The Blood of Sticks and Stones

The translators of the King James Version of the 'Holy Bible' added some words– "that" (once) and "vessels of" (twice)-- to the text of Exodus 7:19, which perhaps obscure the meaning of this verse more than they reveal it. "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and that there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels of stone [Exodus 7:19]."

If these 'helps' are removed from Exodus 7:19, the verse suffers naught but, perhaps, clarification. The verse is a fully recognized sentence without them. "And the LORD spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt, upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their ponds, and upon all their pools of water, that they may become blood; and there may be blood throughout all the land of Egypt, both in wood, and in stone [Exodus 7:19].”

The fact that the translators added these words to the text, in spite of there being no need of them, could betray an element of incredulity toward the text, as it was written, on the part of the translators. There's an old maxim, "You can't get blood out of a rock." Perhaps this maxim was an old one in A.D. 1611 (when the King James Version was published); or maybe this hangup at Exodus 7:19 is the inspiration for the saying. There need not be any consternation over the text as it stands, without the translators' 'helps', however.

After all, trees drink water; and hold quite a lot of it at any given moment. If the water throughout the land were turned into blood: what, if not blood, would the trees drink? It's not as if the sensibility of the trees would be offended by blood, compelling them to stop drinking. Therefore, there would have been blood in the wood of the trees, if the water were turned into blood.

As for the stones: do they not hold water? If not: how did the rock Moses struck twice pour out springs of water [Numbers 20:11, et. al.]? Considering the dearth of any archeological evidence of the Israelites' alleged four- hundred- thirty- year stay in Egypt or their likewise alleged forty- year sojourn of wandering in the wilderness, it's no small matter that the translators added these words to Exodus 7:19.

The rings of trees are 'smart', after all. If the right tree was found in Egypt, of the right age and condition, the rings could be tested for blood. If the test came back positive, this would be the only fossil evidence extant indicating the things written in Exodus- through- Deuteronomy might not be fable but rather fact. This would be no small coup.