The parashah is discussed in these
rabbinic sources from the era of the
Mishnah and the
Talmud:
Exodus chapter 6 A
Midrash noted that God had already informed Moses that Pharaoh would not allow the Israelites to go, as in Exodus 3:19, God told Moses, "I know that the King of Egypt will not allow you to go," and in Exodus 4:19, God told Moses, "I will harden his heart." But Moses did not keep this in mind, but came instead to doubt the wisdom of God's decree, and began to argue with God, saying in Exodus 5:22: "Lord, why have You dealt ill with this people?" For this reason, the Attribute of Justice sought to attack Moses, as Exodus 6:2 says: "And God spoke to Moses" (employing the name of God (,
Elohim) indicative of God's Justice). But when God reflected that Moses only asked this because of Israel's suffering, God retracted and dealt with Moses according to the Attribute of Mercy, as Exodus 6:2 says: "And He said to him: ‘I am the Lord'" (employing the name of God (, the
Tetragrammaton) indicative of God's Mercy). The Midrash viewed the question of Moses in Exodus 5:22 as an application of
Ecclesiastes 2:12: "And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the King? even that which has been already done." The Midrash taught that Ecclesiastes 2:12 refers to both
Solomon and Moses. The Midrash taught that Ecclesiastes 2:12 refers to Solomon, for God gave some commandments for kings, as it says in Deuteronomy 17:16–17: "Only he shall not multiply horses to himself . . . Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither silver and gold." Solomon read in Deuteronomy 17:17 that the reason of God's decree was "that his heart turn not away." The Midrash taught that Solomon thus thought to himself that he would multiply his wives but still not allow his heart to turn away. And the Midrash taught that Ecclesiastes 2:12 refers to Moses because Moses began to argue with God in Exodus 5:22, "Lord, why have you dealt ill with this people?" Because of this, the Midrash taught that at that point the wisdom and knowledge of Moses was only (in the words of Ecclesiastes 2:12) "madness and folly." The Midrash asked what right Moses had to question God's ways and in the words of Ecclesiastes 2:12, "that which had been already done" that God had revealed to him. Reading the words, "And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob," in Exodus 6:3, a Midrash taught that God thus told Moses that God longed for those who were gone and could not be replaced—the three Patriarchs. The Midrash said that God told Moses that many times, God had revealed God's Self to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (,
El Shadai), and God had not made known to them that God's name is the Lord (, the Tetragrammaton). But still they did not criticize God's ways. To Abraham, God said in Genesis 13:17, "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for to you will I give it," yet when Abraham wanted to bury
Sarah, he found no plot of ground until he had purchased one; still, he did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Isaac in Genesis 26:3, "Sojourn in this land . . . for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands." Yet when Isaac sought water to drink, he found none; instead (as Genesis 26:20 reports), "The herdsmen of
Gerar strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying: ‘The water is ours.'" Still Isaac did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Jacob in Genesis 28:13, "The land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed." Yet when he sought a place to pitch his tent, he found none until he purchased one for a hundred
kesitah (as reported in Genesis 33:19). And still Jacob did not complain at God's ways. The Patriarchs did not ask God, as Moses did in Exodus 3:13, what God's name was. In contrast, at the commencement of God's commission of Moses, Moses inquired of God's name. And in Exodus 5:23, Moses told God, "For since I came to Pharaoh . . . he has dealt ill with this people; neither have You delivered Your people." On this account, the Midrash taught, God said in Exodus 6:4, "And I have also established my covenant with them," the Patriarchs, to give them the land, and they never complained of God's ways. And God said in Exodus 6:5, "I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel," because they did not complain against God. Although the Israelites of that generation did not conduct themselves righteously, yet God heard their cry on account of the covenant that God had made with the Patriarchs. Hence, it says in Exodus 6:6, "And I have remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel." The Midrash taught that the word "therefore" (
lachein) in Exodus 6:6 implies an oath, as it does in 1 Samuel 3:14, where God says, "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli." Thus, the Midrash taught that God swore to Moses that God would redeem the Israelites, so that Moses would have no reason to fear that the Attribute of Justice would retard their redemption. Rabbi Simai found evidence for the resurrection of the dead in the words, "And I also have established my covenant with them (the
Patriarchs) to give them the land of Canaan," in Exodus 6:4. Rabbi Simai noted that Exodus 6:4 does not say "to give you" but "to give them," implying that God would give the land to the Patriarchs personally, and thus that God would resurrect them so as to fulfill the promise. from the 1860
Die Bibel in Bildern) A
Baraita deduced from Exodus 6:6 that the Israelites' bondage in Egypt ended on
Rosh Hashanah. The Baraita noted that Exodus 6:6 uses the word "burden" to describe the end of the Israelites' bondage in Egypt, and Psalm 81:7 uses the word "burden" to describe the end of
Joseph's imprisonment, and the Baraita deduced that the two events must therefore have occurred at the same time of year. The Baraita further deduced from the words, "Blow the horn on the new moon, on the covering day for our festival . . . He appointed it for Joseph for a testimony when he went forth," in Psalm 81:4–6 that Joseph went forth from the prison on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Nehemiah cited the use of the words "will bring you out" in Exodus 6:6 to demonstrate that using the word
hamotzi in the blessing over bread would mean that God "
will bring forth" bread from the land—not that God "
has brought forth" bread from the land. Rabbi Nehemiah thus read Exodus 6:6–7 to mean: "I am the Lord, the One Who
will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." The
Gemara reported that the Rabbis of a Baraita, however, read Exodus 6:6–7 to mean: "When I
shall bring you out, I will do for you something that will show you that I am the One Who
brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." The
Jerusalem Talmud cited the four promises of salvation in Exodus 6:6–7, (1) "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians," (2) "I will deliver you from their bondage," (3) "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm," and (4) "I will take you to Me for a people," as one reason why Jews drink four cups of wine at the
Passover seder. And thus the Mishnah taught that "On the eve of
Passover, . . . even the poorest man in Israel must not eat until he reclines; and they (the overseers of charity) should give him not less than four cups of wine." A Baraita taught that Rabbi Simai deduced from the similarity of the phrases "And I will take you to me for a people" and "And I will bring you in to the land" in Exodus 6:7 that the Israelites'
Exodus from Egypt occurred under circumstances like their entry into the Land of Israel. Rabbi Simai thus deduced that just as only two out of 600,000 (
Caleb and
Joshua) entered the Promised Land, so only two out of every 600,000 Israelites in Egypt participated in the Exodus, and the rest died in Egypt.
Rava taught that it will also be so when the
Messiah comes that only a small portion of Jews will find redemption, for Hosea 2:17 says, "And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the days when she came up out of the land of Egypt," implying that circumstances upon the coming of the Messiah will be similar to those upon the Israelites' entry into the Land of Israel. The Gemara asked why the
Tannaim felt that the allocation of the Land of Israel "according to the names of the tribes of their fathers" in Numbers 26:55 meant that the allocation was with reference to those who left Egypt; perhaps, the Gemara supposed, it might have meant the 12 tribes and that the Land was to be divided into 12 equal portions? The Gemara noted that in Exodus 6:8, God told Moses to tell the Israelites who were about to leave Egypt, "And I will give it you for a heritage; I am the Lord," and that meant that the Land was the inheritance from the fathers of those who left Egypt. A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 6:9, "they hearkened not to Moses for shortness of spirit," to indicated that it was difficult for the Israelites to abandon idol worship.
Rabbi Ishmael cited Exodus 6:12 as one of ten
a fortiori (kal va-chomer) arguments recorded in the
Hebrew Bible: (1) In Genesis 44:8, Joseph's brothers told Joseph, "Behold, the money that we found in our sacks' mouths we brought back to you," and they thus reasoned, "how then should we steal?" (2) In Exodus 6:12, Moses told God, "Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me," and reasoned that surely even more, "How then shall Pharaoh hear me?" (3) In Deuteronomy 31:27, Moses said to the Israelites, "Behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the Lord," and reasoned that it would follow, "And how much more after my death?" (4) In Numbers 12:14, "the Lord said to Moses: ‘If her (Miriam's) father had but spit in her face,'" surely it would stand to reason, "‘Should she not hide in shame seven days?'" (5) In Jeremiah 12:5, the prophet asked, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you," is it not logical to conclude, "Then how can you contend with horses?" (6) In 1 Samuel 23:3, David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in
Judah," and thus surely it stands to reason, "How much more then if we go to
Keilah?" (7) Also in Jeremiah 12:5, the prophet asked, "And if in a land of Peace where you are secure" you are overcome, is it not logical to ask, "How will you do in the thickets of the
Jordan?" (8)
Proverbs 11:31 reasoned, "Behold, the righteous shall be requited in the earth," and does it not follow, "How much more the wicked and the sinner?" (9) In
Esther 9:12, "The king said to
Esther the queen: ‘The Jews have slain and destroyed 500 men in
Shushan the castle,'" and it thus stands to reason, "‘What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces?'" (10) In Ezekiel 15:5, God came to the prophet saying, "Behold, when it was whole, it was usable for no work," and thus surely it is logical to argue, "How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it is singed?"
Rav Zeira counted five kinds of
orlah (things uncircumcised) in the world: (1) uncircumcised ears (as in Jeremiah 6:10), (2) uncircumcised lips (as in Exodus 6:12), (3) uncircumcised hearts (as in Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 9:26), (4) uncircumcised flesh (as in Genesis 17:14), and (5) uncircumcised trees (as in Leviticus 19:23). Rav Zeira taught that all the nations are uncircumcised in each of the first four ways, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart, in that their hearts do not allow them to do God's will. And Rav Zeira taught that in the future, God will take away from Israel the uncircumcision of their hearts, and they will not harden their stubborn hearts anymore before their Creator, as Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh," and Genesis 17:11 says, "And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin." Reading Exodus 6:13, 7:8, and 9:8, a Midrash taught that in 18 verses, Scripture places Moses and Aaron (the instruments of Israel's deliverance) on an equal footing (reporting that God spoke to both of them alike), and thus there are 18 benedictions in the
Amidah. Reading the words of Exodus 6:13, "And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the children of Israel," Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Isaac asked about what matter God commanded the Israelites. Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Isaac taught that God gave them the commandment about the freeing of slaves in Exodus 21:2–11. A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 6:13, "And He gave them a charge concerning the children of Israel," to convey that God warned Moses and Aaron that the Israelites were obstinate, bad-tempered, and troublesome, and that in assuming leadership over the Israelites, Moses and Aaron must expect that the Israelites would curse and even stone them. A Midrash interpreted God's instructions to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 6:13, "and to Pharaoh, King of Egypt," to convey that God told Moses and Aaron that although God really ought to punish Pharaoh, God wanted Moses and Aaron to show Pharaoh the respect due to his regal position. And Moses did so, as Exodus 11:8 reports that Moses told Pharaoh that God said, "And all these your servants shall come down to Me." Moses did not say that Pharaoh would come down, only that Pharaoh's servants would do so. But Moses could well have said that Pharaoh himself would come down, for Exodus 12:30 reports, "Pharaoh arose at midnight." But Moses did not mention Pharaoh specifically so as to pay him respect. Rava taught that he who wishes to take a wife should first inquire about the character of her brothers. For Exodus 6:23 reports, "And Aaron took
Elisheva, the daughter of
Amminadab, the sister of
Nahshon." As Exodus 6:23 states "the daughter of Amminadab," it is obvious that she was the sister of Nahshon. So Exodus 6:23 expressly states "the sister of Nahshon" to imply that he who takes a wife should inquire about the character of her brothers, because most children resemble the brothers of their mother. The Gemara asked whether the words in Exodus 6:25, "And
Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of
Putiel to wife" did not convey that Eleazar's son
Phinehas descended from
Jethro, who fattened (
piteim) calves for idol worship. The Gemara then provided an alternative explanation: Exodus 6:25 could mean that Phinehas descended from Joseph, who conquered (
pitpeit) his passions (resisting
Potiphar's wife, as reported in Genesis 39). But the Gemara asked, did not the tribes sneer at Phinehas and question how a youth (Phinehas) whose mother's father crammed calves for idol-worship could kill the head of a tribe in Israel (
Zimri, Prince of
Simeon, as reported in Numbers 25). The Gemara explained that the real explanation was that Phinehas descended from both Joseph and Jethro. If Phinehas's mother's father descended from Joseph, then Phinehas's mother's mother descended from Jethro. And if Phinehas's mother's father descended from Jethro, then Phinehas's mother's mother descended from Joseph. The Gemara explained that Exodus 6:25 implies this dual explanation of "Putiel" when it says, "of the daughters of Putiel," because the plural "daughters" implies two lines of ancestry (from both Joseph and Jethro). Rabbi Simeon noted that in nearly every instance, the Torah mentioned Moses before Aaron, but Exodus 6:26 mentioned Aaron before Moses, teaching that the two were deemed equivalent. The Gemara taught that the use of the pronoun "he (
hu)" in an introduction, as in the words "These are (
hu) that Aaron and Moses" in Exodus 6:26 signifies that they were the same in their righteousness from the beginning to the end. Similar uses appear in
Chronicles 1:27 to teach Abraham's enduring righteousness, in 1 Samuel 17:14 to teach David's enduring humility, in Genesis 36:43 to teach
Esau's enduring wickedness, in Numbers 26:9 to teach
Dathan and
Abiram's enduring wickedness, in 2 Chronicles 28:22 to teach
Ahaz's enduring wickedness, and in Esther 1:1 to teach
Ahasuerus's enduring wickedness. )
Exodus chapter 7 The Tosefta cited Exodus 7:1, where the lesser Aaron spoke for the greater Moses, for the proposition that in synagogue reading, a minor may translate for an adult, but it is not honorable for an adult to translate for a minor. Rabbi Phinehas, the priest, son of Rabbi Hama, interpreted God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart (for example in Exodus 7:3) in light of Job 36:13, "But they who are godless in heart lay up anger; they cry not for help when He binds them." Rabbi Phinehas taught that if the godless, for whose repentance God waits, do not do so, then later, even when they do think of it, God distracts their hearts from penitence. Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of Job 36:13, "And they who are godless in heart," to teach that those who begin by being godless in heart end up bringing upon themselves God's anger. And Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of Job 36:13, "They cry not for help when He binds them," to teach that though the godless wish later to return to God and to pray to God, they are no longer able, because God binds them and bars their way. Thus, after several plagues, Pharaoh wished to pray to God, but God told Moses in Exodus 8:16: "Before he goes out [to pray to God], stand before Pharaoh." The
Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that Moses quoted God's words in Exodus 7:4 back to God after the sin of the Golden Calf. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that after the incident of the Golden Calf, God told Moses that the Israelites had forgotten God's might and had made an idol. Moses replied to God that while the Israelites had not yet sinned, God had called them "
My people," as in Exodus 7:4, God had said, "And I will bring forth
My hosts,
My people." But Moses noted that once the Israelites had sinned, God told Moses (in Exodus 32:7), "Go, get down, for
your people have corrupted themselves." Moses told God that the Israelites were indeed God's people, and God's inheritance, as Deuteronomy 9:29 reports Moses saying, "Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance." A Midrash read Exodus 7:11, “Then Pharaoh also called for the
wise men and the sorcerers,” to teach that Scripture calls nonbelievers “wise men” when they do something that requires skill. Rabbi Aivu bar Nagri said in the name of
Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba that the words "with their enchantments" in Exodus 7:11 refer to sorcery without exogenous assistance, while the words "with their sorcery" in Exodus 7:22 refer to magic through the agency of demons. Reading the words, "Aaron's
rod swallowed up their
rods," in Exodus 7:12,
Rabbi Eleazar observed that it was a double miracle (as Aaron's serpent first became a rod again, and as a rod it swallowed up their serpents). When Pharaoh saw this, he was amazed and expressed his fear of what would happen if Moses now told the rod to swallow up Pharaoh and his throne. Rabbi
Jose bar Hanina taught that a great miracle happened to that rod, for although it swallowed up all the rods that had been cast down, sufficient to make ten heaps, still the rod did not all become any thicker, and all who saw it recognized it as Aaron's rod. On this account, Aaron's rod became a symbol for all the miracles and wonders that were to be performed for Israel throughout the generations. A Midrash noted that Exodus 7:13 reports that "Pharaoh's heart was hardened" without God's action, and that this was so for the first five plagues. As the first five plagues did not move Pharaoh to release the Israelites, God decreed that from then on, even if Pharaoh had agreed to release the Israelites, God would not accept it. Thus, starting with the sixth plague and thereafter (as Exodus 10:27 reports), the text says, "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart." It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Judah the Prince (or others say
Rabbi Meir) used to say that Providence repays a person measure for measure. Thus, a Midrash taught that God sent the plagues against Pharaoh measure for measure. God changed the Egyptians' water into blood because the Egyptians prevented the Israelites from using the ritual bath (
mikveh) so as to prevent the Israelite women from having marital relations with their husbands. God brought frogs because the Egyptians had ordered the Israelites to bring them reptiles and creeping creatures (which were an abomination to the Israelites). God sent lice because the Egyptians had made the Israelites clean the dirty streets and marketplaces. God sent swarms of wild animals because the Egyptians had demanded that the Israelites catch
bears,
lions, and
leopards so as to separate the Israelite men from their wives. God brought the pestilence upon the Egyptians' cattle because they had forced the Israelites to serve as shepherds so as to keep the Israelite men away from their wives. God sent boils because the Egyptians had demanded that the Israelites warm things for them. God sent hail to destroy the Egyptians' crops because the Egyptians had sent the Israelites into the fields to plow and sow. God brought the locusts to destroy the Egyptians' grain because the Egyptians had forced the Israelites to plant wheat and barley for them. God brought darkness because among the Israelites were transgressors who had Egyptian patrons and lived in affluence and honor in Egypt and did not want to leave Egypt, and so God brought darkness so that God could kill these transgressors without the Egyptians' seeing. Abitol the barber, citing
Rav, said that the Pharaoh whom Moses addressed was a puny fellow, a cubit tall, with a beard as long as he was tall, embodying the words in
Daniel 4:14 that "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and . . . sets up over it the lowest of men." And Abitol the barber, citing Rav, deduced from the words "Pharaoh . . . goes out to the water" in Exodus 7:15 that this Pharaoh was a
magus who went to the water to perform sorcery. Alternatively, a Midrash, reading the words "Pharaoh . . . goes out to the water" in Exodus 7:15, taught that only in the morning did Pharaoh go out to the water, because Pharaoh used to boast that he was a god and did not need to relieve himself. Therefore, Pharaoh used to go early in the morning to the water (when no one else was there to witness that he relieved himself like other humans). God, therefore, told Moses to catch him just at this critical moment. A Midrash cited Exodus 7:20 as one proof for the proposition that God does all things together: God puts to death and brings to life at the same time; God wounds and heals at the same time. And thus the Midrash noted, in Exodus 7:20, "all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood," and later, the blood became water again. Rabbi Abin the Levite, the son of Rabbi Judah the Prince, taught that the Israelites became wealthy from the plague of blood. If an Egyptian and an Israelite were in a house where there was a barrel full of water, and the Egyptian went to fill a pitcher from the barrel, the Egyptian would find that it contained blood, while the Israelite would drink water from the same barrel. When the Egyptian asked the Israelite to give the Egyptian some water with the Israelite's own hand, it still became blood. Even if the Egyptian said to the Israelite that they should both drink from one vessel, the Israelite would drink water, but the Egyptian would drink blood. It was only when the Egyptian bought water from the Israelite for money that the Egyptian was able to drink water. And this is how the Israelites became rich. The Gemara deduced from the use of the word for fish,
dagah, in the phrase "And the fish that were in the river died" in Exodus 7:21 that the word
dagah applies to fish both large and small. A Midrash taught that the frogs were the most grievous of the ten plagues. The Midrash taught that the frogs destroyed the Egyptians' bodies, as Psalm 78:45 says "frogs . . . destroyed them," and the frogs emasculated the Egyptians, as Exodus 7:28 says that the frogs would "come into . . . [the Egyptians'] bedchamber, and upon [their] bed." The Midrash taught that the frogs told the Egyptians that the coinage of their gods was abolished, and the Egyptians' own coinage—their ability to procreate—was also rendered invalid. The Midrash reasoned that as the word "destroyed" in Genesis 38:9 applied to checking procreation in the passage about
Onan's seed, as "he destroyed it on the ground," so the Midrash reasoned that Psalm 78:45 means to convey that the Egyptians' procreation was checked as well when it says, "frogs . . . destroyed them." And the Midrash deduced that the frogs spoke because Exodus 8:8 says, "concerning the frogs," and the words for "concerning,"
al debar, may also be read, "because of the words of." ) Thaddeus of Rome taught that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (also known as
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) delivered themselves to the Fiery Furnace to sanctify the Divine Name in Daniel 3:8–30 because they deduced from Exodus 7:28 that the frogs of the plague, which had not been commanded to sanctify the Divine Name, nonetheless jumped into hot ovens at God's behest. So Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah reasoned that people, whom Leviticus 22:32 does command to sanctify the Divine Name, should be willing to bear hot ovens for that reason. Thaddeus of Rome deduced that the ovens into which the frogs jumped were hot from the proximity of the words "ovens" and "kneading troughs" in Exodus 7:28, reasoning that kneading troughs are found near ovens when ovens are hot. The Tosefta deduced from Exodus 1:8 that Pharaoh began to sin first before the people, and thus as indicated by Exodus 7:29 and 8:4, God struck him first and then the people. )
Exodus chapter 8 Rabbi Eleazar taught that when Exodus 8:2 (8:6 in the KJV) reports that "the frog came up, and covered the land of Egypt," it was initially just one frog, which bred prolifically and filled the land. The Tannaim disputed the matter.
Rabbi Akiva said that one frog filled the whole of Egypt by breeding. But Rabbi
Eleazar ben Azariah chastised Akiva for dabbling in
aggadah, and taught that one frog croaked for others, and they joined the first frog. Rabbi Eleazar deduced from the magicians' recognition of "the finger of God" in Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) that a demonic spirit cannot produce a creature less than a barleycorn in size.
Rav Papa said that a spirit cannot even produce something the size of a camel, but a spirit can collect the elements of a larger object and thus produce the illusion of creating it, but a spirit cannot do even that with a smaller object. Rabbi Phinehas ben Hama reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) referred to 10 plagues, "the hand of God" in Job 19:21 (in connection with Job's poverty) must refer to 50 plagues. Reading “the finger of God” in Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV), Rabbi Ishmael said that each of the five fingers of God's right hand appertain to the mystery of Redemption. Rabbi Ishmael said that God showed the little finger of the hand to Noah, pointing out how to make the
Ark, as in Genesis 6:15, God says, "And
this is how you shall make it." With the second finger, next to the little one, God smote the Egyptians with the ten plagues, as Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) says, “The magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’” With the middle finger, God wrote the Tablets of the Law, as Exodus 31:18 says, “And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him . . . tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” With the index finger, God showed Moses what the children of Israel should give for the redemption of their souls, as Exodus 30:13 says, “
This they shall give . . . half a shekel for an offering to the Lord.” With the thumb and all the hand, God will in the future smite God's enemies (who Rabbi Ishmael identified as the children of Esau and
Ishmael), as
Micah 5:9 says, “Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all your enemies be cut off.” A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 8:22 (8:26 in the KJV), "Lo, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?" to teach that the Egyptians saw the lamb as a god. Thus, when God told Moses to slay the paschal lamb (as reflected in Exodus 12:21), Moses asked God how he could possibly do so, when the lamb was as Egyptian god. God replied that the Israelites would not depart from Egypt until they slaughtered the Egyptian gods before the Egyptians' eyes, so that God might teach them that their gods were really nothing at all. And thus God did so, for on the same night that God slew the Egyptian firstborn, the Israelites slaughtered their paschal lambs and ate them. When the Egyptians saw their firstborn slain and their gods slaughtered, they could do nothing, as Numbers 33:4 reports, "While the Egyptians were burying them whom the Lord had smitten among them, even all their firstborn; upon their gods also the Lord executed judgment."
Exodus chapter 9 The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that for every plague that God brought upon the Egyptians, the magicians also produced the plague, until God brought upon them the boils, and then the magicians were not able to stand to do likewise, as Exodus 9:11 says, "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils." In Exodus 9:12, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. A Midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks, sees, walks, falls, stands, rejoices, cries, is comforted, is troubled, grows faint, grieves, fears, can be broken, becomes proud, rebels, invents, cavils, overflows, devises, desires, goes astray, lusts, is refreshed, can be stolen, is humbled, is enticed, errs, trembles, is awakened, loves, hates, envies, is searched, is rent, meditates, is like a fire, is like a stone, turns in repentance, becomes hot, dies, melts, takes in words, is susceptible to fear, gives thanks, covets, becomes hard, makes merry, acts deceitfully, speaks from out of itself, loves bribes, writes words, plans, receives commandments, acts with pride, makes arrangements, and aggrandizes itself. Exodus 9:13–34 sets forth the plague of hail. The Gemara told of the miracle of the hailstones (
avnei elgavish) of which Ezekiel 13:11, 13:13, and 38:22 speak. A Midrash taught that they were stones (
avanim) which remained suspended for the sake of a man (
al gav ish) and came down for the sake of a man. The hailstones remained suspended for the sake of a man—this was Moses, of whom Numbers 12:3 says, "Now the man Moses was very meek," and Exodus 9:33 says, "And the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain poured not upon the earth." The hailstones came down for the sake of a man—this was Joshua, of whom Numbers 27:18 says, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit," and
Joshua 10:11 says, "And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of
Beth-Horon, that the Lord cast down great stones." Rabbi Nechunia, son of Hakkanah, taught that God killed Pharaoh, and then because of Pharaoh's repentance, delivered him from among the dead. Rabbi Nechunia deduced that Pharaoh had died from Exodus 9:15, in which God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten you." Reading Exodus 9:20, “Those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who feared the Lord’s word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety,” the
Midrash HaGadol taught that one can surely draw the inference that if those who fear God on a particular occasion are saved from punishment, how much more will those who fear God all their life be saved. The
Pharisees noted that while in Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh asked who God was, once God had smitten him, in Exodus 9:27 Pharaoh acknowledged that God was righteous. Citing this juxtaposition, the Pharisees complained against heretics who placed the name of earthly rulers above the name of God. The Mishnah echoed Exodus 9:31–32 by listing wheat, barley, and spelt as typical grains. Interpreting Exodus 9:34, "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more," a Midrash taught that so it always is with the wicked: As long as they are in trouble, they humble themselves. But as soon as trouble passes, they return to their perversity. ==In medieval Jewish interpretation==