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Êxodo 7

BLIVRE · Chapter 7/40

1O SENHOR disse a Moisés: Olha, eu te constituí como um deus para Faraó, e teu irmão Arão será teu profeta.

2Tu dirás todas as coisas que eu te mandarei, e Arão teu irmão falará a Faraó, para que deixe os filhos de Israel saírem de sua terra.

3E eu endurecerei o coração de Faraó, e multiplicarei na terra do Egito meus sinais e minhas maravilhas.

4E Faraó não vos ouvirá; mas eu porei minha mão sobre o Egito, e tirarei meus exércitos, meu povo, os filhos de Israel, da terra do Egito, com grandes juízos.

5E os egípcios saberão que eu sou o SENHOR, quando eu estender minha mão sobre o Egito, e tirar os filhos de Israel do meio deles.

6E fez Moisés e Arão como o SENHOR lhes mandou; fizeram-no assim.

7E era Moisés de idade de oitenta anos, e Arão de idade de oitenta e três, quando falaram a Faraó.

8E falou o SENHOR a Moisés e a Arão, dizendo:

9Se Faraó vos responder dizendo, Mostrai milagre; dirás a Arão: Toma tua vara, e lança-a diante de Faraó, para que se torne cobra.

10Vieram, pois, Moisés e Arão a Faraó, e fizeram como o SENHOR o havia mandado; e Arão lançou sua vara diante de Faraó e de seus servos, e tornou-se cobra.

11Então Faraó chamou também sábios e encantadores; e os encantadores do Egito com seus encantamentos fizeram também o mesmo;

12Pois lançou cada um sua vara, as quais se tornaram cobras; mas a vara de Arão devorou as varas deles.

13E o coração de Faraó se endureceu, e não os escutou; como o SENHOR o havia dito.

14Então o SENHOR disse a Moisés: O coração de Faraó está endurecido, que não quer deixar o povo ir.

15Vai pela manhã a Faraó, eis que ele estará saindo às águas; e põe-te à beira do rio diante dele, e toma em tua mão a vara que se tornou cobra,

16E dize-lhe: O SENHOR, o Deus dos hebreus, me enviou a ti, dizendo: Deixa meu povo ir, para que me sirvam no deserto; e eis que até agora não quiseste ouvir.

17Assim disse o SENHOR: Nisto conhecerás que eu sou o SENHOR: eis que ferirei com a vara que tenho em minha mão a água que está no rio, e se converterá em sangue:

18E os peixes que há no rio morrerão, e federá o rio, e os egípcios terão asco de beber a água do rio.

19E o SENHOR disse a Moisés: Dize a Arão: Toma tua vara, e estende tua mão sobre as águas do Egito, sobre seus rios, sobre seus ribeiros e sobre seus tanques, e sobre todos os seus depósitos de águas, para que se convertam em sangue, e haja sangue por toda a região do Egito, tanto nos vasos de madeira como nos de pedra.

20E Moisés e Arão fizeram como o SENHOR havia mandado; e levantando a vara feriu as águas que havia no rio, em presença de Faraó e de seus servos; e todas as águas que havia no rio se converteram em sangue.

21Assim os peixes que havia no rio morreram; e o rio se contaminou, que os egípcios não podiam beber dele; e houve sangue por toda a terra do Egito.

22E os encantadores do Egito fizeram o mesmo com seus encantamentos: e o coração de Faraó se endureceu, e não os escutou; como o SENHOR o havia dito.

23E Faraó, tornando, voltou-se a sua casa, e não pôs seu coração ainda nisto.

24E por todo o Egito fizeram poços ao redor do rio para beber, porque não podiam beber das águas do rio.

25E cumpriram-se sete dias depois que o SENHOR feriu 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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