So, apparently, Pharaoh is a morning person.
Exodus 8:20 marks the second time that God has told Moses to “rise up early” and meet Pharaoh “as he comes out of the water.” The first time was in Exodus 7:15, and if I’m being completely honest, I totally missed it.
And, if I’m being really honest, the reason I probably missed it was because I didn’t think it was that relevant to the Story. After all, Exodus 7:15 is when Moses and Aaron turn the waters of Egypt into blood. Shouldn’t that be what we focus on instead?
That’s a whiff on my part. If I had thought about it for two seconds, what I would’ve realized is Moses is meeting Pharaoh right by the Nile, in the morning, for the purpose of then striking the Nile and turning it into blood. It’s literally the most convenient time and location to do it.
But why was Pharaoh down by the water to begin with?
Surprisingly, there are multiple theories as to why Pharaoh begins his day with a trip to the Nile, ranging from the mundane (to “cool himself”) to the ecological (to see how high the Nile has risen). I think all of them probably have varying levels of likelihood.
At this point, it’s worth remembering who Pharaoh actually is, though. He’s not just the leader of one of the largest empires in the world, but he’s also the religious leader of that empire. He’s a full-time king and part-time priest, the embodiment and/or representative of the gods themselves.
For that reason, this meeting at the water takes on multiple meanings. If he is, in fact, at the Nile to offer his morning worship, then a message from Jehovah at that point in time is doubly effective. He should not be getting messages from a river; he should be listening to the message from God.
Furthermore, if he’s checking the Nile for economic reasons, since the water level could impact taxes, then the message from God is also important. The plagues will kill off a significant portion of Egyptian wildlife—something Pharaoh should calculate with his cabinet as he handles the day-to-day bureaucracy of Egyptian life.
I recognize that all of this pales in comparison to what’s actually happening in Egypt at this time. God is trying to get Pharaoh’s attention; if Pharaoh did listen, it would benefit him alongside Israel. His failure to listen to God’s message at the water is a symbolic moment as he continues to fail every single person—Egyptian or otherwise—under his rule.
