AND MOSES ANSWERED. God indicated¹ to Moses that the elders would believe in him.² (Ex. 3:18) why did Moses now say, But, behold, they will not believe me. However, He did not mention this explicitly. And they shall hearken to thy voice (Ex. 3:18) relates only to behavior and not to inner belief.³ only relates to behavior, not to inner belief.

footnotes: ¹ Literally, told. ² I.E. was bothered by the following: since God told Moses, And they shall hearken to thy voice ³ Thus God never actually told Moses that he would be believed. It should be noted that Nahmanides had a different reading of I.E. According to Nahmanides, I.E. offers two answers to the question raised (see note 2). God told Moses that the elders would believe. He did not tell him that the people would believe. And they shall hearken to thy voice

AND THE LORD SAID. This sign⁴ was not given to Moses so that he would believe, because He had already given him the sign of the bush.⁵ God performed this sign for Moses so that Moses would imitate it before the children of Israel. It is therefore written, that they may believe (v. 5), which means, thus shall you do before them. God gave Moses a sign via an object that was always with him, the staff, Moses’ walking stick, as is the custom with elders.⁶ Moses would not appear as a shepherd before Pharaoh.⁷

footnotes: ⁴ The staff becoming a serpent. ⁵ The burning bush convinced Moses of the truth of his mission. ⁶ Moses was then 80 years old and walked with a staff (Krinsky). ⁷ Thus the staff in his hand was not a shepherd’s staff but the staff of an elder.

AND HE SAID. Those versed in the sciences ask,⁸ (philosophers professing materialistic principles) (Friedlander). how is this possible?⁹ They were forced¹⁰ to conclude that it was to remove the dryness.¹¹ However, all their words are empty wind, as we are dealing with a wondrous event, one that did not occur according to the laws of nature.

footnotes: ⁸ In Hebrew, chakhme ha-mechkar ⁹ For a staff to be turned into a serpent by being cast upon the ground. ¹⁰ To conclude by their philosophic inquiries. ¹¹ The dry wood of the staff became moist by coming into contact with the ground. It was then fit for life to enter it (Zarza). This explanation of course appears ridiculous to a modern person.

Yefet says that this wonder was a hint,¹² as Pharaoh was at first soft¹³ like a staff and then turned into a serpent. It is written, Pharaoh King of Egypt, The great serpent¹⁴. J.P.S. translates it as dragon. However, Yefet rendered it as serpent. (Ezek. 29:3). At the end he ended up the way he started; he was like one that never existed.¹⁵

footnotes: ¹² About Pharaoh. It explained Pharaoh’s nature. ¹³ By soft, I.E. means an object not inherently evil. Pharaoh at first did not oppress the Israelites. ¹⁴ Hebrew tannim ¹⁵ Like the serpent which turned back to a staff. Pharaoh the serpent of the Nile was defanged and broken like a dry stick.

AND THE LORD SAID. The first sign was performed upon the staff that was found in Moses’ hand. The second one was executed on Moses’ very hand.¹⁶ Yefet says that his hand became leprous because he suspected that the Israelites would not believe him.¹⁷ 57a; Shemot Rabba 3:12. Similarly Rashi. It is hard to understand why I.E. would quote a Karaite when he had traditional sources at his disposal that said the same thing. However, if this were the case,¹⁸ this should have been the first sign.¹⁹ Rabbi Joshua says that this was a hint²⁰ about Israel, who at first were free and then God plagued them with Egyptian bondage, and that God would eventually heal them and that they would be free once again.

footnotes: ¹⁶ Which became leprous. This raises a question: Leprosy is usually a sign of punishment. (Cf. Num. 12:10; II Chron. 26:20.) This being the case, why was Moses punished? ¹⁷ So too the sages of the Talmud and Midrash. Cf. Sabbath ¹⁸ That Moses was being punished. ¹⁹ First Moses should have been punished by having his hand turned leprous and then shown the sign of the staff turning into a serpent. ²⁰ In other words, Moses was not being punished.

AND THE LORD SAID. Saadiah Gaon says that chek (bosom) refers to the sleeve of the arm. Similarly u-ve-cheko yissa (and carrieth them in his bosom) (Is. 40:11) and sa’ehu ve-chekekha (carry them in thy bosom) (Num. 11:12).²¹ means in his sleeve and ve-chekekha in your sleeve. Others say that it refers to a garment that lies close to the chest.

footnotes: ²¹ According to Saadiah Gaon ve-cheko

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS. We know that God knew whether they would believe or not. Scripture, however, speaks with regard to Moses,²² viz., if there will be some Israelites who will not believe the first sign, then they will believe the latter sign (ha’ot ha-acharon). Scripture speaks of the voice of the sign. Now a sign has no voice. The Torah, however, speaks in the language of man,²³ as it does in Death and life are in the power of the tongue (Prov. 18:21). Scripture speaks of the latter sign²⁴). However, in view of the fact that there were three signs, Scripture should have referred to it as the second sign. even though there were three signs, because God now showed only two signs to Moses,²⁵ as He was yet to perform the third sign.

footnotes: ²² Moses did not know how many signs he would have to do before all the people would believe him. ²³ See I.E. on Gen. 1:26. ²⁴ Scripture refers to the second sign as the latter sign (ha’ot ha-acharon ²⁵ The second sign was thus the latter sign at that moment.

AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS. If there shall still be a few Israelites that will not believe the last sign, then you will show them the third sign and they shall believe. Indeed, it is written, and (Moses) did the signs in the sight of the people (v. 30). This third sign, namely, and the water…shall become blood upon the dry land was part of the first of the ten plagues which were destined to come.

AND MOSES SAID. All the commentaries agree that bi (oh) is to be taken as a supplicatory expression.²⁶ However, Rabbi Judah Ha-Levi says that bi is an abridgement. It is short for bi ani adoni he-avon (Upon me, my lord, upon me be the iniquity) (I Sam. 25:24), that is, punish me as you wish²⁷ (iniquity) to mean punishment. See his comments on Gen. 4:13 and 43:20. Thus bi ani adoni he-avon means upon me, my lord be, the punishment. but relieve me of this task and do not send me.²⁸ in the context in which it is used in this verse. Similarly bi adoni yedabber na avdekha davar (oh my lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my lord’s ears) (Gen. 44:18). Its meaning is, do to me as you wish but allow me to speak.

footnotes: ²⁶ It means please or pray. ²⁷ I.E. explains avon ²⁸ I.E.’s elaboration of the implication of bi ani adoni he-avon

A MAN OF WORDS. A person who knows how to speak elegantly, that is, a person who does not halt or stutter or have difficulty in enunciating certain letters. It is the custom of the Hebrews when they went to compare two or three things to add the word gam (also) to the first object,²⁹ (neither heretofore), gam me-az dabberekha el avdekha (nor since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant). Literally translated, it means: also from yesterday and also from the third day, also since Thou hast spoken unto Thy servant. The first “also” appears out of place hence I.E.’s comment. I.E. then goes on to explain what Scripture means by the third day. as in Rule over us, also you, also your son and also your son’s son (Jud. 8:22).³⁰

footnotes: ²⁹ Our text reads, gam mi-temol gam mi-shilshom ³⁰ This is the literal rendition of the verse. J.P.S. translates somewhat differently.

[HERETOFORE.] The explanation of the word shilshom (third day)³¹ is as follows. The word temol (yesterday)³² refers to the day before the one in which the person is speaking. Shilshom thus refers to the third day from which the person is speaking.³³ (the third day) means three days ago. The point is that the Bible uses temol and shilshom back to back. Since temol means yesterday the word shilshom must mean three says ago, not the third day to come. The mem in shilshom is the mem of the plural³⁴ as it refers to today and yesterday,³⁵ means their third day, i.e., today’s and yesterday’s third day (Weiser). even though its shin is not vocalized with a kamatz as the rules of grammar require.³⁶ is their third day (shalosh she-lahem) the word should have read shilsham. On the other hand, it is possible that the mem is appended at the end of the word as it is to the beginning of the word.³⁷ of shilshom is not the mem of the plural. It is a form (or superfluous) letter and has no meaning. Compare, the word mishlosh (three)³⁸ in mishlosh has no meaning. See I.E. on Gen. 35:24. in And it came to pass about three months after (Gen. 38:24).

footnotes: ³¹ J.P.S. heretofore. See note 29. ³² J.P.S. heretofore. See note 29. ³³ Hence shilshom ³⁴ The masculine pronominal plural suffix. ³⁵ That is, shilshom ³⁶ If the meaning of shilshom ³⁷ That is, the mem ³⁸ The mem

NOR SINCE THOU HAST SPOKEN. Me-az dabberkha (since thou hast spoken)³⁹ means then. Hence I.E.’s comment that me-az means from the time or since. is to be rendered, from the time that thou hast spoken. Me-az (since) in For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name (Ex. 5:23) is similar, as⁴⁰ the slowness of his speech was not removed⁴¹ but remained as it was. The one who says that Moses forgot Egyptian⁴² is incorrect, because Moses mentioned two things, viz., slowness of speech and slowness of tongue.⁴³ Furthermore, we can learn from God’s answer, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh a man dumb? that Moses was not referring to the Egyptian language.⁴⁴ The upshot of this is that Moses was born with slowness of speech; i.e., he could not pronounce the labials or all of the linguals.⁴⁵ (lips). Slowness of tongue indicates a problem with linguals. However, he was able to pronounce some of them with difficulty. This is the meaning of, and I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt speak; i.e., God told Moses that He would teach him to speak with words that do not contain letters that he had difficulty enunciating.

footnotes: ³⁹ The word az ⁴⁰ The reason that Moses said what is recorded in our verse. ⁴¹ By God when He revealed Himself to Moses. ⁴² This commentator explains that slowness of speech and tongue refers not to a speech impediment but rather to Moses’ inability to speak Egyptian. The latter interpretation is offered by Rashbam. ⁴³ If the reference was merely to difficulty in speaking Egyptian, Moses would have limited himself to slowness of speech. ⁴⁴ God appears to be addressing a complaint about a physical impediment rather than one dealing with a lack of knowledge. ⁴⁵ Slowness of speech indicates a problem with labials, for the Hebrew word for speech is safah

AND THE LORD SAID. We find⁴⁶ dumb corresponding to the making of the mouth, blind corresponding to seeing, while the word deaf stands by itself; it has no counterpart. However, in reality the word pike’ach (seeing) corresponds both to blind and to deaf,⁴⁷, which means to open. Thus pike’ach can refer to one who can either hear or see. as it is written, pako’ach oznayim (opening the ears) (Is. 42:20); li-feko’ach enayim ivrot (to open the blind eyes) (Is. 42:7).

footnotes: ⁴⁶ In our verse. ⁴⁷ It comes from the root peh, kof, chet

Behold, God did not now⁴⁸ promise Moses that He would remove the slowness of his tongue. He only promised to teach him what to speak.⁴⁹

footnotes: ⁴⁸ As our verse may be taken to imply. ⁴⁹ See verse 12.

AND HE SAID. I have already explained⁵⁰ that the word na (I pray) always means now in Scripture.⁵¹ (send, I pray) means send now. See, Speak now (na) in the ears of the people (Ex. 11:2); Hear now (na), O Joshua the high priest (Zech. 3:8); Let this man, now (na)⁵². be put to death (Jer. 38:4); Woe now (na)⁵³ i.e., it does not translates na. unto us! for we have sinned (Lam. 5:16).

footnotes: ⁵⁰ Gen. 12:11. ⁵¹ Hence shlach na ⁵² Translated according to I.E. J.P.S. translates as, We pray thee ⁵³ Translated according to I.E. J.P.S. translation reads, Woe unto us;

WHOM THOU WILT SEND. The word asher (whom) has been omitted.⁵⁴ (send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send). Its literal meaning is: send, I pray Thee (or now) by the hand of Thou wilt send, hence I.E.’s comment that the word asher (whom, i.e., he whom) has to be added to the text. The word asher can mean which, that, who, or in order to. Our verse is to be read as if written be-yad asher tishlach.⁵⁵ Im levavam shalem (whose heart is whole) (II Chron. 16:9) is similar.⁵⁶ has to be added to the clause which is to be read as if written, asher im levavam shalem (of them whose heart is whole). Its meaning is, send this message by the hand of Aaron my brother⁵⁷ who is a man of words, for he is not of slow speech and he is in the habit of prophesying to Israel. Indeed, it is written in the book of Ezekiel that God sent a prophet to Israel before he sent our master Moses.⁵⁸ Scripture also states, And the Lord said to Aaron: Go into the wilderness to meet Moses (Ex. 4:27).⁵⁹ Furthermore, since Aaron was older than Moses, he might be angry if Moses was appointed God’s messenger to Pharaoh.⁶⁰ It is for this reason that God told Moses, and when he (Aaron) seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart (Ex. 4:14).⁶¹ Now Moses did not refuse to go.⁶²

footnotes: ⁵⁴ From the clause shelach na be-yad tishlach ⁵⁵ Which means via the hand of him whom you were in the habit of sending, i.e., Aaron. Rashi interprets similarly. ⁵⁶ The word asher ⁵⁷ Literally, Aaron his brother. ⁵⁸ See Ezek. 20:5. I.E. identifies this prophet with Aaron. ⁵⁹ Which shows that Aaron was a prophet, as God spoke to him. ⁶⁰ Hence Moses suggested that God appoint Aaron to this task. ⁶¹ That is, Aaron is not angry that you, his younger brother, have been chosen as God’s messenger. ⁶² As God’s messenger, as a superficial reading of verses 10-14 implies.

What happened was that Moses first replied, I am not a man of words (v. 10), and it is difficult for one who is slow of speech to speak before the king. Moses thought that God⁶³. would miraculously remove his slowness of speech. However, when God answered him, and (I) will teach thee what thou shalt speak (v. 12), Moses knew that his slowness of speech would not be removed. Moses thus wondered why God did not send Aaron to Pharaoh. It is for this reason that he said, send, I pray Thee, by the hand of him whom Thou wilt send. All of this can be clearly derived from God’s answer, Is not Aaron thy brother… (v. 14).⁶⁴ implies that Moses suggested that Aaron be chosen in his place. When he (Aaron) seeth thee, he will be glad in his heart implies that Aaron is not angry for not being chosen. He (Aaron) can speak well implies that Moses was concerned with not being able to speak before the king.

footnotes: ⁶³ In response to Moses’ reply, I am not a man of words ⁶⁴ Is not Aaron thy brother

AND THE ANGER OF THE LORD WAS KINDLED. Heaven forbid that this be the meaning of the verse, that the Lord…sought to kill him (v. 24),⁶⁵ as he should have killed him now when he refused to go, not when he went, as others have interpreted. Why kill him when he went?⁶⁶ Our case cannot be compared to that of Balaam.⁶⁷ Similarly, the incident with Jacob is different.⁶⁸ Should someone argue, where do we find a case where God’s anger did not cause harm,⁶⁹ punishment had to follow. The only punishment that conceivably followed was that the Lord sought to kill him. we will show him, And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them (Num. 12:9),⁷⁰ yet no harm befell Aaron.⁷¹Scripture refers to Aaron as the Levite, for this is the way the Levite prophet⁷² was known in Israel since there were others who bore this name.⁷³ Now Aaron’s appointment as spokesman⁷⁴ did not entail Moses’ demotion. On the contrary, Moses’ status was thereby elevated. Aaron was merely an instrument, similar to the mouth which brings forth the words of the invisible soul which, like the angels, cannot be seen because they are incorporeal. Moses’ station was thus similar to the station of an angel.⁷⁵ This is the meaning of And thou shalt be to him in Elohim’s (God’s)⁷⁶stead (v. 16). Now Elohim in Scripture does not refer to anything but God the glorious or His holy angels⁷⁷ or the holy ones below who execute God’s justice in the world.⁷⁸ Whenever Scripture refers to an idol by the term elohim⁷⁹ also means an idol. However, I.E. has just stated that it refers only to God, angels, and judges. it does so in keeping with the beliefs of its worshippers.⁸⁰ refers to an idol it means a god. It is similar to unto the prophet Hananiah⁸¹ (Jer. 28:5).

footnotes: ⁶⁵ That is, God sought to slay Moses (v. 24) because he at first refused the Lord’s call to be His messenger. See Rashbam on verse 24. ⁶⁶ Verse 24 describes what happened to Moses on his way to Egypt as God’s messenger. ⁶⁷ Where God told Balaam that he may go to Balak (Num. 22:20) and then sent an angel with a drawn sword to stop him (Num. 22:22), for Balaam had evil intentions (Krinsky). ⁶⁸ Gen. 32:25 tells us that an angel tried to kill Jacob. However, that incident too cannot be compared to that of Balaam, for that angel was not sent to punish Jacob. So Filwarg. For other interpretations see Krinsky and Weiser. However, their interpretations are forced. ⁶⁹ That is, once the anger of the Lord was kindled against Moses ⁷⁰ Against Aaron and Miriam. ⁷¹ Thus punishment does not always follow the kindling of God’s anger. ⁷² That is, Aaron. ⁷³ There were other people who bore the name Aaron. Hence people referred to the Aaron who was the prophet as Aaron the Levite. ⁷⁴ Literally, this thing. ⁷⁵ Moses was the “soul” of the words produced by Aaron. The soul is angelic; hence Moses was angelic. ⁷⁶ That is, you will be as an angel to Aaron. ⁷⁷ As in verse 16. Also see I.E. on Gen. 1:1. ⁷⁸ Judges. See I.E. on Gen. 1:1. ⁷⁹ Which seems to indicate that elohim ⁸⁰ Thus even when elohim ⁸¹ Who was not a true prophet, yet was called one.

AND…THIS ROD. Scripture refers to the signs⁸². However, up to now Scripture speaks of only one sign that was to be done with the rod, i.e., its being changed into a serpent. because the rod changed into a serpent before all of Israel and into a serpent before Pharaoh. The rod was also used to strike the Nile, to bring up frogs, to produce gnats, to bring down hail, to bring locusts, and to cause darkness.⁸³.

footnotes: ⁸² Scripture speaks of this rod, wherewith thou shalt do the signs ⁸³ Many other signs were to be done with the rod in the future. Hence Scripture speaks of the signs

AND MOSES WENT…JETHER.⁸⁴ Jether and Jethro are one and the same. Similarly, Geshem (Neh. 6:2) and Gashmu⁸⁵ (Neh. 6:6) are one and the same, as are Salmah⁸⁶ (Ruth 4:20) and Salmon (Ruth 4:21). Moses told Jethro that he was going to see his brethren. He did not reveal the secret to him.⁸⁷

footnotes: ⁸⁴ This is the Hebrew reading. J.P.S. translates it as Jethro. ⁸⁵ This is the Hebrew reading. J.P.S. translates it as Geshem. ⁸⁶ This is the Hebrew reading. J.P.S. translates it as Salmon. ⁸⁷ That he was going at God’s command to liberate them.

AND THE LORD SAID. The Torah is not⁸⁸ in chronological order.⁸⁹ The meaning of and the Lord said is, and the Lord had said.⁹⁰. Similarly, And out of the ground made the Lord to grow⁹¹ (Gen. 2:9) and many other such instances. Now when Moses was handing over Jethro’s sheep to Jethro, God assured him that he could go to Egypt without trepidation because Pharaoh and his servants who knew about the incident of the Egyptian were dead. This is the meaning of that the king of Egypt died (Ex. 2:23); as long as Pharaoh lived it was improper for Moses to be a messenger to him.⁹²

footnotes: ⁸⁸ Always. ⁸⁹ What is reported in verse 19 had to take place before what is recorded in verse 18. It is illogical for Moses to have told Jethro that he was going to Egypt before being informed by the Lord that Pharaoh was dead. ⁹⁰ For the reasons noted in note 89 we must translate verse 19 as: and the Lord had said to Moses in Midian (i.e., before Moses had taken leave of Jethro), Go return into Egypt ⁹¹ See I.E. on Gen. 2:9. ⁹² The same Pharaoh who knew of the incident of the Egyptian.

AND MOSES TOOK. We do not know whether Gershom was born at the time that Moses was a young man, when he fled to Midian, or during his old age. Do not rely on The History of Moses,⁹³ as everything written in it is nonsense. Moses’ second son, namely, Eliezer, was born now, at the time that Moses started to prophesy. Moses planned to bring his wife and sons to Egypt so that they could leave Egypt together with all of Israel. However, this was not a good idea; he was going to bring the Israelites out of Egypt and they would see that he came with his wife and children to live there.⁹⁴ Do not be surprised that a prophet should incorrectly assess practical events,⁹⁵ for indeed we find that David asked Nathan the prophet whether is was proper for him to build a temple to the Lord.⁹⁶ Nathan then answered him, All that is in thy heart do, for the Lord is with thee.⁹⁷ However, in a prophetic vision of the night, Nathan was told to inform David that he should not build the temple.⁹⁸The elders⁹⁹ 9a. were forced to translate upon an ass as upon the man carrier, because it is demeaning that the wife of the prophet and her two sons should ride on one ass.¹⁰⁰ Yefet¹⁰¹ says that ass is used as a collective noun,¹⁰² as in And I have an ox and an ass (Gen. 32:6).¹⁰³ However, Yefet is incorrect. This is not the place to use collective nouns.¹⁰⁴ The term¹⁰⁵ thus must be taken literally.¹⁰⁶ Now the asses in Egypt are dearer and more precious than the mules.¹⁰⁷ There is nothing to wonder about¹⁰⁸ if his son Gershom rode behind his mother. Perhaps he was small¹⁰⁹ and Eliezer was in her bosom for he was not yet circumcised.

footnotes: ⁹³ A medieval work dealing with the life of Moses. ⁹⁴ Hence the Israelites would have reason to doubt whether they were really going to be brought out of Egypt. ⁹⁵ That is, do not be surprised that a prophet can err as Moses did in wanting to bring his family to Egypt. ⁹⁶ This is the import of II Sam. 7:2. ⁹⁷ I.E.’s slight paraphrase of II Sam. 7:3. ⁹⁸ II Sam. 7:5-13. ⁹⁹ Who translated the Pentateuch into Greek. See Megillah ¹⁰⁰ For this implies that Moses was impoverished. ¹⁰¹ See notes and comments on Ex. 3:3. ¹⁰² Thus more than one ass was used by Moses’ family. Therefore the verse does not imply that Moses was impoverished. ¹⁰³ The meaning of which is: And I have oxen and asses. ¹⁰⁴ One uses the collective noun when one speaks of many of a kind. Here, at most two asses were involved and the use of the collective is out of place. ¹⁰⁵ Ass. ¹⁰⁶ It refers to one ass. ¹⁰⁷ Hence Moses chose an ass rather than a mule for his family to ride upon. ¹⁰⁸ Why Moses employed one ass for his family. His wife rode holding their infant son Eliezer and their other son rode behind her as children are wont to do. ¹⁰⁹ Young. See the opening of I.E.’s comment. This would make the scenario more acceptable, and not be demeaning to Moses.

[AND HE RETURNED TO THE LAND OF EGYPT.] Its meaning is that only Moses himself returned.¹¹⁰. Hence I.E’s comment. When God met Moses (v. 24) Eliezer was circumcised (v. 25). When Eliezer was healed, Zipporah and her children returned to her father. Moses left them and went on to Egypt.

footnotes: ¹¹⁰ The verse reads, And Moses took his wife and his sons…and he returned to Egypt

Scripture refers to the staff as the rod of God because of the sign that was performed with it.¹¹¹ The rod of God is the same as the rod of Moses and the rod of Aaron. It was in his¹¹² hand when he did the signs.¹¹³ Now that the rod of God is mentioned Scripture backtracks and relates that God told Moses¹¹⁴ all the wonders that he was destined to do in Egypt.¹¹⁵ He mentioned¹¹⁶ to Moses the sign that would bring Israel out of Egypt, namely, the plague of the first-born.¹¹⁷

footnotes: ¹¹¹ Ex. 4:1-4. ¹¹² Aaron’s (Weiser). ¹¹³ When Aaron performed signs he held the rod. Hence it is also referred to as the rod of Aaron. ¹¹⁴ In general terms. ¹¹⁵ Verse 21. ¹¹⁶ That is, he specifically mentioned. ¹¹⁷ Verse 23.

[AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE WAY AT THE LODGING-PLACE.] This should have been connected to And Moses took his wife and his sons (v. 20).¹¹⁸ There are many such cases in the Pentateuch, an example being, he shall make restitution (Ex. 22:2). The latter is connected to he shall pay five oxen for an ox (Ex. 21:37).¹¹⁹

footnotes: ¹¹⁸ The sequence of events is: And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them on an ass. And it came to pass on the way at the lodging place, etc. That which is between these verses is parenthetical. ¹¹⁹ And not that which immediately precedes it.

AND THE LORD SAID. This was told to Moses in Midian.¹²⁰ (v. 19) (Krinsky). God informed Moses that He would harden Pharaoh’s heart and that Pharaoh would not let them go despite all of the wonders, including the last one,¹²¹ that He would show them.¹²²

footnotes: ¹²⁰ When God told Moses, Go return into Egypt ¹²¹ The plague of the first-born. Even after this plague Pharaoh changed his mind and tried to re-enslave the Israelites. ¹²² Nahmanide’s version of I.E. had, “God informed Moses that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart and that Pharaoh would not let them go despite the wonders until He would show (them) the last wonder.”

AND THOU SHALT SAY. The meaning of Israel is My son, My first-born¹²³ is: the ancestors of this nation were the first to serve Me. I therefore take pity on this nation as a father pities a son who serves him. You took him for a perpetual slave. I will therefore kill your first-born son.

footnotes: ¹²³ And what follows, i.e., verse 23.

AND I HAVE SAID UNTO THEE. Behold, I have told you time and time again to let My son go, that he may serve Me by offering sacrifices to Me, and thou hast refused to let him go. I will therefore punish thee.¹²⁴ The ignorant say that these words are directed at Moses.¹²⁵ The latter is sheer madness. Furthermore, Eliezer¹²⁶ was not Moses’ first-born.¹²⁷

footnotes: ¹²⁴ I.E.’s paraphrase of verse 23. ¹²⁵ Moses refused to go to Egypt to liberate God’s first-born son (Israel). God therefore threatened to kill Moses’ son. This explains the sequence which follows in verse 24. ¹²⁶ The son of Moses that God wanted to kill (v. 24). ¹²⁷ If God wanted to kill Moses’ first-born because Moses did not have pity on His first-born, then Gershom should have been threatened.

AND IT CAME TO PASS ON THE WAY. They had a tradition that a child should not be circumcised on the eighth day if he was sick, or while traveling when it was not possible for his guardian to tarry and circumcise him. Now because Moses could not tarry in carrying out God’s mission he concluded that he should not circumcise his son, because the child would be in danger if he were taken along.¹²⁸ God therefore sent an angel¹²⁹. to tell Moses to put his decision aside¹³⁰ and to circumcise the lad. The child would then remain with his mother until healed and Moses would continue on by himself.

footnotes: ¹²⁸ After circumcising him. ¹²⁹ This is the meaning of that the Lord met him ¹³⁰ Not to circumcise Eliezer.

[THAT THE LORD MET HIM.] Its meaning is that God sent an illness upon Moses because it did not occur to him.¹³¹ This then is the meaning of and sought to slay him: God sought to slay Moses if he would not circumcise his son. Now because Moses was seized with trembling¹³² he could not circumcise his son. Zipporah circumcised him, for Moses revealed this secret to her.¹³³ Do not be surprised that it is written, That the Lord met him;¹³⁴ the reference is to an angel of the Lord. And the Lord went before them (Ex. 13:21) is similar, and there it is written, And the angel of God…removed (Ex. 14:19). However, Rabbi Samuel ben Hofni¹³⁵ says: Perish the thought that God would seek to slay Moses who was on God’s mission to redeem His people. It was rather Eliezer whom the Lord sought to slay, and it is to Eliezer that the third person pronominal suffixes of va-yifgeshehu (met him) and hamito (slay him) refer. Scripture then goes on to explain that the reference is to Eliezer.¹³⁶ Scripture therefore states, and cut off the foreskin of her son. He is not at first mentioned¹³⁷. However, before referring to a person in the third person, one has to first identify him. I.E. thus explains that Scripture does not identify the object of va-yifgeshehu and hamito because he did not yet have a name. because he did not as yet have a name. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand (Gen. 38:28) is similar.¹³⁸

footnotes: ¹³¹ To circumcise his son at that time. I.E. literally reads: Its meaning is, an illness came upon Moses from God that he did not think. ¹³² He was shivering due to the illness. ¹³³ That he was ill because he did not circumcise his son. ¹³⁴ I.E. explains that God sent an angel to tell Moses to desist from his decision. However, the verse implies that it was God Himself who met Moses. ¹³⁵ The last Gaon of Sura. He died in 1034 C.E. ¹³⁶ That is, to her son. The name Eliezer is not used in our passage. ¹³⁷ Scripture refers to Eliezer by the term him ¹³⁸ Scripture does not identify the one that put out his hand because he was not yet named.

THEN ZIPPORAH TOOK A FLINT. A sharp instrument.¹³⁹ (flint) is not to be translated as flint but as something sharp and hard as a flint, that is, a sharp instrument. Compare, Make thee knives of flint¹⁴⁰. (Josh. 5:2) which refers to sharp knives. Yea, thou turnest back the flint (tzur) of his sword¹⁴¹. (Ps. 89:44) is similar.

footnotes: ¹³⁹ According to I.E. the word tsor ¹⁴⁰ Hebrew, tzurim ¹⁴¹ J.P.S. translates as edge of his sword

[AND CAST IT AT HIS FEET.] In my opinion the reference is to Moses’ feet. Our verse is like¹⁴² and when He seeth the blood upon the lintel, and upon the side-posts, the Lord…will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to destroy you (Ex. 12:23). Therefore¹⁴³ He let him, that is, Moses, alone; his illness and shivering ceased. However, Rabbi Samuel¹⁴⁴ says that his feet refers to Eliezer’s feet,¹⁴⁵ and similarly He let him alone.¹⁴⁶ This being the case we can refute him by asking, “If the illness befell Eliezer how could Zipporah circumcise him, thereby adding pain to his pain?”¹⁴⁷

footnotes: ¹⁴² That is, the placing of the bloody foreskin on Moses’ feet was similar to the placing of the blood on the side-posts and lintels of the Israelite homes; i.e., it prevented the destroyer from killing. ¹⁴³ Because of what Zipporah did. ¹⁴⁴ Rabbi Samuel ben Hofni. ¹⁴⁵ Rabbi Samuel’s comment is in keeping with his interpretation that it was Eliezer rather than Moses who took ill. ¹⁴⁶ The reference is again to Eliezer. ¹⁴⁷ The idea is that it would be either dangerous or cruel.

[A BRIDEGROOM OF BLOOD.] It is the custom of women to refer to a child as a bridegroom when he is circumcised.

[BLOOD.] Its meaning is, surely thou art a man of blood to me,¹⁴⁸ (surely) thou art a man of blood. Thus blood means bloody. for because of you my husband will die.

footnotes: ¹⁴⁸ Cf. II Sam. 16:8, because

SO HE LET HIM ALONE. The word damim (blood) in Hebrew is used in two ways. One way is to indicate bloodshed, as in because thou art a man of blood to me (II Sam. 16:8).¹⁴⁹, added the words to me to II Sam. 16:8. The person who says that damim refers to life¹⁵⁰ means: Surely a live bridegroom are thou (Moses) to me; i.e., thou art alive because I circumcised Eliezer. Similarly the word blood in the next verse. It should be noted that in Ex. 22:2 Rashi explains dam (blood) as alive and I.E. takes issue with him there (Filwarg). is giving the word a meaning that it does not have. The second way¹⁵¹ is used. is as a plural referring to actual blood,¹⁵². as in be-damayikh chayi (in thy blood live) (Ezek. 16:6). Now when Zipporah saw that the illness left Moses she exclaimed, you my son are not a bridegroom of blood, blood referring to death,¹⁵³ but you are a bridegroom wallowing in the blood of circumcision. The word mulot (circumcision) is a noun. It is in the plural¹⁵⁴, the singular should have been used. because of damim (blood).¹⁵⁵ which precedes mulot is in the plural; i.e., the word mulot is in the plural because it follows damim.

footnotes: ¹⁴⁹ “To me” is not found in the verse quoted. I.E., under the influence of his comment on the word blood ¹⁵⁰ This commentary takes blood to mean life because a living person has blood flowing through him. According to this commentary, Surely a bridegroom of blood art thou to me ¹⁵¹ That the word damim ¹⁵² The singular being dam ¹⁵³ That is, you are not a bloody bridegroom. ¹⁵⁴ Prima facie ¹⁵⁵ Damim

AND THE LORD SAID TO AARON. Aaron did not prophesy;¹⁵⁶. He did not tell him to prophesy before Pharaoh (Weiser). there was no need for him to do so¹⁵⁷ as Moses was the messenger sent to Pharaoh. However, prior to this Aaron had been sent as messenger to the male Israelites, and Miriam to the females. The prophet therefore says, And I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam (Micah 6:4).

footnotes: ¹⁵⁶ God told Aaron, Go into the wilderness to meet Moses ¹⁵⁷ Henceforth.

IN THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD. The reference is to Mount Horeb.

AND MOSES TOLD. God sent Moses to Israel first.¹⁵⁸

footnotes: ¹⁵⁸ Besides sending Moses to Pharaoh, God also told Moses to speak to Israel before speaking to Pharaoh, Hence Moses and Aaron went first to the children of Israel.

AND ALL THE SIGNS WHEREWITH HE HAD CHARGED HIM. To first perform before Israel and then to perform other signs before Pharaoh.¹⁵⁹

footnotes: ¹⁵⁹ Hence Moses first performed signs before Israel (v. 30) and only later before Pharaoh (Ex. 7:10).

AND MOSES AND AARON WENT. The elders are the counselors in each generation,¹⁶⁰, a board of counselors. I.E. apparently assumes that each generation going back to Moses had a similar arrangement with the exception that in previous times they were referred to as zekenim (elders) rather than yo’atzim (counselors). as Moses and Aaron could not possibly speak to six hundred thousand men. It was rather the elders who spoke to them.

footnotes: ¹⁶⁰ In other words, elders means counselors. In medieval Spain the Jews were ruled in part by a mo’etzah

AND AARON SPOKE. For he was Moses’ mouthpiece.¹⁶¹ literally means interpreter. Moses therefore never spoke to Israel except through Aaron. When Aaron died his son Eleazar took his place and similarly became Moses’ mouthpiece.

footnotes: ¹⁶¹ Melitz

AND THE PEOPLE BELIEVED. After they heard that the Lord had remembered his people. The end of the time period that had been told to Abraham had come.¹⁶² (Gen. 15:13).

footnotes: ¹⁶² That is, Know of a surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs…four hundred years

THEIR AFFLICTION. Onyam comes from the same root as inuy (affliction).¹⁶³.

footnotes: ¹⁶³ Its root is ayin, nun, heh

THEN THEY BOWED. Va-yikkedu (then they bowed) comes from a double root.¹⁶⁴. It is like the word kodkod (skull).¹⁶⁵. Va-yikkedu follows the paradigm of va-yittemu (were ended)¹⁶⁶. in so the days of weeping in the mourning of Moses were ended (Deut. 34:8) and yiddemu (they are still)¹⁶⁷. in they are as still as stone (Ex. 16:16). If only those who say that these words¹⁶⁸, and yiddemu. come from roots that begin with a nun¹⁶⁹ is nun, kof, dalet; of yittemu, nun, tav, mem; and of yiddemu, nun, dalet, mem. would be as still as stone. In order to explain the paradigm¹⁷⁰ follow the paradigm of roots that begin with a nun. Compare, yippelu from the root nun, peh, lamed, and yittenu from the root nun, tet, nun. Hence they conclude that the former come from similar roots. See note 168. they add roots that are nonexistent in the holy tongue.¹⁷¹ out of double roots. See note 168. Can they not see that the word redu (get you down)¹⁷². (Gen. 42:2) follows the paradigm of benu (build ye)¹⁷³. in Build ye (lakhem) houses (Jer. 29:5)¹⁷⁴ (ye) is not in Jeremiah. The reference might be Num. 32:24, which reads, Build you (lakhem) cities. In any case, if this is not a scribal error then I.E. quoted from memory and erred. although they are two different¹⁷⁵ 38. In any case, it has to be inserted in order to make sense. roots.¹⁷⁶, and yiddemu must be peh nuns because they follow a peh nun paradigm. The correct thing is to do everything in our power not to multiply roots because of paradigms.

footnotes: ¹⁶⁴ Its root is kof, dalet, dalet ¹⁶⁵ The root of which is kof, dalet, dalet ¹⁶⁶ From the root tav, mem, mem ¹⁶⁷ From the root dalet, mem, mem ¹⁶⁸ That is, va-yikkedu, va-yittemu ¹⁶⁹ That is, that the root of yikkedu ¹⁷⁰ The point is that the words yikkedu, yittemu, and yiddemu ¹⁷¹ For they make peh nuns ¹⁷² From the root yod, resh, dalet ¹⁷³ From the root bet, nun, heh ¹⁷⁴ The word lakhem ¹⁷⁵ The literal reading is: and they are roots. “Two different” is not in our text, but it is in Vat. Ebr. ¹⁷⁶ We thus see that words from different root families can follow similar paradigms. Hence there is no reason to assume that yikkedu, yittemu