What miracles were performed with the staff mentioned in Exodus 4:17?

Identity and Commission of the Staff (Exodus 4:2–5, 17, 20)

Yahweh designates Moses’ shepherd’s rod as “the staff of God” (Exodus 4:20). From that moment the ordinary becomes the vehicle of divine power: “And take in your hand this staff, with which you will perform the signs” (Exodus 4:17).

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Sign 1 – Rod-to-Serpent and Back (Exodus 4:2–5; 7:8–10)

• At Horeb the staff becomes a serpent; grasped again, it reverts to wood—proof to Israel that “Yahweh…has appeared to you” (Exodus 4:5).

• Before Pharaoh the same wonder recurs; Moses’ and Aaron’s staff-serpent swallows the magicians’ serpents (Exodus 7:10–12), a visible pledge of Yahweh’s supremacy over Egypt’s occult power.

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Sign 2 – Water Turned to Blood (Exodus 7:15–20)

With the rod stretched out over the Nile the waters “were turned to blood” (v. 20). All Egyptian water sources followed suit. The plague strikes the river-god Hapi and exposes pagan impotence.

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Sign 3 – Plague of Frogs (Exodus 8:5–6)

At Yahweh’s command Moses tells Aaron, “Stretch out your hand with your staff over the streams” (v. 5). The land teems with frogs, humiliating the frog-headed goddess Heqet.

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Sign 4 – Plague of Gnats (Exodus 8:16–17)

Dust struck with the staff becomes swarming gnats. Egyptian priests admit, “This is the finger of God” (v. 19), conceding defeat.

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Sign 5 – Plague of Hail and Fire (Exodus 9:22–23)

Moses lifts the rod toward heaven; thunder, hail, and fire devastate Egypt, sparing Goshen. The sky-goddess Nut and storm-god Seth are powerless.

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Sign 6 – Plague of Locusts (Exodus 10:12–13)

“Stretch out your hand with your staff,” Yahweh orders (v. 12). An east wind brings locusts that consume what hail has left, collapsing Egypt’s agrarian economy.

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Sign 7 – Parting of the Red Sea (Exodus 14:16, 21, 26–27)

“Lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it” (v. 16). Walls of water rise; Israel passes on dry ground; the sea then engulfs Pharaoh’s army. Egyptian inscriptions depict pharaohs with serpentine staffs—Yahweh overturns that iconography by a real deliverance.

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Sign 8 – Water from the Rock at Horeb (Exodus 17:5–6)

“Take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile” (v. 5). One blow brings life-giving water, forecasting Christ the smitten Rock (1 Corinthians 10:4).

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Sign 9 – Victory over Amalek (Exodus 17:9–13)

While Joshua fights, Moses stands on the hill “with the staff of God in my hand” (v. 9). When the rod is held aloft, Israel prevails; when lowered, Amalek gains ground—dramatizing dependence on divine might.

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Related Sign – Aaron’s Rod That Budded (Numbers 17:5–8)

Though technically Aaron’s, this staff shares lineage: laid in the tabernacle, it buds, blossoms, and yields almonds overnight, vindicating the Aaronic priesthood. Hebrews 9:4 lists it beside the tablets and manna, all testimonies preserved in the ark.

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Theological Synthesis

1. Authenticity: Multiple attested events dispersed over varied settings display continuity, not mythic embellishment; the rod’s power never attributed to wood but to Yahweh (Exodus 4:31; 17:15).

2. Typology: The staff prefigures Christ’s cross—an instrument of shame turned into salvation (John 3:14).

3. Apologetic Weight: Eyewitness pattern (Exodus 14:31), commemorative feasts (Passover), and corroborating manuscript streams (e.g., LXX, Dead Sea Exodus fragments) anchor these reports historically.

4. Behavioral Impact: Each sign confronts an Egyptian deity, dismantles idolatry, and directs hearts to exclusive covenant fidelity (Exodus 20:2–3).

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Summary List of Miracles Performed with Moses’ Staff

• Rod-to-serpent and back (Exodus 4:2–5; 7:10–12)

• Nile and all waters to blood (Exodus 7:15–20)

• Frogs (Exodus 8:5–6)

• Gnats (Exodus 8:16–17)

• Hail with fire (Exodus 9:22–23)

• Locusts (Exodus 10:12–13)

• Parting of the Red Sea and its closure (Exodus 14:16–27)

• Water from rock at Horeb (Exodus 17:5–6)

• Victory gesture over Amalek (Exodus 17:9–13)

• Foreshadowing: Aaron’s budding rod (Numbers 17:5–8)

Thus, the staff of Exodus 4:17 becomes an enduring emblem of God’s sovereign power, covenant faithfulness, and redemptive purpose culminating in the risen Christ.