1 And YHVH said to Moses, "See, I make you as gods to Pharaoh; and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.
2 You shall speak all that I command you; and Aaron your brother shall tell Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go out of his land.
3 But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt,
4 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.
5 And the Egyptians shall know that I am YHVH, when I stretch forth my hand upon Egypt and bring out the people of Israel from among them."
6 And Moses and Aaron did so; they did as YHVH commanded them.
7 Now Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.
8 And YHVH said to Moses and Aaron,
9 "When Pharaoh says to you, 'Prove yourselves by working a miracle,' then you shall say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and cast it down before Pharaoh, that it may become a serpent.'"
10 So Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and did as YHVH commanded; Aaron cast down his rod before Pharaoh and his servants, and it became a serpent.
11 Then Pharaoh summoned the wise men and the sorcerers; and they also, the magicians of Egypt, did the same by their secret arts.
12 For every man cast down his rod, and they became serpents. But Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods.
The rod is a universal symbol. It relates to the creative forces that are within each of us. It specifically may be related to the spinal column as are also the Tree of Life, the magician's wand and the sword of truth. When the power of the creative aspect is raised to a spiritual level, it becomes an instrument for performing miracles. When turned earthward for sensual gratification only, it becomes the serpent that stings to death. When raised, it becomes the healer and the giver of life. The Israelites will contact this serpent later in the wilderness. This later act symbolizes the spiritual forces becoming purer, and thus able to perform miracles.
13 Still Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he would not listen to them; as YHVH had said.
14 Then YHVH said to Moses, "Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuses to let the people go.
15 Go to Pharaoh in the morning, as he is going out to the water; wait for him by the river's brink, and take in your hand the rod which was turned into a serpent.
16 And you shall say to him, 'YHVH, the God of the Hebrews, sent me to you, saying, "Let my people go, that they may serve me in the wilderness; and behold, you have not yet obeyed."
17 Thus says YHVH, "By this you shall know that I am YHVH: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the rod that is in my hand, and it shall be turned to blood,
18 and the fish in the Nile shall die, and the Nile shall become foul, and the Egyptians will loathe to drink water from the Nile."'"
The transformation of blood into water means regeneration; that of water to blood symbolizes degeneration. Blood contains the essence of life and mirrors our desire. We are being told that the desires of the lower, material nature are degenerative. This is further exemplified by the fish dying. The materialistic thoughts no longer find this force appealing, as symbolized by the Egyptians loathing the water from the Nile.
19 And YHVH said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Take your rod and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their rivers, their canals, and their ponds, and all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.'"
20 Moses and Aaron did as YHVH commanded; in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants, he lifted up the rod and struck the water that was in the Nile, and all the water that was in the Nile turned to blood.
21 And the fish in the Nile died; and the Nile became foul, so that the Egyptians could not drink water from the Nile; and there was blood throughout all the land of Egypt.
22 But the magicians of Egypt did the same by their secret arts; so Pharaoh's heart remained hardened, and he would not listen to them; as YHVH had said.
It is important to understand that Moses, Pharaoh, the Egyptians and the Israelites are within us. The Egyptians are our ignorant, material thoughts. They are the thoughts which keep us in bondage. The Israelites are the thoughts of spiritual things, our higher aspirations. Pharaoh, as the leader or ruling force of the material body consciousness resists relinquishing control. In this instance blood may have to do with the thoughts of greed and materialism that cloud the proper understanding of the spiritual forces. Since water relates to the mind, what they may be referring to are the problems that occur when the mind turns to error. And it would be easy for the magicians of Pharaoh, the abilities of the material mind, to do the same thing.
23 Pharaoh turned and went into his house, and he did not lay even this to heart.
24 And all the Egyptians dug round about the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the Nile.
25 Seven days passed after YHVH had struck the Nile.
26 Then YHVH said to Moses, "Go in to Pharaoh and say to him, 'Thus says YHVH, "Let my people go, that they may serve me.
27 But if you refuse to let them go, behold, I will plague all your country with frogs;
28 the Nile shall swarm with frogs which shall come up into your house, and into your bedchamber and on your bed, and into the houses of your servants and of your people, and into your ovens and your kneading bowls;
29 the frogs shall come up on you and on your people and on all your servants."'"