Bible Chapter Summary
Exodus 7 Summary
Aaron's Rod and the First Plague
The LORD commissions Moses as a god to Pharaoh and Aaron as his prophet, forewarning that Pharaoh's heart will be hardened so that God's signs and wonders may multiply and Egypt may know that He is the LORD. Moses, aged eighty, and Aaron, aged eighty-three, appear before Pharaoh; Aaron casts down his rod, which becomes a serpent, but Pharaoh's magicians replicate the sign with their enchantments—though Aaron's rod swallows theirs—and Pharaoh's heart remains hardened. God then sends Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh at the Nile's edge, where Aaron strikes the river with his rod and all the waters of Egypt turn to blood, killing the fish and making the water undrinkable. Pharaoh's magicians again imitate the sign, Pharaoh's heart stays hardened, the Egyptians dig beside the river for drinking water, and seven days pass after the river has been smitten.
Key themes
Key verses
Exodus 7:1
“And the LORD said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.”
Exodus 7:12
“For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.”
Exodus 7:17
“Thus saith the LORD, In this thou shalt know that I am the LORD: behold, I will smite with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood.”
Exodus 7:21
“And the fish that was in the river died; and the river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.”
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