This morning I saw something hitting the ground. It was round. As it hit the ground there was a circle of dust that rose up. The view that I had was from way, high up. The place that it was striking was where I would have been standing, but I was not in view.
It was a "staff as it smote the earth".
"You shall take in your hand this staff, with which you shall perform the signs." Exodus 4:17 NASB
'Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD: behold, I will strike the water that is in the Nile with the staff that is in my hand, and it will be turned to blood. Exodus 7:17 NASB
Then the LORD said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth, that it may become gnats through all the land of Egypt.'" They did so; and Aaron stretched out his hand with his staff, and struck the dust of the earth, and there were gnats on man and beast. All the dust of the earth became gnats through all the land of Egypt. Exodus 8:16-17 NASB
Webster's 1828 Dictionary:
Staff
STAFF, n. plu. [G., a bar, a rod. The primary sense is to thrust, to shoot. See Stab.]
1. A stick carried in the hand for support or defense by a person walking; hence, a support; that which props or upholds. Bread is the proverbially called the staff of life.
2. A stick or club used as a weapon.
3. A long piece of wood; a stick; the long handle of an instrument; a pole or stick, used for many purposes.
5. An ensign of authority; a badge of office; as a constables staff.
8. In military affairs, an establishment of officers in various departments, attached to an army. The staff includes officers not of the line, as adjutants, quarter-masters, chaplain, surgeon, &c. The staff is the medium of communication from the commander in chief to every department of an army.
This is interesting...
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