תהלים, פרק ע״ח, פסוק מ״ד

Instead of a simple historical record, the account of the plagues in Egypt is a carefully curated presentation. It intentionally changes the chronological order and leaves out certain plagues. This selective telling highlights the sheer divine power used to break the Egyptians' refusal to believe that God could alter the laws of nature [מאירי]. The plagues of lice, boils, and darkness are left out because they share a specific trait: they were the final plagues in their respective cycles, arrived without warning, and were meant to humiliate rather than educate [אלשיך, מלבי״ם]. Furthermore, the very first miracle of the staff turning into a serpent is absent because it did not cause the Egyptians any actual suffering [אבן עזרא].

The rearranged order of the remaining plagues serves to show how God multiplied His signs, bringing what seemed to be overlapping or extra plagues purely to demonstrate His might [מלבי״ם]. Standing at the forefront of these signs is the plague of blood, placed first because it was a unique event that stood entirely on its own [מלבי״ם].

The absolute nature of the devastation is emphasized by detailing the different water sources that were struck. Unlike the Egyptian magicians who merely created an illusion of blood in limited areas, God transformed the water into completely real blood [אלשיך]. This transformation affected two distinct types of water. It struck the main bodies of water, which refers either to the Nile River itself [שטיינזלץ] or to man-made pools [מצודת ציון], and it also affected the naturally flowing streams and waterfalls [מצודת ציון]. The miracle was magnified by the fact that while the physical strike of the staff only hit the main river, the blood spread completely on its own to every flowing water source. Because of this total contamination, the Egyptians were left entirely unable to drink from the river or any other source of water [אלשיך, רד״ק].