Exodus 7:8 The First Plague: Blood

The First Plague: Blood

Background and Printed Text: Exodus 7:8-25

Exodus 7:8 And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe] and unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] to say, ⁹ “Because Pharaoh will speak unto you to say, ‘Give ye a wonder for yourselves,’ and thou shalt say unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], ‘Take thy rod! And throw to the faces of Pharaoh.’ He will become to a taneen!” ¹⁰And Draw [Moshe] came, and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], unto Pharaoh. And they did established—just as Yehovah commanded. And Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] threw his rod to the faces of Pharaoh and to the faces of his slaves. And he became to a ‘taneen’! ¹¹And Pharaoh also called to wise-[ones] and to warlocks. And the diviners of Egypt—they also did via their flames. Established! ¹²And they threw—a man his rod! And they became to ‘taneeneem’! And the rod of Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] swallowed their rods! ¹³And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them, just as Yehovah spoke!

¹⁴And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People. ¹⁵Walk unto Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he will exit waterward. And be positioned to meet him upon the lip of the river. And thou shalt take the rod that flipped-over to a serpent in thine hand. ¹⁶And thou shalt say unto him, ‘Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, “Send my People! And he has served me in the desert!” And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so!’” ¹⁷ “So said Yehovah, ‘Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this! Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river! And they shall be flipped-over to blood! ¹⁸The fish that is in the river will die, and the river shall stink! And the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river!’”

¹⁹And Yehovah said unto Draw [Moshe], “Say unto Oy!-Conception! [Aharon], ‘Take thy rod. And stretch thine hand upon waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their canals and upon their pools, and upon every gathering of their waters. And they shall be blood! And the blood shall be in all the land of Egypt, and in the trees and in the rocks!” ²⁰And Draw [Moshe] and Oy!-Conception! [Aharon] did so, just as Yehovah commanded. And he elevated via the rod. And he smote the waters that are in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and to the eyes of his slaves. And all the waters that are in the canal flipped-over to blood! ²¹And the fish that is in the canal died. And the canal stank. And Egyptians were not able to drink water from the canal. And the blood was in all the land of Egypt! ²²And the diviners of Egypt did so via their flames. And the heart of Pharaoh gripped. And he did not hearken unto them just as Yehovah spoke. ²³And Pharaoh turned. And he came unto his house. And he did not put his heart also to this. ²⁴And all Egyptians dug water around the canal to drink, for they were not able to drink from the waters of the canal. ²⁵And He fulfilled seven of the days after Yehovah’s smiting the canal.

I. Serpents (verses 8-13)

Yehovah gave directions to Moshe and Aharon: “Because Pharaoh will speak unto you to say, ‘Give ye a wonder for yourselves…’” He then told them what to do: “…and thou shalt say unto Aharon, ‘Take thy rod! And throw to the faces of Pharaoh.’ He will become to a taneen!” (See the questions to learn what a taneen is.)

Moshe and Aharon came unto Pharaoh. They did exactly what Yehovah commanded. Aaron threw his rod directly in front of Pharaoh and directly in front of his slaves. The rod turned into a taneen!

Pharaoh wasn’t satisfied; he also called to wise ones and to warlocks. These diviners of Egypt also certainly did via their flames! Everyone threw his rod, and they turned into taneeneem! Then something happened: Aharon’s rod swallowed their rods!

Pharaoh’s heart (his mind) gripped. Pharaoh didn’t hearken to them; that was just what Yehovah had spoken.

Questions

1. Why did Yehovah speak unto both Moshe and Aharon?

2. Yehovah knew that Pharaoh would say, “Give ye a wonder for yourselves.” Why would Pharaoh do this?

3. Yehovah then said to Moshe, “Thou shalt say unto Aharon…” Didn’t Aharon hear Yehovah for himself?

4. Yehovah told Aharon to take his rod and throw it in front of Pharaoh. How frightening would this act be?

5. What is a taneen?

6. What are wise ones (verse 11)?

7. What are warlocks?

8. What are diviners?

9. Were the diviners successful in doing the same miracle?

10. Why did Yehovah permit them to be successful in doing the same miracle?

11. What does “via their flames” mean?

12. What does “Established!” mean?

13. What are taneeneem?

14. How many of these diviners were able to cause their rods to become taneeneem?

15. What happened to the rods/taneeneem of the diviners?

16. What does “And the heart of Pharaoh gripped” mean, and why did this happen?

17. Did Yehovah’s knowing that Pharaoh wouldn’t change his mind cause Pharaoh to not change his mind?

II. Blood Warning (verses 14-18)

Yehovah further said to Moshe, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy. He refused to send the People.”

Yehovah told Moshe to meet him: “Walk unto Pharaoh in the morning. Behold, he will exit waterward. And be positioned to meet him upon the lip of the river. And thou shalt take the rod that flipped-over to a serpent in thine hand. And thou shalt say unto him, ‘Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, “Send my People! And he has served me in the desert!”’”

Yehovah then began to threaten Pharaoh: “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so!” Yehovah continued, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this! Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand upon the waters that are in the river! And they shall be flipped-over to blood! The fish that is in the river will die, and the river shall stink! And the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river!”

Questions

1. What did Yehovah mean by, “The heart of Pharaoh is heavy?

2. Identify this People (verse 14):

3. Yehovah told Moshe to walk unto Pharaoh, telling Moshe where Pharaoh will be located. Didn’t Pharaoh have bodyguards?

4. What is the lip of the river?

5. Why should Moshe take the rod that had become a serpent?

6. Yehovah told Moshe to say to Pharaoh, “Yehovah Gods of the Hebrews sent me unto thee to say, ‘Send my People!’” Was this a nice request?

7. Why didn’t Yehovah request (ask) Pharaoh to send the Israelis? Might Pharaoh have done so, had He asked nicely?

8. Who is he in, “And he has served me in the desert”?

9. Why would Pharaoh desire to send the Israeli people to serve Yehovah (another god) in the desert?

10. Who said, “And behold, thou hast not hearkened unto so,” and to whom did he say this?

11. What was Yehovah doing when He said to Pharaoh, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this”?

12. Why did Pharaoh tolerate being addressed by to low-ranking persons—one who was still a slave, and the other who was an outsider?

13. Right after Moshe said, “Thou shalt know that I am Yehovah via this,” he said, “Behold, I am smiting via the rod that is in my hand (referring to Moshe’s hand) upon the waters that are in the river.” Was Moshe acting as if he, Moshe, is Yehovah?

14. What does “they shall be flipped-over to blood” mean?

15. Why did Yehovah attack the river?

16. What does “the Egyptians will loath to drink water from the river” mean?

III. The Bloody Act (verses 19-25)

Yehovah continued to command Moshe. This time, the orders were for Aharon: Take thy rod. And stretch thine hand upon waters of Egypt, upon their rivers, upon their canals and upon their pools, and upon every gathering of their waters. And they shall be blood! And the blood shall be in all the land of Egypt, and in the trees and in the rocks!”

Moshe and Aharon did exactly as Yehovah commanded them. He (Aharon) lifted over the water with his rod. He smote the waters in the canal directly in front of Pharaoh and all Pharaoh’s slaves. The waters in the canal immediately turned over, and they became blood!

This resulted in the canal’s fish dying. The smell came next: the canal stank with the smell of dead fish. The Egytians had normally drunk water from the canal, but they just couldn’t drink it; it was blood, and it stank.

The blood wasn’t only in the canal; it was in all the land of Egypt.

The diviners of Egypt obtained water that wasn’t blood, and they did the same miracle using their flames. The heart (mind) of Pharaoh gripped—that is, his mind stood firm. He didn’t hearken to Moshe and to Aharon about sending the Israelis. This was exactly what Yehovah said he would do.

Pharaoh turned from Moshe and Aharon, and he came to his house. He refused to put his heart (mind) to this miracle (as well as the other miracles).

The Egyptians dug for water around the canal in order to drink water; the canal was useless for this.

For a full seven days after Yehovah smote the canal, it was in this condition.

Questions

1. Yehovah again told Moshe to command Aharon to take up the rod and to do the miracle. Why did Yehovah desire Aharon to do this?

2. What places where waters are found in Egypt were attacked, according to verse 19?

3. What is the difference between water and blood? List the distinctions.

4. How can blood be in the trees?

5. How can water be in rocks?

6. Why did Yehovah choose blood to attack the waters (instead of something else, like bitter-tasting liquid, poison, or something of that nature)?

7. Who is he who elevated via the rod?

8. What does smite mean?

9. Why did Aharon have to smite the waters in the canal to the eyes of Pharaoh and his slaves?

10. Why did the fish die?

11. What made the canal stink?

12. What does “the blood was in all the land of Egypt” mean?

13. What does “he did not put his heart also to this” mean?

14. How many of the Egyptians dug water to drink?

15. Who is He in, “And He fulfilled seven of the days…”?

16. Did the Israelis also suffer?

17. Wasn’t the water muddy if they dug for it?

February 25, 2009April 3, 2017

Plagues of Egypt

Plagues of Egypt Versus Egypt’s Gods

Document by Ann Miller

First Plague: Water into Blood

Exodus 7:17 Thus saith Yehovah, “In this shalt thou know that I am Yehovah. Behold, I will smite upon the water that is in the river with the staff that is in my hand. And it shall be turned into blood. ¹⁸And the fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink. And the Egyptians shall loathe to drink the water out of the river.” ¹⁹And Yehovah said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Take thy staff. And stretch out thy hand upon the waters of the Egyptians upon their streams, upon their rivers and upon their ponds, and upon all their reservoirs of water that they may become blood. And there shall be blood throughout the land of Egypt in both vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’ ”

The Egyptians worshipped the Nile River under various names and symbols. It was called the father of life and the father of the gods. Thus, the first public miracle was a blow to a god of Egypt. The Egyptians abhorred blood. Their horror must have been extreme when they saw their sacred river and all other water in their country turned to blood.

Another source [What source?] says:
Anuket
Other Names: Anket, Anqet, Anukis.
Patron of the Nile and its inundation.
Appearance: a woman wearing a crown of reeds and ostrich feathers, often accompanied by a gazelle.

Description: Anuket was most likely an imported goddess from Nubia, and was worshipped as the ‘nourisher of the fields’, referring to the annual inundation of the Nile that deposited a layer of rich silt on the agricultural areas. She formed a triad with Khenmu and Satis, and in later times was identified with Nephthys. Her name means embrace, and may refer to the banks of the Nile that yearly would embrace the fields to bring fertility to the land.

Second Plague: Frogs

Exodus 8:5 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, “Stretch out thy hand with thy staff over the streams, over the rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up on the land of Egypt.’ ” ⁶And Aaron stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt. And the frogs came up and covered the land of Egypt.

Heqet (Heket) was a goddess of childbirth, creation and grain germination. She was depicted as a frog or a woman with the head of a frog, betraying her connection with water.

As a water goddess, she was also a goddess of fertility where she was particularly associated with the later stages of labour. In this way, the title of Servants of Heqet may have been a title applied to her priestesses who were trained as midwives.

Third Plague: Lice

Exodus 8:16 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Say unto Aaron, ‘Stretch out thy staff and smite the dust of the earth. And it shall become lice throughout the land of Egypt.’ ” ¹⁷And they did so. And Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff. And he smote the dust of the earth. And there arose lice on man and on beast. All the dust of the land became lice throughout the land of Egypt.

Geb (another god) was thought to represent the earth. He is pictured as reclining beneath the sky-goddess Nut. Geb, ‘the Great Cackler’, was represented as a goose. He was said to have laid the egg from which the sun was hatched.

Instead of the sky and the earth laying an egg representing the sun, the dust of the earth brought forth lice, which would in turn lay louse eggs on the Egyptians. They were big on being clean. Body lice don’t go along with being clean. They certainly don’t render priests clean.

Fourth Plague: The Swarm

Exodus 8:20 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh. Behold, he will go out to the water. And say to him, ‘Thus saith Yehovah, “Send my people! And they have served me! ²¹For if thou will not send my people, behold I will send a swarm upon thee and upon thy slaves and upon thy people and into thy houses! And the houses of the Egyptians shall be full of the swarm, and also the ground on which they are! ²²And I will distinguish the land of Goshen in which my people dwell in that day. And no swarm shall be there. And thou shalt know that I, Yehovah am in the midst of the land. ²³And I will segregate between my people and thy people! This sign shall be tomorrow!” ’ ” ²⁴And Yehovah did so. And the swarm came in a multitude into the house of Pharaoh and into the houses of his slaves and throughout the land of Egypt. The land was corrupted by the swarm.

The swarm corrupted the land. This attack was against every god that made the land (soil) profitable and productive.

5th Plague: Dead Cows

Exodus 9:4 And Yehovah will distinguish between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt; and there shall nothing die of all that the children of Israel have. ⁵And Yehovah appointed a set time, saying, To-morrow will Yehovah do this thing in the land. ⁶And Yehovah did this thing on the following day, and all the cattle of Egypt died; but of the cattle of the children of Israel died not one.

This is also directed against the gods of Egypt who were supposed to be manifest in the various forms, all of which were considered sacred. Egyptians held every animal sacred. They worshipped almost every form of nature, sun, moon, stars, and rivers. Jupiter was adored in the form of a ram, Apollo a crow, Bacchus a goat, Juno a heifer, Diana a cat, Venus a fish, Mercury an ibis.

This attack was especially against Hathor, the cow goddess.

Sixth Plague: Boils

Exodus 9:8 And Yehovah said to Moses and to Aaron, “Take to yourselves handfuls of ash of the furnace. And Moshe shall scatter it toward the heavens before the eyes of Pharaoh. ⁹And it shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and shall become boils on man and on cattle breaking out with blisters throughout the land of Egypt.” ¹⁰And they took ashes of the furnace, and stood before Pharaoh. And Moses sprinkled it toward the heavens. And it became boils with blisters breaking out on man and on cattle. ¹¹And the scribes could not stand before Moses because of the boils; for the boils were on the scribes, and on all the Egyptians.

Ash from a furnace makes lye; lye is used in making soap. Soap cleans. Boils picture the opposite of a clean body.

The goddess Qadshu (alternately spelled Qudshu, Qodesh, Qadesh, Qadashu, Qadesha, Qetesh, Qedeshet, Kedesh) was a latter Egyptian goddess of sexuality. (The Hebrew word kedesh means holy-one, and also refers to temple whores in this form of the word.) They were considered clean ones. They would have been unable to do their sexual functions with boils in the worst places.

Seventh Plague: Hail

Exodus 9:22 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens that there may be hail throughout the land of Egypt upon men and upon cattle and upon every herb of the field in the land of Egypt.” ²³And Moses stretched out his staff toward the heavens. And Yehovah gave voices and hail. And the fire ran along the ground; and Yehovah rained hail on the land of Egypt. ²⁴And there was very grievous hail and fire mingled with the hail such as there had been none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. ²⁵And the hail smote all that was in the field, both men and cattle throughout the land of Egypt. And the hail smote every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field. ²⁶There was no hail only in the land of Goshen where the children of Israel were.

The Egyptians had at least one god that controlled weather, and another god that dealt with chaos. Hail gave the Egyptians a taste of their gods as they had never seen. Yehovah controlled both the weather and the chaotic attacks.

Eighth Plague: The Locust

Exodus 10:4 “If thou refuse to send my people, behold, I will bring locusts into thy borders tomorrow. ⁵And they shall cover the face of the land so that ye will not be able to see the land. And they shall eat the residue of what escaped that ye have remaining from the hail, and shall eat every tree that ye have growing in the field. ⁶And they shall fill thy houses and the houses of all thy slaves and the houses of all the Egyptians, which neither thy fathers nor thy fathers’ fathers have seen since the day that they were upon the earth unto this day!” And he turned and went out from Pharaoh.

This plague was directed against the god Serapis who was supposed to protect the land from locusts and from Shu, god of the air. The creatures came at the command of Yehovah and went when He commanded them to go, proving He was the God of gods, and that the gods of Egypt were false and powerless.

Ninth Plague: Darkness

Exodus 10:21 And Yehovah said to Moses, “Stretch out thy hand toward the heavens, that there may be darkness in the land of Egypt so that one may feel darkness. ²²And Moses stretched out his hand toward the heavens. And there was a thick darkness throughout the land of Egypt three days. ²³They saw not one another, neither rose any from his place for three days. But all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.

This plague was directed against Re the sun god who was supposed to protect from any curse of the sun and bring natural blessings of light, warmth, and fruitfulness and Thoth and Chons the moon gods. It pitted these gods against Set, the god of chaos and Bes guarding against evil spirits and misfortune.

One plague attacked multiple gods by showing their impotence or by making them stink.

Re (Ra) was the Egyptian sun god who was also often referred to as Re-Horakhty, meaning Re (is) Horus of the Horizon, referring to the god’s character. The early Egyptians believed that he created the world. The rising sun was the symbol of creation. The daily cycle of sunrise and sunset was obliterated during those days of felt darkness.

Tenth Plague: Slaughter of the Firstborn

Exodus 11:5 And all the firstborn in the land of Egypt shall die from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sits on his throne even unto the firstborn of the slavewoman who is behind the mill, and all the firstborn of cattle.

The death of the first born was a blow against all the gods of Egypt since they were worshipped as different animals. Slaying the firstborn of beasts as well as men was literally bringing judgment on the gods. When any idolatrous nation was destroyed, folks placed the blame on the gods who abandoned that nation or who were overcome by stronger gods.

Several gods of Egypt were supposedly protectors of the lives of men and beasts. The Pharaoh was considered a god, and his son the next god. No god of Egypt had the power to stand against the God of the Hebrews.

The Egyptian occult leaders spoke of the strength of the Gods of the Hebrews when they declared during the lice plague, “This is the finger of the Gods” (Exodus 8:19). If the finger of the Gods of Israel could do this, what could the hand of the Gods do? What could the arm of the Gods do? What could Yehovah the Gods of the Israelis do?

Thus, Yehovah used only ten smitings to undermine every Egyptian god and goddess. He even undermined the gods and goddesses of the dead whose services included transporting and protecting the dead to their resting places awaiting the next life. So many deaths and so much chaos didn’t permit ritual offerings and preparations to occur in their prescribed manners. Pharaoh himself was drowned in the sea before a slave population that didn’t touch him; the sea god killed the Pharaoh god. What shame would have been brought on the greatest power in the region! Not a single weapon was used against the Egyptians; yet their army was totally defeated by their gods — or was it by the Gods of Israel?