(Exodus 7:9 - 8:15)
Jehovah spoke to Moses and Aaron, "When the Pharaoh will challenge you, ‘Convince us by performing a miracle,' you will tell Aaron to take your staff and cast it down before the Pharaoh; it will turn into a snake."
And so Moses and Aaron appeared before the Pharaoh and did what Jehovah had bid them, casting before the Pharaoh and his court the staff, which did indeed become a snake. The Pharaoh, though, summoned all the wizards and sorcerers of Egypt, and with their expertise in magic they were able to do likewise: they each cast down their staffs and the staffs all turned into snakes just like Aaron's. Aaron's staff, however, devoured all the others!
But just as Jehovah had predicted, the Pharaoh was stubborn and did not relent and did not free the people.
Jehovah spoke again to Moses, "Since the Pharaoh has not changed his mind and will not let the people go, see him again in the morning when he comes out to wash in the Nile. Stand by the river bank and confront him carrying the same staff that was turned into a snake. You will say to him that the god of the Hebrews has sent you and demands, 'Let my people go so that they can worship me in the desert -- a request that you have thus far refused to grant.' And to prove to him that I am a god, you will dip into the waters of the Nile the staff you hold in your hand, and I will turn the river water into blood. The fish in the river will die. The river itself will stink and will sicken the Egyptians that drink from it.”
And Jehovah continued, "Tell Aaron to take the staff and stretch it out over all the waters of Egypt, the rivers, streams, pools, and ponds that they may all be turned into blood. Let there be nothing but blood in the land of Egypt, even in water containers of both wood and stone."
Moses and Aaron did as they were instructed by Jehovah. In the presence of the Pharaoh and his court, Aaron stretched the staff over the river, and the waters of the Nile were turned into blood. The fish died, the river stank, and the people could no longer drink its waters: there was blood throughout the land of Egypt.
But the magicians of Egypt possessed the occult power to perform the same trick, so the Pharaoh was still adamant and refused to accede to Moses' demands, (as Jehovah had foretold). He turned away from Moses and Aaron and returned to his palace, remaining unconvinced.
All the Egyptians, who could no longer drink the waters of the Nile, dug around the river bank for water. This continued for seven days from the time that Jehovah had cursed the waters.
Jehovah then told Moses, "Go to the Pharaoh and tell him, 'Let my people go so that they may make a sacrifice to me. If you do not free them, I will afflict your entire country with a plague of frogs. The Nile will spew forth a swarming plethora of frogs. They will enter your palace and your bedchamber. They will even hop into your bed. They will invade the homes of your servants and subjects. They will get into your ovens and cooking bowls. And they will leap up, climb, and crawl all over you, your servants, and your subjects!’”
"Tell Aaron to stretch out his staff over the rivers, the streams, and the marshes and with it summon forth the frogs."
And Aaron did stretch out his staff over the waters of Egypt. The frogs appeared and they soon covered the entire land. But the wizards of the Pharaoh were able by their magic to similarly summon forth frogs onto the land of Egypt.
The Pharaoh, though, saw Moses and Aaron and asked them, "Please tell your god to take away the frogs from me and my people, and I will let your people go so they can sacrifice to their god."
Moses replied to the Pharaoh, "Tell me the time when I may pray for you, your servants, and your people that the frogs may be taken away from your house and from the houses of your servants and subjects and be thenceforth confined only to the rivers."
"Tomorrow," was the Pharaoh's reply.
"Let it be as you say -- but you will see there is none like the god Jehovah. The frogs will be banished from you and from your houses, from your servants and subjects and will remain only in the river." After he and Aaron departed from the Pharaoh, Moses prayed to Jehovah concerning the frogs that had been brought against the Pharaoh. Jehovah did what Moses had asked of him: the frogs that had infested the houses and courtyards and fields all perished. The frog carcasses were piled in huge heaps and because of them, the whole country reeked.
But when the Pharaoh saw that there had been a deliverance, he resumed his stubborn attitude and refused to honor his promise -- just as Jehovah had predicted.
Notes
1. At this point in the narrative we seem to be lapsing into the realm of a fairy tale, with competing exhibitions of magical feats. To impress the Pharaoh with Jehovah's power Moses has Aaron toss down his staff and make it turn into a snake. One would think that an omnipotent, omniscient creator of the universe would manage something a little more impressive, if not a little more dignified. What is remarkable is that the Pharaoh's magicians are able to perform the same trick. (How did they do it?) There is an implied competition of Jehovah with the gods of Egypt. The latter, while unfit subjects for Hebrew worship, are nowhere discounted as being nonexistent or impotent. A modern interpretation might assert that the power of the Egyptian magicians came from Satan or the Devil, while that of Moses and Aaron, from God. However, there was, at this time, no concept of a Devil, a god of evil, an antagonist against which Jehovah and the forces of good were arrayed. This dualism would creep into religious thought at a later date, mostly as a result of Persian/Zoroastrian influence.
2. It is amazing that the Pharaoh is so accessible to the spokesmen of his slaves: Moses is able to confront him when he takes his morning wash up in the Nile. (Where is security!) All through Egyptian history Pharaohs, even those foreigners who assumed the title, were aloof, godlike personages, hardly approachable to ordinary men. Also, it is interesting there is no mention by the Pharaoh -- or by the storyteller -- that Moses is the adopted son of a Pharaoh's sister. One would think that might have given Moses some clout at court, but it’s never spoken of.
3. By stretching Moses' magic staff over the waters, Aaron is able to turn the water in to blood. As the First Plague of Egypt, water all over Egypt is turned into blood. Apparently Aaron traveled all over the country stopping at every pond and pool to make a pass with his staff and was somehow able as well to turn the water of every bowl and bottle, cup and urn in Egypt into blood. This, and much of what ensues has the flavor of a fanciful folk tale, too absurd to be taken literally.
4. The people of Egypt are without water for seven days. One would think everyone would be pretty thirsty, if not dead by week's end. There is a reference, though, to people digging along the river to find drinkable water. Perhaps enough was found to keep the population hydrated.
5. Suggestions have been made that a certain algae may have been responsible for making the Nile water turn red, or some mineral contamination at the river's source may have accounted for the change in the color of the water. This may certainly have given rise to a memory of waters turning to “blood,” but it of course does not explain waters in containers turning to blood.
6. The second plague, that of frogs, is able to be replicated as well by the Egyptian magicians, but apparently they are unable to get rid of the frogs they have summoned and so the Pharaoh, fed up with the amphibious infestation, cries "uncle." He gives in to Moses' demands (and then reneges). Moses avails upon his god to get rid of the frogs; Jehovah makes them all die, but why doesn't he do it one better and make their stinking carcasses disappear?
7. Nearly all the plagues can be ascribed to either a change in climatic conditions or a natural calamity, the most likely culprit being the cataclysmic eruption of a volcano on the Aegean island of Thera, probably in the early 17th Century B.C. (although many place the events of Exodus at a much later date.) The plagues could have all occurred sequentially as the story says, or they may have happened at different times. The Ipuwer papyrus, an Egyptian text, describes similar events taking place at the end of the Old Kingdom. The plagues, however, do not seem to be an original part of the Moses saga. In Deuteronomy Moses inexplicably makes no mention of them when recounting the highlights of his time in Egypt. Chroniclers compiling the Books of Moses during and shortly after the Babylonian Captivity may have added the story of the Plagues to dramatize their narrative of the liberation of the Israelites. There is also a strong possibility that the Plagues, if they occurred during the time of Moses, may have precipitated Israelite emigration from Egypt back to Canaan. (Remember that the Hebrews left Canaan and settled in Egypt because of famine.) Later, the Plagues would become an instrument by which Jehovah freed the Israelites.
8. It must be mentioned that undermining the credibility of the story is the passive conduct of the Pharaoh. Why does he continue to allow Moses to afflict his country with plagues? Why doesn't he imprison or execute Moses and Aaron or at least take that darn staff away from them! It makes no sense.
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