Exodus 7:1

1 The LORD said to Moshe, "Behold, I have made you as God to Par`oh; and Aharon your brother shall be your prophet.

Exodus 7:1 Meaning and Commentary

Exodus 7:1

And the Lord said unto Moses
In answer to his objection, taken from his own meanness, and the majesty of Pharaoh, and from his want of readiness and freedom of expression: see;
take notice of, observe what I am about to say: I have made thee a god to Pharaoh;
not a god by nature, but made so; he was so by commission and office, clothed with power and authority from God to act under him in all things he should direct; not for ever, as angels are gods, but for a time; not in an ordinary way, as magistrates are gods, but in an extraordinary manner; and not to any other but to Pharaoh, being an ambassador of God to him, and as in his room and stead to, rule over him, though so great a monarch; to command him what he should do, and control him when he did wrong, and punish him for his disobedience, and inflict such plagues upon him, and do such miracles before him, as no mere man of himself, and none but God can do; and even exercise the power of life and death, as in the slaying of the firstborn, that Pharaoh should stand in as much fear of him, as if he was a deity, and apply to him to remove the plagues upon him, as if he was one: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet;
to declare the will of God revealed to him by Moses from the Lord; so that this seems to be more than to be the mouth and spokesman of Moses and interpreter and explainer of his words, or to be acting the part of an orator for him; for Moses in this affair being God's viceregent, and furnished with a knowledge of the mind and will of God respecting it, as well as with power to work miracles, and inflict plagues, was made a god to both Pharaoh and Aaron; see ( Exodus 4:6 ) to Pharaoh in the sense before explained, and to Aaron, he being his prophet, to whom he communicated the secrets of God, and his will and pleasure, in order to make the same known to Pharaoh. Thus highly honoured was Moses to be a god to a sovereign prince, and to have Aaron to be his prophet.

Exodus 7:1 In-Context

1 The LORD said to Moshe, "Behold, I have made you as God to Par`oh; and Aharon your brother shall be your prophet.
2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aharon your brother shall speak to Par`oh, that he let the children of Yisra'el go out of his land.
3 I will harden Par`oh's heart, and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Mitzrayim.
4 But Par`oh will not listen to you, and I will lay my hand on Mitzrayim, and bring forth my hosts, my people the children of Yisra'el, out of the land of Mitzrayim by great judgments.
5 The Mitzrim shall know that I am the LORD, when I stretch forth my hand on Mitzrayim, and bring out the children of Yisra'el from among them."
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.