God reiterates to Moses that the binding promise He made to the Patriarchs, to bring their descendents from servitude to freedom, and ultimately to dominion in Canaan, would be fulfilled. But an unrelenting, unmoved Pharaoh, who imposes increased hardships on the Israelites, makes them grow more despondent. Pharaoh is unimpressed by Aaron’s staff being transformed into a serpent – because the Egyptian magicians can do the same thing – even when it swallows the Egyptian magicians’ rods.

So God begins to inflict plague after plague upon Egypt, with no lasting effect upon Pharaoh. Occasionally Pharaoh concedes, but once a plague abates, Pharaoh reverts to his hard-hearted posture. This pattern repeats itself through the seven plagues enumerated in our sidra: blood, frogs, lice, swarming insects, cattle plague, boils and hail.