Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera (—

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

for "and I appeared," the first word that

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

speaks in the ''

parashah The term ''parashah'', ''parasha'' or ''parashat'' ( ''Pārāšâ'', "portion", Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian , Sephardi Hebrew, Sephardi , plural: ''parashot'' or ''parashiyot'', also called ''parsha'') formally means a section of a biblical book ...

'', in Exodus 6:3) is the fourteenth

weekly Torah portion The weekly Torah portion refers to a lectionary custom in Judaism in which a portion of the Torah (or Pentateuch) is read during Jewish prayer services on Monday, Thursday, and Saturday. The full name, ''Parashat HaShavua'' (), is popularly abbre ...

(, ''parashah'') in the annual

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

cycle of

Torah reading Torah reading (; ') is a Jewish religious tradition that involves the public reading of a set of passages from a Torah scroll. The term often refers to the entire ceremony of removing the scroll (or scrolls) from the Torah ark, chanting the ap ...

and the second in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from ; ''Šəmōṯ'', 'Names'; ) is the second book of the Bible. It is the first part of the narrative of the Exodus, the origin myth of the Israelites, in which they leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through the strength of ...

. It constitutes Exodus 6:2–9:35. The ''parashah'' tells of the first seven

Plagues of Egypt In the Book of Exodus, the Plagues of Egypt () are ten disasters that the Hebrew God inflicts on the Biblical Egypt, Egyptians to convince Pharaohs in the Bible#In the Book of Exodus, the Pharaoh to emancipate the enslaved Israelites, each of th ...

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

s read it the fourteenth Sabbath (''

Shabbat Shabbat (, , or ; , , ) or the Sabbath (), also called Shabbos (, ) by Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the seven-day week, week—i.e., Friday prayer, Friday–Saturday. On this day, religious Jews ...

'') after

Simchat Torah Simchat Torah (; Ashkenazi: ), also spelled Simhat 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. Simchat Torah is a component of the Hebrew Bible ...

, 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"
. '' aliyot''. In the

Masoretic Text The Masoretic Text (MT or 𝕸; ) is the authoritative Hebrew and Aramaic text of the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible (''Tanakh'') in Rabbinic Judaism. The Masoretic Text defines the Jewish canon and its precise letter-text, with its vocaliz ...

of the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Tanakh The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. ''

peh'')). Parashat Va'eira has seven further subdivisions, called "closed portion" (, ''setumah'') divisions (abbreviated with the Hebrew letter (''

samekh Samekh or samech is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''sāmek'' 𐤎, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''sāmeḵ'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''samek'' 𐡎, and Syriac alphabet, Syr ...

'')) 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. The ninth open portion covers the balance of the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions separate the first and second readings, split the second and third readings, and divide the fourth, fifth, and sixth readings. Tissot Moses

First reading—Exodus 6:2–13

In the first reading, God spoke to

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

, identified God's Self as the God of the

Patriarchs The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ...

, and acknowledged hearing the moaning of the

Israelites Israelites were a Hebrew language, Hebrew-speaking ethnoreligious group, consisting of tribes that lived in Canaan during the Iron Age. Modern scholarship describes the Israelites as emerging from indigenous Canaanites, Canaanite populations ...

. God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that God would free them, make them God's people, and bring them to the

Promised Land In the Abrahamic religions, the "Promised Land" ( ) refers to a swath of territory in the Levant that was bestowed upon Abraham and his descendants by God in Abrahamic religions, God. In the context of the Bible, these descendants are originally ...

. 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 language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

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 the Old Testament of the Bible, Aaron ( or ) was an Israelite prophet, a high priest, and the elder brother of Moses. Information about Aaron comes exclusively from religious texts, such as the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament ...

to bring the Israelites out of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. The first reading and a closed portion end here.

Second reading—Exodus 6:14–28

The second reading interjects a partial

genealogy 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 kin ...

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 Reuvein in Yiddish or as an English variant spelling on th ...

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew, Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated in English as Shimon. In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Sy ...

, 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 Israelites, Israelite Tribe of Levi (the Levites, including the Kohanim) and the great-grandfather of Aaron ...

, 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. Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 048

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 048

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 divinity, divine being and is said to speak on behalf of that being, serving as an intermediary with humanity by delivering messages or teachings ...

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. Tissot Water Is Changed into Blood

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 a

snake Snakes are elongated limbless reptiles of the suborder Serpentes (). Cladistically squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales much like other members of the group. Many species of snakes have s ...

, and Aaron did so before Pharaoh. Pharaoh caused his magicians 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 that he let the Israelites go to worship in the

wilderness Wilderness or wildlands (usually in the plurale tantum, plural) are Earth, Earth's natural environments that have not been significantly modified by human impact on the environment, human activity, or any urbanization, nonurbanized land not u ...

, and have Aaron strike the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

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 is com ...

. 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 semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

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 to

lice Louse (: lice) is the common name for any member of the infraorder Phthiraptera, which contains nearly 5,000 species of wingless parasitic insects. Phthiraptera was previously recognized as an order, until a 2021 genetic study determined th ...

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 insects and wild animals on Egypt, but not on Goshen. The fifth reading ends here. Tissot The Plague of Flies

Sixth reading—Exodus 8:19–9:16

In the sixth reading, God loosed swarms of

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

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 8. As the reading continues with chapter 9, God struck the Egyptian's

livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...

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 ...

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 threaten

hail Hail is a form of solid Precipitation (meteorology), 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 hailsto ...

such as Egypt had never seen and to teach 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 (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

, but not the

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

and the

spelt Spelt (''Triticum spelta''), also known as dinkel wheat is a species of wheat. It is a relict crop, eaten in Central Europe and northern Spain. It is high in protein and may be considered a health food. Spelt was cultivated from the Neolit ...

, which ripened later. In the '' maftir'' () 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 9.

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle 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 Exodus 8:15, "This is the finger of God!"

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. ...

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 Exodus 2:24 and 6:5–6, God remembered God's covenant with

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, and

Jacob Jacob, later known as Israel, is a Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions. He first appears in the Torah, where he is described in the Book of Genesis as a son of Isaac and Rebecca. Accordingly, alongside his older fraternal twin brother E ...

to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Similarly, God remembered

Noah Noah (; , also Noach) appears as the last of the Antediluvian Patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5–9), the Quran and Baháʼí literature, ...

to deliver him from the flood in

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...

8:1; God promised to remember God's covenant not to destroy the Earth again by flood in Genesis 9:15–16; God remembered Abraham to deliver Lot from the destruction of

Sodom and Gomorrah In the Abrahamic religions, Sodom and Gomorrah () were two cities destroyed by God for their wickedness. Sodom and Gomorrah are repeatedly invoked throughout the Hebrew Bible, Deuterocanonical texts, and the New Testament as symbols of sin, di ...

in Genesis 19:29; God remembered

Rachel Rachel () was a Bible, Biblical figure, the favorite of Jacob's two wives, and the mother of Joseph (Genesis), Joseph and Benjamin, two of the twelve progenitors of the tribes of Israel. Rachel's father was Laban (Bible), Laban. Her older siste ...

to deliver her from childlessness in Genesis 30:22; 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 Exodus 32:13 and

Deuteronomy Deuteronomy (; ) is the fifth book of the Torah (in Judaism), where it is called () which makes it the fifth book of the Hebrew Bible and Christian Old Testament. Chapters 1–30 of the book consist of three sermons or speeches delivered to ...

9:27; 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. The definition ...

in Leviticus 26:42–45; the Israelites were to blow upon their trumpets to be remembered and delivered from their enemies in

Numbers A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The most basic examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

10:9;

Samson SAMSON (Software for Adaptive Modeling and Simulation Of Nanosystems) is a computer software platform for molecular design being developed bOneAngstromand previously by the NANO-D group at the French Institute for Research in Computer Science an ...

called on God to deliver him from the

Philistines Philistines (; LXX: ; ) were ancient people who lived on the south coast of Canaan during the Iron Age in a confederation of city-states generally referred to as Philistia. There is compelling evidence to suggest that the Philistines origi ...

Judges A judge is an official who presides over a court. Judge or Judges may also refer to: Roles *Judge, an alternative name for an adjudicator in a competition in theatre, music, sport, etc. *Judge, an alternative name/aviator call sign for a membe ...

16:28; Hannah prayed for God to remember her and deliver her from childlessness in

1 Samuel The Book of Samuel () is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Samuel) in the Old Testament. The book is part of the Deuteronomistic history, a series of books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) that constitute a theological ...

1:11 and God remembered Hannah's prayer to deliver her from childlessness in 1 Samuel 1:19;

Hezekiah Hezekiah (; ), or Ezekias (born , sole ruler ), was the son of Ahaz and the thirteenth king of Kingdom of Judah, Judah according to the Hebrew Bible.Stephen L Harris, Harris, Stephen L., ''Understanding the Bible''. Palo Alto: Mayfield. 1985. "G ...

called on God to remember Hezekiah's faithfulness to deliver him from sickness in 2 Kings 20:3 and

Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "Yahweh is salvation"; also known as Isaias or Esaias from ) was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. The text of the Book of Isaiah refers to Isaiah as "the prophet" ...

38:3;

Jeremiah Jeremiah ( – ), also called Jeremias, was one of the major prophets of the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition, Jeremiah authored the Book of Jeremiah, book that bears his name, the Books of Kings, and the Book of Lamentations, with t ...

called on God to remember God's covenant with the Israelites to not condemn them in

14:21; Jeremiah called on God to remember him and think of him, and avenge him of his persecutors in Jeremiah 15:15; God promises to remember God's covenant with the Israelites and establish an everlasting covenant in

Ezekiel Ezekiel, also spelled Ezechiel (; ; ), was an Israelite priest. The Book of Ezekiel, relating his visions and acts, is named after him. The Abrahamic religions acknowledge Ezekiel as a prophet. According to the narrative, Ezekiel prophesied ...

16:60; God remembers the cry of the humble in

Zion Zion (; ) is a placename in the Tanakh, often used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Israel as a whole. The name is found in 2 Samuel (), one of the books of the Tanakh dated to approximately the mid-6th century BCE. It o ...

to avenge them in

Psalm The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of H ...

9:13;

David David (; , "beloved one") was a king of ancient Israel and Judah and the third king of the United Monarchy, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament. The Tel Dan stele, an Aramaic-inscribed stone erected by a king of Aram-Dam ...

called upon God to remember God's compassion and mercy in Psalm 25:6; Asaph called on God to remember God's congregation to deliver them from their enemies in Psalm 74:2; God remembered that the Israelites were only human in Psalm 78:39; Ethan the Ezrahite called on God to remember how short Ethan's life was in Psalm 89:48; God remembers that humans are but dust in Psalm 103:14; God remembers God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Psalm 105:8–10; God remembers God's word to Abraham to deliver the Israelites to the Land of Israel in Psalm 105:42–44; 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 Psalm 106:4–5; 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 Psalm 106:4–5; the Psalmist calls on God to remember God's word to God's servant to give him hope in Psalm 119:49; God remembered us in our low estate to deliver us from our adversaries in Psalm 136:23–24;

Job Work, labor (labour in Commonwealth English), occupation or job is the intentional activity people perform to support the needs and desires of themselves, other people, or organizations. In the context of economics, work can be seen as the huma ...

called on God to remember him to deliver him from God's wrath in

14:13;

Nehemiah Nehemiah (; ''Nəḥemyā'', "Yahweh, Yah comforts") is the central figure of the Book of Nehemiah, which describes his work in rebuilding Jerusalem during the Second Temple period as the governor of Yehud Medinata, Persian Judea under Artaxer ...

prayed to God to remember God's promise to Moses to deliver the Israelites from exile in

1:8; and Nehemiah prayed to God to remember him to deliver him for good in Nehemiah 13:14–31. Nahum Sarna noted that the first two verbs in Exodus 6:7, “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 Genesis 4:19; 6:2; 11:29, and more than 70 other Biblical occurrences, and "to be (someone's)" (, ''h-y-h le-'') in Leviticus 21:3; Numbers 30:7; Deuteronomy 24:4; Judges 14:20; 15:2; 2 Samuel 12:10; Jeremiah 3:1; Ezekiel 16:8; and

Hosea In the Hebrew Bible, Hosea ( or ; ), also known as Osee (), son of Beeri, was an 8th-century BC prophet in Israel and the nominal primary author of the Book of Hosea. He is the first of the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose collective writing ...

3:3. Jeffrey Tigay and Bruce Wells noted that the Hebrew Bible also uses similar language for adoption, for example in 2 Samuel 7:14 (“I will be to him”), and thus one can say that God adopted the Israelites.

Exodus chapter 7

As Exodus 7:7 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 Deuteronomy 31:2 and when he died, as reported in Deuteronomy 34:7, at age 120.

Exodus chapters 7–12

The description of the 10 plagues exhibits patterns and progressions, as follows: Psalms 78:44–51 and 105:23–38 each recount differing arrangements of seven plagues. Psalm 78:44–51 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. Psalm 105:23–38 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 (; ; ; ), also called , was a Hellenistic Jewish philosopher who lived in Alexandria, in the Roman province of Egypt. The only event in Philo's life that can be decisively dated is his representation of the Alexandrian J ...

read the words of Exodus 6:3, "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 Exodus 3:14, "

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 cre ...

," 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 the best thing, they may at least know the best possible Name. Philo noted that in Exodus 6:3, God speaks of the proper name of God, never having been revealed to anyone. Philo suggested that God's statement in Exodus 6:3 meant that God had not revealed God's proper Name to them, but only that which could commonly be used. Philo argued that God is so completely indescribable that even those powers ministering 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 these

rabbi 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 t ...

nic sources from the era of the

Mishnah The Mishnah or the Mishna (; , from the verb ''šānā'', "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first written collection of the Jewish oral traditions that are known as the Oral Torah. Having been collected in the 3rd century CE, it is ...

and the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

Exodus chapter 6

Midrash ''Midrash'' (;"midrash"
. ''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. ; or ''midrashot' ...

noted that God had already informed Moses that Pharaoh would not allow the Israelites to go, as in Exodus 3:19, God told Moses, "I know that the King of Egypt will not allow you to go," and in Exodus 4:19, God told Moses, "I will harden his heart." But Moses did not keep this in mind, but came instead to doubt the wisdom of God's decree, and began to argue with God, saying in Exodus 5:22: "Lord, why have You dealt ill with this people?" For this reason, the Attribute of Justice sought to attack Moses, as Exodus 6:2 says: "And God spoke to Moses" (employing the name of God (, ''Elohim'') indicative of God's Justice). But when God reflected that Moses only asked this because of Israel's suffering, God retracted and dealt with Moses according to the Attribute of Mercy, as Exodus 6:2 says: "And He said to him: ‘I am the Lord'" (employing the name of God (, the

Tetragrammaton The TetragrammatonPronounced ; ; also known as the Tetragram. is the four-letter Hebrew-language theonym (transliteration, transliterated as YHWH or YHVH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four Hebrew letters, written and read from ...

) indicative of God's Mercy). The Midrash viewed the question of Moses in Exodus 5:22 as an application of

Ecclesiastes Ecclesiastes ( ) is one of the Ketuvim ('Writings') of the Hebrew Bible and part of the Wisdom literature of the Christian Old Testament. The title commonly used in English is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew word ...

2:12: "And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the King? even that which has been already done." The Midrash taught that Ecclesiastes 2:12 refers to both

Solomon Solomon (), also called Jedidiah, was the fourth monarch of the Kingdom of Israel (united monarchy), Kingdom of Israel and Judah, according to the Hebrew Bible. The successor of his father David, he is described as having been the penultimate ...

and Moses. The Midrash taught that Ecclesiastes 2:12 refers to Solomon, for God gave some commandments for kings, as it says in Deuteronomy 17:16–17: "Only he shall not multiply horses to himself . . . Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither silver and gold." Solomon read in Deuteronomy 17:17 that the reason of God's decree was "that his heart turn not away." The Midrash taught that Solomon thus thought to himself that he would multiply his wives but still not allow his heart to turn away. And the Midrash taught that Ecclesiastes 2:12 refers to Moses because Moses began to argue with God in Exodus 5:22, "Lord, why have you dealt ill with this people?" Because of this, the Midrash taught that at that point the wisdom and knowledge of Moses was only (in the words of Ecclesiastes 2:12) "madness and folly." The Midrash asked what right Moses had to question God's ways and in the words of Ecclesiastes 2:12, "that which had been already done" that God had revealed to him. Reading the words, "And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob," in Exodus 6:3, a Midrash taught that God thus told Moses that God longed for those who were gone and could not be replaced—the three Patriarchs. The Midrash said that God told Moses that many times, God had revealed God's Self to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty (, ''El Shadai''), and God had not made known to them that God's name is the Lord (, the Tetragrammaton). But still they did not criticize God's ways. To Abraham, God said in Genesis 13:17, "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for to you will I give it," yet when Abraham wanted to bury

Sarah Sarah (born Sarai) is a biblical matriarch, prophet, and 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 pious woma ...

, he found no plot of ground until he had purchased one; still, he did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Isaac in Genesis 26:3, "Sojourn in this land . . . for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands." Yet when Isaac sought water to drink, he found none; instead (as Genesis 26:20 reports), "The herdsmen of

Gerar 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 Internati ...

strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying: ‘The water is ours.'" Still Isaac did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Jacob in Genesis 28:13, "The land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed." Yet when he sought a place to pitch his tent, he found none until he purchased one for a hundred '' kesitah'' (as reported in Genesis 33:19). And still Jacob did not complain at God's ways. The Patriarchs did not ask God, as Moses did in Exodus 3:13, what God's name was. In contrast, at the commencement of God's commission of Moses, Moses inquired of God's name. And in Exodus 5:23, Moses told God, "For since I came to Pharaoh . . . he has dealt ill with this people; neither have You delivered Your people." On this account, the Midrash taught, God said in Exodus 6:4, "And I have also established my covenant with them," the Patriarchs, to give them the land, and they never complained of God's ways. And God said in Exodus 6:5, "I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel," because they did not complain against God. Although the Israelites of that generation did not conduct themselves righteously, yet God heard their cry on account of the covenant that God had made with the Patriarchs. Hence, it says in Exodus 6:6, "And I have remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel." The Midrash taught that the word "therefore" (''lachein'') in Exodus 6:6 implies an oath, as it does in 1 Samuel 3:14, where God says, "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli." Thus, the Midrash taught that God swore to Moses that God would redeem the Israelites, so that Moses would have no reason to fear that the Attribute of Justice would retard their redemption. Rabbi Simai found evidence for the resurrection of the dead in the words, "And I also have established my covenant with them (the

) to give them the land of Canaan," in Exodus 6:4. Rabbi Simai noted that Exodus 6:4 does not say "to give you" but "to give them," implying that God would give the land to the Patriarchs personally, and thus that God would resurrect them so as to fulfill the promise. Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 044

Schnorr von Carolsfeld Bibel in Bildern 1860 044

Baraita ''Baraita'' ( "external" or "outside"; pl. ''bārayāṯā'' or in Hebrew ''baraitot''; also baraitha, beraita; Ashkenazi pronunciation: berayse) designates a tradition in the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism that is not incorporated in the Mi ...

deduced from Exodus 6:6 that the Israelites' bondage in Egypt ended on

Rosh Hashanah Rosh Hashanah (, , ) is the New Year in Judaism. The Hebrew Bible, biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , ). It is the first of the High Holy Days (, , 'Days of Awe"), as specified by Leviticus 23:23–25, that occur in the late summe ...

. The Baraita noted that Exodus 6:6 uses the word "burden" to describe the end of the Israelites' bondage in Egypt, and Psalm 81:7 uses the word "burden" to describe the end of Joseph's imprisonment, and the Baraita deduced that the two events must therefore have occurred at the same time of year. The Baraita further deduced from the words, "Blow the horn on the new moon, on the covering day for our festival . . . He appointed it for Joseph for a testimony when he went forth," in Psalm 81:4–6 that Joseph went forth from the prison on Rosh Hashanah. Rabbi Nehemiah cited the use of the words "will bring you out" in Exodus 6:6 to demonstrate that using the word ''hamotzi'' in the blessing over bread would mean that God "''will'' bring forth" bread from the land—not that God "''has'' brought forth" bread from the land. Rabbi Nehemiah thus read Exodus 6:6–7 to mean: "I am the Lord, the One Who ''will bring'' you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." The

Gemara The Gemara (also transliterated Gemarah, or in Yiddish Gemore) is an essential component of the Talmud, comprising a collection of rabbinical analyses and commentaries on the Mishnah and presented in 63 books. The term is derived from the Aram ...

reported that the Rabbis of a Baraita, however, read Exodus 6:6–7 to mean: "When I ''shall bring'' you out, I will do for you something that will show you that I am the One Who ''brought'' you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." The

Jerusalem Talmud The Jerusalem Talmud (, often for short) or Palestinian Talmud, also known as the Talmud of the Land of Israel, is a collection of rabbinic notes on the second-century Jewish oral tradition known as the Mishnah. Naming this version of the Talm ...

cited the four promises of salvation in Exodus 6:6–7, (1) "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians," (2) "I will deliver you from their bondage," (3) "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm," and (4) "I will take you to Me for a people," as one reason why Jews drink four cups of wine at the

Passover seder The Passover Seder is a ritual feast at the beginning of the Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday of Passover. It is conducted throughout the world on the eve of the 15th day of Nisan in the Hebrew calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew d ...

. And thus the Mishnah taught that "On the eve of

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holidays, Jewish holiday and one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals. It celebrates the Exodus of the Israelites from slavery in Biblical Egypt, Egypt. According to the Book of Exodus, God in ...

, . . . even the poorest man in Israel must not eat until he reclines; and they (the overseers of charity) should give him not less than four cups of wine." A Baraita taught that Rabbi Simai deduced from the similarity of the phrases "And I will take you to me for a people" and "And I will bring you in to the land" in Exodus 6:7 that the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt occurred under circumstances like their entry into the Land of Israel. Rabbi Simai thus deduced that just as only two out of 600,000 (

Caleb Caleb ( ; , Tiberian vocalization: , Modern Israeli Hebrew: ) is a figure who appears in the Hebrew Bible as a representative of the Tribe of Judah during the Israelites' journey to the Promised Land. Following the Israelite conquest of Ca ...

and

Joshua Joshua ( ), also known as Yehoshua ( ''Yəhōšuaʿ'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: ''Yŏhōšuaʿ,'' Literal translation, lit. 'Yahweh is salvation'), Jehoshua, or Josue, functioned as Moses' assistant in the books of Book of Exodus, Exodus and ...

) 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 Hosea 2:17 says, "And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the days when she came up out of the land of Egypt," implying that circumstances upon the coming of the Messiah will be similar to those upon the Israelites' entry into the Land of Israel. The Gemara asked why the

Tannaim ''Tannaim'' ( Amoraic Hebrew: תנאים "repeaters", "teachers", singular ''tanna'' , borrowed from Aramaic) were the rabbinic sages whose views are recorded in the Mishnah, from approximately 10–220 CE. The period of the Tannaim, also refe ...

felt that the allocation of the Land of Israel "according to the names of the tribes of their fathers" in Numbers 26:55 meant that the allocation was with reference to those who left Egypt; perhaps, the Gemara supposed, it might have meant the 12 tribes and that the Land was to be divided into 12 equal portions? The Gemara noted that in Exodus 6:8, God told Moses to tell the Israelites who were about to leave Egypt, "And I will give it you for a heritage; I am the Lord," and that meant that the Land was the inheritance from the fathers of those who left Egypt. A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 6:9, "they hearkened not to Moses for shortness of spirit," to indicated that it was difficult for the Israelites to abandon idol worship.

Rabbi Ishmael 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, “Master of the Outside Teaching”), was a rabbi of ...

cited Exodus 6:12 as one of ten ''a fortiori'' (''kal va-chomer'') arguments recorded in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Judah," and thus surely it stands to reason, "How much more then if we go to Keilah?" (7) Also in Jeremiah 12:5, the prophet asked, "And if in a land of Peace where you are secure" you are overcome, is it not logical to ask, "How will you do in the thickets of the

Jordan Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...

?" (8)

Proverbs A proverb (from ) or an adage is a simple, traditional saying that expresses a perceived truth based on common sense or experience. Proverbs are often metaphorical and are an example of formulaic language. A proverbial phrase or a proverbial ...

11:31 reasoned, "Behold, the righteous shall be requited in the earth," and does it not follow, "How much more the wicked and the sinner?" (9) In

Esther Esther (; ), originally Hadassah (; ), is the eponymous heroine of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. According to the biblical narrative, which is set in the Achaemenid Empire, the Persian king Ahasuerus falls in love with Esther and ma ...

9:12, "The king said to

the queen: ‘The Jews have slain and destroyed 500 men in Shushan the castle,'" and it thus stands to reason, "‘What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces?'" (10) In Ezekiel 15:5, God came to the prophet saying, "Behold, when it was whole, it was usable for no work," and thus surely it is logical to argue, "How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it is singed?" Rav Zeira counted five kinds of '' orlah'' (things uncircumcised) in the world: (1) uncircumcised ears (as in Jeremiah 6:10), (2) uncircumcised lips (as in Exodus 6:12), (3) uncircumcised hearts (as in Deuteronomy 10:16 and Jeremiah 9:26), (4) uncircumcised flesh (as in Genesis 17:14), and (5) uncircumcised trees (as in Leviticus 19:23). Rav Zeira taught that all the nations are uncircumcised in each of the first four ways, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart, in that their hearts do not allow them to do God's will. And Rav Zeira taught that in the future, God will take away from Israel the uncircumcision of their hearts, and they will not harden their stubborn hearts anymore before their Creator, as Ezekiel 36:26 says, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh," and Genesis 17:11 says, "And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin." Reading Exodus 6:13, 7:8, and 9:8, a Midrash taught that in 18 verses, Scripture places Moses and Aaron (the instruments of Israel's deliverance) on an equal footing (reporting that God spoke to both of them alike), and thus there are 18 benedictions in the ''

Amidah The ''Amidah'' (, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' during each of the three services prayed on week ...

''. Reading the words of Exodus 6:13, "And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron and gave them a command concerning the children of Israel," Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Isaac asked about what matter God commanded the Israelites. Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Isaac taught that God gave them the commandment about the freeing of slaves in Exodus 21:2–11. A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 6:13, "And He gave them a charge concerning the children of Israel," to convey that God warned Moses and Aaron that the Israelites were obstinate, bad-tempered, and troublesome, and that in assuming leadership over the Israelites, Moses and Aaron must expect that the Israelites would curse and even stone them.Exodus Rabbah 7:3. A Midrash interpreted God's instructions to Moses and Aaron in Exodus 6:13, "and to Pharaoh, King of Egypt," to convey that God told Moses and Aaron that although God really ought to punish Pharaoh, God wanted Moses and Aaron to show Pharaoh the respect due to his regal position. And Moses did so, as Exodus 11:8 reports that Moses told Pharaoh that God said, "And all these your servants shall come down to Me." Moses did not say that Pharaoh would come down, only that Pharaoh's servants would do so. But Moses could well have said that Pharaoh himself would come down, for Exodus 12:30 reports, "Pharaoh arose at midnight." But Moses did not mention Pharaoh specifically so as to pay him respect. A Midrash taught that Korah took issue with Moses in Numbers 16:1 because Moses had (as Numbers 3:30 reports) appointed Elizaphan the son of Uzziel 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 desce ...

, and Korah was (as Exodus 6:21 reports) son of Uzziel's older brother Izhar, 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 Exodus 6:23 reports, "And Aaron took

Elisheva Elisheba (; (original) ) was the wife of Aaron, the older brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel. She was mentioned once in Exodus 6:23 in the Torah and the Old Testament. In the Torah In the book of Exodus, she was said to b ...

, 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 the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke) as ...

, the sister of

Nahshon In the Hebrew Bible, Nahshon ( ''Naḥšon'') was a tribal leader of the Tribe of Judah, Judahites during the wilderness wanderings of the Book of Numbers. In the King James Version, the name is spelled Naashon, and is within modern Rabbinical c ...

." As Exodus 6:23 states "the daughter of Amminadab," it is obvious that she was the sister of Nahshon. So Exodus 6:23 expressly states "the sister of Nahshon" to imply that he who takes a wife should inquire about the character of her brothers, because most children resemble the brothers of their mother. The Gemara asked whether the words in Exodus 6:25, "And

Eleazar Eleazar (; ) or Elazar 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 ...

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 (also spelled Phineas, ; , ''Phinees'', ) was a priest during the Exodus. The grandson of Aaron and son of Eleazar, the High Priests (), he distinguished himself as a youth at Shittim with his zeal again ...

descended from Jethro, who fattened (''piteim'') calves for idol worship. The Gemara then provided an alternative explanation: Exodus 6:25 could mean that Phinehas descended from Joseph, who conquered (''pitpeit'') his passions (resisting

Potiphar Potiphar ( ; ; ) is a figure in the Hebrew Bible and the Quran. His name possibly indicates the same figure as Potiphera (). Potiphar is the captain of the guard for a pharaoh who is said to have purchased Joseph as a slave and, impressed by hi ...

's wife, as reported in Genesis 39). But the Gemara asked, did not the tribes sneer at Phinehas and question how a youth (Phinehas) whose mother's father crammed calves for idol-worship could kill the head of a tribe in Israel ( Zimri, Prince of

, as reported in Numbers 25). The Gemara explained that the real explanation was that Phinehas descended from both Joseph and Jethro. If Phinehas's mother's father descended from Joseph, then Phinehas's mother's mother descended from Jethro. And if Phinehas's mother's father descended from Jethro, then Phinehas's mother's mother descended from Joseph. The Gemara explained that Exodus 6:25 implies this dual explanation of "Putiel" when it says, "of the daughters of Putiel," because the plural "daughters" implies two lines of ancestry (from both Joseph and Jethro). Tissot Moses Speaks to Pharaoh

Rabbi Simeon noted that in nearly every instance, the Torah mentioned Moses before Aaron, but Exodus 6:26 mentioned Aaron before Moses, teaching that the two were deemed equivalent. The Gemara taught that the use of the pronoun "he (''hu'')" in an introduction, as in the words "These are (''hu'') that Aaron and Moses" in Exodus 6:26, HE, signifies that they were the same in their righteousness from the beginning to the end. Similar uses appear in Chronicles 1:27 to teach Abraham's enduring righteousness, in 1 Samuel 17:14 to teach David's enduring humility, in Genesis 36:43 to teach

Esau Esau is the elder son of Isaac in the Hebrew Bible. He is mentioned in the Book of Genesis and by the minor prophet, prophets Obadiah and Malachi. The story of Jacob and Esau reflects the historical relationship between Israel and Edom, aiming ...

's enduring wickedness, in Numbers 26:9 to teach

Dathan Dathan ( ''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, he rebelled a ...

and Abiram's enduring wickedness, in 2 Chronicles 28:22 to teach

Ahaz Ahaz (; ''Akhaz''; ) an abbreviation of Jehoahaz II (of Judah), "Yahweh has held" (; ''Ya'úḫazi'' 'ia-ú-ḫa-zi'' Hayim Tadmor and Shigeo Yamada, ''The Royal Inscriptions of Tiglath-pileser III (744-727 BC) and Shalmaneser V (726-722 BC), ...

's enduring wickedness, and in Esther 1:1 to teach

Ahasuerus Ahasuerus ( ; , commonly ''Achashverosh''; , in the Septuagint; in the Vulgate) is a name applied in the Hebrew Bible to three rulers of Ancient Persia and to a Babylonian official (or Median king) first appearing in the Tanakh in the Book of ...

's enduring wickedness. Moses and Aaron before Pharaoh

Exodus chapter 7

The Tosefta cited Exodus 7:1, where the lesser Aaron spoke for the greater Moses, for the proposition that in synagogue reading, a minor may translate for an adult, but it is not honorable for an adult to translate for a minor. Rabbi Phinehas, the priest, son of Rabbi Hama, interpreted God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart (for example in Exodus 7:3) in light of Job 36:13, "But they who are godless in heart lay up anger; they cry not for help when He binds them." Rabbi Phinehas taught that if the godless, for whose repentance God waits, do not do so, then later, even when they do think of it, God distracts their hearts from penitence. Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of Job 36:13, "And they who are godless in heart," to teach that those who begin by being godless in heart end up bringing upon themselves God's anger. And Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of Job 36:13, "They cry not for help when He binds them," to teach that though the godless wish later to return to God and to pray to God, they are no longer able, because God binds them and bars their way. Thus, after several plagues, Pharaoh wished to pray to God, but God told Moses in Exodus 8:16: "Before he goes out o pray to God stand before Pharaoh." The

Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer (, 'Chapters of Rabbi Eliezer'; abbreviated , 'PRE') is an aggadic-midrashic work of Torah exegesis and retellings of biblical stories. Traditionally, the work is attributed to the tanna Eliezer ben Hurcanus and his scho ...

told that Moses quoted God's words in Exodus 7:4 back to God after the sin of the Golden Calf. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that after the incident of the Golden Calf, God told Moses that the Israelites had forgotten God's might and had made an idol. Moses replied to God that while the Israelites had not yet sinned, God had called them "''My'' people," as in Exodus 7:4, God had said, "And I will bring forth ''My'' hosts, ''My'' people." But Moses noted that once the Israelites had sinned, God told Moses (in Exodus 32:7), "Go, get down, for ''your'' people have corrupted themselves." Moses told God that the Israelites were indeed God's people, and God's inheritance, as Deuteronomy 9:29 reports Moses saying, "Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance." A Midrash read Exodus 7:11, “Then Pharaoh also called for the ''wise men'' and the sorcerers,” to teach that Scripture calls nonbelievers “wise men” when they do something that requires skill. Rabbi Aivu bar Nagri said in the name of Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba that the words "with their enchantments" in Exodus 7:11 refer to sorcery without exogenous assistance, while the words "with their sorcery" in Exodus 7:22 refer to magic through the agency of demons.Babylonian Talmud Sanhedrin 67b
Reading the words, "Aaron's ''rod'' swallowed up their ''rods''," in Exodus 7:12, Rabbi Eleazar observed that it was a double miracle (as Aaron's serpent first became a rod again, and as a rod it swallowed up their serpents). When Pharaoh saw this, he was amazed and expressed his fear of what would happen if Moses now told the rod to swallow up Pharaoh and his throne. Rabbi Jose bar Hanina taught that a great miracle happened to that rod, for although it swallowed up all the rods that had been cast down, sufficient to make ten heaps, still the rod did not all become any thicker, and all who saw it recognized it as Aaron's rod. On this account, Aaron's rod became a symbol for all the miracles and wonders that were to be performed for Israel throughout the generations. Figures The Rods of Moses and the Magicians Turned into Serpents

Figures The Rods of Moses and the Magicians Turned into Serpents

A Midrash noted that Exodus 7:13 reports that "Pharaoh's heart was hardened" without God's action, and that this was so for the first five plagues. As the first five plagues did not move Pharaoh to release the Israelites, God decreed that from then on, even if Pharaoh had agreed to release the Israelites, God would not accept it. Thus, starting with the sixth plague and thereafter (as Exodus 10:27 reports), the text says, "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart." It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Judah the Prince (or others say

Rabbi Meir Rabbi Meir () was a Jewish sage who lived in the time of the Mishnah. He was one of the Tannaim of the fourth generation (139–163), and a disciple of Rabbi Akiva. He is the second most frequently mentioned sage in the Mishnah and is mentioned ...

) 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 A mikveh or mikvah (, ''mikva'ot'', ''mikvot'', or (Ashkenazi Hebrew, Ashkenazic) ''mikves'', lit., "a collection") is a bath used for ritual washing in Judaism#Full-body immersion, ritual immersion in Judaism to achieve Tumah and taharah, ...

'') 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 (biology), 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 ...

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

s, and

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with 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. Tissot The Rod of Aaron Devours the Other Rods

Tissot The Rod of Aaron Devours the Other Rods

Abitol the barber, citing Rav, said that the Pharaoh whom Moses addressed was a puny fellow, a cubit tall, with a beard as long as he was tall, embodying the words in Daniel 4:14 that "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and . . . sets up over it the lowest of men." And Abitol the barber, citing Rav, deduced from the words "Pharaoh . . . goes out to the water" in Exodus 7:15 that this Pharaoh was a

magus Magi (), or magus (), is the term for priests in Zoroastrianism and earlier Iranian religions. The earliest known use of the word ''magi'' is in the trilingual inscription written by Darius the Great, known as the Behistun Inscription. Old Per ...

who went to the water to perform sorcery. Alternatively, a Midrash, reading the words "Pharaoh . . . goes out to the water" in Exodus 7:15, taught that only in the morning did Pharaoh go out to the water, because Pharaoh used to boast that he was a god and did not need to relieve himself. Therefore, Pharaoh used to go early in the morning to the water (when no one else was there to witness that he relieved himself like other humans). God, therefore, told Moses to catch him just at this critical moment. A Midrash cited Exodus 7:20 as one proof for the proposition that God does all things together: God puts to death and brings to life at the same time; God wounds and heals at the same time. And thus the Midrash noted, in Exodus 7:20, "all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood," and later, the blood became water again. Rabbi Abin the Levite, the son of Rabbi Judah the Prince, taught that the Israelites became wealthy from the plague of blood. If an Egyptian and an Israelite were in a house where there was a barrel full of water, and the Egyptian went to fill a pitcher from the barrel, the Egyptian would find that it contained blood, while the Israelite would drink water from the same barrel. When the Egyptian asked the Israelite to give the Egyptian some water with the Israelite's own hand, it still became blood. Even if the Egyptian said to the Israelite that they should both drink from one vessel, the Israelite would drink water, but the Egyptian would drink blood. It was only when the Egyptian bought water from the Israelite for money that the Egyptian was able to drink water. And this is how the Israelites became rich. The Gemara deduced from the use of the word for fish, ''dagah'', in the phrase "And the fish that were in the river died" in Exodus 7:21 that the word ''dagah'' applies to fish both large and small. Plague of Frogs

A Midrash taught that the frogs were the most grievous of the ten plagues. The Midrash taught that the frogs destroyed the Egyptians' bodies, as Psalm 78:45 says "frogs . . . destroyed them," and the frogs emasculated the Egyptians, as Exodus 7:28 says that the frogs would "come into . . . he Egyptians'bedchamber, 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. Offi ...

bed." The Midrash taught that the frogs told the Egyptians that the coinage of their gods was abolished, and the Egyptians' own coinage—their ability to procreate—was also rendered invalid. The Midrash reasoned that as the word "destroyed" in Genesis 38:9 applied to checking procreation in the passage about

Onan Story of Onan Onan was a figure detailed in the Book of Genesis chapter 38, as the second son of Judah who married the daughter of Shuah the Canaanite. Onan had an older brother Er and a younger brother, Shelah as well. Onan was commanded ...

's seed, as "he destroyed it on the ground," so the Midrash reasoned that Psalm 78:45 means to convey that the Egyptians' procreation was checked as well when it says, "frogs . . . destroyed them." And the Midrash deduced that the frogs spoke because Exodus 8:8 says, "concerning the frogs," and the words for "concerning," ''al debar'', may also be read, "because of the words of." Simeon Solomon - Shadrach Meshach Abednego

Simeon Solomon - Shadrach Meshach Abednego

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 chapter 3 of the biblical Book of Daniel. In the narrative, the three Jewish men are thrown into a fiery furnace by Nebuchadnezzar II, King of Babylo ...

) delivered themselves to the Fiery Furnace to sanctify the Divine Name in Daniel 3:8–30 because they deduced from Exodus 7:28 that the frogs of the plague, which had not been commanded to sanctify the Divine Name, nonetheless jumped into hot ovens at God's behest. So Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah reasoned that people, whom Leviticus 22:32 does command to sanctify the Divine Name, should be willing to bear hot ovens for that reason. Thaddeus of Rome deduced that the ovens into which the frogs jumped were hot from the proximity of the words "ovens" and "kneading troughs" in Exodus 7:28, reasoning that kneading troughs are found near ovens when ovens are hot. The Tosefta deduced from Exodus 1:8 that Pharaoh began to sin first before the people, and thus as indicated by Exodus 7:29 and 8:4, God struck him first and then the people. Jollain The Plague of Frogs

Exodus chapter 8

Rabbi Eleazar taught that when Exodus 8:2 (8:6 in the KJV) reports that "the frog came up, and covered the land of Egypt," it was initially just one frog, which bred prolifically and filled the land. The Tannaim disputed the matter.

Rabbi Akiva Akiva ben Joseph (Mishnaic Hebrew: ; – 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. Rabbi Akiva was a leadin ...

said that one frog filled the whole of Egypt by breeding. But Rabbi

Eleazar ben Azariah Eleazar ben Azariah () 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. Biography He was a kohen who traced ...

chastised Akiva for dabbling in

aggadah Aggadah (, or ; ; 'tales', 'legend', 'lore') is the non-legalistic exegesis which appears in the classical rabbinic literature of Judaism, particularly the Talmud and Midrash. In general, Aggadah is a compendium of rabbinic texts that incorporat ...

, and taught that one frog croaked for others, and they joined the first frog. A Midrash interpreted the words of Proverbs 29:23, "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 Exodus 5:2 haughtily asked, "Who is the Lord that I should hearken to His voice?" and so, as Psalm 136:15 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 Exodus 8:5 (8:9 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 Exodus 9:29 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 Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) that a demonic spirit cannot produce a creature less than a barleycorn in size. Rav Papa said that a spirit cannot even produce something the size of a camel, but a spirit can collect the elements of a larger object and thus produce the illusion of creating it, but a spirit cannot do even that with a smaller object. Rabbi

Jose the Galilean Jose the Galilean (, ''Rabbi Yose HaGelili''), d. 15 Av (month), Av, was a Jewish sage who lived in the 1st and 2nd centuries Common Era, CE. He was one of the Tannaim, the rabbis whose work was compiled in the Mishna. Biography Neither the name ...

reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" (translated "the great work") in Exodus 14:31 (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 Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) referred to 10 plagues, "the hand of God" in Job 19:21 (in connection with Job's poverty) must refer to 50 plagues. Reading “the finger of God” in Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV), Rabbi Ishmael said that each of the five fingers of God's right hand appertain to the mystery of Redemption. Rabbi Ishmael said that God showed the little finger of the hand to Noah, pointing out how to make the Ark, as in Genesis 6:15, God says, "And ''this'' is how you shall make it." With the second finger, next to the little one, God smote the Egyptians with the ten plagues, as Exodus 8:15 (8:19 in the KJV) says, “The magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’” With the middle finger, God wrote the Tablets of the Law, as Exodus 31:18 says, “And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him . . . tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” With the index finger, God showed Moses what the children of Israel should give for the redemption of their souls, as Exodus 30:13 says, “''This'' they shall give . . . half a shekel for an offering to the Lord.” With the thumb and all the hand, God will in the future smite God's enemies (who Rabbi Ishmael identified as the children of Esau and

Ishmael In the Bible, biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Isla ...

), as Micah 5:9 says, “Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all your enemies be cut off.”Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer, chapter 48. A Midrash interpreted the words of Exodus 8:22 (8:26 in the KJV), "Lo, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?" to teach that the Egyptians saw the lamb as a god. Thus, when God told Moses to slay the paschal lamb (as reflected in Exodus 12:21), Moses asked God how he could possibly do so, when the lamb was as Egyptian god. God replied that the Israelites would not depart from Egypt until they slaughtered the Egyptian gods before the Egyptians' eyes, so that God might teach them that their gods were really nothing at all. And thus God did so, for on the same night that God slew the Egyptian firstborn, the Israelites slaughtered their paschal lambs and ate them. When the Egyptians saw their firstborn slain and their gods slaughtered, they could do nothing, as Numbers 33:4 reports, "While the Egyptians were burying them whom the Lord had smitten among them, even all their firstborn; upon their gods also the Lord executed judgment." Holman The Plague of Hail

Exodus chapter 9

The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that for every plague that God brought upon the Egyptians, the magicians also produced the plague, until God brought upon them the boils, and then the magicians were not able to stand to do likewise, as Exodus 9:11 says, "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils." 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 to exact the whole punishment from him. Thus Exodus 9:12 reports that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." And the Midrash explained that the reference in Exodus 9:12, "as the Lord had spoken to Moses," referred to God's prediction in Exodus 7:3 that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart." In Exodus 9:12, Pharaoh's heart is hardened. A Midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks,. sees, 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. Exodus 9:13–34 sets forth the plague of hail. The Gemara told of the miracle of the hailstones (''avnei elgavish'') of which Ezekiel 13:11, 13:13, and 38:22 speak. A Midrash taught that they were stones (''avanim'') which remained suspended for the sake of a man (''al gav ish'') and came down for the sake of a man. The hailstones remained suspended for the sake of a man—this was Moses, of whom Numbers 12:3 says, "Now the man Moses was very meek," and Exodus 9:33 says, "And the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain poured not upon the earth." The hailstones came down for the sake of a man—this was Joshua, of whom Numbers 27:18 says, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit," and

10:11 says, "And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-Horon, that the Lord cast down great stones." Rabbi Nechunia, son of Hakkanah, taught that God killed Pharaoh, and then because of Pharaoh's repentance, delivered him from among the dead. Rabbi Nechunia deduced that Pharaoh had died from Exodus 9:15, in which God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten you." Reading Exodus 9:20, “Those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who feared the Lord’s word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety,” the

Midrash HaGadol Midrash HaGadol or The Great Midrash () is a work of aggaddic midrash, expanding on the narratives of the Torah, which was written by David ben Amram Adani of Yemen (14th century). Its contents were compiled from the Jerusalem and Babylonian T ...

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 (; ) were a Jews, Jewish social movement and school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. Following the Siege of Jerusalem (AD 70), destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD, Pharisaic beliefs became ...

noted that while in Exodus 5:2, Pharaoh asked who God was, once God had smitten him, in Exodus 9:27 Pharaoh acknowledged that God was righteous. Citing this juxtaposition, the Pharisees complained against heretics who placed the name of earthly rulers above the name of God. The Mishnah echoed Exodus 9:31–32 by listing wheat, barley, and spelt as typical grains. Interpreting Exodus 9:34, "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more," a Midrash taught that so it always is with the wicked: As long as they are in trouble, they humble themselves. But as soon as trouble passes, they return to their perversity.

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Jewish sources:

Exodus chapter 6

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

taught that the phrase "I am the Lord" in Exodus 6:2 meant that God is faithful to recompense all those who follow God—faithful to punish when the phrase appears together with a punishment, and faithful to reward when the phrase appears together with a commandment.

Abraham ibn Ezra Abraham ben Meir Ibn Ezra (, often abbreviated as ; ''Ibrāhim al-Mājid ibn Ezra''; also known as Abenezra or simply ibn Ezra, 1089 / 1092 – 27 January 1164 / 23 January 1167)''Jewish Encyclopedia''online; '' Chambers Biographical Dictionar ...

read God's statement "And I appeared" in Exodus 6:3 to indicate that the

received their prophesies in night visions.

Saadia Gaon Saʿadia ben Yosef Gaon (892–942) was a prominent rabbi, Geonim, gaon, Jews, Jewish philosopher, and exegesis, exegete who was active in the Abbasid Caliphate. Saadia is the first important rabbinic figure to write extensively in Judeo-Arabic ...

taught that the word "only" is omitted from the statement in Exodus 6:3, which says, "I did not make Myself known to them by My name YHVH." According to his interpretation, this verse should be understood to mean, "I did not make Myself known to them only by My name YHVH," indicating that God also revealed Godself using the name "

El Shaddai El Shaddai (; ) or just Shaddai is one of the names of God in Judaism. ''El Shaddai'' is conventionally translated into English as ''God Almighty'', as ''Deus Omnipotens'' in Latin, and in . '' El'' means "God" in the Ugaritic and the Canaanite ...

Ibn Ezra quotes Jeshua ben Judah as saying that Abraham and Jacob literally did not know the Name (''YHVH''), but Moses filled it in when writing down the Torah. However, Ibn Ezra disagrees with this, asking how Moses could dare to write a name that God had not uttered. Rashi noted that Exodus 6:3 does not read, "But My Name YHVH I did not inform them"; instead, it reads, "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 the name YHVH was not made tangible to them (even as the name itself was used in speech).

Nachmanides Moses ben Nachman ( ''Mōše ben-Nāḥmān'', "Moses son of Nachman"; 1194–1270), commonly known as Nachmanides (; ''Nakhmanídēs''), and also referred to by the acronym Ramban (; ) and by the contemporary nickname Bonastruc ça Porta (; l ...

interpreted God's statement in Exodus 6:3 as indicating that God previously manifested in the form of El Shaddai. In this form, God performs hidden miracles that seem part of the natural order to the observer. However, God did not reveal the name YHVH, associated with openly performing miracles that override the natural order.

Exodus chapter 7

In Exodus 7:3, God states, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart." This statement led Ibn Ezra to question: If God is the one who hardened Pharaoh's heart, what was Pharaoh's transgression, and what was his sin? Ibn Ezra responded that God grants people wisdom and instills the intelligence in their hearts to either accept divine power for good or to lessen the evil that is destined to come upon them. Maimonides-2

Reading God's statement in Exodus 7:3 that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," the report of Exodus 9:12 that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh," and similar statements in Exodus 4:21; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; and 14:4, 8, and 17,

Maimonides Moses ben Maimon (1138–1204), commonly known as Maimonides (, ) and also referred to by the Hebrew acronym Rambam (), was a Sephardic rabbi and Jewish philosophy, philosopher who became one of the most prolific and influential Torah schola ...

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 or present wrongdoings, 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 ...

(''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 Isaiah 6:10: "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,

2 Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( , "words of the days") is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third section of the Jewish Tan ...

36:16 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 Pharoah—and, assumedly, the Egyptian collective—sinned willingly and to such an egregious extent that they deserved to have repentance withheld from them. Thus, because Pharaoh sinned on his own at the beginning, harming the Jews who lived in his land (as Exodus 1:10 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. Therefore, God said in Exodus 14:4, "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. Zohar

The

Zohar The ''Zohar'' (, ''Zōhar'', lit. "Splendor" or "Radiance") is a foundational work of Kabbalistic literature. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material o ...

taught that the “mixed multitude” (, ''erev rav'') mentioned in Exodus 12:38 consisted entirely of Egyptian sorcerers and magicians, who sought to oppose God's works, as Exodus 7:11 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 (to the Israelite faith). 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. Exodus 12:38 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 observed 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 Exodus 8:15, “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 the "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 ...

, however, read Exodus 8:15, “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 (). In memory of his father, who lost his right hand through his steadfastness ...

(''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 1 Samuel 12:15, “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 Exodus 9:20 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

Neḥama Leibowitz identified the following

chiastic structure Chiastic structure, or chiastic pattern, is a literary technique in motif (narrative), 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 ...

in God's speech to Moses in Exodus 6:2–8: 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 emeritus of Hebrew language, Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley, where he has taught since 1967. He has published two dozen books, including an aw ...

wrote that the designation , ''El Shaddai'', in Exodus 6:3, 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. GuntherPlaut

noted the difficulty that Exodus 6:3–4 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 Exodus 6 belongs to the

Priestly source The Priestly source (or simply P) is perhaps the most widely recognized of the sources underlying the Torah, both stylistically and theologically distinct from other material in it. It is considered by most scholars as the latest of all sources, a ...

, 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 Exodus 3 that refer to ''YHVH'' are assigned to the J tradition. Adherents of this theory argue that in Exodus 6:3, 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 (; also: Yeḥezqêl Qâufman; Yeḥezḳel Ḳoyfman; Jehezqël Kaufmann) (1889 – 9 October 1963) was an Israeli philosopher and Biblical scholar associated with the Hebrew University. His main contribution to the study o ...

) 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 Exodus 6, 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 (; , ; ; 8 February 1878 – 13 June 1965) was an Austrian-Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism centered on the distinction between the I and Thou, I–Thou relationship and the I� ...

, ''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 Exodus 6:7, “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 Exodus 6:7, “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 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. Spinoza

Exodus chapter 7

Baruch Spinoza Baruch (de) Spinoza (24 November 163221 February 1677), also known under his Latinized pen name Benedictus de Spinoza, was a philosopher of Portuguese-Jewish origin, who was born in the Dutch Republic. A forerunner of the Age of Enlightenmen ...

deduced from Exodus 7:1 that in Scripture, the word "prophet" (, ''navi'') means "interpreter of God." Spinoza read God's words to Moses in Exodus 7:1, "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 be ...

argued that the plagues concentrated within a period of about 12 months, based on the report of Exodus 7:7 that Moses was 80 years old when he first spoke with the pharaoh and the report of Deuteronomy 34:7 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 Exodus 7:10. 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 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 Exodus 4:10 and heavy arms in Exodus 17:12; Pharaoh had firmness of heart in Exodus 7:14; 8:11, 28; 9:7, 34; and 10:1; Pharaoh made Israel's labor heavy in Exodus 5:9; God in response sent heavy plagues in Exodus 8:20; 9:3, 18, 24; and 10:14, so that God might be glorified over Pharaoh in Exodus 14:4, 17, and 18; 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 Exodus 19:16; 24:16–17; 29:43; 33:18, 22; and 40:34–38. Plaut reported that scholars generally agree that the term “Hebrew” (, ''Ivri''), as in Exodus 7:16 and 9:1 and 13, came from the name of a group called '' Habiru'' 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'' was a class of people who lived in the

Fertile Crescent The Fertile Crescent () is a crescent-shaped region in the Middle East, spanning modern-day Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, and Syria, together with northern Kuwait, south-eastern Turkey, and western Iran. Some authors also include ...

during the 19th to 14th centuries B.C.E. who may originally have come from

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

, became prominent in

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

, and later spread to Egypt. The ''Habiru'' followed distinct occupations, particularly

mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...

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 Nomads are communities without fixed habitation who regularly move to and from areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the population of nomadic pa ...

s or seminomads, they later settled but were usually considered foreigners and maintained their group identity. The term ''Habiru'' referred not so much to an ethnic or

linguistic Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

group as 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, 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 Genesis 14:13 calls Abram ''Ivri'' vis-a-vis an outsider, and

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

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. While the term ''sailor'' ...

s in

1:9, 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 believe 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 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. Shadal

Exodus chapter 8

Reading the words of Pharaoh's magicians in Exodus 8:15, “This is the finger of God,”

Samuel David Luzzatto Samuel David Luzzatto (, ; 22 August 1800 – 30 September 1865), also known by the Hebrew acronym Shadal (), was an Italian-Austrian Jewish scholar, poet, and a member of the Wissenschaft des Judentums movement. Early life Luzzatto was born ...

(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 Exodus 8:15 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 Exodus 9:6 that “''all'' the livestock of Egypt died,” but noting that Exodus 9:10 reports that boils subsequently struck the animals, Plaut concluded that Exodus 9:6 must be taken as hyperbole.

Jacob ben Asher Jacob ben Asher (c. 1270–1340), also known as Ba'al ha-Turim as well as Yaakov ben haRosh, was an influential Medieval rabbinic authority. He is often referred to as the Ba'al ha-Turim ("Author of the ''Turim''"), after his main work, the ''A ...

(the ''Baal Ha-Turim'') read the words, “He that feared,” in Exodus 9:20 to indicate that the Egyptians were fearful because of the sins they had committed. Moritz Markus Kalisch reported an interpretation that Exodus 9:20 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 1 ...

read Exodus 9:20 to indicate that some of Pharaoh's servants had become frightened of God's warning through Moses. Reading Exodus 9:20, "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: Book of Genesis, Genesis, Book of Exodus, Exodus, Leviticus, Bo ...

find evidence of three or even four separate sources in the parashah.

Walter Brueggemann Walter Albert Brueggemann (March 11, 1933 – June 5, 2025) was an American Christian scholar and theologian who is widely considered an influential Old Testament scholar. His work often focused on the Hebrew prophetic tradition and the sociop ...

reported that older source analysis saw Exodus 6:2–30 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 an American biblical scholar, theologian, and translator who currently serves as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Georgia. Life and career Friedman was born in ...

, however, saw four sources in Exodus 6 alone. Friedman saw the opening verse of Exodus 6:1 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, together with the Jahwist (or Yahwist), the Deuteronomist and the Priestly source. The Elohist is so named because of its ...

(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 (, ''ʾEp̄rayim,'' in Pausa, pausa: , ''ʾEp̄rāyim'') was one of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The Tribe of Manasseh, together with Ephraim, formed the Tribe of Joseph. It is one of the Ten L ...

, possibly as early as the second half of the 9th century BCE. Friedman agreed with Brueggemann in attributing Exodus 6:2–10 and 30 to the Priestly source who wrote in the 6th or 5th century BCE. But Friedman attributed Exodus 6:12–13 and 26–28 to a later Redactor (sometimes abbreviated R). And Friedman attributed the genealogy of Exodus 6:14–25 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 Exodus 7:14–18, 20b–21, and 23–29; 8:3b–11a and 16–28; and 9:1–7 and 13–34; to the Elohist; Exodus 7:1–13, 19–20a, and 22; 8:1–3a and 12–15; and 9:8–12 to the Priestly source; and Exodus 8:11b and 9:35 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 and

Sefer ha-Chinuch ''Sefer ha-Chinuch'' (, "Book of Education") is a rabbinic text which systematically discusses the 613 commandments of the Torah. It was written in 13th-century Spain by an anonymous "Levite of Barcelona". Content The work's enumeration of th ...

, there are no commandments in the parashah.

In the liturgy

Reading the

Haggadah The Haggadah (, "telling"; plural: Haggadot) is a foundational Jewish text that sets forth the order of the Passover Seder. According to Jewish practice, reading the Haggadah at the Seder table fulfills the mitzvah incumbent on every Jew to reco ...

, in the ''magid'' section of the

Seder The Passover Seder 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 calendar (i.e., at the start of the 15th; a Hebrew day begins at su ...

, many Jews remove drops of wine from their cups for each of the ten plagues in Exodus 7:14–12:29. Next, the Haggadah recounts the reasoning of Rabbi Jose the Galilean that as the phrase "the finger of God" in Exodus 8:15 referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" (translated "the great work") in Exodus 14:31 must refer to 50 plagues upon the Egyptians. And the haggadah in the ''magid'' section quotes Exodus 9:3 to elucidate the term "a mighty hand" in Deuteronomy 26:8, interpreting the "mighty hand" to mean the plague of pestilence on the Egyptian livestock. Ezekiel

Haftarah

Generally

The

haftarah The ''haftara'' or (in Ashkenazi Jews, Ashkenazic pronunciation) ''haftorah'' (alt. ''haftarah, haphtara'', ) "parting," "taking leave" (plural form: ''haftarot'' or ''haftoros''), is a series of selections from the books of ''Nevi'im'' ("Pr ...

for the parashah is Ezekiel 28:25–29:21.

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 Shabbat

Rosh Chodesh In Judaism, Rosh Chodesh or Rosh Hodesh (; trans. ''Beginning of the Month''; lit. ''Head of the Month'') is a minor holiday observed at the beginning of every month in the Hebrew calendar, marked by the birth of a new moon. Rosh Chodesh is obs ...

(as it did in 2013 and 2017), the haftarah is Isaiah 66:1–24.

Notes

*Genesis 17:1 (El Shaddai); 28:3 (El Shaddai); 35:11 (El Shaddai); 43:14 (El Shaddai); 48:3 (El Shaddai); 49:25 (Shaddai). *Exodus 4:21; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8 (hardening Pharaoh's heart). *Numbers 14:30 (God lifted up God's hand). *Deuteronomy 2:30; 15:7 (hardening of heart). *Joshua 11:20 (hardening of heart). *Jeremiah 7:23 (I will be your God and you will be my people); 11:4 (you will be my people, and I will be your God); 30:22 (you will be my people, and I will be your God); 31:33 (I will be their God, and they will be my people). *Ezekiel 20:5 (God lifted up God's hand); 36:28 (you will be my people, and I will be your God). *Psalms 68:5 (name is the Lord); 78:44–51 (plagues); 105:23–38 (plagues). *Nehemiah 9:15 (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 Yavneh dated his work to the 3rd century BCE, while Howard Jacobson estimates the 2nd century BCE. Evidenc ...

. ''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. O ...

, 1985. *

''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 ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, 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. Bi ...

, 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 9:14–18. 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 Paul wrote before his death. T ...

3:8–9. Rome, 67 CE. (magicians opposing Moses). *

Revelation Revelation, or divine revelation, is the disclosing of some form of Religious views on truth, truth or Knowledge#Religion, knowledge through communication with a deity (god) or other supernatural entity or entities in the view of religion and t ...

16:12–16 (frogs); 17:17 (changing hearts to God's purpose). Late 1st century CE. *

Josephus Flavius Josephus (; , ; ), born Yosef ben Mattityahu (), was a Roman–Jewish historian and military leader. Best known for writing '' The Jewish War'', he was born in Jerusalem—then part of the Roman province of Judea—to a father of pr ...

. ''

The Wars of the Jews ''The Jewish War'' is a work of Jewish history written by Josephus, a first-century Roman people, Roman-Jews, Jewish historian. It has been described by the biblical historian Steve Mason (biblical scholar), Steve Mason as "perhaps the most in ...

'', 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'' (; , ''Ioudaikē archaiologia'') is a 20-volume historiographical work, written in Greek, by the Roman-Jewish historian Josephus in the 13th year of the reign of the Roman emperor Domitian, which was 94 CE. It cont ...

'
2:13:3
�

. Circa 93–94. In, e.g., ''The Works of Josephus: Complete and Unabridged, New Updated Edition''. Translated by

, pages 72–74. Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson Publishers, 1987. *

Qur'an The Quran, also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation directly from God ('' Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which consist of individual verses ('). Besides ...

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

: Orlah 1:1–3:9
Pesachim 10:1Shevuot 5:3Yadayim 4:8
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. Neusner's application of form criticism� ...

, pages 158–66, 249, 630, 1131. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988. *

: Pesachim 42b; Rosh Hashanah 20b; Megillah 13b; Chagigah 4a, 11a; Yevamot 63a; Sotah 10a, 28b; Sanhedrin 26b; Makkot 9a.

Tiberias Tiberias ( ; , ; ) is a city on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel. A major Jewish center during Late Antiquity, it has been considered since the 16th century one of Judaism's Four Holy Cities, along with Jerusalem, Heb ...

, 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 (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

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 Harry Freedman 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 ( IPA , "a collection of rules of interpretation") is midrash halakha to the Book of Exodus. The Aramaic title ''Mekhilta'' corresponds to the Mishnaic Hebrew term ' "measure," "rule", and is used to denote a compi ...

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

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.

Medieval

. ''

Emunoth ve-Deoth ''The Book of Beliefs and Opinions'' (; ) is a book written by Saadia Gaon (completed 933) which is the first systematic presentation and philosophic foundation of the dogmas of Judaism. The work was originally in Judeo-Arabic in Hebrew letter ...

(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 () 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 I" (sections 1–14, covering Exodus cha ...

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. *

. ''Commentary''
Exodus 6–9

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, 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 ...

, 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. *

. ''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; ; ; c. 1075 – 1141) was a Sephardic Jewish poet, physician and philosopher. Halevi is considered one of the greatest Hebrew poets and is celebrated for his secular and religious poems, many of whic ...

. '' Kuzari''. 1:25; 2:2. Toledo, 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. *

. ''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. *

. ''

Mishneh Torah The ''Mishneh Torah'' (), also known as ''Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka'' (), is a code of Rabbinic Jewish religious law (''halakha'') authored by Maimonides (Rabbi Moshe ben Maimon/Rambam). The ''Mishneh Torah'' was compiled between 1170 and 1180 CE ( ...

''
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 bas-relief in the U

*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 New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, 1912. Reprinted by Forgotten Books, 2012. *Maimonides. ''

The Guide for the Perplexed ''The Guide for the Perplexed'' (; ; ) is a work of Jewish theology by Maimonides. It seeks to reconcile Aristotelianism with Rabbinical Jewish theology by finding rational explanations for many events in the text. It was written in Judeo-Arabic ...

'', part 1, chapters 24, 45– 46; part 2, chapter 35; part 3, chapters 29, 46, 54.

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, 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 trans ...

, pages 33, 58, 61, 224, 318, 359, 397. New York: Dover Publications, 1956. * Jacob Anatoli. "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. *

. ''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. *

. ''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. *

br>2:22a–32a
Spain, 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. Biograp ...

. ''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. *

(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. ''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. ''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. ''Ẓeror ha-Mor (Bundle of Myrrh)''. Fez, 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 1549. Bi ...

. ''Commentary on the Torah''.

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

, 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. ''Commentary on the Torah''.

Safed Safed (), also known as Tzfat (), is a city in the Northern District (Israel), Northern District of Israel. Located at an elevation of up to , Safed is the highest city in the Galilee and in Israel. Safed has been identified with (), a fortif ...

, 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 February 1619) was a rabbi and Torah commentator, best known for his Torah commentary .Although most write this as ''Keli Yakar'', "the second word should be ''Yekar''" (יְקָר), as the voweliza ...

. ''Kli Yakar''.

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

, 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. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Southfield borders Detroit to the north, roughly northwest of downtown Downtown Detroit, Detroit. As of the 2020 Uni ...

: Targum Press/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.

: Targum Press/

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, ...

, 2004. *

Thomas Hobbes Thomas Hobbes ( ; 5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679) was an English philosopher, best known for his 1651 book ''Leviathan (Hobbes book), Leviathan'', in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory. He is considered t ...

. ''

Leviathan Leviathan ( ; ; ) is a sea serpent demon 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, and the pseudepigraphical Book of Enoch. Leviathan is of ...

'', 3:36, 37. England, 1651. Reprint edited by C. B. Macpherson, pages 456, 474. Harmondsworth, England: Penguin Classics, 1982. * Chaim ibn Attar. ''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 ( ''Rabbī'' ''Naḥmān mīBreslev''), also known as Rabbi Nachman of Breslev, Rabbi Nachman miBreslev, Reb Nachman of Bratslav, Reb Nachman Breslover ( ''Rebe Nakhmen Breslover''), and Nachman from Uman (April 4, 1772 – O ...

. ''Teachings''. Bratslav, Ukraine, 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, 2011. *Samson Raphael Hirsch. ''The Pentateuch: Exodus''. Translated by Isaac Levy, volume 2, pages 63–106. Gateshead: Judaica Press, 2nd edition 1999. Originally published as ''Der Pentateuch uebersetzt und erklaert''. Frankfurt, 1867–1878. *

(Shadal). ''Commentary on the Torah.'' Padua, 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. Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e10 569-0

Brockhaus and Efron Jewish Encyclopedia e10 569-0

*Malbim. ''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. ''Sefat Emet''. Góra Kalwaria (Ger), Poland, before 1906. Excerpted in ''The Language of Truth: The Torah Commentary of Sefat Emet''. Translated and interpreted by Arthur Green, pages 87–91. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1998. Reprinted 2012.

*Hermann Cohen. ''Religion of Reason: Out of the Sources of Judaism''. Translated with an introduction by Simon Kaplan; introductory essays by Leo Strauss, page 39. New York: Ungar, 1972. Reprinted Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1995. Originally published as ''Religion der Vernunft aus den Quellen des Judentums''. Leipzig: Gustav Fock, 1919. *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. *

. ''The Second Book of the Bible: Exodus''. London, 1940. Translated by Walter Jacob, pages 142–280. Hoboken, New Jersey: KTAV Publishing House, 1992. *Thomas Mann. ''Joseph and His Brothers''. Translated by John E. Woods (translator), John E. Woods, page 788. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2005. Originally published as ''Joseph und seine Brüder''. Stockholm: Bermann-Fischer Verlag, 1943. Cassuto

*Umberto Cassuto. ''A Commentary on the Book of Exodus''. Jerusalem, 1951. Translated by Israel Abrahams, pages 76–122. Jerusalem: The Magnes Press, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Hebrew University, 1967. *Elie Munk. ''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: Fondation Samuel et Odette Levy, 1981. *Walther Zimmerli. "I Am Yahweh." In ''I Am Yahweh''. Translated by Douglas W. Stott; edited and introduction by

, 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. "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
“The Priestly Redaction and Interpretation of the Plague Narrative in Exodus.”
''The Jewish Quarterly Review'', 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''. Edited by Gary A. Tuttle, pages 146–50. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans, 1978. *Robert R. Wilson, "The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart." ''Catholic Biblical Quarterly'', volume 41 (number 1) (1979): pages 18–36. *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) (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 Hacohen Peli, 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. ''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. ''A Torah Commentary for Our Times: Volume II: Exodus and Leviticus'', pages 17–24. New York: UAHC Press, 1991. *Nahum M. Sarna. ''The JPS Torah Commentary: Exodus: The Traditional Hebrew Text with the New JPS Translation'', pages 30–48, 269. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 1991. *Nechama Leibowitz, 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. ''Assimilation versus Separation: Joseph the Administrator and the Politics of Religion in Biblical Israel'', page 14. New Brunswick, N.J.: Transaction Publishers, 1993. *

. “The Book of Exodus.” In ''Interpreter's Bible series, 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: Jason Aronson, 1995. *Ellen Frankel. ''The Five Books of Miriam: A Woman’s Commentary on the Torah'', pages 102–04. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 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. *Gunther Plaut, W. Gunther Plaut. ''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: 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 Township, Union County, New Jersey, Springfield, New Jersey: A.R.E. Publishing, 1999. (Exodus 9:30). *''Exodus to Deuteronomy: A Feminist Companion to the Bible (Second Series)''. Edited by Athalya Brenner, 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. ''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. Obama Chesh 5

. ''The Five Books of Moses: A Translation with Commentary'', pages 339–64. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2004. *Barack Obama. ''Dreams from My Father'', page 294. New York: Three Rivers Press, 1995, 2004. (Moses and Pharaoh). *Jeffrey H. Tigay. "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 and Marc Zvi Brettler, pages 115–22. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004. *Marek Halter. ''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. Stern, David E.S. Stern, pages 379–404. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, 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 Kugel cropped

*James Kugel, James L. Kugel. ''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'', volume 126 (2007): 635–37. (“Priestly Mimesis in the Exodus Story”). *Shmuel Goldin. ''Unlocking the Torah Text: An In-Depth Journey into the Weekly Parsha: Shmot'', pages 37–65. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 2008. *''The Torah: A Women's Commentary''. Edited by Tamara Cohn Eskenazi and Andrea Weiss (rabbi), Andrea L. Weiss, pages 311–54. New York: Union for Reform Judaism, URJ Press, 2008. *Thomas B. Dozeman. ''Commentary on Exodus'', pages 159–238. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2009. *Reuven Hammer. ''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'', 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, pages 80–84. New York: New York University Press, 2009. *Bruce Wells. "Exodus." In ''Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary''. Edited by John H. Walton, volume 1, pages 181–98. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2009. Sirjonathansacks

*Berel Dov Lerner
“Crying Out About Frogs.”
''Vetus Testamentum'', volume 60 (number 4) (2010): pages 662–63. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Covenant & Conversation: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible: Exodus: The Book of Redemption'', pages 41–68. Jerusalem: Maggid Books, 2010. *Sam Ernst and Jim Dunn (writer), Jim Dunn. "A Tale of Two Audreys." In ''Haven (TV series), Haven'', season 2, episode 1. Entertainment One, 2011. (plagues plot element). Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

Shmuel Herzfeld at House of Representatives cropped

*Shmuel Herzfeld. "Building a Noble Community." In ''Fifty-Four Pick Up: Fifteen-Minute Inspirational Torah Lessons'', pages 80–85. Jerusalem: Gefen Publishing House, 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'', 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. ''Archaeology of the Bible: The Greatest Discoveries From Genesis to the Roman Era'', pages 105–07. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 2016. *Jonathan Sacks. ''Essays on Ethics: A Weekly Reading of the Jewish Bible'', pages 85–89. New Milford, Connecticut: Maggid Books, 2016. *Shai Held. ''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. KassPCOB

*Bill Dauster
"Pharaoh’s Administration Offers a Cautionary Tale for Today."
''Washington Jewish Week''. January 11, 2018, page 19. *Biblical Archaeology Society 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. *Leon Kass, Leon R. Kass. ''Founding God's Nation: Reading Exodus'', pages 106–59. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2021.

External links

Texts

Masoretic text and 1917 JPS translation

Commentaries

Academy for Jewish Religion, CaliforniaAcademy for Jewish Religion, New YorkAish.com

American Jewish University—Ziegler School of Rabbinic StudiesChabad.orgJewish Theological SeminaryMechon HadarMyJewishLearning.comPardes from JerusalemReconstructing Judaism

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{{Book of Exodus navbox Weekly Torah readings in Tevet Weekly Torah readings from Exodus

First reading—Exodus 6:2–13

Second reading—Exodus 6:14–28

Third reading—Exodus 6:29–7:7

Fourth reading—Exodus 7:8–8:6

Fifth reading—Exodus 8:7–18

Sixth reading—Exodus 8:19–9:16

Seventh reading—Exodus 9:17–35

Readings according to the triennial cycle

In ancient parallels

Exodus chapter 8

In inner-biblical interpretation

Exodus chapter 6

Exodus chapter 7

Exodus chapters 7–12

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

Exodus chapter 6

In classical rabbinic interpretation

Exodus chapter 6

Exodus chapter 7

Exodus chapter 8

Exodus chapter 9

In medieval Jewish interpretation

Exodus chapter 6

Exodus chapter 7

Exodus chapter 8

Exodus chapter 9

In modern interpretation

Exodus chapter 6

Exodus chapter 7

Exodus chapter 8

Exodus chapter 9

In critical analysis

Commandments

In the liturgy

Haftarah

Generally

Connection to the Parashah

On Shabbat Rosh Chodesh

Notes

Further reading

Biblical

Early nonrabbinic

Classical rabbinic

Medieval

Modern

External links

Texts

Commentaries