Aaron was older than Moses at the time they stood before Pharaoh.
Answer: True
This is true. Exodus 7:7 gives Moses' age as eighty and Aaron's as eighty-three at the time they confronted the king, so Aaron was three years older. Just before this, they did exactly what the LORD commanded (7:6). Stephen later described Moses' life in periods of forty years: he was forty when he tried to help his people (Acts 7:23), and forty more years passed before God met him at the burning bush (Acts 7:30). Moses would go on to lead Israel for another forty years, dying at one hundred twenty (Deuteronomy 34:7). God called Moses to his greatest work when he was already an old man.
- Exodus 7:6-7 (BSB)“So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.”Moses and Aaron obey, and the narrator records their ages when they addressed Pharaoh.
- Acts 7:23 (BSB)“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.”Stephen places Moses' first attempt to help his people at forty years old.
- Acts 7:30 (BSB)“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.”Another forty years passed before the burning bush, which fits Moses being eighty when he confronts Pharaoh.
- Deuteronomy 34:7 (BSB)“Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished.”Moses died at one hundred twenty, which completes the pattern of three forty-year periods.
Theological
True or False: According to 7:7, Aaron was older than Moses at the time they addressed Pharaoh.
Answer: True
This is true. 7:7 gives Moses' age as eighty and Aaron's as eighty-three, so Aaron was the elder by three years, following the notice that both obeyed the LORD's command (7:6). The figure fits the three forty-year periods of Moses' life reflected elsewhere: forty when he first sought to help Israel (Acts 7:23), eighty after another forty years in Midian (Acts 7:30), and one hundred twenty at his death (Deuteronomy 34:7). The LORD's choice of an eighty-year-old shepherd to confront the world's great power magnifies that the deliverance is His own work.
- Exodus 7:6-7 (BSB)“So Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded them. Moses was eighty years old and Aaron was eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.”Moses and Aaron obey, and the narrator records their ages when they addressed Pharaoh.
- Acts 7:23 (BSB)“When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.”Stephen places Moses' first attempt to help his people at forty years old.
- Acts 7:30 (BSB)“After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.”Another forty years passed before the burning bush, which fits Moses being eighty when he confronts Pharaoh.
- Deuteronomy 34:7 (BSB)“Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak, and his vitality had not diminished.”Moses died at one hundred twenty, which completes the pattern of three forty-year periods.
General
What does the LORD say the first plague will teach Pharaoh (Exodus 7:17)?
Answer: That He is the LORD
The LORD tells Pharaoh through Moses that this sign will teach him who the LORD is: the staff would strike the Nile and its water would become blood; the fish would perish, the river would reek, and no Egyptian could drink from it (7:17-18). Pharaoh had claimed to have no knowledge of the LORD (5:2). Now the LORD would show him. Egypt depended on the Nile for everything, and God would later say that His judgments on Egypt were judgments on all its gods (12:12). The psalmist remembers this plague as God's own deed (Psalm 78:44).
- Exodus 7:17-18 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’””Moses announces that striking the Nile will turn it to blood, so Pharaoh will know that the LORD is God.
- Exodus 5:2 (BSB)“But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.””Pharaoh had asked who the LORD was and denied knowing Him, which this sign answers.
- Exodus 12:12 (BSB)“On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”God describes His judgments on Egypt as judgments on all the gods of Egypt.
- Psalm 78:44 (BSB)“He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.”The psalmist recalls the LORD turning Egypt's rivers to blood so that they could not drink.
Theological
What stated purpose accompanies the announcement of the first plague in 7:17-18?
Answer: That Pharaoh may know that He is the LORD
The first plague is introduced with a recognition formula: by this Pharaoh will know that He is the LORD (7:17). The judgment strikes Egypt's lifeline, the Nile, turning it to blood, killing the fish, and making the water undrinkable (7:18). This directly answers Pharaoh's denial in 5:2. Since the LORD later declares that His judgments on Egypt are executed on all its gods (12:12), the plague reveals the LORD's supremacy over everything Egypt trusted. Psalm 78:44 recalls the plague as a mighty act of God, not a natural occurrence.
- Exodus 7:17-18 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: By this you will know that I am the LORD. Behold, with the staff in my hand I will strike the water of the Nile, and it will turn to blood. The fish in the Nile will die, the river will stink, and the Egyptians will be unable to drink its water.’””Moses announces that striking the Nile will turn it to blood, so Pharaoh will know that the LORD is God.
- Exodus 5:2 (BSB)“But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.””Pharaoh had asked who the LORD was and denied knowing Him, which this sign answers.
- Exodus 12:12 (BSB)“On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am the LORD.”God describes His judgments on Egypt as judgments on all the gods of Egypt.
- Psalm 78:44 (BSB)“He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.”The psalmist recalls the LORD turning Egypt's rivers to blood so that they could not drink.
General
According to Exodus 7:24-25, what did the Egyptians do during the plague of blood, and how much time elapsed once God struck the river?
Answer: They dug near the river in search of drinkable water, and a full week went by after the LORD struck it
Since the river water was undrinkable, Egyptians everywhere dug near the Nile looking for water (7:24). The text then notes that a full week went by after the LORD struck the river (7:25). The narrator says it was the LORD who struck the river; Aaron lifted the staff, but the power belonged to God. The psalms also remember that Egypt could not drink from its streams (Psalm 78:44) and credit the change in their waters to God Himself (Psalm 105:29).
- Exodus 7:24-25 (BSB)“So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river. And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.”The Egyptians dig beside the Nile for drinkable water, and seven days pass after the LORD strikes the river.
- Psalm 78:44 (BSB)“He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.”The psalmist recalls that the Egyptians could not drink from their streams.
- Psalm 105:29 (BSB)“He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.”The psalmist attributes the blood plague to God Himself.
Theological
How does 7:24-25 close the account of the first plague?
Answer: The Egyptians dig beside the river in search of drinkable water, and a full week elapses after the LORD strikes it
The account closes with the Egyptians digging beside the river in search of drinkable water (7:24) and the notice that a full week elapsed after the LORD struck the river (7:25). The narrator explicitly names the LORD as the one who struck the river, though Aaron wielded the staff; the agency is divine. The psalms likewise ascribe the undrinkable rivers to the LORD's own act (Psalm 78:44; Psalm 105:29).
- Exodus 7:24-25 (BSB)“So all the Egyptians dug around the Nile for water to drink, because they could not drink the water from the river. And seven full days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile.”The Egyptians dig beside the Nile for drinkable water, and seven days pass after the LORD strikes the river.
- Psalm 78:44 (BSB)“He turned their rivers to blood, and from their streams they could not drink.”The psalmist recalls that the Egyptians could not drink from their streams.
- Psalm 105:29 (BSB)“He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.”The psalmist attributes the blood plague to God Himself.
General
What result does the LORD name in Exodus 7:5 for stretching out His hand against Egypt?
Answer: The Egyptians will come to know that He is the LORD
God says that when He acts against Egypt and leads Israel out, Egypt would come to recognize that He is the LORD (7:5). This answers Pharaoh's proud words in 5:2, where he asked who the LORD was and claimed to have no knowledge of Him. The plagues are God's way of making Himself known, both to Israel and to Egypt. The same goal comes up again at the Red Sea (14:4), and the prophets repeat that God acts so that people everywhere will know He alone is God (Isaiah 45:5-6).
- Exodus 7:5 (BSB)“And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.””God states that His judgments and the exodus will bring the Egyptians to know that He is the LORD.
- Exodus 5:2 (BSB)“But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.””Pharaoh had claimed not to know the LORD, the very claim the plagues will answer.
- Exodus 14:4 (BSB)“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.”The same purpose statement recurs at the sea, showing it governs the whole exodus narrative.
- Isaiah 45:5-6 (BSB)“I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me, so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.”God's aim that all people from east to west know that He alone is the LORD matches the purpose of 7:5.
Theological
What purpose clause in 7:5 answers Pharaoh's earlier defiance in 5:2?
Answer: Egypt will recognize that He is the LORD when He acts against it and leads Israel out
7:5 states that God's outstretched hand against Egypt will bring the Egyptians to know that He is the LORD. This directly answers Pharaoh's claim in 5:2 that he had no knowledge of the LORD. The knowledge in view is not necessarily saving faith; it is the undeniable recognition of the LORD's identity and supremacy forced upon His enemies by His judgments. The same purpose recurs at the sea (14:4), and it reflects the LORD's broader aim that He be acknowledged as the only God from east to west (Isaiah 45:5-6).
- Exodus 7:5 (BSB)“And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD, when I stretch out My hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out from among them.””God states that His judgments and the exodus will bring the Egyptians to know that He is the LORD.
- Exodus 5:2 (BSB)“But Pharaoh replied, “Who is the LORD that I should obey His voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and I will not let Israel go.””Pharaoh had claimed not to know the LORD, the very claim the plagues will answer.
- Exodus 14:4 (BSB)“And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. But I will gain honor by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD.” So this is what the Israelites did.”The same purpose statement recurs at the sea, showing it governs the whole exodus narrative.
- Isaiah 45:5-6 (BSB)“I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. I will equip you for battle, though you have not known Me, so that all may know, from where the sun rises to where it sets, that there is none but Me; I am the LORD, and there is no other.”God's aim that all people from east to west know that He alone is the LORD matches the purpose of 7:5.
General
How widespread was the plague of blood according to Exodus 7:19-21?
Answer: It reached the Nile and every other water source, even water kept in wooden and stone containers
God told Moses to have Aaron stretch the staff over every body of water in Egypt, including streams, channels, pools, and stored water, so that blood would be found everywhere, even in wooden and stone containers (7:19). Aaron struck the river while the king and his court watched, and all of it became blood. The fish perished, the stench was terrible, and the people had nothing to drink from it (7:20-21). This was the river into which Pharaoh had ordered the Hebrew baby boys thrown (1:22). The psalmist says plainly that God did this (Psalm 105:29), and the book of Revelation describes God's final judgments using the same kind of picture (Revelation 16:4).
- Exodus 7:19-21 (BSB)“And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.” Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.”Aaron stretches out the staff; the Nile and all Egypt's waters, even in vessels, become blood, and the fish die.
- Exodus 1:22 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.””Pharaoh had commanded that Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the Nile, the river now struck with blood.
- Psalm 105:29 (BSB)“He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.”The psalmist attributes the turning of Egypt's waters to blood and the death of the fish directly to God.
- Revelation 16:4 (BSB)“And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood.”The final judgments echo this plague, as rivers and springs turn to blood.
Theological
What does 7:19-21 emphasize about the scope of the first plague?
Answer: Its totality: the Nile, canals, ponds, reservoirs, and even water in wooden and stone vessels became blood
The plague is comprehensive: every water source, from the Nile to canals, ponds, and reservoirs, and even water in wooden and stone vessels, becomes blood (7:19). Aaron strikes the Nile publicly in view of the king and his court; the fish die, the river stinks, and the water becomes undrinkable (7:20-21). The river into which Pharaoh had ordered Hebrew sons cast (1:22) now becomes an instrument of judgment. Scripture attributes the plague directly to the LORD (Psalm 105:29), and the bowl judgments of Revelation 16:4 echo it in the final judgment.
- Exodus 7:19-21 (BSB)“And the LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over their rivers and canals and ponds and all the reservoirs—that they may become blood.’ There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the vessels of wood and stone.” Moses and Aaron did just as the LORD had commanded; in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, Aaron raised the staff and struck the water of the Nile, and all the water was turned to blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the river smelled so bad that the Egyptians could not drink its water. And there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.”Aaron stretches out the staff; the Nile and all Egypt's waters, even in vessels, become blood, and the fish die.
- Exodus 1:22 (BSB)“Then Pharaoh commanded all his people: “Every son born to the Hebrews you must throw into the Nile, but every daughter you may allow to live.””Pharaoh had commanded that Hebrew baby boys be thrown into the Nile, the river now struck with blood.
- Psalm 105:29 (BSB)“He turned their waters to blood and caused their fish to die.”The psalmist attributes the turning of Egypt's waters to blood and the death of the fish directly to God.
- Revelation 16:4 (BSB)“And the third angel poured out his bowl into the rivers and springs of water, and they turned to blood.”The final judgments echo this plague, as rivers and springs turn to blood.
General
According to Exodus 7:3-4, what does the LORD tell Moses will happen before any plague begins?
Answer: God will make Pharaoh stubborn, Pharaoh will refuse to heed, and God will multiply wonders before leading Israel out through great judgments
Before the first plague, the LORD tells Moses exactly how things will go. God Himself will make Pharaoh's heart hard; Pharaoh will refuse to heed; God will multiply His signs and wonders; and then God will bring His people out by great judgments (7:3-4). God had said the same thing when He first sent Moses (4:21). So Pharaoh's stubbornness in the coming chapters is not a surprise that catches God off guard; it is part of a plan God announced ahead of time. Proverbs 21:1 teaches that even a king's heart is in the LORD's hand, and Paul later concludes from Pharaoh's story that God hardens whom He chooses to harden (Romans 9:17-18). At the same time, the chapters that follow also show Pharaoh hardening his own heart, so he is fully responsible for his refusal.
- Exodus 7:3-4 (BSB)“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.”God announces beforehand that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, multiply signs, and bring Israel out by acts of judgment.
- Exodus 4:21 (BSB)“The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.”God had already told Moses at the outset that He would harden Pharaoh's heart, so 7:3 repeats an earlier announcement.
- Romans 9:17-18 (BSB)“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”Paul draws from the Pharaoh account the conclusion that God hardens whom He wills.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”Shows that even a king's heart lies in the LORD's hand to direct as He pleases.
Theological
What does 7:3-4 establish about the plague narrative before it begins?
Answer: The hardening of Pharaoh, his refusal, the multiplied signs, and the exodus by judgment are all announced beforehand as God's own purpose
7:3-4 frames the entire plague cycle as the outworking of God's declared purpose: He will make Pharaoh's heart hard, Pharaoh will refuse to heed, God will multiply signs and wonders, and He will bring out His people by great judgments. This repeats 4:21. Pharaoh's intransigence is therefore not an obstacle to God's plan but an instrument within it; a king's heart lies in the LORD's hand (Proverbs 21:1), and Paul reasons from this very narrative that God hardens whom He wills (Romans 9:17-18). This divine hardening is never presented as God making an innocent man wicked. The narrative will repeatedly say that Pharaoh hardened his own heart, and both statements stand together: God sovereignly ordains, and Pharaoh freely and culpably refuses.
- Exodus 7:3-4 (BSB)“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay My hand on Egypt, and by mighty acts of judgment I will bring the divisions of My people the Israelites out of the land of Egypt.”God announces beforehand that He will harden Pharaoh's heart, multiply signs, and bring Israel out by acts of judgment.
- Exodus 4:21 (BSB)“The LORD instructed Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you perform before Pharaoh all the wonders that I have put within your power. But I will harden his heart so that he will not let the people go.”God had already told Moses at the outset that He would harden Pharaoh's heart, so 7:3 repeats an earlier announcement.
- Romans 9:17-18 (BSB)“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh: “I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might display My power in you, and that My name might be proclaimed in all the earth.” Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”Paul draws from the Pharaoh account the conclusion that God hardens whom He wills.
- Proverbs 21:1 (BSB)“The king’s heart is a waterway in the hand of the LORD; He directs it where He pleases.”Shows that even a king's heart lies in the LORD's hand to direct as He pleases.
General
True or False: Exodus 7:13 says directly that the LORD hardened Pharaoh's heart at this point.
Answer: False
This is false. Exodus 7:13 reports that Pharaoh's heart became hard and that he refused to heed them, in keeping with the LORD's earlier word. It does not name who did the hardening in this verse; it simply reports that his heart became hard, and it points back to God's prediction in 7:3. The LORD then tells Moses that Pharaoh's heart is stubborn and that he refuses to release Israel (7:14). Across the plagues the account speaks of the hardening in three different ways: God hardening Pharaoh's heart, Pharaoh hardening his own heart, and Pharaoh's heart simply being hardened. Both God's control and Pharaoh's guilt are true. The Philistines later remembered that Pharaoh and the Egyptians hardened their hearts (1 Samuel 6:6), while Paul teaches that God hardens whom He chooses (Romans 9:18).
- Exodus 7:13-14 (BSB)“Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.”Pharaoh's heart is hardened and he will not listen; the LORD then describes his heart as unyielding.
- Exodus 7:3 (BSB)“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,”The LORD had said He would harden Pharaoh's heart, which is what the phrase about the LORD's word refers back to.
- 1 Samuel 6:6 (BSB)“Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way?”The Philistines speak of Pharaoh and the Egyptians hardening their own hearts, showing Pharaoh's real responsibility.
- Romans 9:18 (BSB)“Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”Paul teaches from this narrative that God hardens whom He wills.
Theological
True or False: In 7:13 the narrator explicitly names the LORD as the one who hardened Pharaoh's heart.
Answer: False
This is false. 7:13 uses a passive construction: Pharaoh's heart became hard, and he refused to heed, in keeping with the LORD's earlier word. The agent is not named here; the verse instead notes that events are unfolding exactly as God foretold in 7:3. In 7:14 the LORD then characterizes Pharaoh's heart as unyielding. The narrative carefully distinguishes three kinds of statements across the plagues: the LORD hardening Pharaoh's heart, Pharaoh hardening his own heart, and passive statements such as this one. Scripture affirms both sides: God hardens whom He wills (Romans 9:18), and Pharaoh culpably hardened himself (1 Samuel 6:6).
- Exodus 7:13-14 (BSB)“Still, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them, just as the LORD had said. Then the LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go.”Pharaoh's heart is hardened and he will not listen; the LORD then describes his heart as unyielding.
- Exodus 7:3 (BSB)“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,”The LORD had said He would harden Pharaoh's heart, which is what the phrase about the LORD's word refers back to.
- 1 Samuel 6:6 (BSB)“Why harden your hearts as the Egyptians and Pharaoh hardened theirs? When He afflicted them, did they not send the people out so they could go on their way?”The Philistines speak of Pharaoh and the Egyptians hardening their own hearts, showing Pharaoh's real responsibility.
- Romans 9:18 (BSB)“Therefore God has mercy on whom He wants to have mercy, and He hardens whom He wants to harden.”Paul teaches from this narrative that God hardens whom He wills.
General
What happens right after the Nile is turned to blood, according to Exodus 7:22?
Answer: The magicians copy it by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart becomes hard
Egypt's magicians produced the same effect with their secret arts. As a result, Pharaoh's heart became hard and he refused to heed Moses and Aaron, in keeping with the LORD's word (7:22). The magicians could make more blood, but the text never says they could remove it. Their copying only made things worse for Egypt, yet it gave Pharaoh an excuse to ignore God. Like 7:13, this verse uses the passive: his heart became hard, as God had foretold (7:3). Jesus taught that people who refuse to heed God's word will not be convinced even by a miracle (Luke 16:31).
- Exodus 7:22 (BSB)“But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.”The magicians duplicate the sign, and Pharaoh's heart is hardened as the LORD had foretold.
- Exodus 7:3 (BSB)“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,”The LORD's earlier announcement that He would harden Pharaoh's heart is what 7:22 refers back to.
- 2 Timothy 3:8 (BSB)“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.”Those who opposed Moses are presented as opponents of the truth.
- Luke 16:31 (BSB)“Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’””Shows that a heart set against God's word is not persuaded even by extraordinary signs.
Theological
How does 7:22 describe Pharaoh's response after the magicians replicate the first plague?
Answer: His heart became hard and he refused to heed, in keeping with the LORD's prior word
The magicians reproduce the transformation by their secret arts, and Pharaoh's heart became hard, and he refused to heed, in keeping with the LORD's prior word (7:22). The construction is passive, like 7:13, and it points back to the LORD's announcement in 7:3. The magicians' feat is telling: they can add to Egypt's misery but never relieve it, and still their counterfeit serves Pharaoh as a reason to dismiss the sign. Those who withstood Moses opposed the truth (2 Timothy 3:8), and a heart that will not hear God's word is not persuaded even by extraordinary signs (Luke 16:31).
- Exodus 7:22 (BSB)“But the magicians of Egypt did the same things by their magic arts. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he would not listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the LORD had said.”The magicians duplicate the sign, and Pharaoh's heart is hardened as the LORD had foretold.
- Exodus 7:3 (BSB)“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I will multiply My signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,”The LORD's earlier announcement that He would harden Pharaoh's heart is what 7:22 refers back to.
- 2 Timothy 3:8 (BSB)“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.”Those who opposed Moses are presented as opponents of the truth.
- Luke 16:31 (BSB)“Then Abraham said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’””Shows that a heart set against God's word is not persuaded even by extraordinary signs.
General
How do Pharaoh's magicians respond to the sign of the staff in Exodus 7:11-12?
Answer: They use their secret arts to turn their own staffs into serpents
Pharaoh called his wise men, sorcerers, and magicians, and they did the same thing by their secret arts: each man's rod turned into a serpent (7:11-12). The Bible does not explain how they did this, but it takes their opposition seriously. Paul later names two of the men who opposed Moses, Jannes and Jambres (2 Timothy 3:8). Scripture warns that evil powers can produce false signs that look impressive (2 Thessalonians 2:9), and God's law forbids sorcery as detestable to Him (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). Their imitation gave Pharaoh an excuse to dismiss what he had seen.
- Exodus 7:11-12 (BSB)“But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.”Pharaoh's wise men, sorcerers, and magicians turn their staffs into serpents, but Aaron's staff swallows theirs.
- 2 Timothy 3:8 (BSB)“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.”Names two of those who opposed Moses, presenting the magicians as opponents of the truth.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (BSB)“The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,”Shows that Scripture recognizes deceptive signs worked by evil power, which can imitate God's signs.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (BSB)“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.”Sorcery of the kind the magicians practiced is condemned as detestable to the LORD.
Theological
What do Pharaoh's wise men, sorcerers, and magicians accomplish in 7:11-12?
Answer: By their secret arts they reproduce the sign, each turning his staff into a serpent
Summoned by Pharaoh, the Egyptian wise men, sorcerers, and magicians replicate the sign by their secret arts, each staff becoming a serpent (7:11-12). The text does not specify the mechanism, whether sleight of hand or demonic power, but Scripture elsewhere recognizes counterfeit signs worked by evil power (2 Thessalonians 2:9). Paul names two men who opposed Moses, Jannes and Jambres, as archetypes of resistance to the truth (2 Timothy 3:8), and the law condemns such sorcery as abhorrent in the LORD's sight (Deuteronomy 18:10-12). The imitation furnishes Pharaoh with a pretext for unbelief.
- Exodus 7:11-12 (BSB)“But Pharaoh called the wise men and sorcerers and magicians of Egypt, and they also did the same things by their magic arts. Each one threw down his staff, and it became a serpent. But Aaron’s staff swallowed up the other staffs.”Pharaoh's wise men, sorcerers, and magicians turn their staffs into serpents, but Aaron's staff swallows theirs.
- 2 Timothy 3:8 (BSB)“Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.”Names two of those who opposed Moses, presenting the magicians as opponents of the truth.
- 2 Thessalonians 2:9 (BSB)“The coming of the lawless one will be accompanied by the working of Satan, with every kind of power, sign, and false wonder,”Shows that Scripture recognizes deceptive signs worked by evil power, which can imitate God's signs.
- Deuteronomy 18:10-12 (BSB)“Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.”Sorcery of the kind the magicians practiced is condemned as detestable to the LORD.
General
What roles does the LORD give Moses and Aaron in Exodus 7:1-2?
Answer: Moses will stand before Pharaoh with God's authority, and Aaron will speak for Moses as his prophet
Moses had just objected again that he spoke poorly and that Pharaoh would never listen to him (6:30). The LORD answers by making Moses as God to Pharaoh: Moses would come before the king carrying God's authority and God's message. Aaron would be Moses' prophet, meaning his spokesman, the one who passes on the words he has been given (7:1-2). This is the same arrangement God set up at the burning bush, where Aaron would speak for Moses as Moses spoke for God (4:15-16). It also shows what a prophet is in the Bible: someone who speaks what God has given him to say, nothing more and nothing less (Deuteronomy 18:18).
- Exodus 7:1-2 (BSB)“The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.”The LORD answers Moses' objection by assigning Moses divine authority before Pharaoh and making Aaron his spokesman.
- Exodus 6:30 (BSB)“But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?””Moses' complaint that he was unskilled in speech is the objection God answers in 7:1.
- Exodus 4:15-16 (BSB)“You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.”At the burning bush God had already set up the same pattern, with Aaron speaking for Moses as Moses spoke for God.
- Deuteronomy 18:18 (BSB)“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”Defines a prophet as one who receives God's words and passes on everything he is commanded, the role Aaron plays for Moses.
Theological
How does 7:1-2 structure the chain of communication from the LORD to Pharaoh?
Answer: Moses stands toward Pharaoh in the place of God, and Aaron serves as Moses' prophet who relays his words
In answer to Moses' renewed protest about his speech (6:30), the LORD establishes a chain of revelation: God speaks to Moses, Moses stands toward Pharaoh as God's authoritative representative, and Aaron serves as Moses' prophet, relaying the word to the king (7:1-2). This formalizes the arrangement of 4:15-16 and illustrates the essence of the prophetic office, which is to speak exactly what one has been given (Deuteronomy 18:18). Moses' authority is entirely derivative; he stands as God to Pharaoh only because he bears God's commission and word.
- Exodus 7:1-2 (BSB)“The LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to speak all that I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his land.”The LORD answers Moses' objection by assigning Moses divine authority before Pharaoh and making Aaron his spokesman.
- Exodus 6:30 (BSB)“But in the LORD’s presence Moses replied, “Since I am unskilled in speech, why would Pharaoh listen to me?””Moses' complaint that he was unskilled in speech is the objection God answers in 7:1.
- Exodus 4:15-16 (BSB)“You are to speak to him and put the words in his mouth. I will help both of you to speak, and I will teach you what to do. He will speak to the people for you. He will be your spokesman, and it will be as if you were God to him.”At the burning bush God had already set up the same pattern, with Aaron speaking for Moses as Moses spoke for God.
- Deuteronomy 18:18 (BSB)“I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers. I will put My words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.”Defines a prophet as one who receives God's words and passes on everything he is commanded, the role Aaron plays for Moses.
General
Where does the LORD send Moses to confront Pharaoh before the first plague (Exodus 7:15)?
Answer: To the edge of the Nile early in the day, as Pharaoh heads out to the river
God told Moses to meet Pharaoh early in the day as the king headed out to the river, to stand waiting at the Nile's edge, and to carry the staff that had turned into a snake (7:15). Moses was to repeat the LORD's demand that Pharaoh release God's people to serve Him in the desert, adding that Pharaoh had refused to heed so far (7:16). This was the same demand Moses and Aaron had made at their first meeting (5:1), and it matched what God had said from the beginning about Israel going to worship Him (3:18). The message never changes; Pharaoh's refusal is what brings the plagues.
- Exodus 7:15-16 (BSB)“Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.”Moses is sent to meet Pharaoh by the Nile in the morning with the staff, to renew the LORD's demand.
- Exodus 5:1 (BSB)“After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’””The first demand to release Israel for worship, which Pharaoh had refused.
- Exodus 3:18 (BSB)“The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”From the start, God's stated demand was that Israel go into the wilderness to sacrifice to Him.
Theological
What setting and message does the LORD prescribe for Moses' encounter with Pharaoh in 7:15-16?
Answer: At the Nile's edge in the morning, carrying the staff, renewing the demand to release Israel for worship
The LORD sends Moses to intercept Pharaoh as he heads to the river in the morning, standing on the Nile's bank with the staff that had become a snake (7:15). The message is the same demand first made in 5:1 and grounded in the commission of 3:18: release My people to serve Me in the desert, with the added charge that Pharaoh has not listened (7:16). The constancy of the demand highlights that the escalating plagues are God's response to Pharaoh's persistent refusal.
- Exodus 7:15-16 (BSB)“Go to Pharaoh in the morning as you see him walking out to the water. Wait on the bank of the Nile to meet him, and take in your hand the staff that was changed into a snake. Then say to him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to tell you: Let My people go, so that they may worship Me in the wilderness. But until now you have not listened.”Moses is sent to meet Pharaoh by the Nile in the morning with the staff, to renew the LORD's demand.
- Exodus 5:1 (BSB)“After that, Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Let My people go, so that they may hold a feast to Me in the wilderness.’””The first demand to release Israel for worship, which Pharaoh had refused.
- Exodus 3:18 (BSB)“The elders of Israel will listen to what you say, and you must go with them to the king of Egypt and tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us. Now please let us take a three-day journey into the wilderness, so that we may sacrifice to the LORD our God.’”From the start, God's stated demand was that Israel go into the wilderness to sacrifice to Him.
General
What does Pharaoh do after the Nile is turned to blood (Exodus 7:23)?
Answer: He turns away, returns to his house, and gives the matter no serious thought
Instead of responding to God's sign, Pharaoh simply turned away, went back into his house, and gave none of it any serious thought (7:23). His whole kingdom had lost its water, yet he shut the matter out of his mind. Scripture describes this kind of response many times. Isaiah says that even when the wicked receive kindness, they do not learn righteousness or see the LORD's greatness (Isaiah 26:10). Jeremiah describes people who were struck by God yet refused correction and set their faces like rock (Jeremiah 5:3). Paul warns that stubborn, unrepentant hardness stores up wrath for itself (Romans 2:4-5).
- Exodus 7:23 (BSB)“Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.”Pharaoh returns to his palace unmoved by what has happened.
- Isaiah 26:10 (BSB)“Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.”Describes the wicked who fail to learn righteousness or see the LORD's majesty even when shown grace.
- Jeremiah 5:3 (BSB)“O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.”Speaks of people who are struck yet refuse correction and make their faces harder than stone.
- Romans 2:4-5 (BSB)“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”Warns that a hard and unrepentant heart stores up wrath for itself.
Theological
What does 7:23 reveal about Pharaoh's disposition after the first plague?
Answer: Indifference: he returns to his palace and does not set his heart even on this
Pharaoh simply turns, returns to his residence, and refuses to consider any of it (7:23). This is a portrait of culpable indifference: faced with a judgment that has struck his whole land, he refuses even to consider it. Scripture repeatedly describes such hardness: the wicked, even when shown grace, do not learn righteousness or perceive the LORD's majesty (Isaiah 26:10); they are struck yet refuse correction (Jeremiah 5:3); and unrepentant hardness stores up wrath against the day of judgment (Romans 2:4-5).
- Exodus 7:23 (BSB)“Instead, Pharaoh turned around, went into his palace, and did not take any of this to heart.”Pharaoh returns to his palace unmoved by what has happened.
- Isaiah 26:10 (BSB)“Though grace is shown to the wicked man, he does not learn righteousness. In the land of righteousness he acts unjustly and fails to see the majesty of the LORD.”Describes the wicked who fail to learn righteousness or see the LORD's majesty even when shown grace.
- Jeremiah 5:3 (BSB)“O LORD, do not Your eyes look for truth? You struck them, but they felt no pain. You finished them off, but they refused to accept discipline. They have made their faces harder than stone and refused to repent.”Speaks of people who are struck yet refuse correction and make their faces harder than stone.
- Romans 2:4-5 (BSB)“Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance? But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”Warns that a hard and unrepentant heart stores up wrath for itself.