Exodus 7:25

And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(25) And seven days were fulfilled.—These words seem to mark the duration of the first plague, which was the longer because Pharaoh made no submission at all in consequence of it. Obtaining sufficient water for his own purposes (see the comment on Exodus 7:23), he thought little of its continuance.

Benson Commentary

Exodus 7:25. Seven days were fulfilled — Before the plague was removed.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:14-25 Here is the first of the ten plagues, the turning of the water into blood. It was a dreadful plague. The sight of such vast rolling streams of blood could not but strike horror. Nothing is more common than water: so wisely has Providence ordered it, and so kindly, that what is so needful and serviceable to the comfort of human life, should be cheap and almost every where to be had; but now the Egyptians must either drink blood, or die for thirst. Egypt was a pleasant land, but the dead fish and blood now rendered it very unpleasant. It was a righteous plague, and justly sent upon the Egyptians; for Nile, the river of Egypt, was their idol. That creature which we idolize, God justly takes from us, or makes bitter to us. They had stained the river with the blood of the Hebrews' children, and now God made that river all blood. Never any thirsted after blood, but sooner or later they had enough of it. It was a significant plague; Egypt had great dependence upon their river, Zec 14:18; so that in smiting the river, they were warned of the destruction of all the produce of their country. The love of Christ to his disciples changes all their common mercies into spiritual blessings; the anger of God towards his enemies, renders their most valued advantages a curse and a misery to them. Aaron is to summon the plague by smiting the river with his rod. It was done in the sight of Pharaoh and his attendants, for God's true miracles were not performed as Satan's lying wonders; truth seeks no corners. See the almighty power of God. Every creature is that to us which he makes it to be water or blood. See what changes we may meet with in the things of this world; what is always vain, may soon become vexatious. See what mischievous work sin makes. If the things that have been our comforts prove our crosses, we must thank ourselves. It is sin that turns our waters into blood. The plague continued seven days; and in all that time Pharaoh's proud heart would not let him desire Moses to pray for the removal of it. Thus the hypocrites in heart heap up wrath. No wonder that God's anger is not turned away, but that his hand is stretched out still.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Seven days - This marks the duration of the plague. The natural discoloration of the Nile water lasts generally much longer, about 20 days.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

22. And the magicians … did so with their enchantments, &c.—Little or no pure water could be procured, and therefore their imitation must have been on a small scale—the only drinkable water available being dug among the sands. It must have been on a sample or specimen of water dyed red with some coloring matter. But it was sufficient to serve as a pretext or command for the king to turn unmoved and go to his house.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

For seven days were fulfilled, ere all the waters of Egypt were perfectly free from this infection.

Quest. How could the Egyptians subsist so long without water?

Answ.

1. Philo tells us that many of them died of this plague.

2. As the plague might come on, so it might go off, by degrees; and so the water, though mixed with blood, might give them some relief.

3. The juices of herbs, and other liquors, which were untouched with this plague, might refresh them.

4. They might have some water, either from their pits, or by rain from heaven, as was said before; or from Goshen; for though it be said that the blood was in all their vessels, Exodus 7:19, yet it is not said that all that should afterwards be put into them should be turned into blood.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And seven days were fulfilled,.... Or there were full seven days, a whole week:

after that the Lord had smitten the river, and turned it into blood; here the miracle is ascribed to him; Moses and Aaron, and the rod they used, were only instruments, nothing short of almighty power could do such a miracle; it seems this lasted seven days at least. It began, as Bishop Usher (o) computes it, on the eighteen day of the sixth month, or Adar, part of February and part of March, and ended the twenty fifth of the same. It is not said that Pharaoh requested to have it removed, though Philo (p) says he did; his stubborn heart not being humbled enough as yet to ask such a favour, and therefore perhaps it was taken off without asking for it, to make way for another.

(o) Annal. Vet. Test. p. 20. (p) Ut supra. (De Vita. Mosis, l. 1. p. 617.)

Geneva Study Bible

And seven days were fulfilled, after that the LORD had smitten the river.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 25. - And seven days were fulfilled. This note of time has been regarded as merely fixing the interval between the first plague and the second. But it is more natural to regard it as marking the duration of the first plague. The intervals between one plague and another are nowhere estimated.



Exodus 7:25

Keil and Delitzsch Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament

This miracle was also imitated by the magicians. The question, where they got any water that was still unchanged, is not answered in the biblical text. Kurtz is of opinion that they took spring water for the purpose; but he has overlooked the fact, that if spring water was still to be had, there would be no necessity for the Egyptians to dig wells for the purpose of finding drinkable water. The supposition that the magicians did not try their arts till the miracle wrought by Aaron had passed away, is hardly reconcilable with the text, which places the return of Pharaoh to his house after the work of the magicians. For it can neither be assumed, that the miracle wrought by the messengers of Jehovah lasted only a few hours, so that Pharaoh was able to wait by the Nile till it was over, since in that case the Egyptians would not have thought it necessary to dig wells; nor can it be regarded as probable, that after the miracle was over, and the plague had ceased, the magicians began to imitate it for the purpose of showing the king that they could do the same, and that it was after this that the king went to his house without paying any need to the miracle. We must therefore follow the analogy of Exodus 9:25 as compared with Exodus 10:5, and not press the expression, "every collection of water" (Exodus 7:19), so as to infer that there was no Nile water at all, not even what had been taken away before the smiting of the river, that was not changed, but rather conclude that the magicians tried their arts upon water that was already drawn, for the purpose of neutralizing the effect of the plague as soon as it had been produced. The fact that the clause, "Pharaoh's heart was hardened," is linked with the previous clause, "the magicians did so, etc.," by a vav consecutive, unquestionably implies that the imitation of the miracle by the magicians contributed to the hardening of Pharaoh's heart. The expression, "to this also," in Exodus 7:23, points back to the first miraculous sign in Exodus 7:10. This plague was keenly felt by the Egyptians; for the Nile contains the only good drinking water, and its excellence is unanimously attested by both ancient and modern writers (Hengstenberg ut sup. pp. 108, 109, transl.). As they could not drink of the water of the river from their loathing at its stench (Exodus 7:18), they were obliged to dig round about the river for water to drink (Exodus 7:24). From this it is evident that the plague lasted a considerable time; according to Exodus 7:25, apparently seven days. At least this is the most natural interpretation of the words, "and seven days were fulfilled after that Jehovah had smitten the river." It is true, there is still the possibility that this verse may be connected with the following one, "when seven days were fulfilled...Jehovah said to Moses." But this is not probable; for the time which intervened between the plagues is not stated anywhere else, nor is the expression, "Jehovah said," with which the plagues are introduced, connected in any other instance with what precedes. The narrative leaves it quite undecided how rapidly the plagues succeeded one another. On the supposition that the changing of the Nile water took place at the time when the river began to rise, and when the reddening generally occurs, many expositors fix upon the month of June or July for the commencement of the plague; in which case all the plagues down to the death of the first-born, which occurred in the night of the 14th Abib, i.e., about the middle of April, would be confined to the space of about nine months. But this conjecture is a very uncertain one, and all that is tolerably sure is, that the seventh plague (the hail) occurred in February (vid., Exodus 9:31-32), and there were (not three weeks, but) eight weeks therefore, or about two months, between the seventh and tenth plagues; so that between each of the last three there would be an interval of fourteen or twenty days. And if we suppose that there was a similar interval in the case of all the others, the first plague would take place in September or October-that is to say, after the yearly overflow of the Nile, which lasts from June to September.