Exodus 4:9

9 But if they aren't persuaded even by both these signs and still won't listen to what you say, then take some water from the river, and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the dry land."

Exodus 4:9 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 4:9

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these
two signs
Performed before their eyes; for these were done over again when Moses came into Egypt to the Israelites, and yet some of them might still remain unbelievers to his commission, and so to the voice of these signs, which loudly called for their faith: neither hearken unto thy voice;
affirming he came from God, and was sent to be the deliverer of them: that thou shalt take of the water of the river;
of the river Nile, when he should come into Egypt; wherefore Josephus ^F17 is mistaken when he intimates that this was done at the same time with the other signs; and was water he took near at hand and poured on the ground: but Philo ^F18 truly refers this to Egypt, where it was done, as it ought to be: and pour [it] upon the dry land, and the water which thou takest out of
the river shall become blood upon the dry land;
by which it would appear how easily the Lord could destroy the land of Egypt, and make it a barren land, whose fertility was owing to the overflow of the river Nile as a means; and this would be a specimen also of what he would do hereafter, in turning the waters of the river into blood, thereby avenging the blood of innocent babes drowned there by the Egyptians.

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FOOTNOTES:

F17 Antiqu. l. 2. c. 12. sect. 3.
F18 De Vita Mosis, l. 1. p. 614.

Exodus 4:9 In-Context

7 Then God said, "Now put your hand back in your coat." He put his hand back in his coat; and when he took it out, it was as healthy as the rest of his body.

8 "If they won't believe you or heed the evidence of the first sign, they will be convinced by the second.

9 But if they aren't persuaded even by both these signs and still won't listen to what you say, then take some water from the river, and pour it on the ground. The water you take from the river will turn into blood on the dry land."

10 Moshe said to ADONAI, "Oh, Adonai, I'm a terrible speaker. I always have been, and I'm no better now, even after you've spoken to your servant! My words come slowly, my tongue moves slowly."

11 ADONAI answered him, "Who gives a person a mouth? Who makes a person dumb or deaf, keen-sighted or blind? Isn't it I, ADONAI?