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Êxodo 7

ARC · Chapter 7/40

1Então disse o Senhor a Moysés: Eis que te tenho posto por Deus sobre Pharaó, e Aarão, teu irmão, será o teu propheta.

2Tu fallarás tudo o que eu te mandar: e Aarão teu irmão fallará a Pharaó, que deixe ir os filhos de Israel da sua terra.

3Eu, porém, endurecerei o coração de Pharaó, e multiplicarei na terra do Egypto os meus signaes e as minhas maravilhas.

4Pharaó pois não vos ouvirá; e eu porei minha mão sobre o Egypto, e tirarei meus exercitos, meu povo, os filhos de Israel, da terra do Egypto, com grandes juizos.

5Então os egypcios saberão que eu sou o Senhor, quando estender a minha mão sobre o Egypto, e tirar os filhos de Israel do meio d'elles.

6Então fez Moysés e Aarão; como o Senhor lhes ordenara, assim fizeram.

7E Moysés era da edade de oitenta annos, e Aarão da edade de oitenta e tres annos, quando fallaram a Pharaó.

8E o Senhor fallou a Moysés e a Aarão, dizendo:

9Quando Pharaó vos fallar, dizendo: Fazei por vós algum milagre; dirás a Aarão: Toma a tua vara, e lança-a diante de Pharaó; e se tornará em serpente.

10Então Moysés e Aarão entraram a Pharaó, e fizeram assim como o Senhor ordenara: e lançou Aarão a sua vara diante de Pharaó, e diante dos seus servos, e tornou-se em serpente.

11E Pharaó tambem chamou os sabios e encantadores: e os magos do Egypto fizeram tambem o mesmo com os seus encantamentos,

12Porque cada um lançou sua vara, e tornaram-se em serpentes: mas a vara de Aarão tragou as varas d'elles.

13Porém o coração de Pharaó se endureceu, e não os ouviu, como o Senhor tinha dito

14Então disse o Senhor a Moysés: O coração de Pharaó está aggravado: recusa deixar ir o povo.

15Vae pela manhã a Pharaó: eis que elle sairá ás aguas: põe-te em frente d'elle na praia do rio, e tomarás em tua mão a vara que se tornou em cobra.

16E lhe dirás: O Senhor, o Deus dos hebreos, me tem enviado a ti, dizendo: Deixa ir o meu povo, para que me sirva no deserto; porém eis que até agora não tens ouvido.

17Assim diz o Senhor: N'isto saberás que eu sou o Senhor: Eis que eu com esta vara, que tenho em minha mão, ferirei as aguas que estão no rio, e tornar-se-hão em sangue.

18E os peixes, que estão no rio, morrerão, e o rio federá; e os egypcios nausear-se-hão, bebendo a agua do rio

19Disse mais o Senhor a Moysés: Dize a Aarão: Toma tu a vara, e estende a tua mão sobre as aguas do Egypto, sobre as suas correntes, sobre os seus rios, e sobre os seus tanques, e sobre todo o ajuntamento das suas aguas, para que se tornem em sangue: e haja sangue em toda a terra do Egypto, assim nos vasos de madeira como nos de pedra.

20E Moysés e Aarão fizeram assim como o Senhor tinha mandado: e levantou a vara, e feriu as aguas que estavam no rio, diante dos olhos de Pharaó, e diante dos olhos de seus servos; e todas as aguas do rio se tornaram em sangue.

21E os peixes, que estavam no rio, morreram, e o rio fedeu, que os egypcios não podiam beber a agua do rio: e houve sangue por toda a terra do Egypto.

22Porém os magos do Egypto tambem fizeram o mesmo com os seus encantamentos; de maneira que o coração de Pharaó se endureceu, e não os ouviu, como o Senhor tinha dito

23E virou-se Pharaó, e foi para sua casa: nem ainda n'isto poz seu coração.

24E todos os egypcios cavaram poços junto ao rio, para beberem agua; porquanto não podiam beber das aguas do rio.

25Assim se cumpriram sete dias, depois que o Senhor ferira o rio.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God prepares Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh again; Aaron's staff turns into a serpent before Pharaoh, and the first plague begins: the waters of the Nile River turn to blood.

Explanation

This chapter marks the formal beginning of the direct confrontation between the power of God and the power of Pharaoh, who was regarded by the Egyptians as a living god. Each plague that follows is not merely a random punishment but a direct, symbolic strike against specific deities of the Egyptian pantheon — the Nile, for example, was associated with the god Hapi and considered sacred, making its transformation into blood a theological blow against the whole Egyptian worldview, not just a practical problem. The fact that the Egyptian magicians managed to imitate this first sign with 'their enchantments' shows that the confrontation would not be resolved immediately, setting the stage for an increasingly clear demonstration of God's exclusive supremacy. The repeated mention that 'Pharaoh's heart hardened' introduces a complex theological theme about the relationship between stubborn human resistance and God's sovereignty over that very resistance.

Fun facts

  • Each of the ten plagues of Egypt is interpreted by biblical scholars as a direct confrontation against a specific Egyptian deity — the plague of blood on the Nile, for example, directly challenged Hapi (god of the floods) and Osiris (associated with the river), showing that the battle was, at its core, between the God of Israel and the entire Egyptian religious system.
  • The age of Moses (80 years) and Aaron (83 years) at the beginning of this confrontation with Pharaoh (v. 7) shows that Israel's great mission of deliverance began at an advanced stage of life, challenging the idea that great callings only happen in youth.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Êxodo 7:1God is not saying Moses has become a deity — the expression means that, before Pharaoh, Moses will speak with the full authority of God, and Aaron will be his “prophet” in the sense of spokesman, repeating the words Moses passes on to him. It is the same arrangement already agreed on in chapter 4.
  2. Êxodo 7:2It repeats the same division of tasks agreed on in chapter 4: Moses receives God’s instructions, and Aaron passes them on to Pharaoh as his spokesman.
  3. Êxodo 7:3Here the text repeats the idea that God will harden Pharaoh’s heart, which puzzles many people, since it seems God is stopping the king himself from giving in. Scholars read this in different ways: some see God reinforcing a stubbornness that was already Pharaoh’s own choice, others see it as part of a plan for the Egyptians to see more signs.
  4. Êxodo 7:4God already warns that Pharaoh will not listen, even before any plague happens — the text makes clear from the start that the confrontation will be a long one.
  5. Êxodo 7:5The purpose of the plagues is not only to free the people, but also to make the Egyptians themselves recognize the power of the God of Israel.
  6. Êxodo 7:6It notes that Moses and Aaron carry out exactly what God had commanded, a phrase repeated several times throughout the book to confirm obedience.
  7. Êxodo 7:7The advanced ages of Moses (eighty years) and Aaron (eighty-three) show that the confrontation with Pharaoh only begins after decades of waiting for both of them.
  8. Êxodo 7:8Before the first public sign before Pharaoh, God gives Moses and Aaron specific instructions on what to do, told in the next verse.
  9. Êxodo 7:9God prepares Moses for Pharaoh’s expected request for proof: the same staff that turned into a snake before him in chapter 4 will now be used before the king.
  10. Êxodo 7:10Aaron performs before Pharaoh the sign Moses had already seen at the bush: the staff thrown to the ground turns into a serpent.
  11. Êxodo 7:11The “wise men and the sorcerers” were the magicians of Pharaoh’s court, priests who knew tricks and some form of illusion used in Egyptian religious rituals. They manage to imitate the staff turning into a snake, but the detail that counts is that Aaron’s snake devours theirs, showing that the power behind it is greater even when the effects look similar.
  12. Êxodo 7:12The Egyptian magicians manage to imitate the trick with their own staffs, but Aaron’s serpent swallows theirs — a sign that the power behind it is greater.
  13. Êxodo 7:13Despite the clear sign, Pharaoh remains unyielding, exactly fulfilling what God had already warned Moses about his resistance.
  14. Êxodo 7:14God confirms to Moses that Pharaoh’s heart remains unyielding, kicking off the sequence of plagues that begins in the next verse.
  15. Êxodo 7:15God directs Moses to approach Pharaoh in the morning, at a time when he used to go down to the river — probably part of some ritual tied to the worship of the Nile.
  16. Êxodo 7:16It repeats the request already made before, to release the people for worship in the wilderness, putting on record that Pharaoh had already been warned and still refused.
  17. Êxodo 7:17The Nile was literally Egypt’s source of life — drinking water, irrigation, fishing, transport — and also had gods associated with it. Turning its waters into blood is not just one more plague: it is a direct blow to the foundation of the Egyptian economy and, at the same time, a challenge to the river deities the Egyptians worshiped.
  18. Êxodo 7:18It anticipates the effect of the plague: the dead fish and the foul smell would make the river water, Egypt’s basic source of survival, unfit even to drink.
  19. Êxodo 7:19God’s command is sweeping: not just the main river, but every canal, pool, and reservoir in Egypt, including water already stored in vessels.
  20. Êxodo 7:20Aaron strikes with the staff right before Pharaoh himself, and the transformation into blood happens in plain sight of everyone, leaving no doubt about its source.
  21. Êxodo 7:21The plague strikes exactly as announced: the fish die, the river reeks, and the water becomes unfit to drink throughout all of Egypt.
  22. Êxodo 7:22Even in the face of the plague’s severity, the Egyptian magicians manage to reproduce the effect on a small scale, which gives Pharaoh an excuse to resist.
  23. Êxodo 7:23Pharaoh simply ignores what happened and goes back home, unshaken by the plague, a reaction that repeats itself at several points in the confrontation with Moses.
  24. Êxodo 7:24While the river remained undrinkable, the Egyptians have to dig wells along its banks in search of water filtered through the ground, an emergency solution.
  25. Êxodo 7:25It marks the passing of seven days between this first plague and what comes next, one of the few time markers given in the sequence of plagues.

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