11 Then Pharaoh H6547 also called H7121 the wise men H2450 and the sorcerers: H3784 now the magicians H2748 of Egypt, H4714 they also did H6213 in like manner H3651 with their enchantments. H3858
And G2532 I beheld G1492 another G243 beast G2342 coming up G305 out of G1537 the earth; G1093 and G2532 he had G2192 two G1417 horns G2768 like G3664 a lamb, G721 and G2532 he spake G2980 as G5613 a dragon. G1404 And G2532 he exerciseth G4160 all G3956 the power G1849 of the first G4413 beast G2342 before G1799 him, G846 and G2532 causeth G4160 the earth G1093 and G2532 them which dwell G2730 therein G1722 G846 to G2443 worship G4352 the first G4413 beast, G2342 whose G3739 G846 deadly G2288 wound G4127 was healed. G2323 And G2532 he doeth G4160 great G3173 wonders, G4592 so G2532 that G2443 he maketh G4160 fire G4442 come down G2597 from G1537 heaven G3772 on G1519 the earth G1093 in the sight G1799 of men, G444 And G2532 deceiveth G4105 them that dwell G2730 on G1909 the earth G1093 by G1223 the means of those miracles G4592 which G3739 he G846 had power G1325 to do G4160 in the sight G1799 of the beast; G2342 saying G3004 to them that dwell G2730 on G1909 the earth, G1093 that they should make G4160 an image G1504 to the beast, G2342 which G3739 had G2192 the wound G4127 by a sword, G3162 and G2532 did live. G2198 And G2532 he G846 had power G1325 to give G1325 life G4151 unto the image G1504 of the beast, G2342 that G2443 the image G1504 of the beast G2342 should G2980 both G2532 speak, G2980 and G2532 cause G4160 that as many as G3745 G302 would G4352 not G3361 worship G4352 the image G1504 of the beast G2342 should be killed. G2443 G615
And Pharaoh H6547 said H559 unto his servants, H5650 Can we find H4672 such a one as this H2088 is, a man H376 in whom H834 the Spirit H7307 of God H430 is? And Pharaoh H6547 said H559 unto Joseph, H3130 Forasmuch H310 as God H430 hath shewed H3045 thee all this, there is none so discreet H995 and wise H2450 as thou art:
Then H116 came H5954 in the magicians, H2749 the astrologers, H826 the Chaldeans, H3779 and the soothsayers: H1505 and I H576 told H560 the dream H2493 before H6925 them; but they did not H3809 make known H3046 unto me the interpretation H6591 thereof. But at H5705 the last H318 Daniel H1841 came in H5922 before me, H6925 whose name H8036 was Belteshazzar, H1096 according to the name H8036 of my god, H426 and in whom is the spirit H7308 of the holy H6922 gods: H426 and before H6925 him I told H560 the dream, H2493 saying, O Belteshazzar, H1096 master H7229 of the magicians, H2749 because I H576 know H3046 that the spirit H7308 of the holy H6922 gods H426 is in thee, and no H3606 H3809 secret H7328 troubleth H598 thee, tell H560 me the visions H2376 of my dream H2493 that I have seen, H2370 and the interpretation H6591 thereof.
Stand H5975 now with thine enchantments, H2267 and with the multitude H7230 of thy sorceries, H3785 wherein H834 thou hast laboured H3021 from thy youth; H5271 if so be thou shalt be able H3201 to profit, H3276 if so be thou mayest prevail. H6206 Thou art wearied H3811 in the multitude H7230 of thy counsels. H6098 Let now the astrologers, H1895 H8064 the stargazers, H2374 H3556 the monthly H2320 prognosticators, H3045 stand up, H5975 and save H3467 thee from these things that shall come H935 upon thee.
Surely the princes H8269 of Zoan H6814 are fools, H191 the counsel H6098 of the wise H2450 counsellors H3289 of Pharaoh H6547 is become brutish: H1197 how say H559 ye unto Pharaoh, H6547 I am the son H1121 of the wise, H2450 the son H1121 of ancient H6924 kings? H4428 Where H335 are they? where H645 are thy wise H2450 men? and let them tell H5046 thee now, and let them know H3045 what the LORD H3068 of hosts H6635 hath purposed H3289 upon Egypt. H4714
If there arise H6965 among H7130 you a prophet, H5030 or a dreamer H2492 of dreams, H2472 and giveth H5414 thee a sign H226 or a wonder, H4159 And the sign H226 or the wonder H4159 come to pass, H935 whereof he spake H1696 unto thee, saying, H559 Let us go H3212 after H310 other H312 gods, H430 which thou hast not known, H3045 and let us serve H5647 them; Thou shalt not hearken H8085 unto the words H1697 of that prophet, H5030 or that dreamer H2492 of dreams: H2472 for the LORD H3068 your God H430 proveth H5254 you, to know H3045 whether ye H3426 love H157 the LORD H3068 your God H430 with all your heart H3824 and with all your soul. H5315
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Exodus 7
Commentary on Exodus 7 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 7
Ex 7:1-25. Second Interview with Pharaoh.
1. the Lord said unto Moses—He is here encouraged to wait again on the king—not, however, as formerly, in the attitude of a humble suppliant, but now armed with credentials as God's ambassador, and to make his demand in a tone and manner which no earthly monarch or court ever witnessed.
I have made thee a god—"made," that is, set, appointed; "a god"; that is, he was to act in this business as God's representative, to act and speak in His name and to perform things beyond the ordinary course of nature. The Orientals familiarly say of a man who is eminently great or wise, "he is a god" among men.
Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet—that is, "interpreter" or "spokesman." The one was to be the vicegerent of God, and the other must be considered the speaker throughout all the ensuing scenes, even though his name is not expressly mentioned.
3. I will harden Pharaoh's heart—This would be the result. But the divine message would be the occasion, not the cause of the king's impenitent obduracy.
4, 5. I may lay mine hand upon Egypt, &c.—The succession of terrible judgments with which the country was about to be scourged would fully demonstrate the supremacy of Israel's God.
7. Moses was fourscore years old—This advanced age was a pledge that they had not been readily betrayed into a rash or hazardous enterprise, and that under its attendant infirmities they could not have carried through the work on which they were entering had they not been supported by a divine hand.
9. When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, &c.—The king would naturally demand some evidence of their having been sent from God; and as he would expect the ministers of his own gods to do the same works, the contest, in the nature of the case, would be one of miracles. Notice has already been taken of the rod of Moses (Ex 4:2), but rods were carried also by all nobles and official persons in the court of Pharaoh. It was an Egyptian custom, and the rods were symbols of authority or rank. Hence God commanded His servants to use a rod.
10. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, &c.—It is to be presumed that Pharaoh had demanded a proof of their divine mission.
11. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, &c.—His object in calling them was to ascertain whether this doing of Aaron's was really a work of divine power or merely a feat of magical art. The magicians of Egypt in modern times have been long celebrated adepts in charming serpents, and particularly by pressing the nape of the neck, they throw them into a kind of catalepsy, which renders them stiff and immovable—thus seeming to change them into a rod. They conceal the serpent about their persons, and by acts of legerdemain produce it from their dress, stiff and straight as a rod. Just the same trick was played off by their ancient predecessors, the most renowned of whom, Jannes and Jambres (2Ti 3:8), were called in on this occasion. They had time after the summons to make suitable preparations—and so it appears they succeeded by their "enchantments" in practising an illusion on the senses.
12. but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods—This was what they could not be prepared for, and the discomfiture appeared in the loss of their rods, which were probably real serpents.
14. Pharaoh's heart is hardened—Whatever might have been his first impressions, they were soon dispelled; and when he found his magicians making similar attempts, he concluded that Aaron's affair was a magical deception, the secret of which was not known to his wise men.
15. Get thee unto Pharaoh—Now began those appalling miracles of judgment by which the God of Israel, through His ambassadors, proved His sole and unchallengeable supremacy over all the gods of Egypt, and which were the natural phenomena of Egypt, at an unusual season, and in a miraculous degree of intensity. The court of Egypt, whether held at Rameses, or Memphis, or Tanis in the field of Zoan (Ps 78:12), was the scene of those extraordinary transactions, and Moses must have resided during that terrible period in the immediate neighborhood.
in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water—for the purpose of ablutions or devotions perhaps; for the Nile was an object of superstitious reverence, the patron deity of the country. It might be that Moses had been denied admission into the palace; but be that as it may, the river was to be the subject of the first plague, and therefore, he was ordered to repair to its banks with the miracle-working rod, now to be raised, not in demonstration, but in judgment, if the refractory spirit of the king should still refuse consent to Israel's departure for their sacred rites.
17-21. Aaron lifted up the rod and smote the waters, &c.—Whether the water was changed into real blood, or only the appearance of it (and Omnipotence could effect the one as easily as the other), this was a severe calamity. How great must have been the disappointment and disgust throughout the land when the river became of a blood red color, of which they had a national abhorrence; their favorite beverage became a nauseous draught, and the fish, which formed so large an article of food, were destroyed. [See on Nu 11:5.] The immense scale on which the plague was inflicted is seen by its extending to "the streams," or branches of the Nile—to the "rivers," the canals, the "ponds" and "pools," that which is left after an overflow, the reservoirs, and the many domestic vessels in which the Nile water was kept to filter. And accordingly the sufferings of the people from thirst must have been severe. Nothing could more humble the pride of Egypt than this dishonor brought on their national god.
22. And the magicians … did so with their enchantments, &c.—Little or no pure water could be procured, and therefore their imitation must have been on a small scale—the only drinkable water available being dug among the sands. It must have been on a sample or specimen of water dyed red with some coloring matter. But it was sufficient to serve as a pretext or command for the king to turn unmoved and go to his house.