Did Aaron’s staff actually turn into a crocodile?

A friend asked me to comment on the theory that Aaron’s staff may have become a crocodile, rather than a snake, in Exodus 7:8–12. The Hebrew word used throughout is tannin, which can mean a dragon, a serpent, a sea monster—really any large, serpentine reptile.

The theory is based on crocodiles being closely associated with the god Sobek. In many historical sources, pharaohs were seen as having affinity with Sobek, and some even took him as their personal deity. Could the staff miracle in Exodus 7 be a case of God demonstrating his power over Pharaoh by showing who was really in charge of crocodiles—essentially shaming him by usurping the domain and power of Sobek?

I don’t think so. It’s not a bad theory overall. But while it’s true that crocodiles were associated with Sobek, and Sobek was sometimes associated with the power of the pharaoh (what god wasn’t?) there are several lines of evidence that strongly favor tannin in Exodus 7 referring to a snake—probably an Egyptian cobra:

1. Intertextual evidence

Moses explicitly uses tannin in Deuteronomy 32:33 to refer to Egyptian cobras (asps). So while the semantic range of the word can include crocodiles (Ezek 29:3), we have no clear example of that usage from Moses; but we do have a clear example of usage with reference to asps.

This is strengthened by the parallel between Exodus 7 and Exodus 4:3, where Yahweh gives Moses a “practice run” for the encounter with Pharaoh’s magicians. Moses throws down the staff as commanded, but here it becomes a nachash, “serpent.” In the same way, in Exodus 7:15, God describes the staff as having turned into a nachash, evidently referring to the confrontation in the verses just prior. This is certainly a snake of some kind (cf. Gen 49:17); not a crocodile.

2. The polemical theology argument works better with an asp

In this confrontation, God is demonstrating his power over the deities of Egypt (including Pharaoh). This is what John Currid calls this polemical theology.

But the polemic is much stronger if the staff turned into an asp or Egyptian cobra, because the asp was the symbol of Pharaoh’s divine status and power. The uraeus asp that he wore on his crown represented the divine commission of the goddess Wadjet, who was the protector of lower Egypt. It was what authenticated Pharaoh as a god himself, and gave him the right to rule. So Aaron’s staff turning into an asp would be a direct confrontation to Pharaoh’s power and rule; and its consuming the other asps created by Pharaoh’s magicians would represent, to the Egyptians, Moses and Aaron destroying and even absorbing Pharaoh’s power.

The same cannot be said if the staff became a crocodile. While that would have some polemic value, it would be significantly weaker: less pointed, and less focused on Pharaoh’s power and right to rule.

3. Socio-religious evidence

The ability to manipulate snakes in particular was a trademark of Egyptian magic. Egyptian priests were snake-charmers; a group called the Psylli were well-known for being able to stretch snakes into rigid “staffs” by putting them into a state of catalepsy, which could then be undone on command.

The confrontation between Moses and the magicians fits neatly into this context if tannin means snake; not so if it means crocodile.

Moreover, the ability to transform inanimate objects to animate ones was also found in Egyptian magic. An example is a priest who was said to transform a wax crocodile into a real one, and then back to wax when he picked it up by the tail. Exodus seems to be playing off this motif—but the fact that it is a staff which transforms here strongly suggests that it turned into an asp, not a crocodile. The form of the inanimate object is important for what it becomes. A wax crocodile becomes a real crocodile; but a staff does not look like a crocodile. It has far more resemblance to a stretched-out snake.

Further reading

A couple of helpful resources on this:

• Ancient Egypt and the Old Testament by John Currid (digital edition on Logos).
• A Study Commentary on Exodus, Volume 1 by John Currid (digital edition on Logos).