Exodus 7:9

9 "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' tell Aharon to take his staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, so that it can become a snake."

Exodus 7:9 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 7:9

When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, show a miracle for
you
To prove that they came from God, the Jehovah they said they did, and that they were his ambassadors, and came in his name, and made the demand for him; which when he seriously reflected on things, he would be ready to require, hoping they would not be able to show any, and then he should have somewhat against them, and treat them as impostors:

then thou shalt say unto Aaron, take thy rod;
the same that Moses had in his hand at Horeb, and brought with him to Egypt; this he had delivered into the hand of Aaron, who was to be his agent, and with this rod do signs and wonders as he did, and on account of them it is sometimes called the rod of God:

and cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent;
as it became one before at Horeb, when Moses by the order of God cast it on the ground, and afterwards became a rod again, as it now was, ( Exodus 4:2-4 ) Hence Mercury, the messenger of the gods with the Heathens, is represented as having a "caduceus", a rod or wand twisted about with snakes ^F16.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Vid. Chartar. de Imag. Deorum, p. 136. imag. 48.

Exodus 7:9 In-Context

7 Moshe was eighty years old and Aharon eighty-three when they spoke to Pharaoh.

8 ADONAI said to Moshe and Aharon,

9 "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Perform a miracle,' tell Aharon to take his staff and throw it down in front of Pharaoh, so that it can become a snake."

10 Moshe and Aharon went in to Pharaoh and did this, as ADONAI had ordered -Aharon threw down his staff in front of Pharaoh and his servants, and it turned into a snake.

11 But Pharaoh in turn called for the sages and sorcerers; and they too, the magicians of Egypt, did the same thing, making use of their secret arts.