AND THESE ARE THE NAMES OF …. The meaning [of the connective vav — v’eileh, (‘and’ these are) — when it would have sufficed to say, “These are the names of …,”] is that Scripture desires to reckon the subject of the exile from the time they went down to Egypt. It was then that they were the first of the exiles to go into exile,¹⁶ as I have explained.¹⁷ It is for this reason that He returns to the beginning of the subject [stated in the Book of Genesis], which is the verse, And all his seed he [Jacob] brought with him into Egypt.¹⁸ There it is written afterward, And these are the names of the children of Israel, who came into Egypt, etc.¹⁹, Verse 8. This is the very same verse that He repeats here. Even though they are two separate books, the narrative is connected with subjects which follow one another successively. Here, once He mentioned the children of Jacob, He adopted a concise approach to his children’s children and all of his seed [and did not mention them by name as He had done in the Book of Genesis]. Rather, He alluded to them only generally, just as He had said there, All the souls of the house of Jacob, that came into Egypt, were threescore and ten.²⁰, Verse 27. In the same way He said here in Verse 5: And all the souls that came out of the loins of Jacob were seventy souls. A similar case is found in the Book of Chronicles and the Book of Ezra. The Book of Chronicles finishes with the verse: Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Eternal by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the Eternal stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying: Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, etc.²¹ The author repeated the very language of these two verses at the beginning of the Book of Ezra in order to connect the narrative. However, since they were indeed two books, he completed the first book, [i.e., the Book of Chronicles], with the events that transpired before the building of the Second Sanctuary, and he devoted the second book, [i.e., the Book of Ezra], to the events that happened from the time of the building [of that Sanctuary].²² The same thing occurs in these two books, Bereshith and V’eileh Shemoth.

footnotes: ¹⁶ Amos 6:7. ¹⁷ See Note 7 above. ¹⁸ Genesis 46:7. ¹⁹ Ibid. ²⁰ Ibid. ²¹ II Chronicles 36:22-23. ²² Ramban’s thesis apparently is that Ezra himself completely authored the two books, Chronicles and Ezra. See, however, Baba Bathra 15a, where it is stated, “Ezra wrote his book and the genealogy of Chronicles up to himself.” This would seem to indicate that only the first chapters of the Book of Chronicles, which deal with the genealogical tables, were written by Ezra, but not the other parts of the book. The key to the understanding of Ramban’s words must lie therefore in grasping his intent, i.e., that Ezra connected the Book of Chronicles with his own book by using the restoration-edict of Cyrus as the linking material, with the object of bringing out the continuity of the events during the two Sanctuaries.

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that because He mentioned at the end of Bereshith [50:23] that Joseph saw children of the third generation to his children, this is why He mentioned [here in the second book] that his brethren likewise were at first few and then were fruitful and multiplied. But this is not correct.²³, thus informing us of their great increase, and not just mentioning the names of the tribes. Moreover, in my opinion, if Ibn Ezra’s interpretation be correct, it would not have been necessary here to include Joseph as it did in Verse 5, since he had been mentioned already at the beginning of this topic, [i.e., at the end of the Book of Genesis]. Moreover, the division of the chapters refutes Ibn Ezra’s opinion.” Rashi wrote: “Although Scripture had already enumerated them whilst they were living, it again enumerates them by name, following their death, in order to show how they were beloved by G-d. They are compared to the stars which G-d also brings out by number and brings in by number,²⁴ as it is said, He bringeth out their host by number, He calleth them all by name.”²⁵ These are words of homiletic exposition,²⁶ and insofar as they indicate the love of G-d for the tribes — how the Holy One, blessed be He, loves them and repeats their names always — they are words of truth. But the matters of the connection of the verses and how they are joined by the vav — [v’eileh shemoth — (‘And’ these are the names of…)] — is as I have explained.

footnotes: ²³ Ramban did not explain the reason for his rejection of Ibn Ezra’s interpretation. I found this in Isaac Abarbanel’s (1437-1508) Commentary on the Torah, where he offers the following explanation for Ramban’s rejection: “The reason for it is that in the Book of Genesis, the Torah has already mentioned each one of the twelve tribes, their children, and their children’s children, who went down into Egypt. And this is far more than the mere names of the tribes He mentioned here. Besides, it would have sufficed to say here, And the children of Israel were fruitful, and increased abundantly ²⁴ In our text of Rashi: “Which G-d also brings out and brings in by number and name.” ²⁵ Isaiah 40:26. “It is for this reason that He mentions the names of the tribes always and repeats them, all for the sake of showing how dear they are to G-d” (Bachya). ²⁶ Shemoth Rabbah 1:3.

COME, LET US DEAL WISELY WITH HIM. Pharaoh and his wise counsellors²⁷ did not see fit to slay them by the sword, for it would have been a gross treachery to smite without reason a people that had come into the land by command of a former king. The people of the country also would not give the king consent to commit such perfidy since he took counsel with them,²⁸ and all the more so since the children of Israel were a numerous and mighty people and would wage a great war against them. Rather, Pharaoh said he would do it wisely so that the Israelites would not feel that it was done in enmity against them. It is for this reason that he placed a levy upon them, as it was customary that strangers in a country contribute a levy to the king, as it is mentioned in the case of King Solomon.²⁹ Afterwards he secretly commanded the midwives to kill the male children upon the birthstool³⁰ so that even the mothers should not know it. Following that, he charged all his people, Every son that is born, ye — yourselves — shall cast into the river.³¹ Essentially, Pharaoh did not want to charge his executioners to slay them by the decree of the king or to cast them into the river. Rather, he said to the people that whoever would find a Jewish child should throw him into the river. Should the child’s father complain to the king or to the master of the city, they would tell him to bring witnesses and then they will exact vengeance [for the crime]. Now once the king’s restriction was removed,³² the Egyptians would search the houses, entering them at night, and indifferent [to the cries of the parents], would remove the children therefrom. It is therefore said, And when she could no longer hide him.³³ It appears that this [decree to drown the Israelite children] lasted but a short time, for when Aaron was born [three years before Moses],³⁴, 7:7. the decree was not yet in existence,³⁵ and when [shortly after] Moses was born, it appears that the decree was revoked. Perhaps it was through Pharaoh’s daughter, who, in her compassion for the child Moses, said to her father that he should not act in that way. It may be that when it became known that this decree was enacted by the king, he revoked it, or again it may be that it was revoked on account of the astrologers, as is the opinion of the Rabbis,³⁶ since it was all done dexterously by them in order that the crime not be known. This is the meaning of the complaint made to Moses our teacher [by the officers of the children of Israel], Ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us,³⁷ meaning, “Now they will increase their hatred of us and find justification for saying that we rebel against the government, and they will then openly slay us by the sword without the necessity of doing it slyly.”

footnotes: ²⁷ See Isaiah 19:11. ²⁸ As it says in Verse 9: And he said unto his people… ²⁹ II Chronicles 2:16-17. ³⁰ Verse 16. ³¹ Verse 22. ³² Literally, “And when the king’s strap was untied.” In other words, when the government’s restraint against murder was removed, the Egyptians, etc. Ramban thus traces through the verses the gradual disintegration of the Israelites’ right to life in ancient Egypt. ³³ Further, 2:3. ³⁴ Ibid. ³⁵ This would explain why his mother did not have to seek a way to preserve his life. ³⁶ “When Moses was thrown into the waters, the astrologers said to Pharaoh, ‘Their deliverer has already been cast into the waters.’ Immediately, they voided the decree” (Shemoth Rabbah 1:29). See also Rashi to Verse 22 here. ³⁷ Further, 5:21.

AND HE WILL GO UP ‘MIN’ (OUT OF) THE LAND. “I.e., ‘against our will.’ Our Rabbis explained that they spoke like a person who is pronouncing a curse against himself but assigns the curse to others. Thus it is as if Scripture wrote, ‘And we shall have to go up out of the land, and they will possess it.’” These are the words of Rashi. But if the explanation is as the Rabbi has it, [i.e., that the Israelites will go up to wage war against the Egyptians], Scripture would have said, “And he will go up al (against) the land,” [instead of saying min ha’aretz (out of the land)]. Such is the correct expression concerning warriors: Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up ‘al’ (against) all the fortified cities of Judah, and took them³⁸*; Rezin the king of Aram… went up to Jerusalem to war ‘aleha’ (against it)*.³⁹ Perhaps [Rashi will explain it by] saying that the meaning is that “he will come up against us from the land wherein he dwells,” meaning the land of Goshen. It is possible to explain that Pharaoh is saying that “if wars will occur, the Israelites may join forces with our enemies to take the spoil, and to take the prey.⁴⁰, 10:6. They will get themselves up out of this land to the land of Canaan with all our belongings, and we will not be able to wreak our vengeance on them nor to war against them.” This is similar to the verses: *that brought us up out of the land of Egypt;*⁴¹ that brought up and that led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them.⁴² Similarly, the verse, And they shall appoint themselves one head, and shall go up out of the land,⁴³ means they shall appoint over themselves a captain and they shall go up to their land out of the country in which they had been exiled.

footnotes: ³⁸ Ramban here combined two verses: II Kings 24:1 and 18:13. ³⁹ Isaiah 7:1. ⁴⁰ Ibid. ⁴¹ Further, 32:1. ⁴² Jeremiah 23:8. ⁴³ Hosea 2:2.

SAREI MISIM’ (OFFICERS OF THE TRIBUTE) TO AFFLICT THEM. Pharaoh imposed a tribute upon the Israelite people to take men from them for the king’s projects. He appointed Egyptian officers over the tribute to take men at will in turns to serve for a month or more in the royal building-projects and the rest of the days [they remained] at home. These officers commanded the Israelites to build cities for Pharaoh, and the people built storage-cities for Pharaoh through this levy. When the Egyptians saw that this forced labor did not harm the Israelites, they were in dread for their own lives⁴⁴ on account of them. They decreed that all Egyptians force the Israelites to serve them,⁴⁵ so that any Egyptian who needed work done had the authority to take from them men to do his work. This is the meaning of the verse, And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor.⁴⁵ They furthermore decreed against them that they do hard work in mortar and in brick.⁴⁶ the Israelites — not only those forced into labor for the king’s building-projects — were afflicted. It is necessary to recall the full text: And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor (Verses 13-14). Ramban understands the term “Egyptians” here as referring to the whole population. Further in the text, Ramban will suggest another interpretation. Whereas at first the officers would give them the bricks and the men of the forced labor would erect the buildings, they now conscripted the entire Israelite people into the work, commanding them to bring the earth, make the mortar with their hands and feet while only the straw was given to them from the king’s house, and give the bricks to the men of the forced labor engaged in the construction of the buildings. Every other manner of hard service in the field for Pharaoh and the Egyptians — such as excavations and the removal of dung — were all imposed upon them. In addition, they subjugated them, pressing them not to rest while beating and cursing them. This is the sense of the expression, in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor.⁴⁶ the Israelites — not only those forced into labor for the king’s building-projects — were afflicted. It is necessary to recall the full text: And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor. And they made their lives bitter with hard service, in mortar and in brick, and in all manner of service in the field; in all their service, wherein they made them serve with rigor (Verses 13-14). Ramban understands the term “Egyptians” here as referring to the whole population. Further in the text, Ramban will suggest another interpretation. The king supported them with sparing bread,⁴⁷ as is customary for those who work in his service. This is the purport of those lusting persons⁴⁸ who said, We remember the fish, which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, etc.⁴⁹, Verse 5. Fish are very abundant in Egypt, and by command of the king, the Israelites would obtain them from those who caught them. They would also take cucumbers and melons from the vegetable-gardens,⁴⁹, Verse 5. no one putting them to shame, for such was the king’s command. But our Rabbis have said:⁵⁰ “The Israelites were servants to kings, but not servants to servants.” If so, the verse, And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor,⁴⁵ alludes to Pharaoh’s officers of the tribute, [mentioned above in Verse 11].

footnotes: ⁴⁴ Verse 12. ⁴⁵ Verse 13. ⁴⁵ Verse 13. ⁴⁶ Verse 14. Ramban now proceeds to show how all ⁴⁶ Verse 14. Ramban now proceeds to show how all ⁴⁷ Isaiah 30:20. ⁴⁸ Numbers 11:4. ⁴⁹ Ibid. ⁴⁹ Ibid. ⁵⁰ Mechilta, Bachodesh, end of Chapter 5. ⁴⁵ Verse 13.