Why does the Torah write that 'Aharon's staff swallowed the staffs of the sorcerers', and not that 'the snake swallowed their snakes'?
Rashi and R. Bachye: Because it was only after all the snakes turned back into staffs, that Aharon's staff swallowed theirs. 1
Seforno: In fact, it was Aharon's snake 2 (which was alive) that swallowed those of the sorcerers (which were lifeless) - to demonstrate that it is only Hashem who is capable of providing life. 3
Rashi (in Shabbos 97a): This is 'a miracle within a miracle'. Hadar Zekenim: Moreover, it did not become thicker after swallowing them. Par'oh was afraid that it would also swallow him and his throne! See R. Chavel's footnotes on Bachye, who proves from R. Bachye's words that, according to his first explanation, Aharon's stff must have have turned into a real snake before turning back into a staff and swallowing the sorcerer's staffs.
Presumably, the Pasuk refers to the staff of Aharon, because strictly speaking, it was not the snake that belonged to Aharon but the staff .
What is the significance of the fact that Aharon's staff swallowed the staffs of the sorcerers ?
Refer to 7:12:1:2.
R. Bachye: It was a hint that Hakadosh-Baruch-Hu would later cause Par'oh and his army to be swallowed by the Yam-Suf.
Why does the Torah write "Vayih'yu le'Saninim" and not "Vayih'yu Saninim"?
R. Bachye #1: To teach us that they the staffs of the sorcerers only looked like snakes, 1 but were not really snakes. 2
R. Bachye #2: Because grammatically, 'Vayih'yu le?' means 'they became ? '. 3
See R. Bachye who elaborates.
R. Bachye: Like we find in Yehoshua 7:5 and in Shmuel 1, 25:37. See R. Bachye who also explains why by Moshe too ? in Pasuk 10 ? the Torah writes "Vay'hi le'Sanin".
R. Bachye: Like it says in connection with Moshe ? See note #2 on answer #1.
Why did the fact that Aharon's staff swallowed their staffs not convince the astrologers of Hashem's superiority?
Oznayim la'Torah: Because they could argue that, had they known that Aharon would command his staff to swallow their staffs, they would have commanded their staffs to swallow his - and that they would have succeeded. 1
Gur Aryeh: Pharaoh knew full-well that sorcery could not accomplish this! Refer to 7:13:1.1:1.
