AND ALL THE CONGREGATION OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL JOURNEYED FROM THE WILDERNESS OF SIN, BY THEIR STAGES, ACCORDING TO THE COMMANDMENT OF THE ETERNAL, AND THEY ENCAMPED IN REPHIDIM. Scripture is stating that they journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, where they were encamped after they had set out from Elim,⁴⁰⁴ and covered various stages of their journey in accord with G-d’s command. Afterwards, they encamped in Rephidim. Scripture thus relates briefly here that when they first journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, they pitched in Dophkah, and afterwards in Alush, and from Alush they came to Rephidim.⁴⁰⁵ This is the meaning of the expression here, by their stages, since there were many stages by which they came from the wilderness of Sin to Rephidim, and they did not reach it on the first journey. Scripture, however, [omits all these various stages here] because its only concern is to explain their murmuring. At the beginning of their arrival in that wilderness [of Sin], they complained for bread, and now they quarreled [with Moses] over water, [as it is said], and there was no water for the people to drink. When they came to that place and did not find fountains of water, they at once quarreled with Moses. This is the meaning of the expression, Wherefore the people did quarrel with Moses,⁴⁰⁶ for the murmurings mentioned in places where Scripture says, and they murmured,⁴⁰⁷ mean complaints, i.e., that they were declaring their grievances about their condition, saying, “What shall we do? What shall we eat, and what shall we drink?” But vayarev (and he quarreled) means that they did actually make quarrel with Moses, coming to him and saying, “Give us water, you and Aaron your brother, for you are responsible, our blood is upon you.” And Moses said to them, “*Why quarrel ye with me? Wherefore do ye try the Eternal?*⁴⁰⁶ This quarrel is to test G-d, that is whether He can give you water.⁴⁰⁸ If you will hold your peace and let me alone and instead pray to Him, perhaps He will answer you.” And indeed, it was their intent to try [G-d], as Scripture says, And the name of the place was called Massah (Trying) and Meribah (Quarrel), *because of the quarrel of the children of Israel and because they tried the Eternal, saying: Is the Eternal among us, or not?*⁴⁰⁹ Then their anger against him relented,⁴¹⁰ and for a day or two, they were supplied by the waters in their vessels. But afterwards, the people thirsted there for water, and the people murmured against Moses,⁴¹¹ something like the complaints they made whenever they wanted something, saying, *Wherefore hast thou brought us up out of Egypt?*⁴¹¹ When Moses saw that they thirsted for water, he prayed to G-d and recounted before Him his distress when they first quarreled with him.⁴¹² Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that there were two groups: one that quarreled [with Moses because they had no water to drink], and one [that had water which they brought from Alush, the place where they were encamped before coming to Rephidim,⁴¹³ but] who tested G-d [to see if He would give them water]. The correct interpretation is as I have explained.

footnotes: ⁴⁰⁴ Above, 16:1. ⁴⁰⁵ Numbers 33:12-14. ⁴⁰⁶ Verse 2. ⁴⁰⁷ Such as above, 16:2. ⁴⁰⁶ Verse 2. ⁴⁰⁸ See Psalms 78:30. ⁴⁰⁹ Further, Verse 7. ⁴¹⁰ See Judges 8:3. ⁴¹¹ Verse 3. ⁴¹¹ Verse 3. ⁴¹² Verse 4. ⁴¹³ Numbers 33:14.

TO PUT US AND OUR CHILDREN AND OUR CATTLE TO DEATH WITH THIRST. In their complaint, they mentioned the cattle too, thus telling Moses that they need a lot of water and it is therefore necessary to take counsel on the whole matter. This is why it says at the second time [when the incident at the waters of Meribah is recorded], and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.⁴¹⁴, 20:11. Now here it is not mentioned but it is self-understood that when the rock was turned into a pool of water, they drank and they watered their flocks (Ramban in Verse 5 further). In the instance of the waters of Meribah at Kadesh, it is mentioned on account of the mishap that resulted from the entire affair, as explained there; see also Ramban here in Verse 5 for another interpretation. And our Rabbis have said:⁴¹⁵ “They made their cattle equal in importance to themselves. They said: ‘A man’s beast is as his life. If a man travels on the road and his beast is not with him, he suffers.’” Now the reason they mentioned us and our children and did not say generally: “to put us to death with thirst” or “to put to death this whole assembly,” [an expression] which would have included men, women and the little ones, as they said in other places,⁴¹⁶. is that by mentioning the children to him, they emphasized their murmuring against him so that he should make haste in the matter, since the young ones could not suffer thirst at all and they would thus die before the eyes of their parents. This is something like the expression, The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst.⁴¹⁷

footnotes: ⁴¹⁴ Ibid. ⁴¹⁵ Mechilta on the verse here. ⁴¹⁶ Such as above, 16:3, to put to death this whole assembly by famine ⁴¹⁷ Lamentations 4:4.

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: PASS ON BEFORE THE PEOPLE. This is similar in usage to the following expressions: he [Joseph] caused them to pass into cities;⁴¹⁸ and I will make thee to pass with thine enemies into a land which thou knowest not.⁴¹⁹ Thus the meaning thereof here is: “go away from them to another place,” [as will be explained further]. Perhaps this is similar to the expressions: and he [Ahimaaz] *overran the Cushite;*⁴²⁰ and he [Jacob] himself passed over before them,⁴²¹ meaning that he [Jacob] went in the forefront of them. The purport of this verse is that the people were in Rephidim, and the rock from which the waters were to come was in Horeb,⁴²². this being Mount Sinai, according to the opinion of the former ones,⁴²³ or in my opinion, some city near the mountain, as I will yet explain.⁴²⁴ (18:1). Moses therefore had to go first before the people, to pass on from Rephidim to Horeb — a distance of one more parsah [a Persian mile] or more — from the camp before them. It was for this reason that G-d said to him, Pass on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel… and go. That is to say, “Go until you will see Me stand before you upon the rock in Horeb.” Now Moses hit the rock, and water came out of it. Scripture however does not relate that the congregation and their cattle drank, as it does in the second incident [at the waters of Meribah],⁴²⁵ for it is self-understood that they did so. It is clear that the people did not go to Horeb to drink, since they did not arrive in front of Mount Sinai until afterwards in the third month.⁴²⁶ Instead, they sent their young men and their cattle there to draw water and bring it to them, as is customary in camps. It appears likely to me that the waters — cold flowing waters⁴²⁷ — came out from the rock in Horeb and flowed to Rephidim, and there the people drank them. This is Scripture’s intent in saying, He brought streams out of the rock, and caused waters to run down like rivers,⁴²⁸ and it is further written, He opened the rock, and waters gushed out; they ran, a river in the dry places.⁴²⁹, 105:41. The verse stating, Behold, He smote the rock, that waters gushed out, and streams overflowed,⁴³⁰, 78:20. also applies to the rock in Horeb, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture.⁴³¹ The second rock in Kadesh,⁴³² [instead of gushing forth water], became cleft with a sort of spring welling forth waters, and therefore Scripture states, That is ‘the well’ whereof the Eternal said unto Moses, etc.,⁴³³, 21:16. and Israel said in the Song, ‘The well,’ which the princes digged,⁴³⁴, Verse 18. for it was like a well that was dug. It is for this reason that Scripture says there, and the congregation drank, and their cattle,⁴³⁵, 20:11. which means that there they drank from it at that place immediately, but here [in Horeb], overflowing rivers came from it and they drank of it in their homes at their will. Now although according to the tradition of our Rabbis, it was all Miriam’s Well,⁴³⁶ it is possible that on the first occasion [in Horeb] and during all their forty years’ wandering, the waters came gushing out from the rock like overflowing rivers. The second time, [in Kadesh], as a punishment for that which took place there, it became [only] like a dug well that was full of fresh water [not a gushing spring].

footnotes: ⁴¹⁸ Genesis 47:21. ⁴¹⁹ Jeremiah 15:14. ⁴²⁰ II Samuel 18:23. ⁴²¹ Genesis 33:3. ⁴²² Verse 6: Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb ⁴²³ I.e., the Rabbis of the Talmud. See Shabbath 89 a: “Mount Sinai bears five names: the wilderness of Zin, Horeb, etc.” ⁴²⁴ At the beginning of Seder Yithro ⁴²⁵ Numbers 20:11. This took place in Kadesh. See also above, Note 414. ⁴²⁶ Further, 19:1. ⁴²⁷ Jeremiah 18:14. ⁴²⁸ Psalms 78:16. ⁴²⁹ Ibid. ⁴³⁰ Ibid. ⁴³¹ According to the Midrash, however, this verse (Psalms 78:20) was said with reference to Moses’ smiting the rock in Kadesh, or, as they are called, the waters of Meribah (Bamidbar Rabbah 19:8). ⁴³² Numbers 20:1. ⁴³³ Ibid. ⁴³⁴ Ibid. ⁴³⁵ Ibid. ⁴³⁶ “That is to say, the rock which was in Rephidim (Horeb) is the same as the one in Kadesh, this being ‘Miriam’s Well,’ which accompanied the Israelites on all their marches during the forty years’ wandering” (Rabbeinu Bachya, Vol. II, p. 153 in my edition). The tradition is mentioned in Bamidbar Rabbah 20:2. This miracle was wrought for the merits of the prophetess Miriam. Ramban’s intent is thus clear: If it was all Miriam’s Well, how can you explain its different forms of activity, for in Horeb it was like a gushing stream, and in Kadesh it was like a well?

AND THY ROD, WHEREWITH THOU SMOTEST THE RIVER, TAKE IN THY HAND. This means “[the staff wherewith] you commanded Aaron [to strike the river].”⁴³⁷ He mentioned the striking of the river, but He did not say, “and the rod which was turned to a serpent”⁴³⁸, Verse 15. or “the rod wherewith you did the signs.”⁴³⁹ This was in order to call attention to the wonder in it, for at that time, the rod turned the waters into blood, thus removing from them their particular nature, and now the rod brought water into a flinty rock,⁴⁴⁰ thus doing things of contrary effect.

footnotes: ⁴³⁷ Above, 7:19. ⁴³⁸ Ibid. ⁴³⁹ See above, 4:17. ⁴⁴⁰ See Psalms 114:8.

BEHOLD, I WILL STAND BEFORE THEE THERE UPON THE ROCK IN HOREB. Since the wonder with the water in this place was now to become a permanent feature as long as they would be in the wilderness, as our Rabbis have said,⁴⁴¹ this was why the Divine Glory was revealed upon it at this place, just as it says concerning the manna, And in the morning, then ye shall see the Glory of the Eternal,⁴⁴² since it remained a continuous wonder.

footnotes: ⁴⁴¹ See above, Note 436. ⁴⁴² Above, 16:7.

AND MOSES SAID TO JOSHUA. It would appear from here that from the day he came before him, Moses called him Joshua, and so it is also written: And Joshua heard the noise of the people.⁴⁴³ Scripture which states in the case of the spies, And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua,⁴⁴⁴ must then be referring to the beginning, [when Joshua first came to minister before him]. The verse informs us that this Hoshea the son of Nun, who was chosen to be among the spies, is the same one that Moses called Joshua. Our Rabbis commented⁴⁴⁵ [that Moses gave him this name of Yehoshua, which is a compound of Y-ah (G-d) and hoshea (help), because] he in effect prayed for him, “May G-d help thee that thou mayest not follow the [evil] counsel of the spies.” The intent of this comment is to state that because of this event of which Moses knew in advance, i.e., that Joshua was destined to go with the spies, he called him by that name [Yehoshua — Joshua] at the outset. We may also say that at that time [when the spies were chosen], Moses designated that name in front of the assembly, i.e., that his name henceforth be not Hoshea but Joshua. The reason that Moses commanded Joshua to fight with Amalek was so that he [Moses] might pray with the raising of hands on the top of the hill.⁴⁴⁶ He went up there so that he might see the Israelites engage in battle and train his sight on them to bring them blessing. They too, upon seeing him with his hands spread heavenward and saying many prayers, would have trust in him, and they would thus be endowed with additional valor and strength. In Pirke d’Rabbi Eliezer,⁴⁴⁷ we find additionally: “All Israel went outside of their tents, and they saw Moses kneeling on his knees, and they did likewise. He fell on his face to the earth and they did likewise. He spread his hands heavenward, and they also did so. [From here, you learn the principle that] as the public reader of prayers⁴⁴⁸ recites, so do all the people respond after him.⁴⁴⁹ And thus the Holy One, blessed be He, caused Amalek and his people to fall by the hand of Joshua.” But if so, [i.e., if Moses’ hands were spread heavenward], the sense of the expression, with the rod of G-d in my hand, must be that when Moses went up to the top of the hill and saw Amalek, he stretched forth his hand with the rod to bring down [upon the Amalekites] strokes of pestilence, the sword and destruction,⁴⁵⁰ just as it is said in the case of Joshua: Stretch out the javelin that is in thy hand toward Ai, for I will give it into thy hand.⁴⁵¹ From the moment Moses began to pray and his hands were spread heavenward, he held nothing in his hand. Moses our teacher did all this because Amalek was an enduring nation⁴⁵² and very powerful. The Israelites, on the other hand, were not accustomed to battle and had never seen it, just as Scripture says, lest peradventure the people repent when they see war.⁴⁵³ In addition they were faint and weary, as it is written in the Book of Deuteronomy.⁴⁵⁴ Therefore, he [Moses] feared them, and it became necessary for all this prayer and supplication. It is possible that Moses feared lest Amalek be victorious with the sword, for he was the nation that inherited the sword by virtue of the blessing of the patriarch [Isaac], who said [to Esau, Amalek’s ancestor], and on thy sword you shall live.⁴⁵⁵ The first and final wars against Israel stem from this family, as Amalek is of the descendants of Esau.⁴⁵⁶, 36:12. It is from him who stood at the head of the nations [in power]⁴⁵⁷. See Ramban, ibid., where he interprets it to mean: “Amalek is the ‘mightiest’ of the nations. This was why he dared to come to fight Israel,” it is clear that Ramban’s intent here is similar. that the [first] war came against us. From Esau’s descendants, [namely, Rome],⁴⁵⁸ the [present] exile and the last⁴⁵⁹ destruction of the Sanctuary came upon us, just as our Rabbis have said⁴⁶⁰ that today we are in the exile of Edom. When he will be vanquished, and he together with the many nations that are with him will be discomfited, we shall be saved out of it [i.e., the exile] forever, just as [the prophet] said, And saviors shall come up on Mount Zion, to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Eternal’s.⁴⁶¹ Now whatever Moses and Joshua did with them [the Amalekites] at first, Elijah and Mashiach ben Yoseph⁴⁶² will do with their descendants. This was why Moses strained himself in this matter.

footnotes: ⁴⁴³ Further, 32:17. ⁴⁴⁴ Numbers 13:16. ⁴⁴⁵ Sotah 34 b, and quoted by Rashi, ibid. ⁴⁴⁶ Verse 10. ⁴⁴⁷ In the middle of Chapter 44. ⁴⁴⁸ Literally: “the deputy of the congregation.” ⁴⁴⁹ See Berachoth 49 b: “After the fashion of his benediction, so do the others answer him.” See my Hebrew commentary, p. 371, for further elucidation of this point. ⁴⁵⁰ See Esther 9:5. ⁴⁵¹ Joshua 8:18. ⁴⁵² See Jeremiah 5:15. ⁴⁵³ Above, 13:17. ⁴⁵⁴ Deuteronomy 25:18. ⁴⁵⁵ Genesis 27:40. ⁴⁵⁶ Ibid. ⁴⁵⁷ Numbers 24:20. Amalek was the first of the nations ⁴⁵⁸ See Vol. I, pp. 445, 568-569. ⁴⁵⁹ Ramban pointedly uses the word “last” and not “the second” in order to indicate that the Third Sanctuary, for the restitution of which we pray, will never suffer destruction. The second destruction by the hands of the Romans was thus the “last” destruction. ⁴⁶⁰ Gittin 57b. See also above, Note 458. ⁴⁶¹ Obadiah 1:21. ⁴⁶² Succah 52b. See Ramban’s Sefer Hag’ulah (Kithvei Haramban, Vol. I, pp. 255-295) for further elucidation of his views of the process by which the final redemption will come to pass. For the purpose of illuminating his language here, suffice it to say that Mashiach ben Yoseph — or as Ramban calls him there, “Mashiach ben Ephraim,” since Ephraim was a son of Joseph — will first accomplish the ingathering of the exiles and fight their wars. Then Mashiach ben David will come.

AND WHEN HE LET DOWN HIS HAND, AMALEK PREVAILED. By way of the plain meaning of Scripture, when Moses was compelled to lower his hands because of weariness, he saw that Amalek prevailed. He then commanded Aaron and Hur to support them, and thus he would not lower them again. Our Rabbis have said in the Midrash:⁴⁶³ “Did Moses cause Amalek to prevail over Israel? It was merely because a person is forbidden to tarry three hours with his hands spread heavenward.”⁴⁶⁴

footnotes: ⁴⁶³ Sefer Habahir, 138. ⁴⁶⁴ See my Hebrew commentary for a quote from the Cabalistic work of the Tziyoni for an explanation of this doctrine. In his commentary on the Sefer Habahir (p. 61, Note 4), Reuben Margoliot quotes from the Commentary of the Vilna Gaon on Proverbs (25:17) that “one must not pray [any given Service] more than three hours.”

AND HIS HANDS WERE ‘EMUNAH’. This means that they remained steadily uplifted. The usage of the word is similar to the expressions: *‘va’amanah’ (And a sure) ordinance concerning the singers, as every day required;*⁴⁶⁵ And yet for all this we make ‘amanah’ (a sure) covenant,⁴⁶⁶, 10:1. meaning a provision “fixed” by covenant. Similarly, *a peg fastened in a place ‘ne’eman’*⁴⁶⁷ means [sure and] strong. By way of the Truth, [the mystic lore of the Cabala], Moses lifted his ten fingers to the height of heaven⁴⁶⁸ in order to allude to the ten emanations and to cleave firmly to Him Who fights for Israel.⁴⁶⁹. Here is explained the matter of uplifting of hands during the blessing of the priests, and its secret.⁴⁷⁰

footnotes: ⁴⁶⁵ Nehemiah 11:23. ⁴⁶⁶ Ibid. ⁴⁶⁷ Isaiah 22:23. ⁴⁶⁸ See Proverbs 25:3. ⁴⁶⁹ Deuteronomy 3:22, For the Eternal your G-d, He it is that fighteth for you ⁴⁷⁰ By uplifting their ten fingers, which allude to the ten emanations, the priests point to the Most High One Whose beneficence is brought down through them to the world by the priestly benediction (L’vush Ha’orah explaining the Ricanti, who quotes the language of Ramban).

WRITE THIS FOR A MEMORIAL IN THE BOOK. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented⁴⁷¹ that “this was a known book, namely, the book of the wars of the Eternal,⁴⁷² which contained the history of the wars which G-d fought for those that fear Him, and it is possible that the history began from the time of Abraham.” There is nothing in these words of his but an opportunity [to say something without due consideration].⁴⁷³), Ramban agrees with Ibn Ezra’s comment, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture. This is because it distinctly says there, the book of the wars of the Eternal. Here, however, it just says in the book. Hence Ramban rejects Ibn Ezra’s interpretation that here too it refers to that book of the wars of the Eternal, which is no longer extant, and he proposes his own interpretation, as explained in the text. The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the word, baseifer (in the book), alludes to the Book of the Law, something like that which is written, Take this Book of the Law.⁴⁷⁴ He is thus stating: “Write this in the Book of My Law so that the children of Israel should remember what Amalek did, for I will utterly blot out his remembrance, and I will lay My vengeance upon him by the hand of My people Israel.”⁴⁷⁵ This is the commandment we find written in the Book of Deuteronomy: Remember what Amalek did unto thee.⁴⁷⁶ He said, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, to command him to remind Israel of all the travail that had come upon them because of Amalek, for he [Joshua] knows and is witness.⁴⁷⁷ G-d is thus hinting that after the conquest of the Land, they would blot out Amalek, for the first commandment upon them was to destroy the seven nations⁴⁷⁸ and take possession of the Land. This is Scripture’s intent in what is said there: And it shall be when the Eternal thy G-d hath given thee rest from all thine enemies… that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek.⁴⁷⁹, 25:19. Now had it been like this in the days of Joshua the son of Nun, he would have urged them on to blot out Amalek, but in his days, a good deal of the Land remained to be possessed,⁴⁸⁰ and the time for the fulfilling of the commandment did not come until the reign of Saul.⁴⁸¹

footnotes: ⁴⁷¹ This quote from Ibn Ezra is found in his commentary to Numbers 21:14. Part of it is also found here. ⁴⁷² Numbers 21:14. ⁴⁷³ It should be pointed out that in his commentary to the Book of Numbers (ibid ⁴⁷⁴ Deuteronomy 31:26. ⁴⁷⁵ See Ezekiel 25:14. ⁴⁷⁶ Deuteronomy 25:17. ⁴⁷⁷ See Jeremiah 29:23. ⁴⁷⁸ Deuteronomy 7:1-2. ⁴⁷⁹ Ibid. ⁴⁸⁰ See Joshua 13:1. ⁴⁸¹ See I Samuel, Chapter 15.

FOR THE HAND UPON ‘KEIS Y-AH’ (THE THRONE OF THE ETERNAL). “The hand of the Holy One, blessed be He, is raised to swear by His throne that He will maintain [a state of] war and enmity against Amalek forever. Now what is the significance of the word keis, and why does it not say kisei [as usual]? Furthermore, even the Divine Name is divided into half!⁴⁸² [The answer is that] the Holy One, blessed be He, swore that the throne will not be perfect and the Name will not be full until He will blot out the name of Amalek the son of Esau.⁴⁸³ And when his name will be blotted out, then will G-d’s Name be full and the throne perfect, as it is said, The foe — they are destroyed; perpetual ruins.⁴⁸⁴ [This refers to Esau,⁴⁸⁵ of whom it is said, And he kept his wrath for ever.]⁴⁸⁶ Their very memorial is perished.⁴⁸⁴ What is written after that? And the Eternal is enthroned for ever.⁴⁸⁷ Thus you see [that after Amalek’s memory has perished], G-d’s Name is full. He hath established ‘kis’o’ (His throne) for judgment.⁴⁸⁷ Thus you see that the throne will be perfect.” Thus far the language of Rashi, and it is a Midrash of the Sages.⁴⁸⁸ 11. Some scholars⁴⁸⁹ explain the verse as meaning that “when there will be a ‘hand,’ [i.e., king, as explained further], upon the throne of the Eternal,⁴⁹⁰ the Eternal will have war with Amalek, and so shall it be from generation to generation.” The purport of this is that when there will be a king in Israel sitting upon the throne of the Eternal,⁴⁹⁰ he shall wage war against Amalek, thus alluding to Saul, the first king [of Israel]. And so shall it continue from generation to generation, that every king of Israel shall be duty-bound to fight with them until their name will extinct. The following is also a Midrash of the Gemara,⁴⁹¹, Note 204. as found in [Tractate Sanhedrin] in the chapter of the High Priest:⁴⁹² “By saying, The hand upon the throne of the Eternal: the Eternal will have war with Amalek from generation to generation, Scripture intimates that the Israelites must first appoint a king over themselves [before they are to annihilate the offspring of Amalek], for the throne of the Eternal refers only to the king, as it is said, Then Solomon sat on the throne of the Eternal.⁴⁹³ In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, this is correct. And by way of the Truth, [that is, the mystic lore of the Cabala, the verse is to be understood as meaning] that the Hand, [i.e., the attribute of justice], which is upon the throne of Y-ah, and which is the war from the Eternal, will continue with Amalek from generation to generation, for the high attribute of justice will pursue his extinction forever from generation to generation. The Midrash of the Sages [mentioned above] concerning “the full Divine Name” and “the perfect throne” allude to this [interpretation by way of the Truth]. Now the reason for the punishment of Amalek, i.e., why punitive measures were meted out to him more than to all other nations, is that when all the nations heard [of G-d’s visitation upon the Egyptians], they trembled. Philistia, Edom, and Moab and the inhabitants of Canaan melted away⁴⁹⁴ from before the terror of the Eternal, and from the Glory of His majesty,⁴⁹⁵ whereas Amalek came from afar as if to make himself master over G-d. It is for this reason that it is said concerning him, and he feared not G-d.⁴⁹⁶ Besides, he was a descendant of Esau and related to us,⁴⁹⁷ a passer-by who meddles with a quarrel not his own.⁴⁹⁸ Yithro

footnotes: ⁴⁸² The Tetragrammaton consists of four letters, while here only the first two letters are mentioned. ⁴⁸³ Amalek was a grandson of Esau (Genesis 36:12). ⁴⁸⁴ Psalms 9:7. ⁴⁸⁵ In our Rashi: “Amalek.” ⁴⁸⁶ Amos 1:11. ⁴⁸⁴ Psalms 9:7. ⁴⁸⁷ Psalms 9:8. ⁴⁸⁷ Psalms 9:8. ⁴⁸⁸ Tanchuma, Ki Theitzei ⁴⁸⁹ Mentioned in Ibn Ezra in the name of Rabbi Yeshuah. ⁴⁹⁰ The expression found in this verse before us. ⁴⁹⁰ The expression found in this verse before us. ⁴⁹¹ See Seder Bo ⁴⁹² Sanhedrin 20b. See also Maimonides’ “The Commandments,” I, pp. 202-203. ⁴⁹³ I Chronicles 29:23. Ramban thus brought proof to the opinion of those scholars mentioned above, who interpret this verse as containing a hint that the reckoning with Amalek is to be deferred until there will be a king in Israel. ⁴⁹⁴ Above, 15:14-15. ⁴⁹⁵ Isaiah 2:10. ⁴⁹⁶ Deuteronomy 25:18. ⁴⁹⁷ As a relative he was obligated to show kindness towards us. Instead, he behaved very cruelly: he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost, all that were enfeebled in thy rear, when thou was faint and weary (ibid.) ⁴⁹⁸ Proverbs, 26:17. Amalek had no reason to fear attacks from Israel, as they were not bent on taking his land. Amalek’s interposition was thus “meddling with a quarrel not his own.”