BEHOLD, THE HAND OF THE ETERNAL IS UPON THY CATTLE WHICH ARE IN THE FIELD. Scripture speaks of the ordinary custom that most cattle are in the field, but the plague was also upon the cattle in the houses, just as it is said, And all the cattle of Egypt died.²⁰⁰ It is possible that because every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians,²⁰¹ the Egyptians removed the cattle from the cities except for the use of horses for riding and asses for loading. Thus the cattle were located far from Egypt, grazing in the fields bordering upon Goshen, and in those pastures the cattle of the Egyptians and of the Israelites would intermingle. Therefore it was necessary that it be said, And the Eternal shall make a division between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt.²⁰² It may be that the division was necessary because since the pestilence was caused by the change of air, it should naturally spread over the whole district, [affecting the cattle of the Israelites as well], but G-d dealt wondrously with them.²⁰³

footnotes: ²⁰⁰ Verse 6. ²⁰¹ Genesis 46:34. ²⁰² Verse 4. ²⁰³ See Joel 2:26.

AND IT SHALL BECOME SMALL DUST OVER ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT. According to the opinion of our Rabbis,²⁰⁴ [the small quantity of] soot [in the hands of Moses] became the dust which settled over the whole land of Egypt, and that dust, coming upon man and upon beast, caused them to break forth with boils and blains throughout all the land of Egypt, since it was a burning hot dust. Perhaps the wind caused the dust to enter the homes as well, and there was thus no escape from it. This is a correct [conjecture]. Many times during a drought, the fall of the dew is accompanied by a sort of dust, and it is furthermore written, The Eternal will make the rain of thy land powder and dust.²⁰⁵ It is also possible to say, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture, that the purport of the expression, And it shall become small dust, is that the dust which will be produced in that place from the soot will bring the boils over all the land of Egypt, as He infected the air to do so, it being a decree of the Supreme One.²⁰⁶

footnotes: ²⁰⁴ Shemoth Rabbah 11:6. ²⁰⁵ Deuteronomy 28:24. ²⁰⁶ According to this interpretation, the miracle entailed was thus greater than the one in consonance with the first interpretation, which had the dust throughout the land of Egypt causing the boils and the blains. According to the second interpretation, the soot of the furnace became dust only over the place where the miracle was wrought, which in turn caused the whole atmosphere over Egypt to effect the boils.

AND THE MAGICIANS COULD NOT STAND BEFORE MOSES. They were ashamed, and confounded, and covered their heads²⁰⁷ since they were full of boils and could not rescue themselves. Therefore they made no appearance in the royal palace, nor did they appear before Moses in the streets. And so they were imprisoned in their homes.

footnotes: ²⁰⁷ Jeremiah 14:3.

AND THE ETERNAL HARDENED THE HEART OF PHARAOH. It is possible that during the first plagues, the magicians hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to pride themselves in their wisdom. But now that they did not come before him and there was none to help him and none to uphold him²⁰⁸ in his folly except his iniquities that ensnared him,²⁰⁹ [it was G-d Who hardened his heart]. It is possible that Scripture is alluding to that which our Rabbis have explained,²¹⁰ i.e., that during the first plagues, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was his own doing,²¹¹ and now it was [rightfully] caused by G-d, as I have explained above.²¹² This is the true explanation.

footnotes: ²⁰⁸ See Isaiah 63:5. ²⁰⁹ See Proverbs 5:22. ²¹⁰ Shemoth Rabbah 11:7. ²¹¹ And not, as stated before, that it was caused by the magicians, who were proud of their arts. ²¹² Above, 7:3.

In view of the fact that Scripture states, A very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it was founded, and repeats it again, Very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation,²¹³ there is an allusion that there are other places in the world where such hail did come down, such as is mentioned in the verse, And the Eternal cast down great stones from heaven upon them,²¹⁴ or as is mentioned in connection with [the destruction of] Sodom, brimstone, and salt, and fire.²¹⁵ But in the land of Egypt, where there is no rain or hail, this was a great wonder. I have not understood what is said in Midrash Rabbah:²¹⁶ “The verse does not say, ‘as hath not been in Egypt like it,’ but instead it says, ‘as hath not been like it in Egypt,’ which means there has neither been like it in the world nor in Egypt.”²¹⁷ And the expression, since the day it was founded, is equivalent to saying: “Your fathers and your grandfathers have never seen the like of it.” But it is not possible to say that it suggests that the like of it occurred before the world was founded or before the inception of nations. Perhaps because this hail came as a punishment upon the inhabitants of Egypt and was not in the natural order, [the verse] is saying that nothing like it has ever occurred because of the sins of the fathers, for before the inception of Egypt as a nation, surely there was no [reason for] such hail to come.

footnotes: ²¹³ Further, Verses 18 and 24. ²¹⁴ Joshua 10:11. ²¹⁵ Deuteronomy 29:22. ²¹⁶ Shemoth Rabbah 12:2. In our Midrash, there is a different version of this text. See also my Hebrew commentary, p. 316. ²¹⁷ This Midrash is in clear contradiction to that which Ramban stated above, i.e., that such hail has come down in other places. Therefore Ramban preceded the Midrash by saying that he does not understand it. Since Ramban’s opinion is based upon the verses mentioned above, he cannot revoke his opinion as being incorrect.

BEHOLD, TOMORROW ABOUT THIS TIME I WILL CAUSE IT TO RAIN A VERY GRIEVOUS HAIL, etc. 19. NOW THEREFORE SEND, HASTEN IN THY CATTLE. All this is G-d’s word to Moses, and it is self-understood that Moses came and told Pharaoh all the words of G-d that He sent him to speak, and there was no need to prolong the account [of Moses’ going to Pharaoh and so telling him]. Scripture only states, He that feared the word of the Eternal among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses,²¹⁸ from which it is clear that Moses had told them [G-d’s words]. This advice was on account of G-d’s being merciful to them, since the plague of hail was sent only against the produce of the earth and not against man, therefore doth He instruct sinners in the way²¹⁹ to save them from the plague.

footnotes: ²¹⁸ Verse 20. ²¹⁹ Psalms 25:8.

ONLY IN THE LAND OF GOSHEN, WHERE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE, WAS THERE NO HAIL. Because Moses had stretched forth his hand toward heaven and brought down the hail,²²⁰ it should have followed that it came down also upon the land of Goshen, as the air thereof and that of Egypt are the same. Therefore Scripture explained that the air over the land of Goshen was saved [from the hail] because the children of Israel were there.

footnotes: ²²⁰ Verse 23.

I HAVE SINNED THIS TIME. The explanation thereof is: “This time I will acknowledge the Eternal,²²¹, and explains them as follows: “This time I acknowledge the Eternal, for I have sinned against Him, etc.” for I have sinned against Him, and He is the righteous One, and I and my people are wicked, for we have rebelled against His word from then until now.”

footnotes: ²²¹ See Ramban above, 8:15, that throughout, Pharaoh did not acknowledge the Eternal, the G-d of Israel. Ramban points out that this was the first time Pharaoh did acknowledge Him. Ramban transposes the words, chatathi hapa’am Hashem hatzadik

AS SOON AS I AM GONE OUT OF THE CITY, I WILL SPREAD FORTH MY HANDS UNTO THE ETERNAL. In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, it is possible to say that [on other occasions] Moses prayed in his house, [which was within the city]. However, this time He saw fit that his hands be spread heavenward so that the thunders and the hail cease immediately, and that was impossible to be done in the city [because it was replete with idols]. Hence he said, As soon as I am gone out of the city. And so it is said further on, And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands.²²² But at first, [i.e., during the plague of swarms], Moses said to Pharaoh, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Eternal,²²³ [for as soon as he left the palace he went to his house in the city and prayed]. But our Rabbis have said²²⁴ that Moses “did not pray within the city because it was full of idols, and all the more He did not converse with him except outside the city.” If so, we must say that since Pharaoh now pleaded with Moses that he remove the hail immediately,²²⁵ Moses found it necessary to explain to him that he must go out of the city first and after that he will spread forth his hands to the Eternal, and He will remove it on account of his prayer. This is the true explanation.

footnotes: ²²² Verse 33. ²²³ Above, 8:25. ²²⁴ Mechilta Introduction, and quoted further on (12:1) by Rashi. ²²⁵ Verse 28.

I KNOW THAT ‘TEREM’ (NOT YET)²²⁶ WILL YE FEAR THE ETERNAL G-D. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra correctly criticized Rashi [for explaining that wherever the word terem occurs in Scripture, it signifies “not yet” and does not mean “before”]. It is the opposite: it does not mean “no,” but rather it means “before.” And Ibn Ezra explained that the verse here is missing one word, [namely, zeh (this), making it read]: terem zeh tir’un. That is to say, “Before I will spread forth my hands and the thunders and hail will cease, ye do fear G-d, for after the removal of the plague you will return and rebel against Him.” It is furthermore correct to explain²²⁷ that Moses is also alluding to the first occasions, saying: “I know from your [former actions] that before [I pray on your behalf] you fear G-d, and in the end, [after I pray], you rebel against Him. Before the plagues are removed from you, you fear G-d as you did in the plague of frogs and of swarms, and then you returned and ye rebelled against the commandment of the Eternal,²²⁸ and so will you continue to be forever.” It was for this reason that when Pharaoh recanted [his promise to let the people go], Moses no longer warned him of that but instead knowingly prayed on his behalf during the plague of the locust,²²⁹ in order that he continue to sin.

footnotes: ²²⁶ This translation accords with the interpretation of Rashi. Ibn Ezra’s explanation as well as that of Ramban will differ, as explained further. ²²⁷ Ramban now proceeds to explain in a manner where it is not necessary to posit the absence of a word in the text of the verse. It thus has an advantage over that of Ibn Ezra. ²²⁸ Deuteronomy 1:47. ²²⁹ Further, 10:18.

AND THE FLAX AND THE BARLEY WERE SMITTEN, etc. Scripture narrates what happened, but I do not know why these two verses were entered in this place before the subject of Moses’ prayer and the removal of the hail was completed. In the name of Rav Saadia Gaon,²³⁰ that there is some proof indicating that Ramban may have seen the Gaon’s commentary in the original Arabic. the commentators have said that these [two verses are also part of] Moses’ words to Pharaoh. He said to him: “Before you had feared G-d and said, The Eternal is the righteous One,²³¹ the flax and the barley were already smitten and these can no longer be saved. But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten yet, and henceforth you will no longer suffer damage.” I find no sense in this explanation. The hail smote every herb of the field²³² and broke every tree,²³² and the wheat and the spelt were saved only because they had not sprouted at all or because they were so tender that they were not destroyed completely by the hail since they could sprout again. That being the case, even if the hail had continued for days more to come down upon them, there would not be a loss. There was thus no need for Moses to inform Pharaoh of what he lost and what he did not lose, for when the hail will be removed, he will himself see! In my opinion, these are Moses’ words to Pharaoh. Moses said to him: “I know that before the plagues are removed, you fear G-d, and afterward you repeat your folly.²³³ Now the flax and the barley were smitten while the wheat and the spelt which are your livelihood were not smitten in this plague, but it is within G-d’s power to destroy them if you return and sin again before Him.” Thus Moses alluded to them that which G-d said later [of the locust], And they shall eat the residue of that which escaped.²³⁴ Bo

footnotes: ²³⁰ Mentioned by Ibn Ezra here. One of the greatest Jewish personalities of all times, Rav Saadia (892 or 882-942) was Gaon of the Academy of Sura. He wrote extensively on every aspect of Jewish learning: Bible, Talmud, grammar, philology, philosophy, polemics against the Karaites, etc. His work, Ha’emunoth Vehadei’oth, the first of its kind in the field of Jewish religious philosophy, exercised a great influence on Jewish thought. He translated the Scriptures into Arabic and wrote extensive commentaries in Arabic on the books of the Bible, which influenced the later commentators. Ramban’s knowledge of his commentaries, as indicated here, seems to have been mainly through a secondary source. See, however, Note 224 in Seder Shemoth ²³¹ Verse 27. ²³² Verse 25. ²³² Verse 25. ²³³ See Proverbs 26:11. ²³⁴ Further, 10:5.