Bible Strands
Exodus 7:10
So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did just as the LORD had commanded. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh and his officials, and it became a serpent.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Moses and Aaron approach Pharaoh and his officials to execute a divinely mandated sign. Aaron casts his staff before the Egyptian court at the precise moment of prophetic confrontation.
The words — כֵ֔ן (Khen) translates literally as "so" or "just so," marking exact compliance. It functions with וַ/יַּ֣עַשׂוּ (va/i.Ya.'a.su), "and they did," to record the unvarnished execution of the command.
The thread — The staff becoming a serpent directly parallels the earlier sign in Exodus 4:3. It immediately precedes the Egyptian magicians' replication in Exodus 7:11 and anticipates the broader biblical pattern of divine signs overriding human power.
Why it lands — The text records a physical transformation triggered by precise obedience, not theatrical display. It requires the reader to acknowledge that divine authority operates through human agents who follow instructions without alteration.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became a serpent.
Cross-references
- Exodus 4:3 “Throw it on the ground,” said the LORD. So Moses threw it on the ground, and it became a snake, and he ran from it.
- Amos 9:3 Though they hide themselves atop Carmel, there I will track them and seize them; and though they hide from Me at the bottom of the sea, there I will command the serpent to bite them.
- Mark 16:18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.”
- Luke 10:19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy. Nothing will harm you.