Exodus 7:22Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

You inquired about how the wise men of Pharaoh managed to perform such feats even after all the water in Egypt had been transformed into blood. There are two possible explanations for this: it may have involved the seawater, or, more plausibly, no such disasters affected the region where the Israelites resided. This particular passage in Scripture provides clarity, allowing some to grasp the truth even when it is not explicitly mentioned.

The cunning nature of deception often attempts to transform the Hebrew beverage into blood through a malicious falsehood, seeking to misrepresent our belief as it is not. However, it will not completely render this drink unusable, despite its ability to disguise it with a blood-like facade to mislead; thus, the Jew consumes genuine water, ignoring the deceptive guise, even as his opponents insist that it is blood.

The Magi were not hindered by Moses. Had they acted against his guidance, he would have immediately intervened to stop them, just as he had done previously when he drove them away with chaff. Instead, since they aligned themselves with him and opposed their own people, he allowed them to strike Egypt alongside him. This illustrates that a heart that is deceitful and rebellious towards God is also disloyal to its own nature. It was just for the wise men to retaliate against those who had oppressed them and their nation. However, they mirrored Moses’ actions by also inflicting harm upon themselves and the Egyptians. Consequently, Moses did not prevent their actions. Although they attempted to mask the plagues afflicting Egypt, their efforts only intensified the calamities.

The inquiry regarding how the Egyptian magicians replicated the transformation of water into blood arises when we consider that all available water was turned to blood. The magicians had the isles of the sea nearby, and what was transformed for the king was likely just drinking water. This suggests they could have used seawater to mimic the appearance of blood. It is clear that God allowed this to occur for the reasons already discussed. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that He extracted frogs from water, lice from the earth, and insects from wherever He chose, demonstrating that God can accomplish His will effortlessly, independent of the land and the seas. Consequently, He foretold the plagues so that the Egyptians would not attribute these occurrences to mere happenstance but would instead recognize them as divine judgments sent by God.

Aaron stood before Pharaoh and transformed the river water into blood by taking his rod and striking the river in the presence of Pharaoh and his officials, resulting in all the river water becoming blood. The sorcerers of Egypt, employing their cunning and skill, performed a similar feat, as noted in the subsequent narrative: And the wise men of Egypt did likewise by their sorceries. When considering such powerful acts, one might question whether the transformation of the river water into blood by Moses and Aaron was genuinely a miraculous event. While it is true that the wise men mimicked this by using water taken from the ground, it is essential to differentiate between the works of the Almighty God and the illusions of evil spirits. The phenomena produced by deceit and demonic influence cannot, and should not, be classified as true miracles, which are solely the result of God's omnipotent hand.

It is highly likely that the water was drawn from the Nile prior to the miracle or from a nearby pool where a certain ritual took place.