Exodus 7:11

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Exodus 7:11

Three names for the magicians of Egypt are given in this verse. The “wise men” are men who know occult arts. The “sorcerers” are they who “mutter magic formulae,” especially when driving away crocodiles, snakes, asps, etc. It was natural that Pharaoh should have sent for such persons. The “magicians” are the “bearers of sacred words,” scribes and interpreters of hieroglyphic writings. Books containing magic formulae belonged exclusively to the king; no one was permitted to consult them but the... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Exodus 7:11

Exodus 7:11. Moses had been originally instructed in the learning of the Egyptians, and was suspected to have improved in magical arts in his long retirement. The magicians are therefore sent for to vie with him. The two chief of them were Jannes and Jambres. Their rods became serpents, probably by the power of evil angels, artfully substituting serpents in the room of the rods, God permitting the delusion to be wrought for wise and holy ends. But the serpent which Aaron’s rod was turned... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Exodus 7:1-13

Forecast of coming judgment (6:28-7:13)Before Moses approached Pharaoh to give him a final opportunity to release Israel, God reminded Moses that not just Pharaoh but the whole Egyptian nation was under the threat of judgment. People and king alike were stubbornly opposed to Yahweh and were devoted followers of Yahweh’s enemies, the Egyptian gods (6:28-7:7; cf. 9:27; 12:12).These were gods of nature and were therefore connected with the river Nile, on which Egypt depended entirely for its water... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Exodus 7:11

wise men , &c. Two sets of men mentioned. Pharaoh "called for the wise men, and for the magi cians-and these also (the sacred scribes of Egypt) did in like manner with their secret arts". Two of these named by the Holy Spirit in 2 Timothy 3:8 , "Jannes and Jambres". read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Exodus 7:11-12

"Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers: and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did in like manner with their enchantments, For they cast down every man his rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.""Then Pharaoh called for the wise men and the sorcerers ..." Along with groups called "astrologers," and "soothsayers," those servants of Pharaoh mentioned here were the principal support system for the ancient monarchy. Ellison was probably correct... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Exodus 7:11

Exodus 7:11. Then Pharaoh also called the wise-men, &c.— Moses and Aaron performing their commission according to the commandment of the Lord, and working the miracle, which, no doubt, Pharaoh demanded, in proof of their Divine legation; he, desirous to know whether the God of Israel was superior to his gods, sent for the wise-men and the sorcerers to counterwork this miracle of Moses and Aaron; and they also did in like manner, we are told, with their inchantments. The word להטי lahati,... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Exodus 7:11

11. Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers, &c.—His object in calling them was to ascertain whether this doing of Aaron's was really a work of divine power or merely a feat of magical art. The magicians of Egypt in modern times have been long celebrated adepts in charming serpents, and particularly by pressing the nape of the neck, they throw them into a kind of catalepsy, which renders them stiff and immovable—thus seeming to change them into a rod. They conceal the... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Exodus 7:8-13

3. The attestation of Moses and Aaron’s divine mission 7:8-13Pharaoh requested that Moses and Aaron perform a miracle to prove their divine authority since they claimed that God had sent them (Exodus 7:9-10)."What we refer to as the ten ’plagues’ were actually judgments designed to authenticate Moses as God’s messenger and his message as God’s message. Their ultimate purpose was to reveal the greatness of the power and authority of God to the Egyptians (Exodus 7:10 to Exodus 12:36) in order to... read more

John Dummelow

John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Exodus 7:1-25

The Rod of Moses turned into a Serpent. The First Plague1. A god to Pharaoh] see on Exodus 4:16. Thy prophet] A prophet is a spokesman. The prophets of God are those who declare His will. In doing this they may foretell His judgments and predict the future; but prediction is a secondary feature of prophecy, and is not contained in the original and proper sense of the word in which it is used here, where Aaron is called the prophet or mouthpiece of Moses. To prophesy sometimes means to declare... read more

Charles John Ellicott

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Exodus 7:11

(11) The magicians of Egypt.—These persons are called indifferently khàkâmim, “wise men,” më-kashshëphim, “mutterers of charms,” and khartum-mim, “scribes,” perhaps “writers of charms.” Magic was very widely practised in Egypt, and consisted mainly in the composition and employment of charms, which were believed to exert a powerful effect, both over man and over the brute creation. A large part of the “Ritual of the Dead” consists of charms, which were to be uttered by the soul in Hades, in... read more

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