'Then the Lord said to Moses: Pharaoh is obstinate in refusing to let the people go. In the morning, just when he sets out for the water, go to Pharaoh and present yourself by the bank of the Nile, holding in your hand the staff that turned into a snake. Say to him: The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you with the message: Let my people go to serve me in the wilderness. But as yet you have not listened. Thus says the Lord: This is how you will know that I am the Lord. With the staff here in my hand, I will strike the water in the Nile and it will be changed into blood. The fish in the Nile will die, and the Nile itself will stink so that the Egyptians will be unable to drink water from the Nile. The Lord then spoke to Moses: Speak to Aaron: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—its streams, its canals, its ponds, and all its supplies of water—that they may become blood. There will be blood throughout the land of Egypt, even in the wooden pails and stone jars. This, then, is what Moses and Aaron did, exactly as the Lord had commanded. Aaron raised his staff and struck the waters in the Nile in full view of Pharaoh and his servants, and all the water in the Nile was changed into blood. The fish in the Nile died, and the Nile itself stank so that the Egyptians could not drink water from it. There was blood throughout the land of Egypt. But the Egyptian magicians did the same by their magic arts. So Pharaoh hardened his heart and would not listen to them, just as the Lord had said. Pharaoh turned away and went into his house, with no concern even for this. All the Egyptians had to dig round about the Nile for drinking water, since they could not drink any water from the Nile (Ex. 7:14-24).”
The plagues are battles between the God of the Hebrews and Pharaoh who relied on the gods of Egypt and his magicians. Ancient Egyptian religion was polytheistic but was centered around the Pharaohs who were thought to possess divine powers. Hapi was the ancient Egyptian god of the Nile who personified fertility and offerings were cast into the Nile annually at his shrines.
The plagues were broken into three triplets and the 10th plague, which was the death of the firstborn. The first three plagues showed the superiority of the Hebrew God working through Moses and Aaron. The plagues were punishment inflicted on Pharaoh for not letting the Hebrews go, as well as a demonstration of God’s power in the holy war with Pharaoh. In this first plague, Moses was sent to Pharaoh to warn him although God knew that Pharaoh would not listen. The Nile was turned into blood, the fish died, and no one could drink water from the Nile. Since Pharaoh’s magicians were able to turn the Nile waters red (not into blood), Pharaoh obstinately ignored what the God of the Hebrews did through Moses and Aaron.
Almighty and omnipotent God, you command us that we shall have no other gods besides you. Help us to see when we put anything or anyone above you and grant us the grace to turn our hearts back to you. This we pray through Christ our Lord. Amen!
__________________________________
Reference:
Raymond E. Brown, Joseph A. Fitzmyer, & Roland E. Murphy, (Eds.). (1990, 1968). The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentis Hall, Inc.
Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2020, February 19). Hapi. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Hapi
Comments