Did the water in the Nile and all the other water really turn to blood or did it just turn red?
The ten plagues of Egypt are taught about in Sunday School and in church. When you really stop and study each of these plagues, you will find that the most talented writer could not have planned it any better. God, the master planner, had the perfect plan to free his people, the Israelites, from slavery.
The first plague was turning all the water to blood: the water in the Nile, all other bodies of water, the stored water, the water in people’s houses. We read about the turning of the water to blood in Exodus 7:19-25.
19 Then the Lord said to Moses: “Tell Aaron, ‘Take your staff and raise your hand over the waters of Egypt—all its rivers, canals, ponds, and all the reservoirs. Turn all the water to blood. Everywhere in Egypt the water will turn to blood, even the water stored in wooden bowls and stone pots.’”
20 So Moses and Aaron did just as the Lord commanded them. As Pharaoh and all of his officials watched, Aaron raised his staff and struck the water of the Nile. Suddenly, the whole river turned to blood! 21 The fish in the river died, and the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it. There was blood everywhere throughout the land of Egypt.
22 But again the magicians of Egypt used their magic, and they, too, turned water into blood. So Pharaoh’s heart remained hard. He refused to listen to Moses and Aaron, just as the Lord had predicted. 23 Pharaoh returned to his palace and put the whole thing out of his mind. 24 Then all the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water, for they couldn’t drink the water from the Nile.
25 Seven days passed from the time the Lord struck the Nile. (Exodus 7: 19-25, NLV)
The Nile was the lifeblood of Egypt. Just thinking about the implications of this are horrifying. Water from the Nile could no longer be used to irrigate crops. All trade and commerce that used any body of water in Egypt came to a standstill. This plague also affected the life of every Egyptian. Their water was undrinkable. How would one bathe? What would one drink? The stench of dead rotting fish and blood would’ve filled the air before very long.
I can see people at home cooking, cleaning, eating dinner, bathing. The one drinking a glass of water gags when the much wanted drink turns out to be blood instead of water. The one with their hands deep in dishwater cleaning the dishes suddenly finds their hands covered with blood. The one using water to cook turns around for a moment. When they turn back around, the water they are using in their recipe has changed and is no longer usable. And what about the ones bathing?
The Bible says that the Egyptians dug along the riverbank to find drinking water. Apparently underground sources of water were still okay. So the Egyptians still had water available to drink, but they had to work hard to get to it.
Pharaoh’s magicians also changed water to blood. Maybe they had slaves dig to get to water that wasn’t already turned to blood. Because of this, Pharaoh wasn’t too concerned about the Nile and all the other water even though it was a major slap in the face to the gods he worshipped and believed were all powerful.
The Nile was considered sacred, and the gods they had depended upon—Khnum, Osiris, and many more—to protect their river, their vital source of water had failed. In the Scripture provided, which is from the New Living Translation, it says the water became so foul that the Egyptians couldn’t drink it and that it killed the fish.
Khnum was seen as the guardian and source of the mighty Nile River. Yet he could not stop it from changing to blood.
Neith and Hathor, protectors of the fish of the Nile, were powerless to protect the fish’s home against the powerful and mighty God.
Sepek, the crocodile god, proved unable protect the majestic crocodiles.
The Nile was thought to be the bloodstream of Osiris, god of the underworld. Even before twenty-four hours had passed, imagine looking upon the once beautiful and life-giving Nile that had turned into a bloody cesspool of dead rotting fish and all the other water creatures that had made this mighty river their home.
I’m sure there are more Egyptian gods that the water turning to blood made a mockery of, but this event showed just how powerless they were as it demonstrated the might and power of God.
After seven days, it turned from blood back to water. Can you imagine the mess left behind for everyone to clean up?
Writing Prompts
Let your imagination run wild. Create a character that lived in Egypt during the time of this first plague. How is your character affected? What is your character doing when all the water turns to blood?
This could easily be made into a horror story, especially if your character has hemophobia, a fear of blood. Maybe your character has been having nightmares for a few weeks about just such a thing happening.
Have this plague take place in modern times with a major river turning to blood. This river doesn’t just turn as red as blood; it really turns to blood as the Nile did.
Instead of writing about when the plague took place, have your character help clean up the mess once the blood turns back into water.
