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Éxodo 7

VBL · Chapter 7/40

1Entonces el Señor le dijo a Moisés: “Mira, te haré parecer como Dios ante el Faraón, y tu hermano Aarón será tu profeta.

2Debes repetir todo lo que te digo, y tu hermano Aarón debe repetirlo al Faraón para que deje salir a los israelitas de su país.

3Pero le daré al Faraón una actitud terca, y aunque haré muchas señales y milagros en Egipto, no te escuchará.

4Entoncesatacaré a Egipto, imponiéndoles fuertes castigos, y sacaré a mi pueblo, los israelitas, tribu por tribu.

5De esta manera los egipcios sabrán que yo soy el Señor cuando actúe contra Egipto y saque a los israelitas del país”.

6Moisés y Aarón hicieron exactamente lo que el Señor había ordenado.

7Moisés tenía ochenta y Aarón ochenta y tres años cuando fueron a hablar con el Faraón.

8El Señor les dijo a Moisés y a Aarón:

9“Cuando el Faraón te pregunte: ‘¿Por qué no haces un milagro, entonces?’ dile a Aarón: ‘Toma tu bastón y tíralo delante del Faraón’, y se convertirá en una serpiente”.

10Moisés y Aarón fueron a ver al Faraón e hicieron lo que el Señor había ordenado. Aarón arrojó su bastón delante del Faraón y sus oficiales, y se convirtió en una serpiente.

11Pero el Faraón llamó a sabios y hechiceros, y estos magos egipcios hicieron lo mismo usando sus artes mágicas.

12Cada uno de ellos arrojó su bastón y también se convirtieron en serpientes, pero el bastón de Aarón se tragó todos sus bastones.

13Sin embargo, el Faraón tenía una actitud dura y terca, y no los escuchaba, como el Señor había predicho.

14El Señor le dijo a Moisés: “Faraón tiene una actitud obstinada, se niega a dejar ir al pueblo.

15Así que mañana por la mañana ve a Faraón mientras camina hacia el río. Espera para encontrarte con él en la orilla del Nilo. Lleva contigo el bastón que se convirtió en una serpiente.

16Dile: El Señor, el Dios de los hebreos, me ha enviado a decirte: ‘Deja ir a mi pueblo para que me adoren en el desierto. Pero no me has escuchado hasta ahora.

17Esto es lo que el Señor te dice ahora: Así es como sabrán que yo soy el Señor’”.

18Los peces del Nilo morirán, el río tendrá mal olor, y los egipcios no podrán beber nada de su agua”.

19El Señor le dijo a Moisés: “Dile a Aarón: ‘Toma tu bastón en tu mano y sostenlo sobre las aguas de Egipto, sobre sus ríos y canales y estanques y albercas, para que se conviertan en sangre. Habrá sangre por todo Egipto, incluso en los recipientes de madera y piedra’”.

20Y Moisés y Aarón hicieron exactamente lo que el Señor les dijo. Mientras el Faraón y todos sus oficiales miraban, Aarón levantó su bastón y golpeó el agua del Nilo. ¡Inmediatamente todo el río se convirtió en sangre!

21Los peces del Nilo murieron, y el río olía tan mal que los egipcios no podían beber su agua. ¡Había sangre por todo Egipto!

22Pero los magos egipcios hicieron lo mismo usando sus artes mágicas. El Faraón mantuvo su actitud terca y no quiso escuchar a Moisés y Aarón, tal como el Señor había predicho.

23Entonces el Faraón volvió a su palacio y no prestó atención a lo que había sucedido

24Todos los egipcios cavaron a lo largo del Nilo porque no podían beber su agua.

25Siete días pasaron después de que el Señor llegara al Nilo.

📖 Chapter study

Summary

God prepares Moses and Aaron to confront Pharaoh again; Aaron's staff turns into a serpent before Pharaoh, and the first plague begins: the waters of the Nile River turn to blood.

Explanation

This chapter marks the formal beginning of the direct confrontation between the power of God and the power of Pharaoh, who was regarded by the Egyptians as a living god. Each plague that follows is not merely a random punishment but a direct, symbolic strike against specific deities of the Egyptian pantheon — the Nile, for example, was associated with the god Hapi and considered sacred, making its transformation into blood a theological blow against the whole Egyptian worldview, not just a practical problem. The fact that the Egyptian magicians managed to imitate this first sign with 'their enchantments' shows that the confrontation would not be resolved immediately, setting the stage for an increasingly clear demonstration of God's exclusive supremacy. The repeated mention that 'Pharaoh's heart hardened' introduces a complex theological theme about the relationship between stubborn human resistance and God's sovereignty over that very resistance.

Fun facts

  • Each of the ten plagues of Egypt is interpreted by biblical scholars as a direct confrontation against a specific Egyptian deity — the plague of blood on the Nile, for example, directly challenged Hapi (god of the floods) and Osiris (associated with the river), showing that the battle was, at its core, between the God of Israel and the entire Egyptian religious system.
  • The age of Moses (80 years) and Aaron (83 years) at the beginning of this confrontation with Pharaoh (v. 7) shows that Israel's great mission of deliverance began at an advanced stage of life, challenging the idea that great callings only happen in youth.

Verse-by-verse explanation

  1. Éxodo 7:1God is not saying Moses has become a deity — the expression means that, before Pharaoh, Moses will speak with the full authority of God, and Aaron will be his “prophet” in the sense of spokesman, repeating the words Moses passes on to him. It is the same arrangement already agreed on in chapter 4.
  2. Éxodo 7:2It repeats the same division of tasks agreed on in chapter 4: Moses receives God’s instructions, and Aaron passes them on to Pharaoh as his spokesman.
  3. Éxodo 7:3Here the text repeats the idea that God will harden Pharaoh’s heart, which puzzles many people, since it seems God is stopping the king himself from giving in. Scholars read this in different ways: some see God reinforcing a stubbornness that was already Pharaoh’s own choice, others see it as part of a plan for the Egyptians to see more signs.
  4. Éxodo 7:4God already warns that Pharaoh will not listen, even before any plague happens — the text makes clear from the start that the confrontation will be a long one.
  5. Éxodo 7:5The purpose of the plagues is not only to free the people, but also to make the Egyptians themselves recognize the power of the God of Israel.
  6. Éxodo 7:6It notes that Moses and Aaron carry out exactly what God had commanded, a phrase repeated several times throughout the book to confirm obedience.
  7. Éxodo 7:7The advanced ages of Moses (eighty years) and Aaron (eighty-three) show that the confrontation with Pharaoh only begins after decades of waiting for both of them.
  8. Éxodo 7:8Before the first public sign before Pharaoh, God gives Moses and Aaron specific instructions on what to do, told in the next verse.
  9. Éxodo 7:9God prepares Moses for Pharaoh’s expected request for proof: the same staff that turned into a snake before him in chapter 4 will now be used before the king.
  10. Éxodo 7:10Aaron performs before Pharaoh the sign Moses had already seen at the bush: the staff thrown to the ground turns into a serpent.
  11. Éxodo 7:11The “wise men and the sorcerers” were the magicians of Pharaoh’s court, priests who knew tricks and some form of illusion used in Egyptian religious rituals. They manage to imitate the staff turning into a snake, but the detail that counts is that Aaron’s snake devours theirs, showing that the power behind it is greater even when the effects look similar.
  12. Éxodo 7:12The Egyptian magicians manage to imitate the trick with their own staffs, but Aaron’s serpent swallows theirs — a sign that the power behind it is greater.
  13. Éxodo 7:13Despite the clear sign, Pharaoh remains unyielding, exactly fulfilling what God had already warned Moses about his resistance.
  14. Éxodo 7:14God confirms to Moses that Pharaoh’s heart remains unyielding, kicking off the sequence of plagues that begins in the next verse.
  15. Éxodo 7:15God directs Moses to approach Pharaoh in the morning, at a time when he used to go down to the river — probably part of some ritual tied to the worship of the Nile.
  16. Éxodo 7:16It repeats the request already made before, to release the people for worship in the wilderness, putting on record that Pharaoh had already been warned and still refused.
  17. Éxodo 7:17The Nile was literally Egypt’s source of life — drinking water, irrigation, fishing, transport — and also had gods associated with it. Turning its waters into blood is not just one more plague: it is a direct blow to the foundation of the Egyptian economy and, at the same time, a challenge to the river deities the Egyptians worshiped.
  18. Éxodo 7:18It anticipates the effect of the plague: the dead fish and the foul smell would make the river water, Egypt’s basic source of survival, unfit even to drink.
  19. Éxodo 7:19God’s command is sweeping: not just the main river, but every canal, pool, and reservoir in Egypt, including water already stored in vessels.
  20. Éxodo 7:20Aaron strikes with the staff right before Pharaoh himself, and the transformation into blood happens in plain sight of everyone, leaving no doubt about its source.
  21. Éxodo 7:21The plague strikes exactly as announced: the fish die, the river reeks, and the water becomes unfit to drink throughout all of Egypt.
  22. Éxodo 7:22Even in the face of the plague’s severity, the Egyptian magicians manage to reproduce the effect on a small scale, which gives Pharaoh an excuse to resist.
  23. Éxodo 7:23Pharaoh simply ignores what happened and goes back home, unshaken by the plague, a reaction that repeats itself at several points in the confrontation with Moses.
  24. Éxodo 7:24While the river remained undrinkable, the Egyptians have to dig wells along its banks in search of water filtered through the ground, an emergency solution.
  25. Éxodo 7:25It marks the passing of seven days between this first plague and what comes next, one of the few time markers given in the sequence of plagues.

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