Va'eira (parsha) on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera ( —
Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera ( — Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
for "and I appeared," the first word that God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
speaks in the ''parashah
The term ''parashah'' ( he, פָּרָשָׁה ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian , Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book in the Masoretic Text of the Tanakh (Heb ...
'', in ) is the fourteenth weekly Torah portion
It is a custom among religious Jewish communities for a weekly Torah portion to be read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' ( he, פָּרָשַׁת הַשָּׁבוּעַ), is po ...
(, ''parashah'') in the annual Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
cycle of Torah reading
Torah reading (; ') is a Judaism, Jewish religion, religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Sefer Torah, Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) fro ...
and the second in the Book of Exodus
The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through t ...
. It constitutes . The ''parashah'' tells of the first seven Plagues of Egypt
The Plagues of Egypt, in the account of the book of Exodus, are ten disasters inflicted on Biblical Egypt by the God of Israel in order to convince the Pharaoh to emancipate the enslaved Israelites, each of them confronting Pharaoh and one of hi ...
.
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
s read it the fourteenth Sabbath (''Shabbat
Shabbat (, , or ; he, שַׁבָּת, Šabbāṯ, , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical storie ...
'') after Simchat Torah
Simchat Torah or Simhat Torah (, lit., "Rejoicing with/of the Torah", Ashkenazi: ''Simchas Torah'') is a Jewish holiday that celebrates and marks the conclusion of the annual cycle of public Torah readings, and the beginning of a new cycle. Simch ...
, generally in January, or rarely, in late December.
It is composed of 6,701 Hebrew letters, 1,748 Hebrew words, 121 verses, and 222 lines in a Torah Scroll, and is considered part of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
.
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
Readings
In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the "portion" (''parashah'') is divided into seven readings, or , '' aliyot''. In theMasoretic Text
The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; he, נֻסָּח הַמָּסוֹרָה, Nūssāḥ Hammāsōrā, lit. 'Text of the Tradition') is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) in Rabbinic Judaism. ...
of the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
(''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
Tanakh
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''
Reading the words, "And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob," in , 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 , "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 
Rabbi Simai found evidence for the resurrection of the dead in the words, "And I also have established my covenant with them (the 
A 
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "they hearkened not to Moses for shortness of spirit," to indicated that it was difficult for the Israelites to abandon idol worship.
Reading , , and , 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 ''
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "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.Exodus Rabbah 7:3, in, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Exodus''. Translated by Simon M. Lehrman, volume 3, page 111.
A Midrash interpreted God's instructions to Moses and Aaron in , "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 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 reports, "Pharaoh arose at midnight." But Moses did not mention Pharaoh specifically so as to pay him respect.
A Midrash taught that Korah took issue with Moses in because Moses had (as reports) appointed Elizaphan the son of 
Rabbi Simeon noted that in nearly every instance, the Torah mentioned Moses before Aaron, but 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 signifies that they were the same in their righteousness from the beginning to the end. Similar uses appear in 
Reading the words, "Aaron's ''rod'' swallowed up their ''rods''," in , 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 
A Midrash noted that 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 reports), the text says, "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart."
It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Judah the Prince (or others say 
Abitol the barber, citing 
A Midrash cited 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 , "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 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 says "frogs . . . destroyed them," and the frogs emasculated the Egyptians, as says that the frogs would "come into . . . he Egyptians'bed-chamber, and upon 
Thaddeus of Rome taught that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah (also known as 
Rabbi Eleazar deduced from the magicians' recognition of "the finger of God" in ( in the KJV) that a demonic spirit cannot produce a creature less than a barleycorn in size. 
A Midrash interpreted the words of ( 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 ), 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 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."
In , 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, hears, 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.
sets forth the plague of hail. The Gemara told of the miracle of the hailstones (''avnei elgavish'') of which , , and 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 says, "Now the man Moses was very meek," and 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 says, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit," and says, "And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of
Ibn Ezra quotes
Reading God's statement in that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," the report of that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh," and similar statements in ;
20
; and
an
The
Rabbi Gunther Plaut noted the difficulty that says that it is , ''YHVH'', who guarantees the covenant made with the ancestors, although they did not know God by this Name, but this contradicts the frequent occurrence of the name ''YHVH'', in Genesis, implying that the forefathers knew the Name. Plaut reports that Biblical scholars have attempted to solve this contradiction in various ways, many positing that belongs to the 
28
and ; Pharaoh made Israel's labor heavy in ; God in response sent heavy plagues in ;
and , so that God might be glorified over Pharaoh in
an
and the book culminates with the descent of God's fiery Glory, described as a “heavy cloud,” first upon Sinai and later upon the Tabernacle in ; ; ;
and . Plaut reported that scholars generally agree that the term “Hebrew” (, ''Ivri''), as in and an
came from the name of a group called ''
Some scholars who follow the
30
to the Priestly source who wrote in the 6th or 5th century BCE. But Friedman attributed an
to a later Redactor (sometimes abbreviated R). And Friedman attributed the genealogy of to the Book of Records or some other separate source document, from which Friedman postulates that the Redactor chose to use only the first section covering genealogies from Reuben to Levi, stopping at Aaron. In the balance of the parashah, Friedman attributed
an
an
and an
to the Elohist;
an
an
and to the Priestly source; and and to the Redactor. For a color-coded display of verses according to this hypothesis, see the display of Exodus according to the Documentary Hypothesis at
20
;
(hardening Pharaoh's heart). * (God lifted up God's hand). *; (hardening of heart). * (hardening of heart). * (I will be your God and you will be my people); (you will be my people, and I will be your God); (you will be my people, and I will be your God); (31:33 in NJPS) (I will be their God, and they will be my people). * (God lifted up God's hand); (you will be my people, and I will be your God). * (name is the Lord); (plagues); (plagues). * (God lifted up God's hand).
''Allegorical Interpretation'' 1:
13:40
14:43; 60:172
3:9; 12:51; 19:69; ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090220064107/http://cornerstonepublications.org/Philo/Philo_That_The_Worse_is_Wont.html ''That the Worse Is Wont To Attack the Better''12:38–39
''On the Posterity of Cain and His Exile''
22:76
26:101
9:29; 20:94
15:83–85
3:18; 23:124
2:13; 3:20–21; 22:125; 37:207
2:28:189; 39:259; 42:277.
2:13:3
Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by
*
Pesachim 10:1Shevuot 5:3Yadayim 4:8
Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by
1:155:718:519:737:346:15
82:3; 88:5; 92:7; 96, 97. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by
* Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 2:1–2, 5; 3:1; 15:4–5; 16:1, 4; 19:4; 21:4; 22:6; 26:3, 6; 35:1; 47:2. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai''. Translated by W. David Nelson, pages 5–7, 9–11, 50–51, 54, 56, 78–79, 89, 93, 114, 117, 150, 209. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006.
*Babylonian
Berakhot 38a54bShabbat 97aEruvin 83bPesachim 53b99bRosh Hashanah 11bMegillah 11aMoed Katan 6a18aChagigah 13bNedarim 51bSotah 11b43aBava Kamma 80bBava Batra 91a109b–10a116a117bSanhedrin 12a58b67b82b90b111aShevuot 35bMenachot 68b84aChullin 134aBekhorot 41a
Babylonia, 6th century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Exodus 6–9
*
Hilchot Teshuvah (The Laws of Repentance), chapter 3, halachah 3
Egypt. Circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Teshuvah: The Laws of Repentance''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, pages 140–48. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990.
*Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''
Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Chametz U'Matzah: The Laws of Chametz and Matzah: The Rambam's Text of the Haggadah''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1988. *Maimonides. ''The Eight Chapters on Ethics'', chapter 8. Egypt. Late 12th century. In, e.g., ''The Eight Chapters of Maimonides on Ethics (Shemonah Perakim): A Psychological and Ethical Treatise''. Edited, annotated, and translated, with an introduction by Joseph I. Gorfinkle, pages 95–96. New York:
Spain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. *
*Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 125–31. 
*
*
*
*
*
*
“The Priestly Redaction and Interpretation of the Plague Narrative in Exodus.”
''
“Three Ways to Look at the Ten Plagues:Were they natural disasters, a demonstration of the impotence of the Egyptian gods or an undoing of Creation?
''Bible Review'', volume 6, number 3 (1990). *
*
*
*
“‘Enūma Elish’ and Priestly Mimesis: Elite Emulation in Nascent Judaism.”
''
“Echoes of the Book of Exodus in Ezekiel.”
''
*Berel Dov Lerner
“Crying Out About Frogs.”
''
*
"Pharaoh’s Administration Offers a Cautionary Tale for Today."
''
“Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues: Can we make sense of the Biblical plagues?”
''Bible History Daily'', March 31, 2020. *Andrew Tobolowsky
"The Problem of Reubenite Primacy: New Paradigms, New Answers."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 139, number 1 (2020): pages 27–45.
Hear the parashah chanted
Academy for Jewish Religion, CaliforniaAcademy for Jewish Religion, New YorkAkhlah: The Jewish Children's Learning Network
Aleph Beta AcademyAmerican Jewish University — Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies
Ascent of SafedBar-Ilan University
Chabad.orgeparsha.comG-dcast
Jewish Theological SeminaryMechon HadarMiriam Aflalo
MyJewishLearning.comOhr SameachOzTorah, Torah from AustraliaOz Ve Shalom — Netivot ShalomPardes from JerusalemProfessor James L. KugelProfessor Michael CarasikRabbi Dov LinzerRabbi Jonathan SacksRabbiShimon.comRabbi Shmuel HerzfeldReconstructionist JudaismSephardic InstituteShiur.comTeach613.org, Torah Education at Cherry HillTheTorah.comTorah from DixieTorah.orgTorahVort.comUnion for Reform JudaismUnited Synagogue of Conservative JudaismYeshivat Chovevei TorahYeshiva University
{{Weekly Torah Portions Weekly Torah readings in Tevet Weekly Torah readings from Exodus
''
peh
Peh pronounced "Pe-h" is a village in Ukhrul District, Manipur, India. The village was earlier called 'Paoyi', which is a misconstrued derivative of the original name 'Pehyi' given by outsiders. Peh is approximately 35 kilometers north of ...
'')). Parashat Va'eira has seven further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''samekh
Samekh (Phoenician ''sāmek'' ; Hebrew ''samekh'' , Syriac ''semkaṯ'') is the fifteenth letter of the Semitic abjads, including the Hebrew alphabet.
Samekh represents a voiceless alveolar fricative . Unlike most Semitic consonants, the pro ...
'')) within the open portion divisions. The first and second open portion divisions divide the first reading. The third open portion covers the balance of the first and part of the second readings. The fourth open portion covers the balance of the second reading. The fifth open portion divides the fourth reading. The sixth open portion covers the balance of the fourth, all of the fifth, and part of the sixth readings. The seventh open portion separates part of the sixth reading. The eighth open portion covers the balance of the sixth and part of the seventh readings. And the ninth open portion covers the balance of the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions separate the first and second readings, separate the second and third readings, and divide the fourth, fifth, and sixth readings.
First reading — Exodus 6:2–13
In the first reading, God spoke toMoses
Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...
, identified God's Self as the God of the Patriarchs
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
, and acknowledged hearing the moaning of the Israelites
The Israelites (; , , ) were a group of Semitic-speaking tribes in the ancient Near East who, during the Iron Age, inhabited a part of Canaan.
The earliest recorded evidence of a people by the name of Israel appears in the Merneptah Stele o ...
. God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that God would free them, make them God's people, and bring them to the Promised Land
The Promised Land ( he, הארץ המובטחת, translit.: ''ha'aretz hamuvtakhat''; ar, أرض الميعاد, translit.: ''ard al-mi'ad; also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey"'') is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew ...
. But the Israelites would not listen because of their distress and hard labor. The first open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
to let the Israelites go, but Moses complained that Pharaoh would not heed him, a man of impeded speech. The second open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God commanded Moses and Aaron
According to Abrahamic religions, Aaron ''′aharon'', ar, هارون, Hārūn, Greek (Septuagint): Ἀαρών; often called Aaron the priest ()., group="note" ( or ; ''’Ahărōn'') was a prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of ...
to bring the Israelites out of Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
. The first reading and a closed portion end here.
Second reading — Exodus 6:14–28
The second reading interjects a partialgenealogy
Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kins ...
of Reuben
Reuben or Reuven is a Biblical male first name from Hebrew רְאוּבֵן (Re'uven), meaning "behold, a son". In the Bible, Reuben was the firstborn son of Jacob.
Variants include Rúben in European Portuguese; Rubens in Brazilian Portugue ...
, Simeon
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meaning
The name is derived from Simeon, son ...
, and Levi
Levi (; ) was, according to the Book of Genesis, the third of the six sons of Jacob and Leah (Jacob's third son), and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron, Moses and M ...
, including Moses and his family.
The second reading and a closed portion end with the genealogy.See, e.g., Menachem Davis, editor, ''Schottenstein Edition Interlinear Chumash: Shemos/Exodus'', page 37.
Third reading — Exodus 6:29–7:7
In the third reading, God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh all that God would tell Moses, but Moses protested that he had a speech impediment. The third open portion ends here. In the continuation of the reading, God placed Aaron in the role of Moses'prophet
In religion, a prophet or prophetess is an individual who is regarded as being in contact with a divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings from the s ...
, to speak to Pharaoh. God intended to harden Pharaoh's heart, so that God might show signs and marvels, so that the Egyptians would know that the Lord was God. Moses and Aaron did as God commanded. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. The third reading and the fourth open portion end here.
Fourth reading — Exodus 7:8–8:6
In the fourth reading, God told how Aaron could cast down his rod and it would turn into asnake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
, and Aaron did so before Pharaoh. Pharaoh caused his magicians
Magician or The Magician may refer to:
Performers
* A practitioner of magic (supernatural)
* A practitioner of magic (illusion)
* Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context
Entertainment
Books
* ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...
to do the same, but Aaron's rod swallowed their rods. Pharaoh's heart stiffened. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God began visiting ten plagues on Egypt. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh at his morning bath, demand of him to let the Israelites go to worship in the wilderness
Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plural), are natural environments on Earth that have not been significantly modified by human activity or any nonurbanized land not under extensive agricultural cultivation. The term has traditionally re ...
, and have Aaron strike the Nile
The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...
with his rod and turn it into blood
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatory system of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells, and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells. Blood in the c ...
. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch his rod over the waters of Egypt and turn them into blood. Moses and Aaron did so, killing the marine life and rendering the water unusable. But when the Egyptian magicians did the same, Pharaoh's heart stiffened. Seven days passed. The fifth open portion ends here.
As the reading continues, God told Moses to have Aaron hold his arm with the rod over the river and bring up frog
A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...
s, and they did so. The magicians did the same. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron to plead with God to remove the frogs and said he would let the Israelites go Moses asked Pharaoh when Moses should ask God, Pharaoh replied the next day, and Moses said that he would do so the next day, so that Pharaoh would know that there is none like God. The fourth reading ends here.
Fifth reading — Exodus 8:7–18
In the fifth reading, the frogs departed, but Pharaoh became stubborn and did not let the Israelites leave. A closed portion ends here. In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to have Aaron strike the dust with his rod, to turn it tolice
Louse ( : lice) is the common name for any member of the clade Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera has variously been recognized as an order, infraorder, or a parvorder, as a result o ...
throughout the land, and they did so. The magicians tried to do the same, but they could not. The magicians told Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God!" But Pharaoh's heart stiffened. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to rise early and stand before Pharaoh as he came to the water and tell him that God said, "Let My people go," or else God would send swarms of flies on Egypt, but not on Goshen. The fifth reading ends here.
Sixth reading — Exodus 8:19–9:16
In the sixth reading, God loosed swarms ofinsect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s and wild animals against the Egyptians, but not Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to go sacrifice to God within Egypt, but Moses insisted on going three days into the wilderness. Pharaoh agreed, in exchange for Moses' prayer to lift the plague. But when God removed the insects and wild animals, Pharaoh became stubborn again. The sixth open portion ends here with the end of chapter .
As the reading continues with chapter , God struck the Egyptian's livestock
Livestock are the domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to provide labor and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The term is sometimes used to refer solely to animals ...
with a pestilence, sparing the Israelites' livestock. But Pharaoh remained stubborn. The seventh open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to take handfuls of soot from the kiln and throw it toward the sky, so that it would become fine dust, causing boil
A boil, also called a furuncle, is a deep folliculitis, which is an infection of the hair follicle. It is most commonly caused by infection by the bacterium ''Staphylococcus aureus'', resulting in a painful swollen area on the skin caused by an ...
s on man and beast throughout Egypt, and he did so. But God stiffened Pharaoh's heart. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to rise early and tell Pharaoh that God said, "Let My people go," or this time God would send all God's plagues upon Pharaoh and his people to demonstrate God's power. The sixth reading ends here,
Seventh reading — Exodus 9:17–35
In the seventh reading, God instructed Moses to threatenhail
Hail is a form of solid precipitation. It is distinct from ice pellets (American English "sleet"), though the two are often confused. It consists of balls or irregular lumps of ice, each of which is called a hailstone. Ice pellets generally fal ...
such as Egypt had never seen, and to instruct the Egyptians to bring their cattle in from the field so that they would not die. Those who feared God's word brought their slaves and livestock indoors, and those who did not fear God's word left them in the field. The eighth open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to stretch out his hand, and God sent thunder and hail, which struck down all exposed in Egypt, but did not strike Goshen. Pharaoh confessed his wrong, agreed to let the Israelites go, and asked Moses and Aaron to pray to end the hail. Moses told Pharaoh that he would do so, and the hail would end so that Pharaoh would know that the earth is God's, but Moses knew that Pharaoh and his servants would not yet fear God. The hail had destroyed the flax and the barley
Barley (''Hordeum vulgare''), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago. Globally 70% of barley pr ...
, but not the wheat
Wheat is a grass widely cultivated for its seed, a cereal grain that is a worldwide staple food. The many species of wheat together make up the genus ''Triticum'' ; the most widely grown is common wheat (''T. aestivum''). The archaeologi ...
and the spelt
Spelt (''Triticum spelta''), also known as dinkel wheat or hulled wheat, is a species of wheat that has been cultivated since approximately 5000 BC.
Spelt was an important staple food in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times. No ...
, which ripened later.
In the ''maftir
Maftir ( he, מפטיר, , concluder) is the last person called up to the Torah on Shabbat and holiday mornings: this person also reads (or at least recites the blessings overs) the ''haftarah'' portion from a related section of the Nevi'im (pro ...
'' () reading that concludes the parashah, Moses spread forth his hands to God, and the thunders and hail ceased, but when Pharaoh saw, he hardened his heart and did not let the Israelites go. The seventh reading, the ninth open portion, and the parashah end here with the end of chapter .
Readings according to the triennial cycle
Jews who read the Torah according to thetriennial cycle
The Triennial cycle of Torah reading may refer to either
* The historical practice in ancient Israel by which the entire Torah was read in serial fashion over a three-year period, or
* The practice adopted by many Reform, Conservative, Reconstruct ...
of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:
In ancient parallels
The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:Exodus chapter 8
Reading the Egyptian magicians’ words in , “This is the finger of God!” the 20th centuryReform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill#The Yorkshire Associati ...
Rabbi Gunther Plaut
Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar.
L ...
reported that in Egyptian literature, a plague is called “the hand of God,” while among Babylonians, the expression was the name of a sickness.
In inner-biblical interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:
Exodus chapter 6
In and , God remembered God's covenant withAbraham
Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Jew ...
, Isaac
Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was the ...
, and Jacob
Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...
to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Similarly, God remembered Noah
Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
to deliver him from the flood in ; God promised to remember God's covenant not to destroy the Earth again by flood in ; God remembered Abraham to deliver Lot
Lot or LOT or The Lot or ''similar'' may refer to:
Common meanings Areas
* Land lot, an area of land
* Parking lot, for automobiles
*Backlot, in movie production
Sets of items
*Lot number, in batch production
*Lot, a set of goods for sale togethe ...
from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Sodom and Gomorrah () were two legendary biblical cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Their story parallels the Genesis flood narrative in its theme of God's anger provoked by man's sin (see Genesis 19:1–28). They are mentioned frequ ...
in ; God remembered Rachel
Rachel () was a Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban. Her older sister was Leah, Jacob's first wife. Her aun ...
to deliver her from childlessness in ; Moses called on God to remember God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to deliver the Israelites from God's wrath after the incident of the Golden Calf in and ; God promises to "remember" God's covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham to deliver the Israelites and the Land of Israel
The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...
in ; the Israelites were to blow upon their trumpets to be remembered and delivered from their enemies in ; Samson
Samson (; , '' he, Šīmšōn, label= none'', "man of the sun") was the last of the judges of the ancient Israelites mentioned in the Book of Judges (chapters 13 to 16) and one of the last leaders who "judged" Israel before the institution o ...
called on God to deliver him from the Philistines
The Philistines ( he, פְּלִשְׁתִּים, Pəlīštīm; Koine Greek (LXX): Φυλιστιείμ, romanized: ''Phulistieím'') were an ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan from the 12th century BC until 604 BC, when ...
in ; Hannah prayed for God to remember her and deliver her from childlessness in 1 Samuel
The Book of Samuel (, ''Sefer Shmuel'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the narrative history of Ancient Israel called the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Josh ...
and God remembered Hannah's prayer to deliver her from childlessness in ; Hezekiah
Hezekiah (; hbo, , Ḥīzqīyyahū), or Ezekias); grc, Ἐζεκίας 'Ezekías; la, Ezechias; also transliterated as or ; meaning "Yahweh, Yah shall strengthen" (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the 13th king of Kingdom of Jud ...
called on God to remember Hezekiah's faithfulness to deliver him from sickness in 2 Kings
The Book of Kings (, '' Sēfer Məlāḵīm'') is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Kings) in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. It concludes the Deuteronomistic history, a history of Israel also including the books ...
and ; Jeremiah
Jeremiah, Modern: , Tiberian: ; el, Ἰερεμίας, Ieremíās; meaning " Yah shall raise" (c. 650 – c. 570 BC), also called Jeremias or the "weeping prophet", was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish ...
called on God to remember God's covenant with the Israelites to not condemn them in ; Jeremiah called on God to remember him and think of him, and avenge him of his persecutors in ; God promises to remember God's covenant with the Israelites and establish an everlasting covenant in ; God remembers the cry of the humble in Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole (see Names ...
to avenge them in Psalm
The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...
; David
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
called upon God to remember God's compassion and mercy in ; Asaph called on God to remember God's congregation to deliver them from their enemies in ; God remembered that the Israelites were only human in ; Ethan the Ezrahite
Ethan () the Ezrahite, is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. Ethan was a singer at King David's court well known for his wisdom. He authored : this Psalm is entitled "a ''maschil'' or contemplation of Ethan the Ezrahite". Baptist preacher Charles Spu ...
called on God to remember how short Ethan's life was in ; God remembers that humans are but dust in ; God remembers God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in ; God remembers God's word to Abraham to deliver the Israelites to the Land of Israel in ; the Psalmist calls on God to remember him to favor God's people, to think of him at God's salvation, that he might behold the prosperity of God's people in ; God remembered God's covenant and repented according to God's mercy to deliver the Israelites in the wake of their rebellion and iniquity in ; the Psalmist calls on God to remember God's word to God's servant to give him hope in ; God remembered us in our low estate to deliver us from our adversaries in ; Job
Work or labor (or labour in British English) is intentional activity people perform to support the needs and wants of themselves, others, or a wider community. In the context of economics, work can be viewed as the human activity that contr ...
called on God to remember him to deliver him from God's wrath in ; Nehemiah
Nehemiah is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period. He was governor of Persian Judea under Artaxerxes I of Persia (465–424 BC). The name is pronounced ...
prayed to God to remember God's promise to Moses to deliver the Israelites from exile in ; and Nehemiah prayed to God to remember him to deliver him for good in .
Nahum Sarna
Nahum Mattathias Sarna (Hebrew: נחום סרנא; March 27, 1923 – June 23, 2005) was a modern biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Genesis and Exodus represented in his ''Understanding Genesis'' (1966) and in his contributions t ...
noted that the first two verbs in , “I will ''take'' you to Me for a people, and I ''will be'' to you a God,” are both used in connection with matrimony — “to take” (, ''l-k-ch'') in ; ; , and more than 70 other Biblical occurrences, and “to be (someone’s)” (, ''h-y-h le-'') in ; ; ; ; ;
; ; ; and . Jeffrey Tigay and Bruce Wells noted that the Hebrew Bible also uses similar language for adoption, for example in (“I will be to him”), and thus one can say that God adopted the Israelites.
Exodus chapter 7
As notes that Moses was 80 years old when he spoke to Pharaoh, it would be 40 years later when Moses delivered his speech to the Israelites in and when he died, as reported in , at age 120.Exodus chapters 7–12
The description of the 10 plagues exhibits patterns and progressions, as follows: and each recount differing arrangements of seven plagues. recalls plagues of (1) blood, (2) flies, (3) frogs, (4) locusts, (5) hail, (6) livestock, and (7) firstborn, but not plagues of lice, boils, or darkness. recalls plagues of (1) darkness, (2) blood, (3) frogs, (4) flies and lice, (5) hail, (6) locusts, and (7) firstborn, but not plagues of livestock or boils.In early nonrabbinic interpretation
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:
Exodus chapter 6
Philo
Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo's deplo ...
read the words of , "I did not make Myself known to them by My name," to teach that no proper name can properly be assigned to God. Philo noted that God told Moses in , "I Am that I Am
"I Am that I Am" is a Bible translations into English, common English translation of the Hebrew language, Hebrew phrase (; )– also "I am who (I) am", "I will become what I choose to become", "I am what I am", "I will be what I will be", "I crea ...
," which Philo equated with, "It is my nature to be, not to be described by name." But in order that human beings not be wholly without anything to call God, God allowed us to use the Name "Lord." God addressed this Name to mortal humans who have need of the Divine Name so that, if they cannot attain to the best thing, they may at least know the best possible Name. Philo noted that in , God speaks of the proper name of God never having been revealed to anyone. Philo suggested that God's statement in meant that God had not revealed to them God's proper Name, but only that which could commonly be used. For Philo argued that God is so completely indescribable, that even those powers that minister to God do not announce God's proper Name to us. And thus after Jacob's wrestling match at the Jabok, Jacob asked the invisible Master for a name, but Jacob's Opponent did not tell him a proper name, saying that it was sufficient for Jacob to be taught ordinary explanations. But as for names that are the true symbols of things, we are taught not to seek them for the Immortal.
In classical rabbinic interpretation
The parashah is discussed in theserabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
nic sources from the era of the Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
and the Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
:
Exodus chapter 6
AMidrash
''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
noted that God had already informed Moses that Pharaoh would not allow the Israelites to go, as in , God told Moses, "I know that the King of Egypt will not allow you to go," and in , 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 "Lord, why have You dealt ill with this people?" For this reason, the Attribute of Justice sought to attack Moses, as 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 says: "And He said to him: ‘I am the Lord'" (employing the name of God (, the ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. he, מִדְרָשׁ; ...
Tetragrammaton
The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew language, Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', ''he (l ...
) indicative of God's Mercy). The Midrash viewed the question of Moses in as an application of Ecclesiastes
Ecclesiastes (; hbo, קֹהֶלֶת, Qōheleṯ, grc, Ἐκκλησιαστής, Ekklēsiastēs) is one of the Ketuvim ("Writings") of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly use ...
"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 refers to both Solomon
Solomon (; , ),, ; ar, سُلَيْمَان, ', , ; el, Σολομών, ; la, Salomon also called Jedidiah (Hebrew language, Hebrew: , Modern Hebrew, Modern: , Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yăḏīḏăyāh'', "beloved of Yahweh, Yah"), ...
and Moses. The Midrash taught that refers to Solomon, for God gave some commandments for kings, as it says in "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 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 refers to Moses because Moses began to argue with God in , "Lord, why have you dealt ill with this people?" On account of this, the Midrash taught that at that point the wisdom and knowledge of Moses was only (in the words of ) "madness and folly." The Midrash asked what right Moses had to question God's ways and in the words of , "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 , 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 , "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
Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch and prophetess, a major figure in Abrahamic religions. While different Abrahamic faiths portray her differently, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all depict her character similarly, as that of a piou ...
, 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 , "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 reports), "The herdsmen of Gerar
Gerar ( ''Gərār'', "lodging-place") was a Philistine town and district in what is today south central Israel, mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the Second Book of Chronicles of the Hebrew Bible.
Identification
According to the Internatio ...
strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying: ‘The water is ours.'" Still Isaac did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Jacob in , "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
''Kesitah'' is an ancient Biblical form of monetary measurement that the value or weight of is no longer known. The word is translated from Hebrew meaning, "part, measure, piece of money."
Biblical account
The word appears in Genesis and Joshua ...
'' (as reported in ). And still Jacob did not complain at God's ways. The Patriarchs did not ask God, as Moses did in , what God's name was. In contrast, at the commencement of God's commission of Moses, Moses inquired of God's name. And in , 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 , "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 , "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 , "And I have remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel." The Midrash taught that the word "therefore" (''lachein'') in implies an oath, as it does in , 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
The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate (bishop), primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholicism, Independent Catholic Chur ...
) to give them the land of Canaan," in . Rabbi Simai noted that 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.
A Baraita
''Baraita'' (Aramaic: "external" or "outside"; pl. ''Barayata'' or ''Baraitot''; also Baraitha, Beraita; Ashkenazi: Beraisa) designates a tradition in the Jewish oral law not incorporated in the Mishnah. ''Baraita'' thus refers to teachings "ou ...
deduced from that the Israelites' bondage in Egypt ended on Rosh Hashanah
Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , " ...
. The Baraita noted that uses the word "burden" to describe the end of the Israelites' bondage in Egypt, and 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 that Joseph went forth from the prison on Rosh Hashanah.
Rabbi Nehemiah cited the use of the words "will bring you out" in 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 to mean: "I am the Lord, the One Who ''will bring'' you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." The Gemara
The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemo(r)re; from Aramaic , from the Semitic root ג-מ-ר ''gamar'', to finish or complete) is the component of the Talmud comprising rabbinical analysis of and commentary on the Mishnah w ...
reported that the Rabbis of a Baraita, however, read 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
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
cited the four promises of salvation in , (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
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew c ...
. And thus the Mishnah taught that "On the eve of Passover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
, . . . 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 that the Israelites' Exodus
Exodus or the Exodus may refer to:
Religion
* Book of Exodus, second book of the Hebrew Torah and the Christian Bible
* The Exodus, the biblical story of the migration of the ancient Israelites from Egypt into Canaan
Historical events
* Ex ...
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
Caleb (), sometimes transliterated as Kaleb ( he, כָּלֵב, ''Kalev'', ; Tiberian vocalization: Kālēḇ; Hebrew Academy: Kalev), is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' ...
and Joshua
Joshua () or Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' lit. 'Yahweh is salvation') ''Yēšūaʿ''; syr, ܝܫܘܥ ܒܪ ܢܘܢ ''Yəšūʿ bar Nōn''; el, Ἰησοῦς, ar , يُوشَعُ ٱبْنُ نُونٍ '' Yūšaʿ ...
) 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
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
comes that only a small portion of Jews will find redemption, for 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
''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים , singular , ''Tanna'' "repeaters", "teachers") were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the ''Tannaim'', also referred to as the Mis ...
felt that the allocation of the Land of Israel "according to the names of the tribes of their fathers" in 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 , 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 , "they hearkened not to Moses for shortness of spirit," to indicated that it was difficult for the Israelites to abandon idol worship.
Rabbi Ishmael
Rabbi Yishmael ben Elisha Nachmani (Hebrew: רבי ישמעאל בן אלישע), often known as Rabbi Yishmael and sometimes given the title "Ba'al HaBaraita" (Hebrew: בעל הברייתא), was a rabbi of the 1st and 2nd centuries (third gener ...
cited as one of ten ''a fortiori'' (''kal va-chomer'') arguments recorded in the Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
: (1) In , 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 , Moses told God, "Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me," and reasoned that surely all the more, "How then shall Pharaoh hear me?" (3) In , 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 , "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 , 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 , 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 ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
Keilah
Keilah (), meaning Citadel, was a city in the lowlands of Kingdom of Judah, Judah (). It is now a ruin, known as ''Kh. Qeila'', near the modern village of Qila, Hebron, Qila, east of Beit Jibrin, Beit Gubrin, and about west of Kharas.Amit (n.d. ...
?" (7) Also in , 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
Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...
?" (8) 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 , "The king said to Esther
Esther is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther. In the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus seeks a new wife after his queen, Vashti, is deposed for disobeying him. Hadassah, a Jewess who goes by the name of Esther, is chosen ...
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 , 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
Rabbi Zeira ( he, רבי זירא), known before his semicha as Rav Zeira ( he, רב זירא) and known in the Jerusalem Talmud as Rabbi Ze'era ( he, רבי זעירא), was a Jewish Talmudist, of the third generation of amoraim, who lived in th ...
counted five kinds of ''orlah
The prohibition on ''orlah'' fruit (lit. "uncircumcised" fruit) is a command found in the Bible not to eat fruit produced by a tree during the first three years after planting.
In rabbinical writings, the ''orlah'' prohibition (Hebrew: איס ...
'' (things uncircumcised) in the world: (1) uncircumcised ears (as in ), (2) uncircumcised lips (as in ), (3) uncircumcised hearts (as in and ), (4) uncircumcised flesh (as in ), and (5) uncircumcised trees (as in ). 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 says, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh," and says, "And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin."
Reading , , and , 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
The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each o ...
''.
Reading the words of , "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 .
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "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.Exodus Rabbah 7:3, in, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Exodus''. Translated by Simon M. Lehrman, volume 3, page 111.
A Midrash interpreted God's instructions to Moses and Aaron in , "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 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 reports, "Pharaoh arose at midnight." But Moses did not mention Pharaoh specifically so as to pay him respect.
A Midrash taught that Korah took issue with Moses in because Moses had (as reports) appointed Elizaphan the son of Uzziel
According to the Torah, Uzziel ( he, עֻזִּיאֵל, ''ʿUzzîʾēl''; meaning '' El is my strength'' or ''God is my strength'') was the father of Mishael, Elzaphan, and Zithri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently be ...
as prince of the Kohathites The Kohathites were one of the four main divisions among the Levites in biblical times, the other three being the Gershonites, the Merarites, and the Aaronites (more commonly known as Kohanim). The Bible claims that the Kohathites were all descende ...
, and Korah was (as reports) son of Uzziel's older brother Izhar According to the Torah, Izhar () was the father of Korah, Nepheg, and Zichri, and was a son of Kohath and grandson of Levi, consequently being the brother of Amram and uncle of Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. No further details of his life are given by ...
, and thus had a claim to leadership prior to Elizaphan.
Rava taught that he who wishes to take a wife should first inquire about the character of her brothers. For reports, "And Aaron took Elisheva
Elisheba (; ) was the wife of the Israelite prophet Aaron, who was the elder brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel, according to the Hebrew Bible.
She was said to be a daughter of Amminadab from the Tribe of Judah, and a sister ...
, the daughter of Amminadab
Amminadab () is a minor character referred to in the Book of Exodus. He is the father-in-law of High Priest Aaron, brother of Moses.
Amminadab is also mentioned in the Book of Ruth, (and also in Gospel of Mathew and Gospel of Luke), as the fa ...
, the sister of Nahshon
In the Hebrew Bible, ' ''Nahshon ( he, נַחְשׁוֹן ''Naḥšon'') was a tribal leader of the Judahites during the wilderness wanderings of the Book of Numbers. In the King James Version, the name is spelled Naashon, and is within modern ...
." As states "the daughter of Amminadab," it is obvious that she was the sister of Nahshon. So 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 , "And Eleazar
Eleazar (; ) or Elʽazar was a priest in the Hebrew Bible, the second High Priest, succeeding his father Aaron after he died. He was a nephew of Moses.
Biblical narrative
Eleazar played a number of roles during the course of the Exodus, from c ...
Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of ''Putiel'' to wife" did not convey that Eleazar's son Phinehas
According to the Hebrew Bible, Phinehas or Phineas (; , ''Phinees'', ) was a priest during the Israelites’ Exodus journey. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim with h ...
descended from Jethro, who fattened (''piteim'') calves for idol worship. The Gemara then provided an alternative explanation: could mean that Phinehas descended from Joseph, who conquered (''pitpeit'') his passions (resisting Potiphar
Potiphar ( ; Egyptian origin: ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra gave") is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. Potiphar is possibly the same name as Potiphera () from Late Egyptian ''pꜣ-dj-pꜣ-rꜥ'' "he whom Ra has given."
Potiphar ...
's wife, as reported in ). 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
Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.
Meaning
The name is derived from Simeon, son ...
, as reported in ). 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 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 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 signifies that they were the same in their righteousness from the beginning to the end. Similar uses appear in Chronicles
Chronicles may refer to:
* ''Books of Chronicles'', in the Bible
* Chronicle, chronological histories
* ''The Chronicles of Narnia'', a novel series by C. S. Lewis
* ''Holinshed's Chronicles'', the collected works of Raphael Holinshed
* ''The Idhu ...
to teach Abraham's enduring righteousness, in to teach David's enduring humility, in to teach Esau
Esau ''Ēsaû''; la, Hesau, Esau; ar, عِيسَوْ ''‘Īsaw''; meaning "hairy"Easton, M. ''Illustrated Bible Dictionary'', (, , 2006, p. 236 or "rough".Mandel, D. ''The Ultimate Who's Who in the Bible'', (.), 2007, p. 175 is the elder son o ...
's enduring wickedness, in to teach Dathan
Dathan ( he, דָּתָן ''Dāṯān'') was an Israelite mentioned in the Old Testament as a participant of the Exodus.
He was a son of Eliab, the son of Pallu, the son of Reuben. Together with his brother Abiram, the Levite Korah and others, ...
and Abiram Abiram, also spelled Abiron ( he, אֲבִירָם "my father is exalted"), is the name of two people in the Old Testament. One was a member of the Tribe of Reuben, the son of Eliab, who, along with his brother Dathan, joined Korah in the conspir ...
's enduring wickedness, in to teach Ahaz
Ahaz (; gr, Ἄχαζ, Ἀχάζ ''Akhaz''; la, Achaz) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; akk, 𒅀𒌑𒄩𒍣 ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi''Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath- ...
's enduring wickedness, and in to teach Ahasuerus
Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh'';; fa, اخشورش, Axšoreš; fa, label=New Persian, خشایار, Xašāyār; grc, Ξέρξης, Xérxēs. grc, label=Koine Greek, Ἀσουήρος, Asouḗros, in the Septuagint; la, Assuerus ...
's enduring wickedness.
Exodus chapter 7
The Tosefta cited , 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 ) in light of , "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 on, even when they do think of it, God distracts their hearts from penitence. Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of , "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 , "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 "Before he goes out o pray to God stand before Pharaoh." ThePirke De-Rabbi Eliezer
Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (also Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer; Aramaic: פרקי דרבי אליעזר, or פרקים דרבי אליעזר, Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer; abbreviated PdRE) is an aggadic-midrashic work on the Torah containing exegesis and re ...
told that Moses quoted God's words in 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 , 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 ), "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 reports Moses saying, "Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance."
A Midrash read , “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
Hiyya, or Hiyya the Great, (ca. 180–230 CE) (Hebrew: רבי חייא, or רבי חייא הגדול) was a Jewish sage in the Land of Israel during the transitional generation between the Tannaic and Amoraic eras (1st Amora generation). Active ...
bar Abba that the words "with their enchantments" in refer to sorcery without exogenous assistance, while the words "with their sorcery" in refer to magic through the agency of demons.
Reading the words, "Aaron's ''rod'' swallowed up their ''rods''," in , 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
Rabbi Jose bar Hanina ( he, רבי יוסי בר חנינא, read as ''Rabbi Yossi bar Hanina'') was an '' amora'' of the Land of Israel, from the second generation of the Amoraim.
Biography
He was a disciple of R. Yochanan bar Nafcha, and served ...
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 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 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
Rabbi Meir ( he, רַבִּי מֵאִיר) was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was considered one of the greatest of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139-163). He is the third most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishn ...
) 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
Mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvoth'', ''mikvot'', or (Yiddish) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for the purpose of ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve ritual purity.
Most forms of ritual impurity can be purif ...
'') 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 bear
Bears are carnivoran mammals of the family Ursidae. They are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans. Although only eight species of bears are extant, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Nor ...
s, lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
s, and leopard
The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
s 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
''Rav'' (or ''Rab,'' Modern Hebrew: ) is the Hebrew generic term for a person who teaches Torah; a Jewish spiritual guide; or a rabbi. For example, Pirkei Avot (1:6) states that:
The term ''rav'' is also Hebrew for ''rabbi''. (For a more nuan ...
, 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 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 that this Pharaoh was a magus
Magi (; singular magus ; from Latin ''magus'', cf. fa, مغ ) were priests in Zoroastrianism and the earlier religions of the western Iranians. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the ...
who went to the water to perform sorcery.
Alternatively, a Midrash, reading the words "Pharaoh . . . goes out to the water" in , 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 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 , "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 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 says "frogs . . . destroyed them," and the frogs emasculated the Egyptians, as says that the frogs would "come into . . . he Egyptians'bed-chamber, and upon heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
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 applied to checking procreation in the passage about Onan
Onan ''Aunan'' was a figure detailed in the Book of Genesis chapter 38, as the second son of Judah and Shuah, and the brother of Er and Shelah. After being commanded by Judah to procreate with the late Er's wife Tamar, he instead "spilled his s ...
's seed, as "he destroyed it on the ground," so the Midrash reasoned that 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 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
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (Hebrew names Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah) are figures from the biblical Book of Daniel, primarily chapter 3. In the narrative, the three Hebrew men are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II, King o ...
) delivered themselves to the Fiery Furnace to sanctify the Divine Name in because they deduced from 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 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 , reasoning that kneading troughs are found near ovens when ovens are hot.
The Tosefta deduced from that Pharaoh began to sin first before the people, and thus as indicated by and , God struck him first and then the people.
Exodus chapter 8
Rabbi Eleazar taught that when ( 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
Akiva ben Yosef (Mishnaic Hebrew: ''ʿĂqīvāʾ ben Yōsēf''; – 28 September 135 CE), also known as Rabbi Akiva (), was a leading Jewish scholar and sage, a '' tanna'' of the latter part of the first century and the beginning of the second c ...
said that one frog filled the whole of Egypt by breeding. But Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah
Eleazar ben Azariah ( he, אלעזר בן עזריה) was a 1st-century CE Jewish tanna, i.e. Mishnaic sage. He was of the second generation and a junior contemporary of Gamaliel II, Eliezer b. Hyrcanus, Joshua b. Hananiah, and Akiva.
Biogr ...
chastised Akiva for dabbling in aggadah
Aggadah ( he, ''ʾAggāḏā'' or ''Haggāḏā''; Jewish Babylonian Aramaic: אַגָּדְתָא ''ʾAggāḏəṯāʾ''; "tales, fairytale, lore") is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, ...
, and taught that one frog croaked for others, and they joined the first frog.
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "A man's pride shall bring him low; but he that is of a lowly spirit shall attain to honor," to apply to Pharaoh and Moses, respectively. The Midrash taught that the words, "A man's pride shall bring him low," apply to Pharaoh, who in haughtily asked, "Who is the Lord that I should hearken to His voice?" and so, as reports, God "overthrew Pharaoh and his host." And the Midrash taught that the words, "but he that is of a lowly spirit shall attain to honor," apply to Moses, who in ( in the KJV), humbly asked Pharaoh, "Have this glory over me; at what time shall I entreat for you . . . that the frogs be destroyed," and was rewarded in with the opportunity to say, "As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread forth my hands to the Lord ndthe thunders shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail."
Rabbi Eleazar deduced from the magicians' recognition of "the finger of God" in ( in the KJV) that a demonic spirit cannot produce a creature less than a barleycorn in size. Rav Papa
Rav Pappa ( he, רַב פַּפָּא) (c. 300 – died 375) was a Babylonian rabbi, of the fifth generation of amoraim.
Biography
He was a student of Rava and Abaye. After the death of his teachers he founded a school at Naresh, a city near ...
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 Jose the Galilean
Jose the Galilean ( he, רַבִּי יוֹסֵי הַגְּלִילִי, ''Rabbi Yose HaGelili''), d. 15 Av, was a Jewish sage who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries CE. He was one of the Tannaim, the rabbis whose work was compiled in the Mishn ...
reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in ( in the KJV) referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" (translated "the great work") in (in connection with the miracle of the Reed Sea) must refer to 50 plagues upon the Egyptians, and thus to a variety of cruel and strange deaths.
Rabbi Phinehas ben Hama reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in ( in the KJV) referred to 10 plagues, "the hand of God" in (in connection with Job's poverty) must refer to 50 plagues.
Reading “the finger of God” in ( 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
Ark or ARK may refer to:
Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva''
* Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood
* Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses
Hebrew ''aron''
* ...
, as in , 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 ( 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 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 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
Ishmael ''Ismaḗl''; Classical/Qur'anic Arabic: إِسْمَٰعِيْل; Modern Standard Arabic: إِسْمَاعِيْل ''ʾIsmāʿīl''; la, Ismael was the first son of Abraham, the common patriarch of the Abrahamic religions; and is cons ...
), as says, “Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all your enemies be cut off.”
A Midrash interpreted the words of ( 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 ), 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 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 says, "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils." A Midrash taught that when God perceived that Pharaoh did not relent after the first five plagues, God decided that even if Pharaoh now wished to repent, God would harden Pharaoh's heart in order to exact the whole punishment from him. Thus reports that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." And the Midrash explained that the reference in , "as the Lord had spoken to Moses," referred to God's prediction in that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart."
In , 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, hears, 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.
sets forth the plague of hail. The Gemara told of the miracle of the hailstones (''avnei elgavish'') of which , , and 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 says, "Now the man Moses was very meek," and 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 says, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit," and says, "And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-Horon
Bethoron ( he, בֵית־חוֹרֹ֔ן, lit=house of Horon; grc, Ὡρωνείν), also Beth-Horon, was the name of two adjacent ancient towns strategically located on the Gibeon-Aijalon road, guarding the "ascent of Beth-Horon". The towns are ...
, 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 , in which God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten you."
Reading , “Those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who feared the Lord’s word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety,” the Midrash HaGadol
Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש הגדול) is a work of aggadah, aggaddic midrash, expanding on the narratives of the Pentateuch, which was written by Rabbi David Adani of Yemen (14th century).
Its contents were compiled f ...
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
The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs bec ...
noted that while in Pharaoh asked who God was, once God had smitten him, in 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 by listing wheat, barley, and spelt as typical grains.
Interpreting , "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
The parashah is discussed in thesemedieval
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Jewish sources:
Exodus chapter 6
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
taught that the phrase "I am the Lord" in meant that God is faithful to recompense all those who followed God - faithful to punish when the phrase appears together with a punishment, and faithful to reward when the phrase appears together with a commandment.
The 12th century Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
commentator Abraham ibn Ezra read God's statement "and I appeared" in to indicate that the Patriarchs received their prophesies in visions of the night.
Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
taught that the word "only" was omitted from the statement "I did not make Myself known to them by My name YHVH" in , so that one should read to say, "I did not make Myself known to them ''only'' by My name YHVH," for God also used the Name "El Shaddai."
Ibn Ezra quotes Jeshua ben Judah
Jeshua ben JudahJoshua ben Judah, Heb. Yeshua ben Yehuda or Yehoshua ben Yehuda, Arab. Abu al-Faraj Furqan ibn Asad. was a Karaite scholar, exegete and philosopher, who lived in eleventh-century Iraq (or Persia, according to some sources) or at ...
as saying that Abraham and Jacob literally did not know the Name , ''YHVH'', but Moses filled it in when writing down the Torah. However, he disagrees with this, asking how Moses could dare to write a name that God had not uttered.
Rashi noted that does not say, "but My Name YHVH I did not inform them," but, "I did not become known." According to Rashi, the name YHVH indicates God's attribute of faithfulness, but as the Divine promises to the patriarchs were not fulfilled in their lifetimes, the meaning of name YHVH was not made tangible to them (even as the name itself was used in speech).
Nahmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
read God to say in that God appeared to the Patriarchs in God's form of El Shaddai, in which God performs hidden miracles that appear to the observer as part of the natural order. But God did not appear to them in God's form of YHVH, with which God performs open miracles that subvert the natural order.
Exodus chapter 7
Reading God's statement in , "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," Ibn Ezra asked: If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, what was his transgression and what was his sin? Ibn Ezra answered that God granted people wisdom and implanted in their hearts the intelligence to receive power from on high to add to their good or diminish the evil destined to befall them.
Reading God's statement in that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," the report of that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh," and similar statements in ; 20
; and
an
Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
concluded that it is possible for a person to commit such a great sin, or so many sins, that God decrees that the punishment for these willing and knowing acts is the removal of the privilege of repentance
Repentance is reviewing one's actions and feeling contrition or regret for past wrongs, which is accompanied by commitment to and actual actions that show and prove a change for the better.
In modern times, it is generally seen as involving a co ...
(''teshuvah''). The offender would thus be prevented from doing repentance, and would not have the power to return from the offense, and the offender would die and be lost because of the offense. Maimonides read this to be what God said in , "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and their eyes weak, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their hearts will understand, do repentance and be healed." Similarly reports, "They ridiculed the messengers of God, disdained His words and insulted His prophets until the anger of God rose upon the people, without possibility of healing." Maimonides interpreted these verses to teach that they sinned willingly and to such an egregious extent that they deserved to have repentance withheld from them. And thus because Pharaoh sinned on his own at the beginning, harming the Jews who lived in his land, as reports him scheming, "Let us deal craftily with them," God issued the judgment that repentance would be withheld from Pharaoh until he received his punishment, and therefore God said in , "I will harden the heart of Pharaoh." Maimonides explained that God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to send out the Jews and do repentance, when God had already told Moses that Pharaoh would refuse, because God sought to inform humanity that when God withholds repentance from a sinner, the sinner will not be able to repent. Maimonides made clear that God did not decree that Pharaoh harm the Jewish people; rather, Pharaoh sinned willifully on his own, and he thus deserved to have the privilege of repentance withheld from him.
The Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
taught that the “mixed multitude” (, ''erev rav'') mentioned in consisted entirely of Egyptian sorcerers and magicians, who sought to oppose God's works, as reports, “And the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” When they beheld the signs and the wonders that Moses performed, they came to Moses to be converted. God advised Moses not to accept them, but Moses argued that now that they had seen God's power, they desired to accept the Israelites’ Faith, and if they saw God's power every day, they would learn that there is no God like God. So Moses accepted them. called them a “mixed multitude” because they consisted of all the grades of Egyptian magicians, at their head being Jannes and Jambres. During the day, these wizards practiced their enchantments, and after sunset, they made observations of the heavens until the middle of the ninth hour, which was called the “great evening” (, ''erev rav'', which means both “great multitude” and “great evening”). The lesser magicians then made observation after that until midnight. The Egyptians, who had great faith in the chief wizards, thus called them the “great evening” (, ''erev rav'').
Exodus chapter 8
Rashi read the words of Pharaoh's magicians in , “This is the finger of God,” to indicate that they perceived that this plague was not the result of sorcery but the Omnipresent.Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi".
Biography
He was born in the vicinity of Troye ...
, however, read , “This is the finger of God,” to indicate that the magicians assessed that the plague was a natural disaster not caused by Moses and Aaron, for if the lice had resulted from the sorcery of Moses and Aaron, then the magicians would have been able to replicate it. Ibn Ezra and Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni ( he, חזקוני).
In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through ...
(''Hizkuni'') similarly read the magicians’ remark to indicate that the magicians thought that a natural disaster had caused the plague, because the magicians said, “This is the finger of ''God'',” and not, “This is the finger of ''the Lord''.”
Nachmanides, however, disagreed with Ibn Ezra's reading, arguing that a matter of chance is not called “the finger of God,” only a punishment from God is called that, as in , “the hand of the Lord.” Further, Nachmanides noted that in the next plagues, Pharaoh no longer called on the magicians to do the same thing, indicating that the magicians had already conceded that the plagues were God's doing.
Exodus chapter 9
Saadia Gaon read the words, “He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh,” in to indicate that those servants of Pharaoh feared God's strength and power.In modern interpretation
The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:Exodus chapter 6
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i Bible scholar Nahama Leibowitz identified the following chiastic structure
Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, is a literary technique in narrative motifs and other textual passages. An example of chiastic structure would be two ideas, A and B, together with variants A' and B', being presented as A,B,B',A'. Chi ...
in God's speech to Moses in
2And God spoke to Moses, and said to him:
:A: "I am the Lord;
::B: 3And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name YHWH I made Me not known to them.
:::C: 4And I have also established My covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, wherein they sojourned.
::::D: 5And moreover I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and I have remembered My covenant.
:::::E: 6Therefore say to the children of Israel: I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will deliver you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, and with great judgments;
::::D1: 7And I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God; and you shall know that I am the Lord your God, who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
:::C1: 8And I will bring you in to the land, concerning which I lifted up My hand to give it
::B1: to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for a heritage:
:A1: I am the Lord."
Robert Alter
Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He published his translation of the Hebrew Bible in 2018.
Biography
Rober ...
wrote that the designation , ''El Shaddai'', in , also used five times in the Patriarchal Tales, is an archaic, evidently Canaanite combination of divine names. , ''El'', was the high god of the Canaanite pantheon (although the Hebrew word is also a common noun meaning “god”), and some scholars link , ''Shaddai'', with a term for “mountain,” and others associate it with fertility.
Rabbi Gunther Plaut noted the difficulty that says that it is , ''YHVH'', who guarantees the covenant made with the ancestors, although they did not know God by this Name, but this contradicts the frequent occurrence of the name ''YHVH'', in Genesis, implying that the forefathers knew the Name. Plaut reports that Biblical scholars have attempted to solve this contradiction in various ways, many positing that belongs to the Priestly source
The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah. It is both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in the Torah, and includes a set of claims that are contradicted b ...
, which held that the Patriarchs knew God only as Elohim or El Shaddai, and that God first disclosed the Name ''YHVH'', to Moses. According to this theory, the passages in Genesis that use the Name ''YHVH'', and the passages in that refer to ''YHVH'', are assigned to the J tradition. Adherents of this theory argue that in , the P school connected ''YHVH'', with Moses to establish the legitimacy of the priestly hierarchy. Acknowledging that this explanation does not address the text as it is now, Plaut presented the alternative explanation (which Plaut attributed to the Israeli scholar Yehezkel Kaufmann Yehezkel Kaufmann (Hebrew: יחזקאל קויפמן; also: Yeḥezqêl Qâufman; Yeḥezḳel Ḳoyfman; Jehezqël Kaufmann) (1889 – 9 October 1963) was an Israeli philosopher and Biblical scholar associated with the Hebrew University. His ...
) that Moses and the people had since patriarchal time known the Name ''YHVH'', as God's name, but this knowledge had hardly been more than a “customary appellation.” In , however, after his first trials and failures, Moses confronted God again, and this time God revealed the Name more fully, which is to say that Moses saw God more clearly than before, in a new light. Turning to the etymology of the Name, Plaut reported that the most widely accepted explanation connects the Name with the word ''hayah'', "to be", a causative form of which could be ''Yahveh'', “one who causes to be.” Another form could be ''Yahuah'', “he who indeed will (show himself to) be,” or “he who proves himself.” Plaut reported a different theory holds that the name was read ''Yahuh'', a version of ''Yehu'', a form that occurs several times independently in the Bible as and frequently as a prefix or suffix to proper names. According to Martin Buber
Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 –
June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism c ...
, ''Yahu'' was a kind of “primitive sound,” an exclamation denoting awe, recognition, and affirmation: “Oh is the one!” or “Yah is the one!” or “Yah is!” or “Yah exists!” Finally, Plaut related yet another approach, seeing ''YHVH'', as having developed from a cultic name connected with ''El'', perhaps ''El du Yahwi'' — “El who creates” — and that in time the Name ''Yahwi'' split off from ''El'', ousting the Name ''El'' from preeminence.
Sarna and Tigay noted that , “I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God,” prefigures the covenant that God would establish at Sinai.
Alter noted that the idea in , “that I am the Lord your God Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt,” is emphasized repeatedly in the Torah and later books of the Bible. Alter called “the cornerstone of Israelite faith” that God had proven God's divinity and attachment to Israel by liberating the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Alter reported that some modern scholars, arguing from the absence of Egyptian evidence on any Hebrew slave population or any mention of an exodus, have raised doubts about whether the Hebrews were ever in Egypt. Alter concluded that the story is surely a schematization and simplification of complex historical processes. Alter viewed it quite likely that a sizeable segment of the Hebrew people remained in the high country of eastern Canaan and never went down to Egypt. Yet Alter also found it hard to imagine that the Israelites would have invented a story of national origins involving the humiliation of slavery without some kernel of historical memory.
Exodus chapter 7
Baruch Spinoza
Baruch (de) Spinoza (born Bento de Espinosa; later as an author and a correspondent ''Benedictus de Spinoza'', anglicized to ''Benedict de Spinoza''; 24 November 1632 – 21 February 1677) was a Dutch philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, b ...
deduced from that in Scripture, the word "prophet" (, ''navi'') means "interpreter of God." Spinoza read God's words to Moses in , "See, I have made you a god to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet," to imply that in interpreting the words of Moses to Pharaoh, Aaron would act as a prophet.
Greta Hort
Grethe Hjort (1903–1967) was a Danish-born professor of Danish and English literature. After graduating from the University of Copenhagen, she moved to Cambridge where she studied at Newnham College, earning a Ph.D. in 1931 and subsequently beco ...
argued that the plagues concentrated within a period of about 12 months, based on the report of that Moses was 80 years old when he first spoke with pharaoh and the report of that Moses was 120 years old when he died, after spending 40 years in the wilderness.
Sarna noted that Aaron, not Moses, turned his rod into a snake in . Sarna explained that Moses thus tacitly asserted his equal status with Pharaoh. Moses came to negotiate with Pharaoh as the representative of the people of Israel. Just as Pharaoh had his magicians, Moses had his assistant, Aaron. Sarna noted that in the narratives of the Ten Plagues, Aaron acted only as long as the Egyptian magicians appeared present. After their ingenuity failed them and they faded from the story, Moses acted personally to bring about the remaining plagues.
Everett Fox
Everett Fox is a scholar and translator of the Hebrew Bible. A graduate of Brandeis University, he is currently the Allen M. Glick Professor of Judaic and Biblical Studies and director of the program in Jewish Studies at Clark University.
Life
H ...
noted that “glory” (, ''kevod'') and “stubbornness” (, ''kaved lev'') are leading words throughout the book of Exodus that give it a sense of unity. Similarly, William Propp identified the root ''kvd'' — connoting heaviness, glory, wealth, and firmness — as a recurring theme in Exodus: Moses suffered from a heavy mouth in and heavy arms in ; Pharaoh had firmness of heart in ; 28
and ; Pharaoh made Israel's labor heavy in ; God in response sent heavy plagues in ;
and , so that God might be glorified over Pharaoh in
an
and the book culminates with the descent of God's fiery Glory, described as a “heavy cloud,” first upon Sinai and later upon the Tabernacle in ; ; ;
and . Plaut reported that scholars generally agree that the term “Hebrew” (, ''Ivri''), as in and an
came from the name of a group called ''
Habiru
Habiru (sometimes written as Hapiru, and more accurately as ʿApiru, meaning "dusty, dirty"; Sumerian: 𒊓𒄤, ''sagaz''; Akkadian: 𒄩𒁉𒊒, ''ḫabiru'' or ''ʿaperu'') is a term used in 2nd-millennium BCE texts throughout the Fertile C ...
'' or ''Apiru'', people who had lost their status in the community from which they came, and who were not necessarily related except by common fate. Plaut wrote that the ''Habiru'' were a class of people who lived in the Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent ( ar, الهلال الخصيب) is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, together with the northern region of Kuwait, southeastern region of ...
during the 19th to 14th centuries B.C.E. who may originally have come from Arabia
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...
, became prominent in Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the F ...
, and later spread to Egypt. The ''Habiru'' followed distinct occupations, particularly mercenaries
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
and administrators
Administrator or admin may refer to:
Job roles Computing and internet
* Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database
* Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum
* N ...
. Although at first they were nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
s or seminomads, they later settled, but were usually considered foreigners and maintaining their group identity. The term ''Habiru'' referred not so much to an ethnic or linguistic
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...
group as to a social or political group. Plaut reported that the words ''Habiru'' and “Hebrew” (, ''Ivri'') appear to share a common linguistic root. Plaut concluded that Israelites in Egypt likely occupied positions similar to, or because of familial ties were identified with, the ''Habiru''. When non-Israelites repeatedly applied the term to the Israelites, the Israelites themselves began to use the name ''Habiru'', which they pronounced ''Ivri''. Plaut considered it possible that for some time the term ''Ivri'' was used only when the Israelites spoke of themselves to outsiders and when outsiders referred to them. Thus calls Abram ''Ivri'' vis-a-vis an outsider, and Jonah
Jonah or Jonas, ''Yōnā'', "dove"; gr, Ἰωνᾶς ''Iōnâs''; ar, يونس ' or '; Latin: ''Ionas'' son of Amittai, is a prophet in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran, from Gath-hepher of the northern kingdom of Israel in about the 8th cent ...
says, "I am an ''Ivri'',” when asked his identity by non-Israelite sailor
A sailor, seaman, mariner, or seafarer is a person who works aboard a watercraft as part of its crew, and may work in any one of a number of different fields that are related to the operation and maintenance of a ship.
The profession of the s ...
s in , but otherwise Israelites referred to themselves by their tribes (for example, Judah or Ephraim) or by their common ancestor, Israel.
Plaut reported that most moderns take the view that the plague stories are unacceptable as fact and must be deemed legendary and unhistorical. Plaut argued that it was a mistake to consider the stories literally rather than as “essentially interpretive and legendary” — asserting that the release of the Israelites from slavery was unprecedented and could only be explained by crediting God. Plaut suggested that there was “possibly or even likely” a historical kernel that the biblical tradition transposed into the moral religious realm. Thus Plaut noted that some claim that the bloodiness of the Nile was caused by special deposits that the river picked up from the mountains (hence the name "Red Nile” for one branch); that frogs accompanied a large-scale inundation; and that lice, gnats, and insects regularly infested the area. Plaut concluded that the plague stories teach: “Israel's redemption was the ultimate marvel, and it was caused by God. To bring it about, nature itself was harnessed, the drama of the plagues was unfolded, and the ground was laid for an experience that forever after was etched into the hearts of the people and their descendants.”
John J. Collins
John J. Collins (born 1946) is the Holmes Professor of Old Testament Criticism and Interpretation at Yale Divinity School. He is noted for his research in the Hebrew Bible, as well as the apocryphal works of the Second Temple period including the ...
reported that some scholars have suggested that the plague stories contain a reminiscence of a mid-fourteenth century BCE epidemic referred to as “the Asiatic illness.”
Collins argued that the plague stories show that Exodus is not only the story of the liberation of Israel, but also of the defeat and humiliation of the Egyptians, and thus involved “less than edifying” nationalistic, ethnic vengeance.
Sarna suggested that the biblical narrator might have construed the affliction of the Nile's waters and the plague of frogs as a kind of retribution for the pharaoh's decrees ordering the killing of male Israelites at birth and their drowning in the Nile.
Exodus chapter 8
Reading the words of Pharaoh's magicians in , “This is the finger of God,”Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto ( he, שמואל דוד לוצאטו, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.
Early ...
(Shadal) wrote that although Pharaoh must have in his heart realized that the magicians were correct (and Moses was correct), Pharaoh carried on “business as usual,” as is the habit of atheists.
Alter noted that the narrative preceding repeatedly spoke of God's “hand” or “arm,” but Pharaoh's magicians appear to concede a lesser trace of divine action in mentioning God's “finger.”
Exodus chapter 9
Reading the report of that “''all'' the livestock of Egypt died,” but noting that reports that boils subsequently struck the animals, Plaut concluded that must be taken as hyperbole.Jacob ben Asher
Jacob ben Asher (c. 1269 - c. 1343), also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash (Rabbeinu Asher), was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority. He is often referred to as the Ba'al ha-Turim ("Master of the Columns"), after ...
(the ''Baal Ha-Turim'') read the words, “He that feared,” in to indicate that the Egyptians were fearful because of the sins they had committed.
Moritz Markus Kalisch reported an interpretation that indicated a test by Moses of how far the fear of God had spread among the Egyptians.
Benno Jacob
Benno Jacob (7 September 1862 – 24 January 1945) was a liberal rabbi and Bible scholar.
Biography
Jacob studied in the Rabbinical Seminary and University of his native Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He served as a rabbi between the years 18 ...
read to indicate that some of Pharaoh's servants had become frightened of God's warning through Moses.
Reading , “Whoever feared the Lord’s word,” Alter wrote that whereas elsewhere, this idiom indicates piety (as in “God-fearing”), here it has been stripped down to its literal meaning of whoever was struck with terror by God's grim threat.
In critical analysis
Some scholars who follow the Documentary Hypothesis
The documentary hypothesis (DH) is one of the models used by biblical scholars to explain the origins and composition of the Torah (or Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy). A vers ...
find evidence of three or even four separate sources in the parashah. Walter Brueggemann
Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...
reported that older source analysis saw as an insertion by the Priestly source, addressed to a community in exile (or just out of exile), appealing to very old tradition to create a sense of structured, stable reality to give coherence, order, and legitimacy to communal life. Richard Elliott Friedman
Richard Elliott Friedman (born May 5, 1946) is a biblical scholar and the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia.
Friedman was born in Rochester, New York. He attended the University of Miami (BA, 1968), the Je ...
, however, saw four sources in alone. Friedman saw the opening verse of to have been composed by the Elohist
According to the documentary hypothesis, the Elohist (or simply E) is one of four source documents underlying the Torah,McDermott, John J., ''Reading the Pentateuch: A Historical Introduction'' (Pauline Press, 2002) p. 21. Via Books.google.com.a ...
(sometimes abbreviated E) who wrote in the north
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
, in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim
According to the Hebrew Bible, the Tribe of Ephraim ( he, אֶפְרַיִם, ''ʾEp̄rayīm,'' in pausa: אֶפְרָיִם, ''ʾEp̄rāyīm'') was one of the tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh together with Ephraim formed the ''House of ...
, possibly as early as the second half of the 9th century BCE. Friedman agreed with Brueggemann in attributing an30
to the Priestly source who wrote in the 6th or 5th century BCE. But Friedman attributed an
to a later Redactor (sometimes abbreviated R). And Friedman attributed the genealogy of to the Book of Records or some other separate source document, from which Friedman postulates that the Redactor chose to use only the first section covering genealogies from Reuben to Levi, stopping at Aaron. In the balance of the parashah, Friedman attributed
an
an
and an
to the Elohist;
an
an
and to the Priestly source; and and to the Redactor. For a color-coded display of verses according to this hypothesis, see the display of Exodus according to the Documentary Hypothesis at
Wikiversity
Wikiversity is a Wikimedia Foundation project that supports learning communities, their learning materials, and resulting activities. It differs from Wikipedia in that it offers tutorials and other materials for the fostering of learning, rather ...
.
Commandments
According to Maimonides andSefer ha-Chinuch
''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' ( he, ספר החינוך, "Book of Education") is a Jewish rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was published anonymously in 13th-century Spain. History
The work's enumeration o ...
, there are no commandments
Commandment may refer to:
* The Ten Commandments
* One of the 613 mitzvot of Judaism
* The Great Commandment
* The New Commandment
The New Commandment is a term used in Christianity to describe Jesus's commandment to "love one another" which, ac ...
in the parashah.
In the liturgy
Reading thePassover
Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday that celebrates the The Exodus, Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Ancient Egypt, Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew calendar, He ...
Haggadah
The Haggadah ( he, הַגָּדָה, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table is a fulfillment of the mitzvah to each J ...
, in the ''magid'' section of the Seder
The Passover Seder (; he, סדר פסח , 'Passover order/arrangement'; yi, סדר ) is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of [isan in the Hebrew c ...
, many Jews remove drops of wine from their cups for each of the ten plagues in .
Next, the Haggadah recounts the reasoning of Rabbi Jose the Galilean that as the phrase "the finger of God" in referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" (translated "the great work") in must refer to 50 plagues upon the Egyptians.
And the haggadah in the ''magid'' section quotes to elucidate the term "a mighty hand" in , interpreting the "mighty hand" to mean the plague of pestilence on the Egyptian livestock.
Haftarah
Generally
The haftarah for the parashah is .Connection to the Parashah
Both the parashah and the haftarah describe God's instructions to a prophet to confront the Pharaoh of Egypt and bring on Israel's redemption. Both the parashah and the haftarah address God's judgments (''shefatim'') against Pharaoh and Egypt. A monster (''tannin'') plays a role in both the parashah and the haftarah: In the parashah, God turns Moses' rod into a monster; the haftarah describes Pharaoh as a monster. In both the parashah and the haftarah, God attacks the river and kills fish. In both the parashah and the haftarah, God's actions would cause the Egyptians to know (''ve-yade'u'') God. And in both the parashah and the haftarah, God proclaims, "I am the Lord."; .On Shabbat Rosh Chodesh
When the parashah coincides with ShabbatRosh Chodesh
Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh ( he, ראש חודש; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is the name for the first day of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. It is considered a minor h ...
(as it did in 2013 and 2017), the haftarah is .
Notes
Further reading
The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these sources:Biblical
* (El Shaddai); (El Shaddai); (El Shaddai); (El Shaddai); (El Shaddai); (Shaddai). *;20
;
(hardening Pharaoh's heart). * (God lifted up God's hand). *; (hardening of heart). * (hardening of heart). * (I will be your God and you will be my people); (you will be my people, and I will be your God); (you will be my people, and I will be your God); (31:33 in NJPS) (I will be their God, and they will be my people). * (God lifted up God's hand); (you will be my people, and I will be your God). * (name is the Lord); (plagues); (plagues). * (God lifted up God's hand).
Early nonrabbinic
*Ezekiel the Tragedian Ezekiel the Tragedian – also known as Ezekiel the Dramatist and Ezekiel the Poet – was a Jewish dramatist who wrote in Alexandria. Naomi Yanveh has placed his work in the 3rd century BCE, while Howard Jacobson estimates the 2nd Century BCE. Evi ...
. ''Exagōgē''. 2nd century BCE. Translated by R.G. Robertson. In ''The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Volume 2: Expansions of the "Old Testament" and Legends, Wisdom and Philosophical Literature, Prayers, Psalms, and Odes, Fragments of Lost Judeo-Hellenistic works''. Edited by James H. Charlesworth, page 814. New York: Anchor Bible
The Anchor Bible Series, which consists of a commentary series, a Bible dictionary, and a reference library, is a scholarly and commercial co-venture which was begun in 1956, with the publication of individual volumes in the commentary series. Ove ...
, 1985.
*Philo
Philo of Alexandria (; grc, Φίλων, Phílōn; he, יְדִידְיָה, Yəḏīḏyāh (Jedediah); ), also called Philo Judaeus, was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt.
Philo's deplo ...
''Allegorical Interpretation'' 1:
13:40
14:43; 60:172
3:9; 12:51; 19:69; ttps://web.archive.org/web/20090220064107/http://cornerstonepublications.org/Philo/Philo_That_The_Worse_is_Wont.html ''That the Worse Is Wont To Attack the Better''12:38–39
''On the Posterity of Cain and His Exile''
22:76
26:101
9:29; 20:94
15:83–85
3:18; 23:124
2:13; 3:20–21; 22:125; 37:207
2:28:189; 39:259; 42:277.
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
, Egypt, early 1st century CE. In, e.g., ''The Works of Philo: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by Charles Duke Yonge
Charles Duke Yonge (30 November 1812 – 30 November 1891) was an English historian, classicist and cricketer. He wrote numerous works of modern history, and translated several classical works. His younger brother was George Edward Yonge.
Biogra ...
, pages 29, 55, 69, 95, 100, 103, 116, 139, 215, 237, 242, 261, 322, 332, 342–43, 352, 359, 401, 407–08. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1993.
*Romans
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
1st century. (hardening Pharaoh's heart).
*2 Timothy
The Second Epistle to Timothy is one of the three pastoral epistles traditionally attributed to Paul the Apostle.. Addressed to Timothy, a fellow missionary, it is traditionally considered to be the last epistle he wrote before his death.
Alt ...
Rome, 67 CE. (magicians opposing Moses).
* (frogs); (changing hearts to God's purpose). Late 1st century CE.
*Josephus
Flavius Josephus (; grc-gre, Ἰώσηπος, ; 37 – 100) was a first-century Romano-Jewish historian and military leader, best known for ''The Jewish War'', who was born in Jerusalem—then part of Roman Judea—to a father of priestly d ...
. ''The Wars of the Jews
''The Jewish War'' or ''Judean War'' (in full ''Flavius Josephus' Books of the History of the Jewish War against the Romans'', el, Φλαυίου Ἰωσήπου ἱστορία Ἰουδαϊκοῦ πολέμου πρὸς Ῥωμαίους ...
'', 5:9:4. Circa 75 CE. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by William Whiston
William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...
, page 716. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
*Josephus. ''Antiquities of the Jews
''Antiquities of the Jews'' ( la, Antiquitates Iudaicae; el, Ἰουδαϊκὴ ἀρχαιολογία, ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by historian Flavius Josephus in the 13th year of the re ...
'2:13:3
Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by
William Whiston
William Whiston (9 December 166722 August 1752) was an English theologian, historian, natural philosopher, and mathematician, a leading figure in the popularisation of the ideas of Isaac Newton. He is now probably best known for helping to inst ...
, pages 72–74. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987.
*Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , sing. ...
7:103–126, 130–135; 10:75–83; 11:96–97; 17:101–102; 20:42–73; 23:45–48; 26:10–51; 28:36–39; 29:39; 40:23-27, 37; 43:46–54; 51:38–39; 73:15–16; 79:15–24. Arabia, 7th century.
Classical rabbinic
*Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Torah ...
: Orlah 1:1–3:9Pesachim 10:1
Land of Israel, circa 200 CE. In, e.g., ''The Mishnah: A New Translation''. Translated by
Jacob Neusner
Jacob Neusner (July 28, 1932 – October 8, 2016) was an American academic scholar of Judaism. He was named as one of the most published authors in history, having written or edited more than 900 books.
Life and career
Neusner was born in Hartfor ...
, pages 158–66, 249, 630, 1131. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988.
*Jerusalem Talmud
The Jerusalem Talmud ( he, תַּלְמוּד יְרוּשַׁלְמִי, translit=Talmud Yerushalmi, often for short), also known as the Palestinian Talmud or Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century ...
: Pesachim 42b; Rosh Hashanah 20b; Megillah 13b; Chagigah 4a, 11a; Yevamot 63a; Sotah 10a, 28b; Sanhedrin 26b; Makkot 9a. Tiberias
Tiberias ( ; he, טְבֶרְיָה, ; ar, طبريا, Ṭabariyyā) is an Israeli city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Fo ...
, Land of Israel, circa 400 CE. In, e.g., ''Talmud Yerushalmi''. Edited by Chaim Malinowitz, Yisroel Simcha Schorr, and Mordechai Marcus, volumes 18, 24, 26–27, 30, 36, 44, 49. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2011–2019. And in, e.g., ''The Jerusalem Talmud: A Translation and Commentary''. Edited by Jacob Neusner and translated by Jacob Neusner, Tzvee Zahavy, B. Barry Levy, and Edward Goldman. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 2009.
*Genesis Rabba
Genesis Rabbah (Hebrew: , ''B'reshith Rabba'') is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is a midrash comprising a collection of ancient rabbinical homiletical inter ...
1:15
82:3; 88:5; 92:7; 96, 97. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Genesis''. Translated by
Harry Freedman
Harry Freedman (''Henryk Frydmann''), (April 5, 1922 – September 16, 2005) was a Canadian composer, English hornist, and music educator of Polish birth. He wrote a significant amount of symphonic works, including the scores to films such as '' T ...
and Maurice Simon, volume 1, pages 14, 37–38, 144, 153, 296, 389, 392; volume 2, pages 754, 816, 853, 898, 929. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael
The Mekhilta of Rabbi Ishmael ( arc, מְכִילְתָּא דְּרַבִּי יִשְׁמָעֵאל IPA /məˈχiltɑ/, "a collection of rules of interpretation") is midrash halakha to the Book of Exodus. The Jewish Babylonian Aramaic title ''M ...
Beshallah 7. Land of Israel, late 4th century. In, e.g., ''Mekhilta de-Rabbi Ishmael''. Translated by Jacob Z. Lauterbach, volume 1, page 166. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1933, reissued 2004.
* Mekhilta of Rabbi Simeon 2:1–2, 5; 3:1; 15:4–5; 16:1, 4; 19:4; 21:4; 22:6; 26:3, 6; 35:1; 47:2. Land of Israel, 5th century. In, e.g., ''Mekhilta de-Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai''. Translated by W. David Nelson, pages 5–7, 9–11, 50–51, 54, 56, 78–79, 89, 93, 114, 117, 150, 209. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2006.
*Babylonian Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cente ...
Berakhot 38a
Babylonia, 6th century. In, e.g., ''Talmud Bavli''. Edited by Yisroel Simcha Schorr, Chaim Malinowitz, and Mordechai Marcus, 72 volumes. Brooklyn: Mesorah Pubs., 2006.
Medieval
*Saadia Gaon
Saʻadiah ben Yosef Gaon ( ar, سعيد بن يوسف الفيومي ''Saʻīd bin Yūsuf al-Fayyūmi''; he, סַעֲדְיָה בֶּן יוֹסֵף אַלְפַיּוּמִי גָּאוֹן ''Saʿăḏyāh ben Yōsēf al-Fayyūmī Gāʾōn''; ...
. ''Emunoth ve-Deoth
''The Book of Beliefs and Opinions'' ( ar, كتاب الأمانات والاعتقادات, translit=Kitāb al-Amānāt wa l-Iʿtiqādāt) is a book written by Saadia Gaon (completed 933) which is the first systematic presentation and philosophi ...
(Beliefs and Opinions)''. Baghdad, Babylonia, 933. In, e.g., ''The Book of Beliefs and Opinions''. Translated by Samuel Rosenblatt, pages 29, 116–17, 152, 154, 199, 411. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1948.
*Exodus Rabbah
Exodus Rabbah (Hebrew: שמות רבה, ''Shemot Rabbah'') is the midrash to Exodus.
Contents
Exodus Rabbah is almost purely aggadic in character.
It contains 52 sections. It consists of two sections with different styles, dubbed "Exodus Rabbah ...
5:14, 6:1–12:7, 23:9, 25:27, 28:4. 10th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbah: Exodus''. Translated by Simon M. Lehrman, volume 3. London: Soncino Press, 1939.
*Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
. ''Commentary''Exodus 6–9
Troyes
Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...
, France, late 11th century. In, e.g., Rashi. ''The Torah: With Rashi's Commentary Translated, Annotated, and Elucidated''. Translated and annotated by Yisrael Isser Zvi Herczeg, volume 2, pages 53–90. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1994.
*Rashbam
Samuel ben Meir (Troyes, c. 1085 – c. 1158), after his death known as "Rashbam", a Hebrew acronym for RAbbi SHmuel Ben Meir, was a leading French Tosafist and grandson of Shlomo Yitzhaki, "Rashi".
Biography
He was born in the vicinity of Troye ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Troyes, early 12th century. In, e.g., ''Rashbam's Commentary on Exodus: An Annotated Translation''. Edited and translated by Martin I. Lockshin, pages 59–92. Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1997.
*Judah Halevi
Judah Halevi (also Yehuda Halevi or ha-Levi; he, יהודה הלוי and Judah ben Shmuel Halevi ; ar, يهوذا اللاوي ''Yahuḏa al-Lāwī''; 1075 – 1141) was a Spanish Jewish physician, poet and philosopher. He was born in Spain, ...
. ''Kuzari
The ''Kuzari'', full title ''Book of Refutation and Proof on Behalf of the Despised Religion'' ( ar, كتاب الحجة والدليل في نصرة الدين الذليل: ''Kitâb al-ḥujja wa'l-dalîl fi naṣr al-dîn al-dhalîl''), also k ...
''. 1:25; 2:2. Toledo
Toledo most commonly refers to:
* Toledo, Spain, a city in Spain
* Province of Toledo, Spain
* Toledo, Ohio, a city in the United States
Toledo may also refer to:
Places Belize
* Toledo District
* Toledo Settlement
Bolivia
* Toledo, Orur ...
, Spain, 1130–1140. In, e.g., Jehuda Halevi. ''Kuzari: An Argument for the Faith of Israel.'' Introduction by Henry Slonimsky, pages 46, 86. New York: Schocken, 1964.
* Abraham ibn Ezra. ''Commentary on the Torah''. France, 1153. In, e.g., ''Ibn Ezra's Commentary on the Pentateuch: Exodus (Shemot)''. Translated and annotated by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver, volume 2, pages 129–82. New York: Menorah Publishing Company, 1996.
*Maimonides
Musa ibn Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (); la, Moses Maimonides and also referred to by the acronym Rambam ( he, רמב״ם), was a Sephardic Jewish philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah ...
. ''Mishneh Torah
The ''Mishneh Torah'' ( he, מִשְׁנֵה תּוֹרָה, , repetition of the Torah), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' ( he, ספר יד החזקה, , book of the strong hand, label=none), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''h ...
''Hilchot Teshuvah (The Laws of Repentance), chapter 3, halachah 3
Egypt. Circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Teshuvah: The Laws of Repentance''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger, pages 140–48. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1990.
*Maimonides. ''Mishneh Torah''Egypt, circa 1170–1180. In, e.g., ''Mishneh Torah: Hilchot Chametz U'Matzah: The Laws of Chametz and Matzah: The Rambam's Text of the Haggadah''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger. New York: Moznaim Publishing, 1988. *Maimonides. ''The Eight Chapters on Ethics'', chapter 8. Egypt. Late 12th century. In, e.g., ''The Eight Chapters of Maimonides on Ethics (Shemonah Perakim): A Psychological and Ethical Treatise''. Edited, annotated, and translated, with an introduction by Joseph I. Gorfinkle, pages 95–96. New York:
Columbia University Press
Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...
, 1912. Reprinted by Forgotten Books, 2012.
*Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed
''The Guide for the Perplexed'' ( ar, دلالة الحائرين, Dalālat al-ḥā'irīn, ; he, מורה נבוכים, Moreh Nevukhim) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish the ...
'', part 1, chapters 24, 45– 46; part 2, chapter 35; part 3, chapters 29, 46, 54. Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
, Egypt, 1190. In, e.g., Moses Maimonides. ''The Guide for the Perplexed''. Translated by Michael Friedländer
Michael Friedländer (29 April 1833 – 10 December 1910) was an Orientalist and principal of Jews' College, London. He is best known for his English translation of Maimonides' ''Guide to the Perplexed'', which was the most popular such translat ...
, pages 33, 58, 61, 224, 318, 359, 397. New York: Dover Publications, 1956.
*Jacob Anatoli
Jacob ben Abba Mari ben Simson Anatoli (c. 1194 – 1256) was a translator of Arabic texts to Hebrew. He was invited to Naples by Frederick II. Under this royal patronage, and in association with Michael Scot, Anatoli made Arabic learning acce ...
. "Sermon on ''Wa-'Era'': A Homily on Education." First half of 13th century. In Marc Saperstein. ''Jewish Preaching, 1200–1800: An Anthology'', pages 113–23. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989.
*Hezekiah ben Manoah Hezekiah ben Manoah, or Hezekiah bar Manoah, was a French rabbi and Bible commentator of the 13th century. He is generally known by the title of his commentary, Chizkuni ( he, חזקוני).
In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through ...
. ''Hizkuni''. France, circa 1240. In, e.g., Chizkiyahu ben Manoach. ''Chizkuni: Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 382–99. Jerusalem: Ktav Publishers, 2013.
*Nachmanides
Moses ben Nachman ( he, מֹשֶׁה בֶּן־נָחְמָן ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; el, Ναχμανίδης ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ra ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Jerusalem, circa 1270. In, e.g., ''Ramban (Nachmanides): Commentary on the Torah.'' Translated by Charles B. Chavel, volume 2, pages 63–99. New York: Shilo Publishing House, 1973.
*Zohar
The ''Zohar'' ( he, , ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah (the five ...
br>2:22a–32aSpain, late 13th century. In, e.g., ''The Zohar''. Translated by Harry Sperling and Maurice Simon. 5 volumes. London: Soncino Press, 1934. *
Bahya ben Asher
Bahya ben Asher ibn Halawa (, 1255–1340) was a rabbi and scholar of Judaism, best known as a commentator on the Hebrew Bible.
He is one of two scholars now referred to as Rabbeinu Behaye, the other being philosopher Bahya ibn Paquda.
Biogra ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Spain, early 14th century. In, e.g., ''Midrash Rabbeinu Bachya: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Bachya ben Asher''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 815–54. Jerusalem: Lambda Publishers, 2003.
*Jacob ben Asher
Jacob ben Asher (c. 1269 - c. 1343), also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Rabbi Yaakov ben Raash (Rabbeinu Asher), was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority. He is often referred to as the Ba'al ha-Turim ("Master of the Columns"), after ...
(Baal Ha-Turim). ''Commentary on the Torah''. Early 14th century. In, e.g., ''Baal Haturim Chumash: Shemos/Exodus''. Translated by Eliyahu Touger; edited and annotated by Avie Gold, volume 2, pages 569–607. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 2000.
*Isaac ben Moses Arama Isaac ben Moses Arama ( 1420 – 1494) was a Spanish rabbi and author. He was at first principal of a rabbinical academy at Zamora (probably his birthplace); then he received a call as rabbi and preacher from the community at Tarragona, and later ...
. ''Akedat Yizhak (The Binding of Isaac)''. Late 15th century. In, e.g., Yitzchak Arama. ''Akeydat Yitzchak: Commentary of Rabbi Yitzchak Arama on the Torah''. Translated and condensed by Eliyahu Munk, volume 1, pages 331–45. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2001.
Modern
*Isaac Abravanel
Isaac ben Judah Abarbanel ( he, יצחק בן יהודה אברבנאל; 1437–1508), commonly referred to as Abarbanel (), also spelled Abravanel, Avravanel, or Abrabanel, was a Portuguese Jewish statesman, philosopher, Bible commentator ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Italy, between 1492 and 1509. In, e.g., ''Abarbanel: Selected Commentaries on the Torah: Volume 2: Shemos/Exodus''. Translated and annotated by Israel Lazar, pages 85–133. Brooklyn: CreateSpace, 2015.
*Abraham Saba Abraham Saba (1440–1508) was a preacher in Castile who became a pupil of Isaac de Leon. At the time of the expulsion of the Jews from Spain he took refuge in Portugal, where he met with further misfortune; for scarcely had he settled in Oporto w ...
. ''Ẓeror ha-Mor (Bundle of Myrrh)''. Fez
Fez most often refers to:
* Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire
* Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco
Fez or FEZ may also refer to:
Media
* ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
, Morocco, circa 1500. In, e.g., ''Tzror Hamor: Torah Commentary by Rabbi Avraham Sabba''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 3, pages 895–920. Jerusalem, Lambda Publishers, 2008.
*Obadiah ben Jacob Sforno
Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno (Obadja Sforno, Hebrew: עובדיה ספורנו) was an Italian rabbi, Biblical commentator, philosopher and physician. A member of the Sforno family, he was born in Cesena about 1475 and died in Bologna in 1550.
Bio ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
, 1567. In, e.g., ''Sforno: Commentary on the Torah''. Translation and explanatory notes by Raphael Pelcovitz, pages 308–27. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1997.
*Moshe Alshich
Moshe Alshich he, משה אלשיך, also spelled Alshech, (1508–1593), known as the ''Alshich Hakadosh (the Holy)'', was a prominent rabbi, preacher, and Bible, biblical commentator in the latter part of the sixteenth century.
The Alshich wa ...
. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Safed
Safed (known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as Tzfat; Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardic Hebrew & Modern Hebrew: צְפַת ''Tsfat'', Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation, Ashkenazi Hebrew: ''Tzfas'', Biblical Hebrew: ''Ṣǝp̄aṯ''; ar, صفد, ''Ṣafad''), i ...
, circa 1593. In, e.g., Moshe Alshich. ''Midrash of Rabbi Moshe Alshich on the Torah''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 375–400. New York, Lambda Publishers, 2000.
*Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz (1550 – 21 April, 1619) was a rabbi and Torah commentator, best known for his Torah commentary ''Keli Yekar''.Although most write this as ''Keli Yakar'', "the second word should be ''Yekar''" (יְקָר), as t ...
. ''Kli Yakar''. Lublin
Lublin is the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the center of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin is the largest Polish city east of t ...
, 1602. In, e.g., ''Kli Yakar: Shemos''. Translated by Elihu Levine, volume 1, pages 80–130. Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...
: Targum Press
Menucha Publishers is an Orthodox Jewish English-language publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally founded as a distributor for Targum Press, in 2011 after Targum's shutdown, Menucha established itself as an independent publish ...
/Feldheim Publishers, 2002.
*Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Commentaries on the Torah''. Cracow, Poland, mid 17th century. Compiled as ''Chanukat HaTorah''. Edited by Chanoch Henoch Erzohn. Piotrkow, Poland, 1900. In Avraham Yehoshua Heschel. ''Chanukas HaTorah: Mystical Insights of Rav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel on Chumash''. Translated by Avraham Peretz Friedman, pages 125–31. Southfield, Michigan
Southfield is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census, the city had a population of 76,618.
As a northern suburb of Detroit, Southfield shares part of its ...
: Targum Press
Menucha Publishers is an Orthodox Jewish English-language publishing company based in Brooklyn, New York. Originally founded as a distributor for Targum Press, in 2011 after Targum's shutdown, Menucha established itself as an independent publish ...
/Feldheim Publishers
Feldheim Publishers (or Feldheim) is an American Orthodox Jewish publisher of Torah books and literature. Its extensive catalog of titles includes books on Jewish law, Torah, Talmud, Jewish lifestyle, Shabbat and Jewish holidays, Jewish history, b ...
, 2004.
*Thomas Hobbes
Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5/15 April 1588 – 4/14 December 1679) was an English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy. Hobbes is best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influent ...
. ''Leviathan
Leviathan (; he, לִוְיָתָן, ) is a sea serpent noted in theology and mythology. It is referenced in several books of the Hebrew Bible, including Psalms, the Book of Job, the Book of Isaiah, the Book of Amos, and, according to some ...
'', 3:36, 37. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson
Crawford Brough Macpherson (1911–1987) was an influential Canadian political scientist who taught political theory at the University of Toronto.
Life
Macpherson was born on 18 November 1911 in Toronto, Ontario. After graduating from the Univ ...
, pages 456, 474. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982.
*Chaim ibn Attar
Chaim ibn Attar or Ḥayyim ben Moshe ibn Attar ( ar, حاييم بن موشي بن عطار, he, חיים בן משה בן עטר; b. - 7 July 1743) also known as the Or ha-Ḥayyim after his popular commentary on the Torah, was a Talmudist ...
. ''Ohr ha-Chaim''. Venice, 1742. In Chayim ben Attar. ''Or Hachayim: Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 499–533. Brooklyn: Lambda Publishers, 1999.
*Nachman of Breslov
Nachman of Breslov ( he, רַבִּי נַחְמָן מִבְּרֶסְלֶב ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( yi, רבי נחמן ברעסלאווער ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover'' ...
. ''Teachings''. Bratslav
Bratslav ( uk, Брацлав; pl, Bracław; yi, בראָצלעוו, ''Brotslev'', today also pronounced Breslev or '' Breslov'' as the name of a Hasidic group, which originated from this town) is an urban-type settlement in Ukraine, located i ...
, Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, before 1811. In ''Rebbe Nachman's Torah: Breslov Insights into the Weekly Torah Reading: Exodus-Leviticus''. Compiled by Chaim Kramer; edited by Y. Hall, pages 56–63. Jerusalem: Breslov Research Institute Breslov Research Institute is a publisher of classic and contemporary Breslov texts in English. Established in 1979, BRI has produced the first English translation of all the works of Rebbe Nachman of Breslov (1772–1810) and selected works of Re ...
, 2011.
*George Eliot
Mary Ann Evans (22 November 1819 – 22 December 1880; alternatively Mary Anne or Marian), known by her pen name George Eliot, was an English novelist, poet, journalist, translator, and one of the leading writers of the Victorian era. She wro ...
. ''Adam Bede
''Adam Bede'' was the first novel by Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot), and was published in 1859. It was published pseudonymously, even though Evans was a well-published and highly respected scholar of her time. The novel has remained in print ev ...
'', chapter 32
Chapter or Chapters may refer to:
Books
* Chapter (books), a main division of a piece of writing or document
* Chapter book, a story book intended for intermediate readers, generally age 7–10
* Chapters (bookstore), Canadian big box bookstore ...
. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1859. Reprinted, e.g., edited by Carol A. Martin, page 313. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008. (when the Squire threatens to replace the Poysers with a new tenant, Mr. Thurle, Mrs. Poyser tells the Squire, “I say, if Mr Thurle’s so ready to take farms under you, it’s a pity but what he should take this, and see if he likes to live in a house wi’ all the plagues o’ Egypt in’t — wi’ the cellar full o’ water, and frogs and toads hoppin’ up the steps by dozens.”).
*Samson Raphael Hirsch
Samson Raphael Hirsch (; June 20, 1808 – December 31, 1888) was a German Orthodox rabbi best known as the intellectual founder of the ''Torah im Derech Eretz'' school of contemporary Orthodox Judaism. Occasionally termed ''neo-Orthodoxy'', his ...
. ''The Pentateuch: Exodus''. Translated by Isaac Levy, volume 2, pages 63–106. Gateshead
Gateshead () is a large town in northern England. It is on the River Tyne's southern bank, opposite Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle to which it is joined by seven bridges. The town contains the Gateshead Millennium Bridge, Millennium Bridge, Sage ...
: Judaica Press
Judaica Press is an Orthodox Jewish publishing house founded in New York City in 1963 by S. Goldman, and then taken over by his son Jack Goldman in response to the growing demand for books of scholarship in the English-speaking Jewish world. In ...
, 2nd edition 1999. Originally published as ''Der Pentateuch uebersetzt und erklaert''. Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , "Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on its na ...
, 1867–1878.
*Samuel David Luzzatto
Samuel David Luzzatto ( he, שמואל דוד לוצאטו, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement.
Early ...
(Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.'' Padua
Padua ( ; it, Padova ; vec, Pàdova) is a city and ''comune'' in Veneto, northern Italy. Padua is on the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice. It is the capital of the province of Padua. It is also the economic and communications hub of the ...
, 1871. In, e.g., Samuel David Luzzatto. ''Torah Commentary''. Translated and annotated by Eliyahu Munk, volume 2, pages 561–93. New York: Lambda Publishers, 2012.
*Malbim
Meir Leibush ben Yehiel Michel Wisser (March 7, 1809 – September 18, 1879), better known as the Malbim ( he, מלבי"ם), was a rabbi, master of Hebrew grammar, and Bible commentator. The name ''Malbim'' was derived from the Hebrew initials ...
. ''The Torah and the Commandments''. Warsaw, 1874–80. In, e.g., Malbim: Rabbenu Meir Leibush ben Yechiel Michel. ''Commentary on the Torah''. Translated by Zvi Faier, volume 4, pages 158–252. Israel: M.P. Press/Hillel Press, 1984. (1982).
*Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter
Yehudah Aryeh Leib Alter ( he, יהודה אריה ליב אלתר, 15 April 1847 – 11 January 1905), also known by the title of his main work, the ''Sfas Emes'' (Ashkenazic Pronunciation) or ''Sefat Emet'' (Modern Hebrew), was a Hasidic rabbi ...
. ''Sefat Emet''. Góra Kalwaria
Góra Kalwaria (; "Calvary Mountain", yi, גער, ''Ger'') is a town on the Vistula River in the Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It is situated approximately southeast of Warsaw and has a population of around 12,109 (as of 2019). ...
(Ger), Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...
, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green
Arthur Green ( he, אברהם יצחק גרין, born March 21, 1941) is an American scholar of Jewish mysticism and Neo-Hasidic theologian. He was a founding dean of the non-denominational rabbinical program at Hebrew College in Boston, where he ...
, pages 87–91. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.
*Hermann Cohen
Hermann Cohen (4 July 1842 – 4 April 1918) was a German Jewish philosophy, philosopher, one of the founders of the University of Marburg, Marburg school of neo-Kantianism, and he is often held to be "probably the most important Jewish ph ...
. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss
Leo Strauss (, ; September 20, 1899 – October 18, 1973) was a German-American political philosopher who specialized in classical political philosophy. Born in Germany to Jewish parents, Strauss later emigrated from Germany to the United States. ...
, page 39. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig
Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...
: Gustav Fock, 1919.
*James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
. ''Ulysses
Ulysses is one form of the Roman name for Odysseus, a hero in ancient Greek literature.
Ulysses may also refer to:
People
* Ulysses (given name), including a list of people with this name
Places in the United States
* Ulysses, Kansas
* Ulysse ...
'', chapter 7 (Aeolus). Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
: Shakespeare and Company, 1922. Reprinted, e.g., ''Ulysses: The Corrected Text''. Edited by Hans Walter Gabler with Wolfhard Steppe and Claus Melchior, pages 116–17. New York: Random House, 1986. (The orator John F. Taylor is quoted saying: “It seemed to me that I had been transported into a country far away from this country, into an age remote from this age, that I stood in ancient Egypt and that I was listening to the speech of some highpriest of that land addressed to the youthful Moses. . . . And it seemed to me that I heard the voice of that Egyptian highpriest raised in a tone of like haughtiness and like pride. I heard his words and their meaning was revealed to me. . . . Why will you Jews not accept our culture, our religion and our language? You are a tribe of nomad herdsmen: we are a mighty people. You have no cities nor no wealth: our cities are hives of humanity and our galleys, trireme and quadrireme, laden with all manner merchandise furrow the waters of the known globe. You have but emerged from primitive conditions: we have a literature, a priesthood, an agelong history and a polity. . . . But, ladies and gentlemen, had the youthful Moses listened to and accepted that view of life, had he bowed his head and bowed his will and bowed his spirit before that arrogant admonition he would never have brought the chosen people out of their house of bondage, nor followed the pillar of the cloud by day. He would never have spoken with the Eternal amid lightnings on Sinai's mountaintop nor ever have come down with the light of inspiration shining in his countenance and bearing in his arms the tables of the law, graven in the language of the outlaw.”).
*Alexander Alan Steinbach. ''Sabbath Queen: Fifty-four Bible Talks to the Young Based on Each Portion of the Pentateuch'', pages 42–45. New York: Behrman's Jewish Book House, 1936.
*Benno Jacob
Benno Jacob (7 September 1862 – 24 January 1945) was a liberal rabbi and Bible scholar.
Biography
Jacob studied in the Rabbinical Seminary and University of his native Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland). He served as a rabbi between the years 18 ...
. ''The Second Book of the Bible: Exodus''. London, 1940. Translated by Walter Jacob
Walter Jacob (born 1930) is an American Reform rabbi who was born in Augsburg, Germany, and immigrated to the United States in 1940.
He received his B.A. from Drury College (Springfield, Missouri, 1950) and ordination and an M.H.L. from Hebrew Uni ...
, pages 142–280. Hoboken, New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, 1992.
*Thomas Mann
Paul Thomas Mann ( , ; ; 6 June 1875 – 12 August 1955) was a German novelist, short story writer, social critic, philanthropist, essayist, and the 1929 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. His highly symbolic and ironic epic novels and novella ...
. ''Joseph and His Brothers
''Joseph and His Brothers'' (''Joseph und seine Brüder'') is a four-part novel by Thomas Mann, written over the course of 16 years. Mann retells the familiar stories of Genesis, from Jacob to Joseph (chapters 27–50), setting it in the hi ...
''. Translated by John E. Woods, page 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943.
*Umberto Cassuto
Umberto Cassuto, also known as Moshe David Cassuto (16 September 1883 – 19 December 1951), was an Italian historian, a rabbi, and a scholar of the Hebrew Bible and Ugaritic literature, in the University of Florence, then at the University of R ...
. ''A Commentary on the Book of Exodus''. Jerusalem, 1951. Translated by Israel Abrahams, pages 76–122. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, The Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Dr. Chaim Weiz ...
, 1967.
*Elie Munk
Elie Munk (1900–1981), was a German-born French rabbi and rabbinic scholar, "a scion of a long and distinguished line of German rabbis and scholars".
A number of other Jewish scholars have similar names. ''Eliyahu Munk'' translated numerous Jew ...
. ''The Call of the Torah: An Anthology of Interpretation and Commentary on the Five Books of Moses''. Translated by E.S. Mazer, volume 2, pages 74–111. Brooklyn: Mesorah Publications, 1995. Originally published as ''La Voix de la Thora''. Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
: Fondation Samuel et Odette Levy, 1981.
* Walther Zimmerli. "I Am Yahweh." In ''I Am Yahweh''. Translated by Douglas W. Stott; edited and introduction by Walter Brueggemann
Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...
, pages 1–28. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982. Originally published in ''Geschichte und Altes Testament'', pages 179–209. J.C.B. Mohr, 1953.
*Roland de Vaux
Roland Guérin de Vaux (17 December 1903 – 10 September 1971) was a French Dominican priest who led the Catholic team that initially worked on the Dead Sea Scrolls. He was the director of the Ecole Biblique, a French Catholic Theological S ...
. "The Revelation of the Divine Name YHVH." In ''Proclamation and Presence: Old Testament Essays in Honour of Gwynne Henton Davies''. Edited by John I. Durham and J. Roy Porter, pages 48–75. London: SCM Press, 1970.
*Ziony Zevit
Ziony Zevit (born February 13, 1942) is an American scholar of biblical literature and Northwest Semitic languages, and a professor at the American Jewish University.
Biography
Zevit received his B.A. degree from University of Southern CA in 1 ...
“The Priestly Redaction and Interpretation of the Plague Narrative in Exodus.”
''
The Jewish Quarterly Review
''The Jewish Quarterly Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering Jewish studies. It is published by the University of Pennsylvania Press on behalf of the Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies (University of Pe ...
'', new series, volume 66, number 4 (April 1976): pages 193–211.
*Marvin H. Pope. “Mid Rock and Scrub, A Ugaritic Parallel to Exodus 7:19.” In ''Biblical and Near Eastern Studies: Essays in Honor of William Sanford La Sor
William Sanford LaSor (October 25, 1911 – 1991) was an American academic who worked as a professor emeritus of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.LA Sor, William Sanford et al, ''Old Testament survey: the mes ...
''. Edited by Gary A. Tuttle, pages 146–50. Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...
: Eerdmans, 1978.
*Robert R. Wilson, "The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart." ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly
The ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'' is a refereed peer-reviewed theology journal published by the Catholic Biblical Association of America (CBA) (CBA) in January, April, July, and October. It was established in 1939 and its circulation in 2010 w ...
'', volume 41 (number 1) (1979): pages 18–36.
*Ziony Zevit
Ziony Zevit (born February 13, 1942) is an American scholar of biblical literature and Northwest Semitic languages, and a professor at the American Jewish University.
Biography
Zevit received his B.A. degree from University of Southern CA in 1 ...
. "Three Ways to Look at the Ten Plagues: Were They Natural Disasters, A Demonstration of the Impotence of the Egyptian Gods or an Undoing of Creation?" ''Bible Review
''Biblical Archaeology Review'' is a magazine appearing every three months and sometimes referred to as ''BAR'' that seeks to connect the academic study of archaeology to a broad general audience seeking to understand the world of the Bible, the ...
'', volume 6 (number 3) (June 1980).
*John E. Currid. "Why Did God Harden Pharaoh's Heart?" ''Bible Review'', volume 9 (number 6) (November/December 1983).
* Judith R. Baskin. ''Pharaoh's Counsellors: Job, Jethro, and Balaam in Rabbinic and Patristic Tradition''. Brown Judaic Studies, 1983.
* Pinchas H. Peli. ''Torah Today: A Renewed Encounter with Scripture'', pages 59–62. Washington, D.C.: B'nai B'rith Books, 1987.
*Mark S. Smith
Mark Stratton John Matthew Smith (born December 6, 1956) is an American biblical scholar, anthropologist, and professor.
Early life and education
Born in Paris to Donald Eugene Smith and Mary Elizabeth (Betty) Reichert, Smith grew up in Washin ...
. ''The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel'', pages 4, 8, 66. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1990.
*Ziony Zevit“Three Ways to Look at the Ten Plagues:Were they natural disasters, a demonstration of the impotence of the Egyptian gods or an undoing of Creation?
''Bible Review'', volume 6, number 3 (1990). *
Harvey J. Fields
Harvey J. Fields (1935–2014) was an American Reform rabbi. He served as the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, the largest synagogue in Canada, from 1978 to 1982. He then served as the rabbi of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, the oldest synagog ...
. ''A Torah Commentary for Our Times: Volume II: Exodus and Leviticus'', pages 17–24. New York: UAHC Press, 1991.
*Nahum M. Sarna
Nahum Mattathias Sarna (Hebrew: נחום סרנא; March 27, 1923 – June 23, 2005) was a modern biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Genesis and Exodus represented in his ''Understanding Genesis'' (1966) and in his contributions t ...
. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 30–48, 269. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991.
* Nehama Leibowitz. ''New Studies in Shemot (Exodus)'', pages 114–77. Jerusalem: Haomanim Press, 1993. Reprinted as ''New Studies in the Weekly Parasha''. Lambda Publishers, 2010.
*Aaron Wildavsky
Aaron Wildavsky (May 31, 1930 – September 4, 1993) was an American political scientist known for his pioneering work in public policy, government budgeting, and risk management.
Early years
A native of Brooklyn in New York, Wildavsky was th ...
. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel'', page 14. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993.
*Walter Brueggemann
Walter Brueggemann (born March 11, 1933) is an American Protestant Old Testament scholar and theologian who is widely considered one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the last several decades. His work often focuses on the Hebrew p ...
. “The Book of Exodus.” In '' The New Interpreter's Bible''. Edited by Leander E. Keck, volume 1, pages 731–60. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.
*Judith S. Antonelli. "Elisheva." In ''In the Image of God: A Feminist Commentary on the Torah'', pages 146–53. Northvale, New Jersey
Northvale is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 4,640,Jason Aronson
Jason Aronson was an American publisher of books in the field of psychotherapy. Topics dealt with in these books include child therapy, family therapy, couple therapy, object relations therapy, play therapy, depression, eating disorders, persona ...
, 1995.
*Ellen Frankel Ellen Frankel (born 1951) was the Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) from 1991 until 2009, and also served as CEO of the JPS for 10 years. She retired in 2009 to pursue her own writing and scholarly projects, serving as JPS's f ...
. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah'', pages 102–04. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons
G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group.
History
The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam and J ...
, 1996.
*Marc Gellman. "The Pharaoh and the Frog." In ''God's Mailbox: More Stories About Stories in the Bible'', pages 36–43. New York: Morrow Junior Books, 1996.
*W. Gunther Plaut
Wolf Gunther Plaut, (November 1, 1912 – February 8, 2012) was an American Reform rabbi and writer who was based in Canada. Plaut was the rabbi of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto for several decades and since 1978 was its senior scholar.
L ...
. ''The Haftarah Commentary'', pages 131–39. New York: UAHC Press, 1996.
*Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden. ''Teaching Torah: A Treasury of Insights and Activities'', pages 94–99. Denver
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
: A.R.E. Publishing, 1997.
*William H.C. Propp. ''Exodus 1–18'', volume 2, pages 261–354. New York: Anchor Bible, 1998.
*Susan Freeman. ''Teaching Jewish Virtues: Sacred Sources and Arts Activities'', pages 332–46. Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. ().
*''Exodus to Deuteronomy: A Feminist Companion to the Bible (Second Series)''. Edited by Athalya Brenner
Athalya Brenner-Idan (born 17 July 1943 in Haifa, Israel) is a Dutch-Israeli biblical scholar known for her contribution to feminist biblical studies.
Academic career
Brenner studied at Haifa University and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem befo ...
, pages 22, 30–31, 47, 59, 85, 95–96, 98, 100–01, 107, 164, 169. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 2000.
*Avivah Gottlieb Zornberg. ''The Particulars of Rapture: Reflections on Exodus'', pages 81–131. New York: Doubleday, 2001.
*Lainie Blum Cogan and Judy Weiss. ''Teaching Haftarah: Background, Insights, and Strategies'', pages 451–57. Denver: A.R.E. Publishing, 2002.
*Michael Fishbane
Michael A. Fishbane (born 1943) is an American scholar of Judaism and rabbinic literature. Formerly at Brandeis University, he is currently Professor Emeritus of Jewish Studies at the Divinity School, University of Chicago.
Fishbane (Ph.D., Brande ...
. ''The JPS Bible Commentary: Haftarot'', pages 87–93. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2002.
*Bernhard Lang. "Why God Has So Many Names." ''Bible Review'', volume 19 (number 4) (August 2003): pages 48–54, 63.
*Robert Alter
Robert Bernard Alter (born 1935) is an American professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He published his translation of the Hebrew Bible in 2018.
Biography
Rober ...
. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 339–64. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004.
*Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
. '' Dreams from My Father'', page 294. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995, 2004. (Moses and Pharaoh).
*Jeffrey H. Tigay
Jeffrey Howard Tigay (born December 25, 1941) is a modern wikt:biblical, biblical scholar who is best known for the study of Book of Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy and in his contributions to the Deuteronomy volume of the ''JPS Torah Commentary'' (1996 ...
. "What's in a Name? Early Evidence of Devotion Exclusively to Yahweh." ''Bible Review'', volume 20 (number 1) (February 2004): pages 34–43, 47–51.
*Jeffrey H. Tigay. "Exodus." In ''The Jewish Study Bible''. Edited by Adele Berlin
Adele Berlin (born May 23, 1943 in Philadelphia) is an American biblical scholar and Hebraist. Before her retirement, she was Robert H. Smith Professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Maryland.
Berlin is best known for 1994 work ''Poeti ...
and Marc Zvi Brettler
Marc Brettler (Marc Zvi Brettler) is an American biblical scholar, and the Bernice and Morton Lerner Professor in Judaic Studies at Duke University. He earned his B.A., M.A., and PhD from Brandeis University, where he previously served as Dora Gold ...
, pages 115–22. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
*Marek Halter
Marek Halter is a French writer and activist, known best for his historical novels, which have been translated into English, Polish, Hebrew, and many other languages.
Biography
He was born in Warsaw, Poland in 1936. During World War II, he ...
. ''Zipporah, Wife of Moses'', pages 245–49. New York: Crown, 2005.
*''Professors on the Parashah: Studies on the Weekly Torah Reading'' Edited by Leib Moscovitz, pages 94–99. Jerusalem: Urim Publications, 2005.
*Lawrence Kushner. ''Kabbalah: A Love Story'', page 78. New York: Morgan Road Books, 2006.
*W. Gunther Plaut. ''The Torah: A Modern Commentary: Revised Edition''. Revised edition edited by David E.S. Stern, pages 379–404. New York: Union for Reform Judaism
The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ), known as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) until 2003, founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, is the congregational arm of Reform Judaism in North America. The other two arms established ...
, 2006.
*Suzanne A. Brody. "The highest form." In ''Dancing in the White Spaces: The Yearly Torah Cycle and More Poems'', page 76. Shelbyville, Kentucky: Wasteland Press, 2007.
*James L. Kugel
James L. Kugel (Hebrew: Yaakov Kaduri, יעקב כדורי; born August 22, 1945) is Professor Emeritus in the Bible Department at Bar Ilan University in Israel and the Harry M. Starr Professor Emeritus of Classical and Modern Hebrew Literature at ...
. ''How To Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now'', pages 40, 54, 205, 216–32, 376, 421, 425. New York: Free Press, 2007.
*Kenton L. Sparks“‘Enūma Elish’ and Priestly Mimesis: Elite Emulation in Nascent Judaism.”
''
Journal of Biblical Literature
The ''Journal of Biblical Literature'' (''JBL'') is one of three academic journals published by the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL). First published in 1881, ''JBL'' is the flagship journal of the field. ''JBL'' is published quarterly and inc ...
'', volume 126 (2007): 635–37. (“Priestly Mimesis in the Exodus Story”).
*''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi Tamara Cohn Eskenazi is The Effie Wise Ochs Professor of Biblical Literature and History at the Reform Jewish seminary Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles.
She was the first woman hired by the Hebrew Union College-Jewi ...
and Andrea L. Weiss, pages 311–54. New York: URJ Press, 2008.
*Thomas B. Dozeman. ''Commentary on Exodus'', pages 159–238. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009.
*Reuven Hammer
Reuven Hammer (June 30, 1933 – August 12, 2019) was an American-Israeli Conservative rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer who was born in New York. He was a founder of the "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in Israel and a presid ...
. ''Entering Torah: Prefaces to the Weekly Torah Portion'', pages 83–88. New York: Gefen Publishing House, 2009.
*Rebecca G.S. Idestrom“Echoes of the Book of Exodus in Ezekiel.”
''
Journal for the Study of the Old Testament
The ''Journal for the Study of the Old Testament'' (JSOT) is a peer-reviewed academic journal covering the field of Biblical studies. The editors-in-chief are David Shepherd (Trinity College Dublin) and Lena-Sofia Tiemeyer ( Örebro School of Theol ...
'', volume 33 (number 4) (June 2009): pages 489–510. (Motifs from Exodus found in Ezekiel, including the call narrative, divine encounters, captivity, signs, plagues, judgment, redemption, tabernacle/temple, are considered.).
*Jhos Singer. “Uncircumcized Lips: Parashat Vaeira (Exodus 6:2–9:35).” In ''Torah Queeries: Weekly Commentaries on the Hebrew Bible''. Edited by Gregg Drinkwater, Joshua Lesser, and David Shneer; foreword by Judith Plaskow
Judith Plaskow (born March 14, 1947) is an American theologian, author, and activist known for being the first Jewish feminist theologian. After earning her doctorate at Yale University, she taught at Manhattan College for thirty-two years before ...
, pages 80–84. New York: New York University Press
New York University Press (or NYU Press) is a university press that is part of New York University.
History
NYU Press was founded in 1916 by the then chancellor of NYU, Elmer Ellsworth Brown.
Directors
* Arthur Huntington Nason, 1916–1932 ...
, 2009.
*Bruce Wells. "Exodus." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton
John H. Walton (born 1952) is an Old Testament scholar and Professor at Wheaton College. He was a professor at Moody Bible Institute for 20 years. He specializes in the Ancient Near Eastern backgrounds of the Old Testament, especially Genesis ...
, volume 1, pages 181–98. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan
Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). They are a part of HarperCollins Christian Publ ...
, 2009.
*Berel Dov Lerner“Crying Out About Frogs.”
''
Vetus Testamentum
''Vetus Testamentum'' is a quarterly academic journal covering various aspects of the Old Testament. It is published by Brill Publishers
Brill Academic Publishers (known as E. J. Brill, Koninklijke Brill, Brill ()) is a Dutch international a ...
'', volume 60 (number 4) (2010): pages 662–63.
*Jonathan Sacks
Jonathan Henry Sacks, Baron Sacks ( he, יונתן הנרי זקס, translit=Yona'tan Henry Zaks; 8 March 19487 November 2020) was an English Orthodox rabbi, philosopher, theologian, and author. Sacks served as the Chief Rabbi of the United He ...
. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Exodus: The Book of Redemption'', pages 41–68. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2010.
*Sam Ernst
Sam Ernst is a television writer and producer best known for working on shows such as '' Daredevil'', ''Carnival Row'', '' Hand of God'', '' Haven'', and '' The Dead Zone''. He frequently collaborates with his writing partner Jim Dunn. In 2010, ...
and Jim Dunn. "A Tale of Two Audreys
The second season of the American television series '' Haven'' premiered on July 15, 2011, on Syfy. The season consisted of 13 episodes including a Christmas episode. The show stars Emily Rose, Lucas Bryant and Eric Balfour.
Cast
Main cast
* E ...
." In '' Haven'', season 2, episode 1. Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
, 2011. (plagues plot element).
*Shmuel Herzfeld
Shmuel Herzfeld (born October 9, 1974) is an American Modern Orthodox rabbi. He previously served as the Senior Rabbi of Ohev Sholom - The National Synagogue in Washington, D.C. He is a teacher, lecturer, activist, and author.
Early life and ed ...
. "Building a Noble Community." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 80–85. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House
Gefen Publishing House (הוצאת גפן) is an English language publishing firm located in Jerusalem, which also has a department in New York City. History
Gefen was founded in 1981 by Murray and Hana Greenfield.
Its CEO is Ilan Greenfield, so ...
, 2012.
*''Torah MiEtzion: New Readings in Tanach: Shemot''. Edited by Ezra Bick and Yaakov Beasley, pages 61–107. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2012.
*Ari Kahn. “Lessons in Leadership.” ''The Jerusalem Report
''The Jerusalem Report'' is a fortnightly print and online news magazine that covers political, security, economic, religious and cultural issues in Israel, the Middle East and the Jewish world.
Founded as an independent weekly publication in 199 ...
'', volume 25 (number 21) (January 26, 2015): page 47.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Lessons in Leadership: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 67–71. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2015.
*David Fohrman. ''The Exodus You Almost Passed Over''. Aleph Beta Press, 2016.
*Jean-Pierre Isbouts
Jean-Pierre Isbouts (born 1954) is a professor in the Social Sciences PhD program of Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, California, and an archaeologist, author, screenwriter, director, and producer of works addressing various histori ...
. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', pages 105–07. Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
: National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
, 2016.
*Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 85–89. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016.
*Shai Held Shai Held (born July 2, 1971) is a rosh yeshiva (Rabbinic dean) and Chair in Jewish Thought at Mechon Hadar.
He founded Mechon Hadar in 2006 with Rabbis Elie Kaunfer and Ethan Tucker.
Education
Held attended Ramaz High School and studied ...
. ''The Heart of Torah, Volume 1: Essays on the Weekly Torah Portion: Genesis and Exodus'', pages 134–43. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Steven Levy and Sarah Levy. ''The JPS Rashi Discussion Torah Commentary'', pages 44–46. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2017.
*Bill Dauster"Pharaoh’s Administration Offers a Cautionary Tale for Today."
''
Washington Jewish Week
''Washington Jewish Week'' (''WJW'') is an independent community weekly newspaper whose logo reads, "Serving the nation's capital and the greater Washington Jewish community since 1930."
''. January 11, 2018, page 19.
*Biblical Archaeology Society
The Biblical Archaeology Society was established in 1974 by American lawyer Hershel Shanks, as a non-sectarian organisation that supports and promotes biblical archaeology. Its current publications include the ''Biblical Archaeology Review'', whil ...
Staff“Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues: Can we make sense of the Biblical plagues?”
''Bible History Daily'', March 31, 2020. *Andrew Tobolowsky
"The Problem of Reubenite Primacy: New Paradigms, New Answers."
''Journal of Biblical Literature'', volume 139, number 1 (2020): pages 27–45.
External links
Texts
Commentaries
Academy for Jewish Religion, California
Aleph Beta Academy
Chabad.org
MyJewishLearning.com
{{Weekly Torah Portions Weekly Torah readings in Tevet Weekly Torah readings from Exodus