Exodus 7:20

20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up ¹the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and ²all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.

Exodus 7:20 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 7:20

And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded
Moses delivered the rod to Aaron, who took it and went to the water side:

and he lift up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river;
or "in that river" ^F9, the river Nile, on the brink of which Pharaoh then stood:

in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants;
his nobles and courtiers who tended him in his walk to the water; for this was done before he returned to his palace:

and all the waters that were in the river were turned into blood;
not only the face of the waters looked like blood, but they were really turned into it; and not only the surface of the water, but all the water that was in the river, wherever it flowed, and as far as it flowed in the land of Egypt.

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FOOTNOTES:

F9 (rayb) (en tw potamw) Sept. "in eo rivo", Junius and Tremellius, Piscator.

Exodus 7:20 In-Context

18 "The fish that are in the Nile will die, and the Nile will become foul, and the Egyptians will find difficulty in drinking water from the Nile.""'

19 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their reservoirs of water, that they may become blood; and there will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.' "

20 So Moses and Aaron did even as the LORD had commanded. And he lifted up the staff and struck the water that was in the Nile, in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, and all the water that was in the Nile was turned to blood.

21 The fish that were in the Nile died, and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile. And the blood was through all the land of Egypt.

22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same with their secret arts; and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he did not listen to them, as the LORD had said.

Cross References

• 1. Exodus 17:5
• 2. Psalms 78:44; Psalms 105:29

Footnotes

• [a]. Lit "with the staff"