Exodus 7:18 - Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible

The Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the river— There are a few wells in Egypt; but their waters are not drank, being unpleasant and unwholesome: the water of the Nile is what they universally make use of in this country; being looked upon to be extraordinarily wholesome, and at the same time extremely delicious; "so delicious," says the Abbot Mascrier, in his letters, (Leviticus 1: p. 15, 16.) "that one would not wish the heat of the country should be less, nor to be delivered from the sensation of thirst. The Turks find it so exquisite, that they excite themselves to drink it, by eating salt. It is a common saying among them, that if Mohammed had drank of it, he would have begged of God not to let him die, that he might always have done so. They add, that whoever has once drank of it, he ought to drink of it a second time. This is what the people of the country told me, when they saw me return after a ten years' absence. When the Egyptians undertake the pilgrimage of Mecca, or go out of their country on any other account, they speak of nothing but the pleasure they shall find at their return in drinking the Nile-water. There is nothing in their esteem to be compared to this satisfaction: it surpasses that of seeing their relations and families again. Agreeably to this, all those who have tasted of this water, allow that they never met with the like in any other place. In truth, when one drinks of it the first time, it seems to be water prepared by art: it has something in it inexpressibly pleasing and agreeable; and we ought to give it, perhaps, the same rank among waters, which Champagne has among wines. I must confess, however, that it has, to my taste, too much sweetness: but its most valuable quality is, that it is wonderfully salutary. Drink it in what quantities you will, it never in the least incommodes you. This is so true, that it is no uncommon thing to see some persons drink three buckets of it in a day, without finding the least inconvenience. When I give these encomiums, it is right to observe, that I speak only of that of the Nile, which, indeed, is the only water there that is drinkable. Well-water is detestable and unwholesome: fountains are so rare, that they are a kind of prodigy; and as for rain-water, it would be in vain to attempt preserving that, since scarcely any falls in Egypt." Perhaps there may be some of the embellishments of a Frenchman in this very remarkable account: the fact, however, in general, is indubitable; and hence, a person who never before heard of this delicacy of the water of the Nile, and of the large quantities which are drank of it on that account, will, we presume, find an energy in the words of the text, which he never observed before. The Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the waters of the river. They will loathe to drink of that water, which they used to prefer to all the waters of the universe: loathe to drink of that, which they had wont eagerly to long for; and will rather choose to drink of well-water, which is, in their country, so detestable.