Bible Commentaries
Exodus 7

Verses 1-13

Exodus 7:1 Comments Moses was made like God to Pharaoh in the sense that he will perform divine miracles before the king’s eyes.

Exodus 7:4 “But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay my hand upon Egypt” - Comments - God also hardened the heart of Sihon, king of Heshbon (Deuteronomy 2:30).

Deuteronomy 2:30, “But Sihon king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him: for the LORD thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate, that he might deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day.”

Exodus 7:4 “and bring forth mine armies” - Comments The children of Israel are called the Lord’s armies three times in the book of Exodus. This description is used perhaps within the context of God’s confrontation with Pharaoh, since the Israelites will play a key role in spoiling the Egyptians. God fights the battles and Israel receives the benefits and blessings.

Exodus 12:17, “And ye shall observe the feast of unleavened bread; for in this selfsame day have I brought your armies out of the land of Egypt: therefore shall ye observe this day in your generations by an ordinance for ever.”

Exodus 12:51, “And it came to pass the selfsame day, that the LORD did bring the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their armies.”

God is called the Lord of the Armies (Sabaoth) in the book of James.

James 5:4, “Behold, the hire of the labourers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth .”

Exodus 7:4-5 Comments The Ten Plagues Exodus 7:4-5 states that the Lord will bring the children of Israel out by great judgments so that the Egyptians will know that He is the Lord. This statement indicates that the ten plagues will be directed towards the gods of the Egyptians. Further evidence is seen immediately within the narrative when Moses’ rod becomes a serpent before Pharaoh’s court and swallows those of the magicians, which is a testimony of the greater power of Moses’ God.

Exodus 7:9 “When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle for you” - Comments - Pharaoh asks for a sign; and when the sign is given by Moses, Pharaoh still did not believe. The scribes and Pharisees sought a sign from Jesus (Matthew 12:38-39). The rich man wanted to send Lazarus back from the dead as a sign to his brothers (Luke 16:31).

Matthew 12:38-39, “Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:”

: Luke 16:31, “And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead.”

Exodus 7:11 Comments - Satan attempts to mimic the things of God. Ancient writings tell us that the names of the two magicians who stood before Pharaoh were Jannes and Jambres. 2 Timothy 3:8 tells us that there will be deceivers in the last days working miracles and operating in witchcraft just as these two magicians did during the time of Moses. In what manner did they withstand Moses? Ancient Jewish tradition tells us that Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses copying the miracles of his in (1) turning their rods into serpents (Exodus 7:11), (2) turning water into blood (Exodus 7:22), and (3) causing frogs to come up on the land (Exodus 8:7).

2 Timothy 3:8, “Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.”

Exodus 7:11, “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.”

Exodus 7:22, “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.”

Exodus 8:7, “And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.”

The only place in the Old or New Testaments where the names Jannes and Jambres are used is found in 2 Timothy 3:8. We know from the context that this refers to the magicians that stood before Moses, when he appeared before Pharaoh (seeExodus 7:11).

Exodus 7:11, “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.”

These two names originated in ancient Jewish writings outside the Sacred Scriptures, being found in the tradition of the Talmudists and Rabbis. F. F. Bruce tells us that these two names are mentioned in The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch (seeExodus 1:15; Exodus 1:15; Exodus 7:11, Numbers 22:22) as well as in the Babylonian Talmud ( Menachoth 85a) and in other rabbinical literature, which identifies them as Balaam’s two sons. Bruce goes on to tell us that one of the documents discovered with the Dead Sea Scrolls, called “the Zadokite Work, a Qumran document of about 100 B.C., speaks of ‘Jannes and his brother’ as being raised up by Belial when Moses and Aaron were raised up by the ‘Prince of Lights’.” [24] The TWOT gives additional references where these two names appear in Jewish literature. [25]

[24] F. F. Bruce, The Books and the Parchments (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1963), 257-8.

[25] See The Babylonian Talmud, Tract Menachoth, 85a; Ex. r., 7 on 7:11; Tract Menachoth, 85a; Ex. r., 9 on 7:12, Yalkut Shim’oni on Exodus 2:15, No. 168, Yalkut Shim’oni on Exodus 14:24, No. 235, Midrash ויושׁע , loc. cit.; Tanch. כי תשׁא , 15 on Exodus 32:0. See Kittel, Gerhard, G. W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich, vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin, (electronic ed.) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 3:193.

“And Pharoh told that he, being asleep, had seen in his dream, and, behold, all the land of Mizraim was placed in one scale of a balance, and a lamb, the young of a sheep, was ill the other scale; and the scale with the lamb in it overweighed. Forthwith he sent and called all the magicians of Mizraim, and imparted to them his dream. Immediately Jannis and Jambres, the chief of the magicians, opened their mouth and answered Pharoh? A certain child is about to be born in the congregation of Israel, by whose hand will be destruction to all the land of Mizraim.” ( Targum of Jonathan, on Exodus 1:15) [26]

[26] J. W. Etheridge, ed., The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, (London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, 1862).

( וקרא לחוד פרעה לחכימייא ולחרשייא ועבדו לחוד הינון יניס וימבריס חרשין דבמצרים בלחשי קוסמיהון היכדין ) ( Targum of Jonathan, on Exodus 7:11) [27]

[27] Stephen A Kaufman, ed., Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon, in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan to the Pentateuch (Jerusalem: Hebrew Union College, 2005), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), Exodus 7:11.

“And Bileam, arose in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the princes of Moab. [JERUSALEM. And Bileam arose in the morning, and made ready his ass, and went with the princes of Moab.] But the anger of the Lord was provoked, because he would go (that he might) curse them; and the angel of the Lord stood in the way to be an adversary to him. But he sat upon his ass, and his two young men, Jannes and Jambres, were with him.” ( Targum of Jonathan, on Numbers 22:22) [28]

[28] J. W. Etheridge, ed., The Targum of Jonathan Ben Uzziel On the Pentateuch With The Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum From the Chaldee, (London: Longman, Green, Longman and Roberts, 1862).

“All [offerings] must be offered from the choicest produce, etc. Johana and Mamre said to Moshe, ‘Wouldst thou carry straw to Hafaraim?’ He answered them, ‘There is a common saying. “Bring herbs to Herbtown.”’” ( Talmud, Tract Menachoth, 85a) [29]

[29] Greg, Killian, The Oral Law (Lacey, Washington: The Watchman) [on-line]; accessed 25 February 2009; available from http://www.betemunah.org/orallaw.html; Internet.

These two names are found in other ancient books as well. In his writing The Defense of Apuleius, Lucius Apuleius (A.D. 123-170) makes a reference to Moses and Jannes.

“Although I might, with the greatest justice, make use of these arguments, still, I spare you them; nor do I deem it enough to have abundantly proved my innocence on all the points on which you accuse me, and to have never allowed the slightest suspicion even of the practice of magic to attach to me. Only consider what a degree of confidence in my own innocence I display, and what supreme contempt of you [my accusers], when I say that if even the slightest ground shall appear why I should have coveted this match with Pudentilla for the sake of any advantage to myself, if you shall prove the most trifling gain to me thereby, then may I be held to be a Phrynondas, a Damigeron, a Moses, a Jannes, an Apollonius, or even Dardanus himself, or any one else, who, since the days of Zoroaster and Ostanes, has been celebrated among magicians.” [30]

[30] Mary Tighe and Hudson Gurney, The Defense of Apuleius, in The Works of Apuleius (London: William Clowes and Sons, 1878), 336-7.

Origen (A.D. 185-254), in his commentary onMatthew 27:9; Matthew 27:9, states that there was an apocryphal book--not yet rediscovered--called “The Book of Jannes and Jambres.” Origen says that Paul is quoting from this lost book here in 2 Timothy 3:8. [31] Origen also mentions these two individuals in his work Against Celsus.

[31] “Orig. on Matthew 27:9 (only in the Lat. translation: Item quod ait: “Sicut Iamnes et Mambres restiterunt Moysi,” non invenitur in publicis Iibris, sed in libro secreto qui suprascribitur liber lamnes et Mambres).” Kittel, Gerhard, G. W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich, vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin, (electronic ed.) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 3:193.

“He [Celsus] relates also the account respecting Moses, and Jannes, and Jambres.” (Origen, Against Celsus 4.51) [32]

[32] Origen, Against Celsus, in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 4, eds. Alexander Roberts and James Donaldson (Buffalo, New York: The Christian Literature Publishing Company, 1885), 521.

The TWOT says, “Pope Gelasius [d. 496] in his Decretum De Libris Recipiendis et Non Recipiendis also mentions an apocryphal Book of Jannes and Jambres ( Iiber qui appellatur Paenitentia Jamne et Mambre apocryphus)” [Line 303, ed. E. v. Dobschütz, TU, 3. Reihe, 8, 4 (1912), 12] [33]

[33] Kittel, Gerhard, G. W. Bromiley, and Gerhard Friedrich, eds., Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, vols. 5-9 edited by Gerhard Friedrich, vol. 10 compiled by Ronald Pitkin, (electronic ed.) (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1964-c1976), in Libronix Digital Library System, v. 2.1c [CD-ROM] (Bellingham, WA: Libronix Corp., 2000-2004), 3:193.

Exodus 7:12 Comments - In nature, when snakes swallow other snakes, the process takes a little time. In the world of nature, no snake could swallow several snakes in a row. The snake strikes out with a wounding bite, gets a firm grip and manoeuvres his grip towards the struggling snake’s head until he swallows the head and all. Thus, it was miraculous that one snake could eat two in a row.

Verses 1-25

Exodus 7:1 to Exodus 12:30 The Ten Plagues Exodus 7:1 to Exodus 12:30 records the story of the ten plagues of Egypt. Here is a summary of the Ten Plagues:

Aaron turns rod to a serpent (Exodus 7:10) Magicians copy (Exodus 7:11) 1. Water turned to blood (throughout land) Magicians copy (Exodus 7:22) 2. Frogs (covered land of Egypt) (Exodus 7:6) Magicians copy (Exodus 8:7) 3. Lice or flies (covered land) (Exodus 8:17) Magicians could not (Exodus 8:18) 4. Swarms (division of Goshen) (Exodus 8:24; Exodus 8:23) 5. Murrain (cattle disease) (Exodus 9:3) 6. Boils (Exodus 9:10) 7. Hail (division of Goshen) (Exodus 9:23; Exodus 9:26) 8. Locusts (Exodus 10:13) 9. Darkness (division of Goshen) (Exodus 10:22) 10.Death of first-born (Israel covered up blood) (Exodus 12:29, Exodus 11:7) The Ten Plagues upon Egypt were delivered by God in progressive intensity until it ended with the death of the firstborn. These plagues were a means of judgment upon the people of Egypt in order to bring them to repentance an to an acknowledgment of the God of Israel as the true and living God. This is why many of the plagues were orchestrated to demonstrate that the God of Israel was more powerful than particular gods of Egyptian mythology.

The wise men, sorcerers and magicians were able to copy the first three signs of the rod turning into a serpent (Exodus 7:11), the water turning into blood (Exodus 7:22), and the plague of frogs (Exodus 8:7). After this, these enchanters began to see that God was working thru Moses and Aaron.

Exodus 7:11, “Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers: now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.”

Exodus 7:22, “And the magicians of Egypt did so with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, neither did he hearken unto them; as the LORD had said.”

Exodus 8:7, “And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.”

Verses 14-25

The Ten Plagues Exodus 7:14 to Exodus 11:10 records the story of the Ten Plagues that God brought upon the nation of Egypt. The swallowing of the serpents of Pharaoh’s magicians by the serpent of Moses (Exodus 7:11-12) foreshadows the fact that the Ten Plagues were a power struggle between the gods of Egypt and the God of Israel. These enchantments by Pharaoh’s sorcerers symbolized the strength of their gods. Yet, the Ten Plagues demonstrated that God’s power extended beyond their gods of enchantment unto all of the gods that were worshipped in the land of Egypt, deities that were designated for every area of their lives. The Egyptians served deities of heaven and deities of the earth, deities of the weather, over their crops and those for diseases. Each deity was believed to have power over a limited aspect of one’s life. The Egyptians knew that their gods were limited in scope of influence and power. With the Ten Plagues, God proved that His power encompassed over all creation and every aspect of human life.

Throughout the Ten Plagues God demonstrated that He was God Almighty. This was God’s way of using judgment to bring men to repentance. In fact, the Scriptures indicate that a number of Egyptians were converted and followed the Israelites out in the Exodus to serve their God.

Exodus 12:38, “And a mixed multitude went up also with them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle.”

Numbers 11:4, “And the mixt multitude that was among them fell a lusting: and the children of Israel also wept again, and said, Who shall give us flesh to eat?”

These converts declared that they would go with the children of Israel because God is with them, as the prophet Zechariah says would happen again later in Israel’s history (Zechariah 8:3); or, as Ruth clung to Naomi in order to serve her God.

Zechariah 8:23, “Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you .”

Ruth 1:16, “And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:”

When God judges a nation as He did Egypt during the time of Moses, He always begins by judging the object of a nation’s trust and confidence. For example, in 2001 to 2003, the Lord judged the United States in three areas. The destruction of the World Trade Center symbolized American’s trust in its wealth. The damage to the Pentagon on the same day represented American’s military might. The explosion of the U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia represented American’s technology and ingenuity. None of these three are above God Almighty. In the same way, God judged the deities of Egypt so that these people would know the true and living God, the God of Israel.

The Significance of the Number “Ten” - The Hebrew phrase “ten times” ( פְּעָמִ֔ים עֶ֣שֶׂר ) is made up of two words, “ten” ( עֶשֶׂר ) (H6235), and “times” ( פַּעַם ) (H6471). Although the literal translation is, “ten times,” John Gill understands the phrase “ten times” in Numbers 14:22 as an idiom to mean a rounded number, which is equivalent to “time after time,” thus “numerous times.” He says that although the Jews counted ten literal occasions when Israel tempted the Lord during the wilderness journeys, Aben Ezra gives this phrase a figurative meaning of “many times.” [34] T. E. Espin adds to the figurative meaning of Numbers 14:22 by saying that Israel had tempted the Lord to its fullness, so that the Lord would now pass judgment upon them, even denying them access into the Promised Land, which is clearly stated in the next verse. [35]

[34] Gill lists ten literal occasions, “twice at the sea, Exodus 14:11; twice concerning water, Exodus 15:23; twice about manna, Exodus 16:2; twice about quails, Exodus 16:12; once by the calf, Exodus 32:1; and once in the wilderness of Paran, Numbers 14:1, which last and tenth was the present temptation.” John Gill, Numbers, in John Gill’s Expositor, in e-Sword, v. 7.7.7 [CD-ROM] (Franklin, Tennessee: e-Sword, 2000-2005), comments on Numbers 14:22.

[35] E. T. Espin and J. F. Thrupp, Numbers, in The Holy Bible According to the Authorized Version (A.D. 1611), with an Explanation and Critical Commentary and a Revision of the Translation, by Bishops and Clergy of the Anglican Church, vol. 1, part 2, ed. F. C. Cook (London: John Murray, 1871), 702.

The phrase “ten times” is used as an idiom in several passages in the Scriptures to mean countless times (Genesis 31:7, Numbers 14:22, Nehemiah 4:12).

Genesis 31:7, “And your father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten times; but God suffered him not to hurt me.”

Numbers 14:22, “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice;”

Nehemiah 4:12, “And it came to pass, that when the Jews which dwelt by them came, they said unto us ten times , From all places whence ye shall return unto us they will be upon you.”

The NAB translates this phrase in Genesis 31:7 as “time after time.”

NAB, “yet your father cheated me and changed my wages time after time . God, however, did not let him do me any harm.”

The number ten represents a counting system that is based on ten units. Thus, the number ten can be interpreted literally to represent the numerical system, or it can be given a figurative meaning to reflect the concept of multiple occurrences.