Portion 14 of 54 · Exodus
וָאֵרָא
Va'era
The plagues begin, and a superpower discovers it does not control the river, the sky or the land.
Start by reading it
Exodus 6:2–9:35
4 chapters. About 16 minutes at an unhurried pace.
Paired reading from the prophets: Ezekiel 28:25–29:21
What happens
- 01
God repeats the promise in four verbs: I will bring out, deliver, redeem, take you to me.
- 02
Moses and Aaron go to Pharaoh. The first seven plagues fall, one at a time.
- 03
Each plague touches something Egypt worshipped or relied on — the Nile first of all.
- 04
Pharaoh bends and then hardens, again and again.
The thing most people walk past
The people are too crushed to listen
'They hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of spirit, and for cruel bondage.' Long oppression makes hope hard to hear. The text does not blame them for it.
One verse to carry
And I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God.
The four verbs of this promise are why there are four cups of wine at the Passover table. A sentence became a ritual.
A question to sit with
Sometimes Pharaoh hardens his own heart, sometimes God hardens it. What do you make of a story that says both?
There is no answer key. This is the part you take with you.