You Shall Have No Other Gods:
The Book of Exodus

Lesson 7 First Plague: The Nile Is Turned to Blood
the book of Exodus 7:1–25

Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE)*
New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)*
Catechism of the Catholic Church
ex libris (in our library)
glossary for the book of Exodus
cross references in the book of Exodus
next lesson: Plagues of Frogs, Gnats, Flies & a Plague upon the Cattle

This material coordinates with Lesson 7 on pages 34–37 in the study book You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

And God spoke all these words, saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. You shall have no other gods before me. You shall not make for yourself a graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.”—the book of Exodus 20:1–6

welcome to our in-depth study of the book of Exodus
We invite interested groups and individuals to check out the sample first lesson from this 28-lesson Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study. These online study pages link to our free lesson video overviews, as well as to a glossary and cross references in the biblical text. Other study aids include maps, additional commentary, and prayers based on the primary Scripture in each lesson. You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus has been granted an imprimatur and can be purchased from our website shop. If you have a Bible-study question or comment, click on one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons on any online study page.

open with prayer
It’s always wise to begin any Bible study with prayer, whether reading the Scriptures alone or meeting with others in a discussion group. You can pray using your own words or use one of the opening prayers on our website. We especially like the following:

Lord Jesus, you promised to send your Holy Spirit to teach us all things.
As we read and study your word today,
allow it to touch our hearts and change our lives. Amen.

let’s review—the book of Exodus 6:1–30
In Lesson 6 God Remembers His Covenant, the LORD assures Moses that not only will Pharaoh allow the Israelites to leave Egypt, Pharaoh actually will drive them out of the land. Moses speaks to the sons of Israel, saying everything the LORD has asked him to say, but the Israelites refuse to listen. Moses then expresses his unworthiness to speak for the LORD, citing his uncircumcised lips. This doesn’t appear to have any impact at all on God’s plan, however. The sixth chapter in the book of Exodus also includes an unusual genealogy that starts with the first two sons of Jacob—Reuben and Simeon—and then focuses on Jacob’s third son, Levi, and on Levi’s descendants. Although Moses is included in this genealogy, his children and any other of his descendants aren’t. The biblical text then credits both Moses and Aaron for bringing the Israelites out of Egypt. God repeats his instructions that Moses should speak to Pharaoh, and Moses reiterates that his lips are uncircumcised.

why does God appear to make this so difficult? (48:32)
God’s actions concerning Pharaoh’s unwillingness to let the Israelites leave Egypt can be difficult for present-day readers to understand. In the video overview for Lesson 7 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps suggests that God doesn’t particularly care about where the descendants of Jacob are living—or even if they’re enslaved in Egypt. God’s goal is to establish a relationship with the people. It seems that longer time in Egypt and a greater display of God’s power over Pharaoh is what’s needed to form a more solid foundation for such a relationship. There are life-and-death consequences involved in relationship with the LORD, however, which is reflected in the 10 plagues. These demonstrate consequences and the serious nature of the covenant to come.

oops—Matthew misspeaks on the video
On the video around 40:08, Matthew mistakenly says Pharaoh doesn’t want to bow to the crazy suggestions of Moses and Pharaoh. Obviously he meant to say “to the crazy suggestions of Moses and Aaron.” We apologize for any confusion.


The Scripture ranges for the videos that accompany this Catholic Bible study from Turning to God’s Word match the Scripture ranges for the sets of questions in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. You can follow along as Turning to God’s Word author Matthew Phelps discusses Lesson 7, “First Plague: The Nile Is Turned to Blood,” on pages 34–37 in the study book.

what’s a prophet? 
In the seventh chapter in the book of Exodus, the LORD explains that Moses is to be as God to Pharaoh. Although Moses describes himself as a prophet in the book of Deuteronomy 18:18, in this section of the book of Exodus God identifies Moses’ brother Aaron as a prophet serving Moses. Throughout the Old Testament, the primary role of God’s prophets isn’t to predict the future but to speak for the LORD. Aaron, however,  is called to speak for Moses. It becomes important later with the institution of the hereditary priesthood that it’s Moses who speaks for God. Aaron, in turn, speaks for Moses, but Aaron doesn’t himself have an independent relationship with the LORD. Because of this, Aaron (and by extension his descendants) is unable to serve as a fitting mediator between the LORD and the Israelites. While Moses lives, Moses can intervene for the people. Once Moses dies, however, the hereditary priesthood established through Aaron falters. Since Aaron never had a relationship with God himself, his descendants don’t either. From the book of Exodus on, the hereditary priesthood is doomed to failure. You can learn more about prophets in the Bible and about this period of Old Testament salvation history in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible studies The United Kingdom of Israel: Saul, David & Solomon Foreshadow Christ the King and Thus Says the LORD: God Speaks Through His Servants the Prophets—Volume I: A Kingdom Divided and Volume II: Restoration & Redemption.

Pharaoh’s hardened heart
Although the seventh chapter in the book of Exodus begins describing the ten plagues that God sends against the Egyptians, Pharaoh’s response, which is likened to his hardened heart, also is a theme in this section of the book of Exodus. Many readers are disturbed by suggestions that God is behind Pharaoh’s negative attitude. In the book of Exodus 7:3–4, the LORD claims responsibility, telling Moses:  ”But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,  Pharaoh will not listen to you; then I will lay my hand upon Egypt and bring forth my hosts, my people the sons of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.”

?  Consider whether Pharaoh retains his free will in regard to Moses’ and Aaron’s request that the Israelites be allowed to leave Egypt.
?  What in the seventh chapter in the book of Exodus suggests that Pharaoh might not have free will in this situation?
?  What suggests that Pharaoh is exercising free will?
?  Consider what Church teaching implies is going on when Pharaoh refuses to let the Israelites leave Egypt.

Learn more about how Pharaoh’s heart is hardened and what that means in the commentary, “Pharaoh’s Hardened Heart,” on page 36 in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

read the Catechism—hard hearts are a recurring biblical theme
It’s possible for humans to harden our own hearts and the hearts of others. What are some examples you can name of others being provoked into doing stupid (sinful) things without losing their free will? Consider whether you’ve ever been provoked into acting against your own free will. According to paragraph 2540 in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, how are pride and envy related? What can Catholics do to offset the effects of pride in our lives?

2540    Envy represents a form of sadness and therefore a refusal of charity; the baptized person should struggle against it by exercising good will. Envy often comes from pride; the baptized person should train himself to live in humility:

Would you like to see God glorified by you? Then rejoice in your brother’s progress and you will immediately give glory to God. Because his servant could conquer envy by rejoicing in the merits of others, God will be praised.

tension surrounding the miracle Pharaoh wants to see
In the book of Exodus 7:8–12, the LORD, working through Moses and Aaron, provides a miracle or sign to prove to Pharaoh that Moses and Aaron are speaking for the God of the Israelites’ ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Even though Moses and Aaron perform this sign, Pharaoh’s heart remains hardened, which is the main point in this passage. Note the difference in the way in which the LORD said he would provide a sign for Moses in the book of Exodus 3:12: “But I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God upon this mountain.” The sign essentially is that after the LORD does what he’s promised, it will be obvious that the LORD is the one behind what happened. Pharaoh, in contrast, demands a sign in advance. There’s an important theme here about how God gives signs and about how those legitimate signs are able to strengthen faith and trust in God.

pray with the Psalms—if today you hear his voice
In Psalm 81:11–13, God expresses disappointment in his people. Because they’ve refused to listen to the LORD or to follow his covenant, God’s given them over to their stubborn hearts. The people have used their free will to decide against doing what the LORD wishes. In Psalm 95:7b–9: “O that today you would hearken to his voice! Harden not your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your fathers tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.” Prayed at Thursday Lauds (Week I), Psalm 81 is included as part of Lesson 10 Awake, My Soul in the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. Prayed as the Invitatory at Sunday Vigils (Weeks I and II), Psalm 95 will be included as part of Lesson 1 He Who Sits in the Heavens Laughs and Lesson 15 Let Us Ring Out Our Joy to the LORD, both in Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, which is scheduled for release in 2025.

signs & the first plague
In the book of Exodus 4:9, the LORD announced that he’d give Moses and Aaron the ability to turn a small amount of water from the Nile River into blood, but there’s no evidence God demonstrated this to Moses at that time. It’s also unclear from Scripture whether the signs that Moses and Aaron perform for the Israelites in the book of Exodus 4:30 include changing water from the Nile into blood. What’s apparent is that the first plague that God sends against the Egyptians involves changing the entire Nile River into blood, along with all of the rivers, canals, pools, and ponds in Egypt.

is the LORD intentionally holding back?
It looks more and more like God is holding back from Moses what we might consider key information. Of course, Moses doesn’t need to witness these signs himself, he just has to buy into the idea that the LORD can be trusted to come through when the time is right. It may be significant that when God does comes through, the first plague is much more involved than anything Moses was led to expect. This well could suggest that Moses’ trust in the LORD already has grown a significant amount.

about those magicians
The book of Exodus 7:22 records that the magicians in Egypt demonstrate an ability to turn the Nile River to blood. It probably wouldn’t have been very difficult to claim responsibility once that already had been done by God. If the Egyptian magicians had indeed been able to turn the blood in the Nile back into fresh water, then that would have indicated they possessed actual power.

so what’s the point of the first plague?
Turning the Nile River and all of the fresh water in Egypt into blood shows that the LORD, acting through Moses, has absolute power over the Nile—and therefore over Egyptian civilization. The debate should have ended with the first plague if Pharaoh’s heart hadn’t been hardened. It’s also significant that the LORD brings about death and destruction from the Nile River, which to the Egyptians represented life  This plague is nothing like the unmaking involved in the Flood, which is described in the book of Genesis 6:11—9:17. Because only God is able to reverse the effects of the first plague against the Egyptians, the LORD is able to provide overwhelmingly abundant life—life as abundant as the waters of the Nile River. The life provided by God is sufficient to overwhelm the powers of the captivity in Egypt. The first plague also can be seen as a potent sign of Jesus’ victory over sin and death.

the best Catholic commentary about Scripture
To find out more about how Church teaching is supported by Scripture passages in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus, check out the Index of Citations in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Links (Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition [RSVCE*]) to the primary Scripture passages in the lesson and relevant paragraphs in the Catechism are provided here. Not every passage in the biblical text for this Catholic Bible study is referenced in a Catechism paragraph, however, including the passage in this lesson from the book of Exodus 7:1–25.

ways our glossary might prove helpful
In addition to providing extra information about geographical locations, our glossary also points out when a person or place is mentioned in the biblical text under more than one name or more than one spelling. If you can remember a name but aren’t sure in which lesson it shows up, you can find it in the glossary, which lists every proper noun that appears in the biblical text for every lesson in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

to learn more, read more Scripture
If you’re having difficulty with a particular passage of Scripture, it can be helpful to read the relevant cross references—but looking these up can take time. To make that easier, we’ve compiled the cross references from the Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE)—the translation that we reprint in our study books. That list can be found at the top of every online study page accompanying this study, and it includes links to each of the cross references in the primary biblical text for You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus.

don’t forget about our indexes & extra online material
If you’re trying to locate information about a specific Scripture passage, you can look it up in the index at the back of the study book or sample lesson. If you want to find a particular commentary, you can look up its title in the topics index. To learn more about another book of the Bible for which there’s a Turning to God’s Word study, visit the online study directories to read the commentaries and watch any accompanying videos. Finally, if you have a question or would like to make a comment about any of our studies, you can use one of the “ask us your question” or “what do you think” buttons to email our authors.

ex libris—Church documents & books about religious topics
Link to magisterial documents referred to in our Bible studies at ex libris—magisterial documents. This listing includes significant recent encyclicals as well as a number of historical Church documents. Recommended books related to Scripture study can be found at ex libris—main bookshelf.

wondering how to pronounce some of these words?
The following link is to a reading from the New International Version (NIV) Bible. To listen, open the link and click on the audio icon above the printed text. Although not taken from the translations used in our study materials, the NIV reading provides an audio guide to pronunciation of words in this lesson’s primary biblical text. A close online version of the translation of the Bible used in Catholic liturgy in the United States as well as an audio guide for daily Mass readings for the current month can be found on the website of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).

the book of Exodus 7:1–25 (NIV)

round black doveclose with Bible-based prayer related to this lesson
Many of our Catholic study groups like to conclude their discussions with a prayer based on the scriptural focus of their lesson, and some participants include Scripture-specific prayer in their individual study. If you’re uncomfortable composing your own Bible-based prayers, you can follow our four easy steps. If you prefer, you can use the following short prayer based on this lesson’s text from the book of Exodus.

O God, your power exceeds anything we can imagine.
Prevent our minds from doubting your goodness
and our hearts from becoming so hardened
that we’re unable to recognize the signs
of your omnipotence all around us.
We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ,
who willing subjected himself to death
in order to offer humanity a share in divine life. Amen. 

Lesson 8 Plagues of Frogs, Gnats, Flies & a Plague upon the Cattle, the book of Exodus 8:1—9:7
Lesson 6 God Remembers His Covenant, the book of Exodus 6:1–30

you also may like our study of the Gospel According to John
The Gospel According to John: An Encounter with Grace & Truth, a 25-lesson Catholic Bible study with an imprimatur, examines the Fourth Gospel’s view of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, with special emphasis on the institution of the sacraments of the Church as the means by which Christians are purified and made holy. This recently revised study includes maps and additional commentary, and takes a closer look at the way in which Jesus relates to individual men and women. Click on the book’s cover to view a sample lesson.

start a Turning to God’s Word Bible study
Thank you for your interest in You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus. Information about beginning a Turning to God’s Word Bible study can be found at start a Bible study. Tami, Matthew, and I are available to answer your questions and to offer support. You may use this email to contact us directly if you’re interested in starting a Turning to God study or in having your study schedule listed with other TtGW study groups on our website. —Jennifer

*There are seven deuterocanonical books in the Old Testament—the Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, and First and Second Maccabees, as well as some passages in the Books of Esther and Daniel. Protestants usually refer to these works as “apocryphal,” a word that means “outside the (Protestant) canon” because they’re excluded from most Protestant Bibles. The word “deuterocanonical” means “second canon”; Catholics use that word to refer to any section of the Catholic Old Testament for which there are no extant, or existing, Hebrew manuscripts. All of the deuterocanonical books appear in the Septuagint, the earliest remaining versions of which date to the 1st century B.C. This Greek translation of the Old Testament was in common use by Jews at the time of Jesus—but the same books aren’t found in existing Hebrew manuscripts, which aren’t as old as the oldest version of the Septuagint. Learn more by reading How Do Catholic & Protestant Bibles Differ?

Turning to God’s Word printed Bible studies use the 2006 Revised Standard Version Second Catholic Edition (RSV2CE) translation for all Scripture references except those to the Psalms, which are taken from The Abbey Psalms and Canticles, prepared by the Benedictine monks of Conception Abbey and published in 2020 by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). All Scripture links for the online study pages for You Shall Have No Other Gods: The Book of Exodus are to the 1966 Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE) translation. The New International Version (NIV) audio recordings follow the same chapter and verse numbering as the RSV Catholic translations, but the NIV translation doesn’t include the deuterocanonical books and passages.

The 1966 RSVCE uses archaic pronouns and verb forms such as “thee,” “thou,” “didst” in the Psalms and in direct quotations attributed to God. The 2006 RSV2CE replaces those with more accessible English. The few significant translation changes in the RSV2CE include rendering almah as “virgin” in the Book of Isaiah 7:14 and restoring the term “begotten” in the Gospel According to John 3:16.

Numbering varies for some passages in this Bible study. Turning to God’s Word studies (print and digital) follow the numbering in the Revised Standard Version Catholic translations (RSV2CE and RSVCE). Discrepancies in the New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) are noted in the Index of Scripture Citations in the study book and the online sample.

You can learn more about the Psalms by viewing a sample lesson from the Turning to God’s Word Catholic Bible study Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume I: Lauds & Vespers. The second part of that study, Sing a New Psalm: Communicating with God Through the Prayers of the Church—Volume II: Vigils, Day Prayer & Compline, is scheduled for publication in 2025. Some verse numbers may vary in different translations of the Psalms.