Exodus 7:9

9 Now if Pharao should speak to you, saying, Give us a sign or a wonder, then shalt thou say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it upon the ground before Pharao, and before his servants, and it shall become a serpent.

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 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron his brother was eighty-three years old, when he spoke to Pharao.

8 And the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,

9 Now if Pharao should speak to you, saying, Give us a sign or a wonder, then shalt thou say to thy brother Aaron, Take thy rod and cast it upon the ground before Pharao, and before his servants, and it shall become a serpent.

10 And Moses and Aaron went in before Pharao, and his servants, and they did so, as the Lord commanded them; and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharao, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

11 But Pharao called together the wise men of Egypt, and the sorcerers, and the charmers also of the Egyptians did likewise with their sorceries.