Exodus 7

1 a god to Pharaoh. Moses was a god to Aaron as the revealer of the Divine will (iv. 16); and to Pharaoh as the executor of that will—thy prophet. The meaning of the word “prophet” as not only a fore-teller, but a forth-teller of the Divine word, is well illustrated here.

11 wise men. The names of two of them, Jannes and Jambres, are given in 2 Tim. iii. 8. It has been a question whether these magicians performed real miracles by Satanic power, or whether they only practised feats of jugglery, such as the Egyptians still perform. Their failure in the case of the lice or gnats (viii. 18) renders the latter supposition the more probable. The wise men were, in general, professors of magic arts; the sorcerers were muttrers of magic formulae; the magicians were perhaps custodians of the sacred or hieroglyphic books.

15 he goeth out unto the water. It was the time of year (about the middle of June) when the rise of the Nile was officially noted and registered, under the personal superintendence of the king.

17 the river. The Nile was an object of reverence. This, and most of the subsequent plagues, resembled in some outward respects natural phenomena not uncommon in Egypt; but here, their miraculous character was demonstrated by the fact that they were precisely foretold; that they occurred with unwanted violence and in rapid succession; that they came and ceased immediately at Moses’ word; that the sorcerers could only increase, not remove, the visitation, and at length were forced to retire baffled and powerless; and, above all, by the last and decisive plague.

18 fish. Fish were worshipped by many, and constituted the principal food of a large portion of the people. The ordinary redness of the Nile in summer, occasioned either by ochreous earth brought down from the upper country, or by minute insects, has no injurious effect upon the fish, and does not render the water unfit for use.

19 upon their streams, etc. The tributaries of the Nile, and the canals, trenches, and ponds connected with it.

21 and there was blood. Rather, “and the blood was.”

25 seven days. The usual discoloration of the water lasts about three weeks.

the Lord had smitten. As the first miracle, which was merely demonstrative, had been disregarded, the others which followed were to be acts of judgement. Of these, the first nine were preparatory to the tenth, the great act of judgement which, as previously announced (iv. 22, 23), was to carry with it the complete prostration of the adversary, and the deliverance of Israel. They manifested the absolute sovereignty of Jehovah over all creation, especially over the favourite objects of Egyptian idolatry, and whatever the people deemed most valuable. There is also discernible in them a gradual ascent from the lower to the higher departments of nature. They probably succeeded each other very rapidly, and were all comprised between January and April.