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Exodus 7

YHWH confronts Pharaoh’s refusal with signs and judgment so that Egypt will know who rules over it.

Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh with YHWH’s command to release Israel. Moses is eighty, and Aaron is eighty-three. God appoints Moses to speak with his authority and Aaron to serve as his spokesman, while warning that Pharaoh will refuse to listen. Aaron’s rod becomes a serpent and swallows the magicians’ rods. Then YHWH turns Egypt’s waters to blood. Fish die, drinking water becomes scarce, and Pharaoh remains unmoved.

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1The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
2You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall speak to Pharaoh, that he let the children of Israel go out of his land.
3I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
4But Pharaoh will not listen to you, so I will lay my hand on Egypt, and bring out my armies, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great judgments.
5The Egyptians shall know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand on Egypt, and bring the children of Israel out from among them.”
6Moses and Aaron did so. As the LORD commanded them, so they did.
7Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
9“When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying, ‘Perform a miracle!’ then you shall tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and cast it down before Pharaoh, and it will become a serpent.’”
10Moses and Aaron went in to Pharaoh, and they did so, as the LORD had commanded. Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
11Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers. They also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing with their enchantments.
12For they each cast down their rods, and they became serpents; but Aaron’s rod swallowed up their rods.
13Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.
14The LORD said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is stubborn. He refuses to let the people go.
15Go to Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he is going out to the water. You shall stand by the river’s bank to meet him. You shall take the rod which was turned to a serpent in your hand.
16You shall tell him, ‘The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent me to you, saying, “Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness. Behold, until now you haven’t listened.”
17The LORD says, “In this you shall know that I am the LORD. Behold: I will strike with the rod that is in my hand on the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.
18The fish that are in the river will die and the river will become foul. The Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the river.”’”
19The LORD said to Moses, “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your rod, and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’”
20Moses and Aaron did so, as the LORD commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and struck the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood.
21The fish that were in the river died. The river became foul. The Egyptians couldn’t drink water from the river. The blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.
22The magicians of Egypt did the same thing with their enchantments. So Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, and he didn’t listen to them, as the LORD had spoken.
23Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he didn’t even take this to heart.
25Seven days were fulfilled, after the LORD had struck the river.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Exodus 7:1God establishes Moses’ authority before Pharaoh and assigns Aaron the prophetic role of speaking on Moses’ behalf.
Exodus 7:11The magicians’ imitation introduces rival claims to power, while the swallowing of their rods shows YHWH’s supremacy.
Exodus 7:17The first plague declares its purpose: Pharaoh will know YHWH through judgment on the river that sustains Egypt.
Where this chapter reaches

Psalm recounts the same judgment on Egypt’s waters, including the blood and the death of fish, as part of Israel’s history under God’s rule. Ezekiel shares the repeated declaration that acts of judgment will cause people to know that he is YHWH.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out about God commanding Moses and Aaron to speak while warning that Pharaoh will refuse?

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What do Pharaoh’s retreat home and the Egyptians’ search for water reveal about the cost of his refusal?

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Questions people ask about Exodus 7

Why does God make Moses “as God to Pharaoh” in Exodus 7?

The phrase describes Moses’ appointed authority before Pharaoh. Moses must speak what YHWH commands, and Aaron must deliver that message as his prophet. The verse assigns Moses a representative role; it does not say that Moses becomes divine. The authority and the commands come from YHWH.

How did Pharaoh’s magicians copy the miracles?

The text says the magicians acted with their enchantments, producing serpents from rods and turning water to blood. It does not explain their methods or identify the source of their power. Their imitation has limits within the account: Aaron’s rod swallows theirs, and their actions bring no relief from the ruined water.

Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart in Exodus 7?

God connects Pharaoh’s hardening with multiplying his signs, bringing Israel out through great judgments, and making himself known to Egypt. The chapter also describes Pharaoh as stubborn and refusing to release Israel. It presents God’s sovereign purpose alongside Pharaoh’s refusal without explaining every question about how those relate.

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Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).