EXODUS 7:8-24

Q: Why were the Egyptian sorcerers/magicians able to replicate (1) the staff-to-snake miracle and (2) the water-to-blood plague but not any of the subsequent plagues?

A point of correction to begin with: the magicians also duplicated the plague of frogs (Exodus 8:7).

One easy answer, but not necessarily the most satisfying, centers in on the identity of these men as sorcerers. They had access to demonic powers that were able to produce the same effects Moses produced through the power of God. However, the demonic powers were clearly trumped by God's power as seen by the fact that Moses' snake ate the others up, and the sorcerers were not able to produce anything equivalent to the last eight plagues even though they tried (Exodus 8:18-19; 9:11).

If, however, one believes that such demonic powers never existed, it is best to use the other designation for these court officials: magicians. As such, there have been logical explanations proposed for the so-called miracles produced in response to Moses' actions. The snakes may have been hidden in the magicians' hollow rods or the snakes were hypnotized into a rigid rod-like form and then snapped out of their trances. The water-to-blood trick (red dye in the wands) was obviously done on a very small scale, perhaps in a bowl of water, since all the significant bodies of water were already turned into blood. Producing a few frogs could be as easy as pulling a rabbit out of a hat for a modern magician, etc. etc.

The most telling example of the magicians' lack of true supernatural power is, however, shown by the fact that they could not reverse any of God's plagues, only add to them. And finally, they themselves were visited by the plague of boils (Exodus 9:11).