## Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot

###### Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 22:1
[Midrash Tanchuma, Shemot 22:1](https://torahapp.org/share/book/Midrash%20Tanchuma/s/Shemot/r/22:1)

‎**וַיִּקַח** מֹשֶׁה אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת בָּנָיו וַיַּרְכִּיבֵם. זֶה אֶחָד מֵעֲשָׂרָה דְּבָרִים שֶׁשִּׁנּוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ לְתַלְמַי הַמֶּלֶךְ בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁכָּתְבוּ לוֹ אֶת הַתּוֹרָה יְוָנִית, וְאֵלּוּ הֵן: אֱלֹהִים בָּרָא בְּרֵאשִׁית (בראשית א, א). אֶעֱשֶׂה אָדָם בְּצֶלֶם וּבִדְמוּת (בראשית א, כו). זָכָר וּנְקֵבָה בְּרָאוֹ (בראשית א, כז). וַיְכַל בַּיּוֹם הַשִּׁשִּׁי, וַיִּשְׁבֹּת בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁבִיעִי. הָבָה אֵרְדָה וְאָבְלָה שָׁם שְׂפָתָם (בראשית יא, ז). וַתִּצְחַק שָׂרָה בִּקְרוֹבֶיהָ (בראשית יח, יב). כִּי בְאַפָּם הָרְגוּ שׁוֹר וּבִרְצֹנָם עִקְּרוּ אֵבוּס (בראשית מט, ו). וַיִּקַּח מֹשֶׁה אֶת אִשְׁתּוֹ וְאֶת בָּנָיו וַיַּרְכִּבֵם עַל נוֹשֵׂא אָדָם. (שמות ד, כ). וּמוֹשַׁב בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲשֶׁר יָשְׁבוּ בְּמִצְרַיִם וּבְאֶרֶץ גֹּשֶׁן וּבְאֶרֶץ כְּנָעַן שְׁלֹשִׁים שָׁנָה וְאַרְבַּע מֵאוֹת שָׁנָה (שמות יב, מ). וַיִּשְׁלַח אֶת זַאֲטוּטֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל. וְאֶל זַאֲטוּטֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֹא שָׁלַח יָדוֹ (שמות כד, יא). אֲשֶׁר חָלַק ה' אֱלֹהֶיךָ (דברים ד, יט) אֹתָם לְהָאִיר לְכָל הָעַמִּים אֲשֶׁר תַּחַת כָּל הַשָּׁמָיִם. אֲשֶׁר לֹא צִוִּיתִי לָאֻמּוֹת לְעָבְדָן (דברים יז, ג). וְכָתְבוּ לוֹ אֶת צְעִירַת הָרַגְלַיִם, וְלֹא כָתְבוּ לוֹ אֶת הָאַרְנֶבֶת (ויקרא יא, ו). לְפִי שֶׁאִשְׁתּוֹ שֶׁל תַּלְמַי הַמֶּלֶךְ אַרְנֶבֶת שְׁמָהּ, שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמַר שָׂחֲקוּ בִי הַיְּהוּדִים וְכָתְבוּ לִי שֵׁם אִשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹרָתָם.

**Midrash Tanhuma-Yelammedenu, trans. Samuel A. Berman:**
**And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon an ass (Exod. 4:20).** This is one of the ten verses our rabbis altered when they translated the Torah into Greek for King Ptolemy.¹⁶ The ten changes are: “God created in the beginning” (Gen. 1:1);¹⁷, in order to emphasize that God alone created. “I shall make man in My image and My likeness” (ibid., v. 26);¹⁸. etc. “And He finished on the sixth day, and rested on the seventh day (ibid. 2:2);¹⁹, thus giving the impression that God actually worked on the seventh day. “Male and female He created him” (ibid. 5:2);²⁰, etc. “Come, let Me descend and confound their tongue” (ibid. 11:7);²¹, etc. “And Sarah laughed among her relatives” (ibid. 18:12);²². “For in their anger they slew an ox, and in their wrath they digged up a stall” (ibid. 49:6);²³. “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and made them ride on a carrier of men” (Exod. 4:20);²⁴. “Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt, and in the land of Goshen and in Canaan was four hundred and thirty years” (ibid. 12:40);²⁵, etc. “And he sent the elect of the children of Israel” (ibid. 24:5);²⁶. “And against the elect of the children of Israel he put not forth his hand (ibid., v. 11);²⁷. “Since the Lord thy God hath arranged to give light to all the peoples under the entire heavens” (Deut. 4:19);²⁸ “Which I had not commanded the people to serve” (Deut. 17:3);²⁹. they wrote about “the slender-footed,” but they did not write the word *‘arnevet* (“the hare”) (Lev. 11:5) because the name of Ptolemy’s wife was ‘Arnevet,³⁰ and he might say: “The Jews are ridiculing me by writing my wife’s name in the Torah.”

footnotes:
¹⁶ Megillah 9a. The Septuagint, begun during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–246 B.C.E.).
¹⁷ Instead of In the beginning God created
¹⁸ Instead of Let us make man in our image
¹⁹ Instead of And on the seventh day God finished
²⁰ Instead of Male and female He created them
²¹ Instead of Come, let us go down
²² Instead of And Sarah laughed within herself
²³ Instead of For in their anger they slew men, and in their self-will they houghed oxen
²⁴ Instead of… and set them upon an ass
²⁵ Instead of Now the time that the children of Israel dwelt in Egypt was four hundred and thirty years
²⁶ Instead of And he sent the young men of the children of Israel
²⁷ Instead of And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand
²⁸ The words “to give light” were added.
²⁹ Instead of Which I have commanded not
³⁰ Actually, her name was Arsinoe.