Exodus 7:9

"The LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying,"

Key Reflection

Moses and Aaron were instructed directly by God through this command in Exodus 7:9. The original audience would have recognized that such a divine directive was extraordinary, as it signified the beginning of the plagues upon Egypt. This moment marked the establishment of Moses and Aaron's role as divine messengers, setting the stage for their confrontational mission to Pharaoh and the public demonstrations of God’s power through miracles like the transformation of rods into serpents.

From the Scholars: Barnes' Notes

Thy rod -Apparently the rod before describedExodus 4:2, which Moses on this occasion gives to Aaron as his representative. A serpent -A word different from that inExodus 4:3. Here a more general term,תניןtannı̂yn, is employed, which in other passages includes all sea or river monsters, and is more specially applied to the crocodile as a symbol of Egypt. It occurs in the Egyptian ritual, nearly in the same form, “Tanem,” as a synonym of the monster serpent which represents the principle of antagonism to light and life.

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