When Pharao shall say to you, Shew signs; thou shalt say to Aaron: Take thy rod, and cast it down before Pharao, and it shall be turned into a serpent.
כִּי֩ יְדַבֵּ֨ר אֲלֵכֶ֤ם פַּרְעֹה֙ לֵאמֹ֔ר תְּנ֥וּ לָכֶ֖ם מוֹפֵ֑ת וְאָמַרְתָּ֣ אֶֽל־אַהֲרֹ֗ן קַ֧ח אֶֽת־מַטְּךָ֛ וְהַשְׁלֵ֥ךְ לִפְנֵֽי־פַרְעֹ֖ה יְהִ֥י לְתַנִּֽין׃
5 Church Fathers comment on this verse
The reason Pharaoh received a sign in response to his plea, unlike the Jews (Matt. 16:3), is tied to the context of their situations. The signs presented during Pharaoh's era were essential, as they served the purpose of eliminating a formidable adversary. However, for those who are already close to me, such displays are not required. As I come now as a healer, I will one day reveal myself as the judge.
Pharaoh, the name given to the Egyptian oppressor, devised a way to oppose the signs performed by Moses through God's power by using the enchantments of his wise men. When Moses transformed his staff into a serpent in the presence of the Egyptians, the magicians sought to replicate this miracle with their own staffs. However, the serpent that emerged from Moses' staff swallowed the staffs of the wise men, revealing that their enchantments lacked true power and were merely illusory, fooling only those who were easily deceived.
Do not let the change of the rod into a serpent perplex Christian believers, as the image of the sacrament corresponds in an intriguing way. The Truth itself embraces this imagery when it states in the Gospel, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" (John 3:14). This statement is unequivocal: since Scripture refers to the author of sin as the serpent, and that which is spawned by the serpent is invariably a serpent, it follows that sin’s existence is linked to its originator. The apostolic teachings affirm that the Lord became sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21), taking upon Himself our sinful nature. Thus, this analogy is aptly assigned to the Lord. If sin is likened to a serpent, and the Lord bore our sin, it follows that He, embodying sin, also became a serpent for our sake to devour and annihilate the Egyptian serpents animated by the magicians. Once this is achieved, He transforms back into a rod, by which those who sin face judgment, while those who strive up the challenging path of virtue find respite, resting on the rod of faith with confident assurance: for "faith is the substance of things hoped for" (Hebrews 11:1). Therefore, the one who grasps this truth stands as a witness against those who resist the truth, becoming bewildered by material enchantments and disregarding the Divine voice; as Pharaoh declares, "Who is the Lord that I should heed His voice and let the children of Israel go? I do not know the Lord, nor will I let Israel go" (Ex. 5:2). The devotees of earthly pleasures recognize only the tangible and corporeal as worthy of reverence.
If someone is fortified by the brilliance of divine light and acquires the strength to confront adversaries, they stand ready, like a seasoned athlete emboldened by their training, to face their foes wielding the rod of faith, which empowers them to triumph over the Egyptian serpents. Therefore, when a virtuous soul desires to guide those ensnared by falsehood towards a life of righteousness and freedom, they must remain vigilant against the schemes of the adversary, as indicated by the Apostle’s words about the various stratagems (Eph. 6:11), which may counter the Divine law with alluring falsehoods. This concerns the Egyptian serpents, signifying the multifaceted deceptions of wickedness, which the rod of Moses nullifies, having been adequately addressed in previous discussions. Thus, one who possesses this unassailable rod of virtue—capable of vanquishing the deceptions and lies—consistently ascends to extraordinary acts. Such miracles are not performed solely for the astonishment of witnesses but rather for the benefit of those being saved; through the acts of virtue, factors that oppose them are obliterated, and their kin are multiplied.
Let us strive to first comprehend the overarching aim of the more specific miracles; only then can we develop a suitable understanding of each miracle in its own right. The message of truth manifests differently based on the receptiveness of its hearers. While the word presents good or evil to all, those who wholeheartedly embrace the truth find enlightenment, whereas those who refuse to direct their gaze to the light of truth remain enveloped in ignorance. If our understanding of such matters is not fundamentally flawed, it nonetheless varies in detail, as individual study of the word demonstrates.
The Lord addressed Moses, instructing him that if Pharaoh demands a sign, he should throw down the rod before him and it shall become a serpent. Pharaoh will summon his wise men, who will replicate this feat through their magical arts (Ex. 7:8-9, 11). Their actions were merely an imitation of what Moses displayed. Although it is asserted that they accomplished this through their enchantments, it does not signify that anything remarkable transpired, as they simply relied on their customary practices. However, if they believed they had triumphed over Moses by performing a similar act, they committed a grave error deserving of condemnation.
Moses, revealing the vision, threw his staff upon the ground (Ex. 7:9), transforming it into flesh to confront and consume all the opposition from the Egyptians, who defied God's command. This act allowed the Egyptians to witness that the hand of God brought deliverance for the people, not the son of Joseph. For if He were merely the son of Joseph, how could He surpass Solomon, Jonah, or David when He shared the same lineage and was their descendant? Additionally, why did He declare Peter blessed for acknowledging Him as the Son of the living God?
The staff likely resembled the one that Moses held on Mount Horeb (Exodus 4:2, 3). Canon Cook notes that in the book of Hebrews, a distinct term is used for the creature into which the staff transformed compared to Exodus 4:3; there, the staff becomes a serpent, referred to in Hebrew as Nahash, which aligns with the Egyptian Ara or Ureus. In this verse, however, a broader concept is represented by the term Tannin, encompassing not only all types of serpents, amphibians, and monsters but also representing a symbolic serpent or dragon, a foe of light and life.
Passages read together with this verse.
THEOSIS