Staffs into Serpents

Pharaoh rejected God’s demand through Moses and Aaron that he let the Israelites go from bondage, asking the key question, “Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go?” (Ex. 5:2). At this point in our study of Exodus, we will see this question begin to be answered in a series of miraculous signs and plagues that demonstrate that Yahweh, the God of Israel, is the one true God and Creator of all.

In today’s passage, we read that in the second confrontation with Pharaoh, Aaron throws down his staff and it becomes a serpent. This is the same staff that the Lord gave to Moses in Exodus 4:1–5 and that was to be used to demonstrate to the Israelites that Moses and Aaron are God’s authorized spokesmen. Now, the miracle that was shown to Israel is put on display to Pharaoh (7:8–10). Recall that serpents were important in Egyptian iconography, with the clasp of Pharaoh’s headdress being forged to look like a serpent. One commentator points out that the imagery of Aaron’s throwing the staff to the ground would resemble his taking Pharaoh’s headdress and casting it down. Thus, the miracle performed is a direct challenge to the authority of the Egyptian king.

Upon seeing Aaron’s staff turn into a serpent, Pharaoh calls his own “wise men and . . . sorcerers,” court advisers who were adept in the magical arts popular in ancient Egypt. Remarkably, the text says that these magicians cast down staffs of their own and that these staffs became serpents “by their secret arts” (vv. 11–12). But what exactly happens here? Have the pharaoh’s advisers performed an actual miracle? Perhaps not. The Hebrew word for “secret arts” is found only here and is not a term used for actual miracles in the Old Testament. Probably the magicians have used some kind of sleight of hand to replicate the sign Aaron performed, perhaps by hiding serpents inside hollow staffs or boxes. One commentator even says that it may be that these magicians were adept at holding a serpent just right so that it was temporarily paralyzed. Thus, they could have come with live serpents in hand that looked like staffs but were shown to be creatures once the magicians released them.

However Pharaoh’s officials perform their trick, their success does not last long, for Aaron’s serpent soon swallows up the magicians’ serpents (v. 12). Nevertheless, Pharaoh hardened his heart even when he saw this display of God’s superior power (v. 13).