Exodus 7:19-25

PLAGUE I

"And Jehovah said unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod and stretch out thy hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, over their streams, and over their pools, and over all their ponds of water, that they may become blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both on vessels of wood, and vessels of stone. And Moses and Aaron did so, as Jehovah commanded; and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood. And the fish that were in the river died,' and the river became foul, and the Egyptians could not drink water from the river; and the river blood was throughout all the land of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did in like manner with their enchantments: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as Jehovah had spoken. And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did he lay even this to heart. And all the Egyptians digged round about the river for water to drink; for they could not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were fulfilled, after that Jehovah had smitten the river."

This was the first of the Ten Plagues. Water was changed to blood, suggesting first of all that the delivery of Israel would not be without blood. We are not told what effect this plague had upon the Israelites. Josephus' words are of doubtful value, despite their having a ring of truth:

"The water was not only the color of blood, but it brought upon those who ventured to drink it, great pains and bitter torment. Such was the water to the Egyptians, but it was sweet and fit for the drinking to the Hebrews, and no way different from what it naturally used to be."[27]

The repeated use of "all" in these verses is hyperbole for the sake of emphasis, a well known, oft-recurring Biblical figure of speech.

Here upon the occasion of Plague I is an appropriate place to note the organization of these wonders as revealed in the Bible:

"The first nine fall into three groups of three each. Numbers one and two, four and five, seven and eight were announced to Pharaoh beforehand. The first three fell upon both Israel and Egypt; the last six fell upon Egyptians only. The plagues were progressively more and more severe, the last three almost destroying the land (Exodus 10:7). Plague X is in a class by itself, not only because it was the culmination of judgment and the basis of Israel's redemption, but also because it was a direct visitation of God, and not a judgment through secondary causes.[28]

"The rivers of Egypt ..." This is not a reference to rivers as usually understood, but to the canals, channels, and streams into which the Nile breaks up before it enters the sea.

"Seven days were fulfilled ..." This apparently indicates that the disaster lasted only a week, which was merciful indeed, as any long continuation would have destroyed many people. This also shows that the visitation had nothing whatever to do with annual inundations of the Nile which do indeed produce changes in the quality and color of the water, but which also last weeks or months, not a mere matter of a week.