Exodus 7 · Verse 1

Exodus 7:1

And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
Exodus 7:1, King James Version

Exodus 7:1 in other translations

BSBThe LORD answered Moses, “See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet.
WEBThe LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I have made you as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
ASVAnd Jehovah said unto Moses, See, I have made thee as God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
YLTAnd Jehovah saith unto Moses, ‘See, I have given thee a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron thy brother is thy prophet;
DARBYAnd Jehovah said to Moses, See, I have made thee God to Pharaoh; and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
BBEAnd the Lord said to Moses, See I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother will be your prophet.
WebsterAnd the LORD said to Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

What does Exodus 7:1 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

Ex 7:1-25. Second Interview with Pharaoh.

1. the Lord said unto Moses--He is here encouraged to wait again on the king--not, however, as formerly, in the attitude of a humble suppliant, but now armed with credentials as God's ambassador, and to make his demand in a tone and manner which no earthly monarch or court ever witnessed. I have made thee a god--"made," that is, set, appointed; "a god"; that is, he was to act in this business as God's representative, to act and speak in His name and to perform things beyond the ordinary course of nature. The Orientals familiarly say of a man who is eminently great or wise, "he is a god" among men. Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet--that is, "interpreter" or "spokesman." The one was to be the vicegerent of God, and the other must be considered the speaker throughout all the ensuing scenes, even though his name is not expressly mentioned.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Introduction

The dignified mission of Moses and Aaron to Pharaoh - the one to be as God, the other as a prophet of the Most High, Exo 7:1, Exo 7:2. The prediction that Pharaoh's heart should be hardened, that God might multiply his signs and wonders in Egypt, that the inhabitants might know he alone was the true God, Exo 7:3-4. The age of Moses and Aaron, Exo 7:7. God gives them directions how they should act before Pharaoh, Exo 7:5, Exo 7:9. Moses turns his rod into a serpent, Exo 7:10. The magicians imitate this miracle, and Pharaoh's heart is hardened, Exo 7:11-13. Moses is commanded to wait upon Pharaoh next morning when he should come to the river, and threaten to turn the waters into blood if he did not let the people go, Exo 7:14-18. The waters in all the land of Egypt are turned into blood, Exo 7:19, Exo 7:20. The fish die, Exo 7:21. The magicians imitate this, and Pharaoh's heart is again hardened, Exo 7:22, Exo 7:23. The Egyptians sorely distressed because of the bloody waters, Exo 7:24. This plague endures seven days, Exo 7:25. Verse 1 I have made thee a god - At thy word every plague shall come, and at thy command each shall be removed. Thus Moses must have appeared as a god to Pharaoh. Shall be thy prophet - Shall receive the word from thy mouth, and communicate it to the Egyptian king, Exo 7:2.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Exodus 7:1-7
God glorifies himself. He makes people know that he is Jehovah. Israel is made to know it by the performance of his promises to them, and the Egyptians by the pouring out of his wrath upon them. Moses, as the ambassador of Jehovah, speaking in his name, laid commands upon Pharaoh, denounced threatenings against him, and called for judgments upon him. Pharaoh, proud and great as he was, could not resist. Moses stood not in awe of Pharaoh, but made him tremble. This seems to be meant in the words, Thou shalt be a god unto Pharaoh. At length Moses is delivered from his fears. He makes no more objections, but, being strengthened in faith, goes about his work with courage, and proceeds in it with perseverance.

Matthew Henry, 1706 · public domain

Exodus 7:1 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וַיֹּ֤אמֶרvai.Yo.merand he saidH559
יְהוָה֙Yah.wehYahwehH3068
אֶל\־'el-toH413
מֹשֶׁ֔הmo.ShehMosesH4872
רְאֵ֛הre.'EhconsiderH7200
נְתַתִּ֥יךָne.ta.Ti.khaI have appointed youH5414
אֱלֹהִ֖ים'E.lo.Hima godH430
לְפַרְעֹ֑הle.far.'Ohto PharaohH6547
וְאַהֲרֹ֥ןve.'a.ha.Ronand AaronH175
אָחִ֖יךָ'a.Chi.khabrother yourH251
יִהְיֶ֥הyih.Yehhe will beH1961
נְבִיאֶֽךָ\׃ne.vi.'E.khaprophet yourH5030

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Exodus 7:1

  • Exodus 4:15-16

    And thou shalt speak unto him, and put words in his mouth: and I will be with thy mouth, and with his mouth, and will teach you what ye shall do. And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.

  • Psalms 82:6

    I have said, Ye are gods; and all of you are children of the most High.

  • John 10:35-36

    If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

  • Jeremiah 1:10

    See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.

  • 1 Kings 17:23

    And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

  • Genesis 19:21

    And he said unto him, See, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not overthrow this city, for the which thou hast spoken.

  • 2 Kings 6:32

    But Elisha sat in his house, and the elders sat with him; and the king sent a man from before him: but ere the messenger came to him, he said to the elders, See ye how this son of a murderer hath sent to take away mine head? look, when the messenger cometh, shut the door, and hold him fast at the door: is not the sound of his master’s feet behind him?

  • Ecclesiastes 1:10

    Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.

  • Exodus 16:29

    See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1 Moses and Aaron are encouraged to go again to Pharaoh.
7 Their age.
8 Aaron's rod is turned into a serpent.
11 The sorcerers do the like; but their rods are swallowed up by Aaron's.
13 Pharaoh's heart is hardened.
14 God's message to Pharaoh.
19 The river is turned into blood; and the consequent distress of the Egyptians.

See.
16:29; Ge 19:21; 1Ki 17:23; 2Ki 6:32; Ec 1:10
a god.
4:15,16; Ps 82:6; Jer 1:10; Joh 10:35,36

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Exodus 7:1

    And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.

  • Exodus 7:2

    Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children of Israel out of his land.

Read all of Exodus 7

Exodus 7:1 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y JEHOVÁ dijo á Moisés: Mira, yo te he constituído dios para Faraón, y tu hermano Aarón será tu profeta.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		*Et l’ Éternel dit à Moïse: Vois, je t’ai fait Dieu pour le Pharaon; et Aaron, ton frère, sera ton prophète.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und Jehova sprach zu Mose: Siehe, ich habe dich dem Pharao zum Gott gesetzt, und dein Bruder Aaron soll dein Prophet sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen: Ecce constitui te Deum Pharaonis: et Aaron frater tuus erit propheta tuus.