Va'eira


Va'eira, Va'era, or Vaera is the fourteenth weekly Torah portion in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the second in the Book of Exodus. It constitutes The parashah tells of the first seven Plagues of Egypt.
It is made up of 6,701 Hebrew letters, 1,748 Hebrew words, 121 verses, and 222 lines in a Torah Scroll. Jews read it the fourteenth Sabbath after Simchat Torah, generally in January, or rarely, in late December.

Readings

In traditional Sabbath Torah reading, the parashah is divided into seven readings, or, aliyot. In the Masoretic Text of the Hebrew Bible, Parashat Va'eira has nine "open portion" divisions. Parashat Va'eira has seven further subdivisions, called "closed portion" divisions within the open portion divisions. The first and second open portion divisions divide the first reading. The third open portion covers the balance of the first and part of the second readings. The fourth open portion covers the balance of the second reading. The fifth open portion divides the fourth reading. The sixth open portion covers the balance of the fourth, all of the fifth, and part of the sixth readings. The seventh open portion separates part of the sixth reading. The eighth open portion covers the balance of the sixth and part of the seventh readings. And the ninth open portion covers the balance of the seventh reading. Closed portion divisions separate the first and second readings, separate the second and third readings, and divide the fourth, fifth, and sixth readings.

First reading — Exodus 6:2–13

In the first reading, God spoke to Moses, identified God's Self as the God of the Patriarchs, and acknowledged hearing the moaning of the Israelites. God instructed Moses to tell the Israelites that God would free them, make them God's people, and bring them to the Promised Land. But the Israelites would not listen because of their distress and hard labor. The first open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go, but Moses complained that Pharaoh would not heed him, a man of impeded speech. The second open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God commanded Moses and Aaron to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. The first reading and a closed portion end here.

Second reading — Exodus 6:14–28

The second reading interjects a partial genealogy of Reuben, Simeon, and Levi, including Moses and his family.
The second reading and a closed portion end with the genealogy.

Third reading — Exodus 6:29–7:7

In the third reading, God instructed Moses to tell Pharaoh all that God would tell Moses, but Moses protested that he had a speech impediment. The third open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God placed Aaron in the role of Moses' prophet, to speak to Pharaoh. God intended to harden Pharaoh's heart, so that God might show signs and marvels, so that the Egyptians would know that the Lord was God. Moses and Aaron did as God commanded. Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. The third reading and the fourth open portion end here.

Fourth reading — Exodus 7:8–8:6

In the fourth reading, God told how Aaron could cast down his rod and it would turn into a snake, and Aaron did so before Pharaoh. Pharaoh caused his magicians to do the same, but Aaron's rod swallowed their rods. Pharaoh's heart stiffened. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God began visiting ten plagues on Egypt. God told Moses to go to Pharaoh at his morning bath, demand of him to let the Israelites go to worship in the wilderness, and have Aaron strike the Nile with his rod and turn it into blood. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to tell Aaron to stretch his rod over the waters of Egypt and turn them into blood. Moses and Aaron did so, killing the fish and causing the Nile to stink. But when the Egyptian magicians did the same, Pharaoh's heart stiffened. Seven days passed. The fifth open portion ends here.
As the reading continues, God told Moses to have Aaron hold his arm with the rod over the river and bring up frogs, and they did so. The magicians did the same. Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron to plead with God to remove the frogs and said he would let the Israelites go Moses asked Pharaoh when Moses should ask God, Pharaoh replied the next day, and Moses said that he would do so the next day, so that Pharaoh would know that there is none like God. The fourth reading ends here.

Fifth reading — Exodus 8:7–18

In the fifth reading, the frogs departed, but Pharaoh became stubborn and did not let the Israelites leave. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to have Aaron strike the dust with his rod, to turn it to lice throughout the land, and they did so. The magicians tried to do the same, but they could not. The magicians told Pharaoh, "This is the finger of God!" But Pharaoh's heart stiffened. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to rise early and stand before Pharaoh as he came to the water and tell him that God said, "Let My people go," or else God would send swarms of flies on Egypt, but not on Goshen. The fifth reading ends here.

Sixth reading — Exodus 8:19–9:16

In the sixth reading, God loosed swarms of insects against the Egyptians, but not Goshen, where the Israelites dwelt. Pharaoh told Moses and Aaron to go sacrifice to God within Egypt, but Moses insisted on going three days into the wilderness. Pharaoh agreed, in exchange for Moses' prayer to lift the plague. But when God removed the insects, Pharaoh became stubborn again. The sixth open portion ends here with the end of chapter
As the reading continues with chapter God struck the Egyptian's livestock with a pestilence, sparing the Israelites' livestock. But Pharaoh remained stubborn. The seventh open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to take handfuls of soot from the kiln and throw it toward the sky, so that it would become a fine dust, causing boils on man and beast throughout Egypt, and he did so. But God stiffened Pharaoh's heart. A closed portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to rise early and tell Pharaoh that God said, "Let My people go," or this time God would send all God's plagues upon Pharaoh and his people to demonstrate God's power. The sixth reading ends here,

Seventh reading — Exodus 9:17–35

In the seventh reading, God instructed Moses to threaten hail such as Egypt had never seen, and to instruct the Egyptians to bring their cattle in from the field so that they would not die. Those who feared God's word brought their slaves and livestock indoors, and those who did not fear God's word left them in the field. The eighth open portion ends here.
In the continuation of the reading, God told Moses to stretch out his hand, and God sent thunder and hail, which struck down all exposed in Egypt, but did not strike Goshen. Pharaoh confessed his wrong, agreed to let the Israelites go, and asked Moses and Aaron to pray to end the hail. Moses told Pharaoh that he would do so, and the hail would end so that Pharaoh would know that the earth is God's, but Moses knew that Pharaoh and his servants would not yet fear God. The hail had destroyed the flax and the barley, but not the wheat and the spelt, which ripened later.
In the maftir reading that concludes the parashah, Moses spread forth his hands to God, and the thunders and hail ceased, but when Pharaoh saw, he hardened his heart and did not let the Israelites go. The seventh reading, the ninth open portion, and the parashah end here with the end of chapter

Readings according to the triennial cycle

Jews who read the Torah according to the triennial cycle of Torah reading read the parashah according to the following schedule:
Year 1Year 2Year 3
2016–2017, 2019–2020...2017–2018, 2020–2021...2018–2019, 2021–2022...
Reading
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Maftir

In ancient parallels

The parashah has parallels in these ancient sources:

Exodus chapter 8

Reading the Egyptian magicians’ words in “This is the finger of God!”
the 20th century Reform Rabbi Gunther Plaut reported that in Egyptian literature, a plague is called “the hand of God,” while among Babylonians, the expression was the name of a sickness.

In inner-biblical interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these Biblical sources:

Exodus chapter 6

In and God remembered God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. Similarly, God remembered Noah to deliver him from the flood in God promised to remember God's covenant not to destroy the Earth again by flood in God remembered Abraham to deliver Lot from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah in God remembered Rachel to deliver her from childlessness in Moses called on God to remember God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to deliver the Israelites from God's wrath after the incident of the Golden Calf in and God promises to "remember" God's covenant with Jacob, Isaac, and Abraham to deliver the Israelites and the Land of Israel in the Israelites were to blow upon their trumpets to be remembered and delivered from their enemies in Samson called on God to deliver him from the Philistines in Hannah prayed for God to remember her and deliver her from childlessness in 1 Samuel and God remembered Hannah's prayer to deliver her from childlessness in Hezekiah called on God to remember Hezekiah's faithfulness to deliver him from sickness in 2 Kings and Jeremiah called on God to remember God's covenant with the Israelites to not condemn them in Jeremiah called on God to remember him and think of him, and avenge him of his persecutors in God promises to remember God's covenant with the Israelites and establish an everlasting covenant in God remembers the cry of the humble in Zion to avenge them in Psalm David called upon God to remember God's compassion and mercy in Asaph called on God to remember God's congregation to deliver them from their enemies in God remembered that the Israelites were only human in Ethan the Ezrahite called on God to remember how short Ethan's life was in God remembers that humans are but dust in God remembers God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in God remembers God's word to Abraham to deliver the Israelites to the Land of Israel in the Psalmist calls on God to remember him to favor God's people, to think of him at God's salvation, that he might behold the prosperity of God's people in God remembered God's covenant and repented according to God's mercy to deliver the Israelites in the wake of their rebellion and iniquity in the Psalmist calls on God to remember God's word to God's servant to give him hope in God remembered us in our low estate to deliver us from our adversaries in Job called on God to remember him to deliver him from God's wrath in Nehemiah prayed to God to remember God's promise to Moses to deliver the Israelites from exile in and Nehemiah prayed to God to remember him to deliver him for good in
Professor Nahum Sarna, formerly of Brandeis University, noted that the first two verbs in “I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God,” are both used in connection with matrimony — “to take” in and more than 70 other Biblical occurrences, and “to be ” in
and Jeffrey Tigay, Professor Emeritus at the University of Pennsylvania, and Professor Bruce Wells of Saint Joseph’s University noted that the Hebrew Bible also uses similar language for adoption, for example in , and thus one can say that God adopted the Israelites.

Exodus chapters 7–12

The description of the 10 plagues exhibits patterns and progressions, as follows:
CycleNumberPlagueVersesWas There
Warning?		Time WarnedIntroductionActorRod?Israelites
Shielded?		Did Pharaoh
Concede?		Who Hardened
Pharaoh's Heart?
First1bloodyesin the morningלֵךְ אֶל-פַּרְעֹה
Go to Pharaoh		Aaronyesnonopassive voice
First2frogs
yesunknown
Go in to Pharaoh		Aaronyesnoyespassive voice
First3gnats or lice
nononenoneAaronyesnonopassive voice
Second4flies or
wild beasts
yesearly in the morning
stand before Pharaoh		GodnoyesyesPharaoh
Second5livestockyesunknown
Go in to Pharaoh		GodnoyesnoPharaoh
Second6boilsnononenoneMosesnononoGod
Third7hailyesearly in the morning
stand before Pharaoh		Mosesnoyesyespassive voice
Third8locustsyesunknown
Go in to Pharaoh		MosesyesnoyesGod
Third9darknessnononenoneMosesyesyesyesGod
10firstborn
yesunknownnoneGodnoyesyesGod

and each recount differing arrangements of seven plagues. recalls plagues of blood, flies, frogs, locusts, hail, livestock, and firstborn, but not plagues of lice, boils, or darkness. recalls plagues of darkness, blood, frogs, flies and lice, hail, locusts, and firstborn, but not plagues of livestock or boils.

In early nonrabbinic interpretation

The parashah has parallels or is discussed in these early nonrabbinic sources:

Exodus chapter 6

read the words of "I did not make Myself known to them by My name," to teach that no proper name can properly be assigned to God. Philo noted that God told Moses in "I Am that I Am," which Philo equated with, "It is my nature to be, not to be described by name." But in order that human beings not be wholly without anything to call God, God allowed us to use the Name "Lord." God addressed this Name to mortal humans who have need of the Divine Name so that, if they cannot attain to the best thing, they may at least know the best possible Name. Philo noted that in God speaks of the proper name of God never having been revealed to anyone. Philo suggested that God's statement in meant that God had not revealed to them God's proper Name, but only that which could commonly be used. For Philo argued that God is so completely indescribable, that even those powers that minister to God do not announce God's proper Name to us. And thus after Jacob's wrestling match at the Jabok, Jacob asked the invisible Master for a name, but Jacob's Opponent did not tell him a proper name, saying that it was sufficient for Jacob to be taught ordinary explanations. But as for names that are the true symbols of things, we are taught not to seek them for the Immortal.

In classical rabbinic interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these rabbinic sources from the era of the Mishnah and the Talmud:

Exodus chapter 6

A Midrash noted that God had already informed Moses that Pharaoh would not allow the Israelites to go, as in God told Moses, "I know that the King of Egypt will not allow you to go," and in God told Moses, "I will harden his heart." But Moses did not keep this in mind, but came instead to doubt the wisdom of God's decree, and began to argue with God, saying in "Lord, why have You dealt ill with this people?" For this reason, the Attribute of Justice sought to attack Moses, as says: "And God spoke to Moses". But when God reflected that Moses only asked this because of Israel's suffering, God retracted and dealt with Moses according to the Attribute of Mercy, as says: "And He said to him: ‘I am the Lord'". The Midrash viewed the question of Moses in as an application of Ecclesiastes "And I turned myself to behold wisdom, and madness and folly; for what can the man do who comes after the King? even that which has been already done." The Midrash taught that refers to both Solomon and Moses. The Midrash taught that refers to Solomon, for God gave some commandments for kings, as it says in "Only he shall not multiply horses to himself... Neither shall he multiply wives to himself, that his heart turn not away; neither silver and gold." Solomon read in that the reason of God's decree was "that his heart turn not away." The Midrash taught that Solomon thus thought to himself that he would multiply his wives but still not allow his heart to turn away. And the Midrash taught that refers to Moses because Moses began to argue with God in "Lord, why have you dealt ill with this people?" On account of this, the Midrash taught that at that point the wisdom and knowledge of Moses was only "madness and folly." The Midrash asked what right Moses had to question God's ways and in the words of "that which had been already done" that God had revealed to him.
Reading the words, "And I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob," in a Midrash taught that God thus told Moses that God longed for those who were gone and could not be replaced — the three Patriarchs. The Midrash said that God told Moses that many times, God had revealed God's Self to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as God Almighty, and God had not made known to them that God's name is the Lord. But still they did not criticize God's ways. To Abraham, God said in "Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it, for to you will I give it," yet when Abraham wanted to bury Sarah, he found no plot of ground until he had purchased one; still, he did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Isaac in "Sojourn in this land... for to you, and to your seed, I will give all these lands." Yet when Isaac sought water to drink, he found none; instead, "The herdsmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdsmen, saying: ‘The water is ours.'" Still Isaac did not murmur at God's ways. God said to Jacob in "The land on which you lie, to you will I give it, and to your seed." Yet when he sought a place to pitch his tent, he found none until he purchased one for a hundred kesitah. And still Jacob did not complain at God's ways. The Patriarchs did not ask God, as Moses did in what God's name was. In contrast, at the commencement of God's commission of Moses, Moses inquired of God's name. And in Moses told God, "For since I came to Pharaoh... he has dealt ill with this people; neither have You delivered Your people." On this account, the Midrash taught, God said in "And I have also established my covenant with them," the Patriarchs, to give them the land, and they never complained of God's ways. And God said in "I have heard the groaning of the children of Israel," because they did not complain against God. Although the Israelites of that generation did not conduct themselves righteously, yet God heard their cry on account of the covenant that God had made with the Patriarchs. Hence, it says in "And I have remembered My covenant. Therefore, say to the children of Israel." The Midrash taught that the word "therefore" in implies an oath, as it does in where God says, "And therefore I have sworn to the house of Eli." Thus, the Midrash taught that God swore to Moses that God would redeem the Israelites, so that Moses would have no reason to fear that the Attribute of Justice would retard their redemption.
Rabbi Simai found evidence for the resurrection of the dead in the words, "And I also have established my covenant with them to give them the land of Canaan," in Rabbi Simai noted that does not say "to give you" but "to give them," implying that God would give the land to the Patriarchs personally, and thus that God would resurrect them so as to fulfill the promise.
A Baraita deduced from that the Israelites' bondage in Egypt ended on Rosh Hashanah. The Baraita noted that uses the word "burden" to describe the end of the Israelites' bondage in Egypt, and uses the word "burden" to describe the end of Joseph's imprisonment, and the Baraita deduced that the two events must therefore have occurred at the same time of year. The Baraita further deduced from the words, "Blow the horn on the new moon, on the covering day for our festival... He appointed it for Joseph for a testimony when he went forth," in that Joseph went forth from the prison on Rosh Hashanah.
Rabbi Nehemiah cited the use of the words "will bring you out" in to demonstrate that using the word hamotzi in the blessing over bread would mean that God "will bring forth" bread from the land — not that God "has brought forth" bread from the land. Rabbi Nehemiah thus read to mean: "I am the Lord, the One Who will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians." The Gemara reported that the Rabbis of a Baraita, however, read to mean: "When I shall bring you out, I will do for you something that will show you that I am the One Who brought you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians."
The Jerusalem Talmud cited the four promises of salvation in "I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians," "I will deliver you from their bondage," "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm," and "I will take you to Me for a people," as one reason why Jews drink four cups of wine at the Passover seder. And thus the Mishnah taught that "On the eve of Passover,... even the poorest man in Israel must not eat until he reclines; and they should give him not less than four cups of wine."
A Baraita taught that Rabbi Simai deduced from the similarity of the phrases "And I will take you to me for a people" and "And I will bring you in to the land" in that the Israelites' Exodus from Egypt occurred under circumstances similar to their entry into the Land of Israel. Rabbi Simai thus deduced that just as only two out of 600,000 entered the Promised Land, so only two out of every 600,000 Israelites in Egypt participated in the Exodus, and the rest died in Egypt. Rava taught that it will also be so when the Messiah comes that only a small portion of Jews will find redemption, for says, "And she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the days when she came up out of the land of Egypt," implying that circumstances upon the coming of the Messiah will be similar to those upon the Israelites' entry into the Land of Israel.
The Gemara asked why the Tannaim felt that the allocation of the Land of Israel "according to the names of the tribes of their fathers" in meant that the allocation was with reference to those who left Egypt; perhaps, the Gemara supposed, it might have meant the 12 tribes and that the Land was to be divided into 12 equal portions? The Gemara noted that in God told Moses to tell the Israelites who were about to leave Egypt, "And I will give it you for a heritage; I am the Lord," and that meant that the Land was the inheritance from the fathers of those who left Egypt.
A Midrash interpreted the words of "they hearkened not to Moses for shortness of spirit," to indicated that it was difficult for the Israelites to abandon idol worship.
Rabbi Ishmael cited as one of ten a fortiori arguments recorded in the Hebrew Bible: In Joseph's brothers told Joseph, "Behold, the money that we found in our sacks' mouths we brought back to you," and they thus reasoned, "how then should we steal?" In Moses told God, "Behold, the children of Israel have not hearkened to me," and reasoned that surely all the more, "How then shall Pharaoh hear me?" In Moses said to the Israelites, "Behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, you have been rebellious against the Lord," and reasoned that it would follow, "And how much more after my death?" In "the Lord said to Moses: ‘If her father had but spit in her face,'" surely it would stand to reason, "‘Should she not hide in shame seven days?'" In the prophet asked, "If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you," is it not logical to conclude, "Then how can you contend with horses?" In David's men said to him, "Behold, we are afraid here in Judah," and thus surely it stands to reason, "How much more then if we go to Keilah?" Also in the prophet asked, "And if in a land of Peace where you are secure" you are overcome, is it not logical to ask, "How will you do in the thickets of the Jordan?" reasoned, "Behold, the righteous shall be requited in the earth," and does it not follow, "How much more the wicked and the sinner?" In "The king said to Esther the queen: ‘The Jews have slain and destroyed 500 men in Shushan the castle,'" and it thus stands to reason, "‘What then have they done in the rest of the king's provinces?'" In God came to the prophet saying, "Behold, when it was whole, it was usable for no work," and thus surely it is logical to argue, "How much less, when the fire has devoured it, and it is singed?"
Rav Zeira counted five kinds of orlah in the world: uncircumcised ears, uncircumcised lips, uncircumcised hearts, uncircumcised flesh, and uncircumcised trees. Rav Zeira taught that all the nations are uncircumcised in each of the first four ways, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart, in that their hearts do not allow them to do God's will. And Rav Zeira taught that in the future, God will take away from Israel the uncircumcision of their hearts, and they will not harden their stubborn hearts anymore before their Creator, as says, "And I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh," and says, "And you shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin."
Reading and a Midrash taught that in 18 verses, Scripture places Moses and Aaron on an equal footing, and thus there are 18 benedictions in the Amidah.
Reading the words of "And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, and gave them a command concerning the children of Israel," Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Isaac asked about what matter God commanded the Israelites. Rabbi Samuel bar Rabbi Isaac taught that God gave them the commandment about the freeing of slaves in
A Midrash interpreted the words of "And He gave them a charge concerning the children of Israel," to convey that God warned Moses and Aaron that the Israelites were obstinate, bad-tempered, and troublesome, and that in assuming leadership over the Israelites, Moses and Aaron must expect that the Israelites would curse and even stone them.
A Midrash interpreted God's instructions to Moses and Aaron in "and to Pharaoh, King of Egypt," to convey that God told Moses and Aaron that although God really ought to punish Pharaoh, God wanted Moses and Aaron to show Pharaoh the respect due to his regal position. And Moses did so, as reports that Moses told Pharaoh that God said, "And all these your servants shall come down to Me." Moses did not say that Pharaoh would come down, only that Pharaoh's servants would do so. But Moses could well have said that Pharaoh himself would come down, for reports, "Pharaoh arose at midnight." But Moses did not mention Pharaoh specifically so as to pay him respect.
A Midrash taught that Korah took issue with Moses in because Moses had appointed Elizaphan the son of Uzziel as prince of the Kohathites, and Korah was son of Uzziel's older brother Izhar, and thus had a claim to leadership prior to Elizaphan.
Rava taught that he who wishes to take a wife should first inquire about the character of her brothers. For reports, "And Aaron took Elisheva, the daughter of Amminadab, the sister of Nahshon." As states "the daughter of Amminadab," it is obvious that she was the sister of Nahshon. So expressly states "the sister of Nahshon" to imply that he who takes a wife should inquire about the character of her brothers, because most children resemble the brothers of their mother.
The Gemara asked whether the words in "And Eleazar Aaron's son took him one of the daughters of Putiel to wife" did not convey that Eleazar's son Phinehas descended from Jethro, who fattened calves for idol worship. The Gemara then provided an alternative explanation: could mean that Phinehas descended from Joseph, who conquered his passions. But the Gemara asked, did not the tribes sneer at Phinehas and question how a youth whose mother's father crammed calves for idol-worship could kill the head of a tribe in Israel. The Gemara explained that the real explanation was that Phinehas descended from both Joseph and Jethro. If Phinehas's mother's father descended from Joseph, then Phinehas's mother's mother descended from Jethro. And if Phinehas's mother's father descended from Jethro, then Phinehas's mother's mother descended from Joseph. The Gemara explained that implies this dual explanation of "Putiel" when it says, "of the daughters of Putiel," because the plural "daughters" implies two lines of ancestry.
Rabbi Simeon noted that in nearly every instance, the Torah mentioned Moses before Aaron, but mentioned Aaron before Moses, teaching that the two were deemed equivalent. The Gemara taught that the use of the pronoun "he " in an introduction, as in the words "These are that Aaron and Moses" in signifies that they were the same in their righteousness from the beginning to the end. Similar uses appear in Chronicles to teach Abraham's enduring righteousness, in to teach David's enduring humility, in to teach Esau's enduring wickedness, in to teach Dathan and Abiram's enduring wickedness, in to teach Ahaz's enduring wickedness, and in to teach Ahasuerus's enduring wickedness.

Exodus chapter 7

The Tosefta cited where the lesser Aaron spoke for the greater Moses, for the proposition that in synagogue reading, a minor may translate for an adult, but it is not honorable for an adult to translate for a minor.
Rabbi Phinehas, the priest, son of Rabbi Hama, interpreted God's hardening of Pharaoh's heart in light of "But they who are godless in heart lay up anger; they cry not for help when He binds them." Rabbi Phinehas taught that if the godless, for whose repentance God waits, do not do so, then later on, even when they do think of it, God distracts their hearts from penitence. Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of "And they who are godless in heart," to teach that those who begin by being godless in heart end up bringing upon themselves God's anger. And Rabbi Phinehas interpreted the words of "They cry not for help when He binds them," to teach that though the godless wish later to return to God and to pray to God, they are no longer able, because God binds them and bars their way. Thus after several plagues, Pharaoh wished to pray to God, but God told Moses in "Before he goes out , stand before Pharaoh."
The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that Moses quoted God's words in back to God after the sin of the Golden Calf. The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer told that after the incident of the Golden Calf, God told Moses that the Israelites had forgotten God's might and had made an idol. Moses replied to God that while the Israelites had not yet sinned, God had called them "My people," as in God had said, "And I will bring forth My hosts, My people." But Moses noted that once the Israelites had sinned, God told Moses, "Go, get down, for your people have corrupted themselves." Moses told God that the Israelites were indeed God's people, and God's inheritance, as reports Moses saying, "Yet they are Your people and Your inheritance."
A Midrash read “Then Pharaoh also called for the wise men and the sorcerers,” to teach that Scripture calls nonbelievers “wise men” when they do something that requires skill.
Rabbi Aivu bar Nagri said in the name of Rabbi Hiyya bar Abba that the words "with their enchantments" in refer to sorcery without exogenous assistance, while the words "with their sorcery" in refer to magic through the agency of demons.
Reading the words, "Aaron's rod swallowed up their rods," in Rabbi Eleazar observed that it was a double miracle. When Pharaoh saw this, he was amazed and expressed his fear of what would happen if Moses now told the rod to swallow up Pharaoh and his throne. Rabbi Jose bar Hanina taught that a great miracle happened to that rod, for although it swallowed up all the rods that had been cast down, sufficient to make ten heaps, still the rod did not all become any thicker, and all who saw it recognized it as Aaron's rod. On this account, Aaron's rod became a symbol for all the miracles and wonders that were to be performed for Israel throughout the generations.
A Midrash noted that reports that "Pharaoh's heart was hardened" without God's action, and that this was so for the first five plagues. As the first five plagues did not move Pharaoh to release the Israelites, God decreed that from then on, even if Pharaoh had agreed to release the Israelites, God would not accept it. Thus starting with the sixth plague and thereafter, the text says, "the Lord hardened Pharaoh's heart."
It was taught in a Baraita that Rabbi Judah the Prince used to say that Providence repays a person measure for measure. Thus, a Midrash taught that God sent the plagues against Pharaoh measure for measure. God changed the Egyptians' water into blood because the Egyptians prevented the Israelites from using the ritual bath so as to prevent the Israelite women from having marital relations with their husbands. God brought frogs because the Egyptians had ordered the Israelites to bring them reptiles and creeping creatures. God sent lice because the Egyptians had made the Israelites clean the dirty streets and marketplaces. God sent swarms of wild animals because the Egyptians had demanded that the Israelites catch bears, lions, and leopards so as to separate the Israelite men from their wives. God brought the pestilence upon the Egyptians' cattle because they had forced the Israelites to serve as shepherds so as to keep the Israelite men away from their wives. God sent boils because the Egyptians had demanded that the Israelites warm things for them. God sent hail to destroy the Egyptians' crops because the Egyptians had sent the Israelites into the fields to plow and sow. God brought the locusts to destroy the Egyptians' grain because the Egyptians had forced the Israelites to plant wheat and barley for them. God brought darkness because among the Israelites were transgressors who had Egyptian patrons and lived in affluence and honor in Egypt and did not want to leave Egypt, and so God brought darkness so that God could kill these transgressors without the Egyptians' seeing.
Abitol the barber, citing Rav, said that the Pharaoh whom Moses addressed was a puny fellow, a cubit tall, with a beard as long as he was tall, embodying the words in that "the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and... sets up over it the lowest of men." And Abitol the barber, citing Rav, deduced from the words "Pharaoh... goes out to the water" in that this Pharaoh was a magus who went to the water to perform sorcery.
Alternatively, a Midrash, reading the words "Pharaoh... goes out to the water" in taught that only in the morning did Pharaoh go out to the water, because Pharaoh used to boast that he was a god and did not need to relieve himself. Therefore, Pharaoh used to go early in the morning to the water. God, therefore, told Moses to catch him just at this critical moment.
A Midrash cited as one proof for the proposition that God does all things together: God puts to death and brings to life at the same time; God wounds and heals at the same time. And thus the Midrash noted, in "all the waters that were in the river were turned to blood," and later, the blood became water again.
Rabbi Abin the Levite, the son of Rabbi Judah the Prince, taught that the Israelites became wealthy from the plague of blood. If an Egyptian and an Israelite were in a house where there was a barrel full of water, and the Egyptian went to fill a pitcher from the barrel, the Egyptian would find that it contained blood, while the Israelite would drink water from the same barrel. When the Egyptian asked the Israelite to give the Egyptian some water with the Israelite's own hand, it still became blood. Even if the Egyptian said to the Israelite that they should both drink from one vessel, the Israelite would drink water, but the Egyptian would drink blood. It was only when the Egyptian bought water from the Israelite for money that the Egyptian was able to drink water. And this is how the Israelites became rich.
The Gemara deduced from the use of the word for fish, dagah, in the phrase "And the fish that were in the river died" in that the word dagah applies to fish both large and small.
A Midrash taught that the frogs were the most grievous of the ten plagues. The Midrash taught that the frogs destroyed the Egyptians' bodies, as says "frogs... destroyed them," and the frogs emasculated the Egyptians, as says that the frogs would "come into... bed-chamber, and upon bed." The Midrash taught that the frogs told the Egyptians that the coinage of their gods was abolished, and the Egyptians' own coinage — their ability to procreate — was also rendered invalid. The Midrash reasoned that as the word "destroyed" in applied to checking procreation in the passage about Onan's seed, as "he destroyed it on the ground," so the Midrash reasoned that means to convey that the Egyptians' procreation was checked as well when it says, "frogs... destroyed them." And the Midrash deduced that the frogs spoke because says, "concerning the frogs," and the words for "concerning," al debar, may also be read, "because of the words of."
Thaddeus of Rome taught that Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah delivered themselves to the Fiery Furnace to sanctify the Divine Name in because they deduced from that the frogs of the plague, which had not been commanded to sanctify the Divine Name, nonetheless jumped into hot ovens at God's behest. So Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah reasoned that people, whom does command to sanctify the Divine Name, should be willing to bear hot ovens for that reason. Thaddeus of Rome deduced that the ovens into which the frogs jumped were hot from the proximity of the words "ovens" and "kneading troughs" in reasoning that kneading troughs are found near ovens when ovens are hot.
The Tosefta deduced from that Pharaoh began to sin first before the people, and thus as indicated by and God struck him first and then the people.

Exodus chapter 8

Rabbi Eleazar taught that when reports that "the frog came up, and covered the land of Egypt," it was initially just one frog, which bred prolifically and filled the land. The Tannaim disputed the matter. Rabbi Akiva said that one frog filled the whole of Egypt by breeding. But Rabbi Eleazar ben Azariah chastised Akiva for dabbling in aggadah, and taught that one frog croaked for others, and they joined the first frog.
A Midrash interpreted the words of "A man's pride shall bring him low; but he that is of a lowly spirit shall attain to honor," to apply to Pharaoh and Moses, respectively. The Midrash taught that the words, "A man's pride shall bring him low," apply to Pharaoh, who in haughtily asked, "Who is the Lord that I should hearken to His voice?" and so, as reports, God "overthrew Pharaoh and his host." And the Midrash taught that the words, "but he that is of a lowly spirit shall attain to honor," apply to Moses, who in , humbly asked Pharaoh, "Have this glory over me; at what time shall I entreat for you... that the frogs be destroyed," and was rewarded in with the opportunity to say, "As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread forth my hands to the Lord the thunders shall cease, neither shall there be any more hail."
Rabbi Eleazar deduced from the magicians' recognition of "the finger of God" in that a demonic spirit cannot produce a creature less than a barleycorn in size. Rav Papa said that a spirit cannot even produce something the size of a camel, but a spirit can collect the elements of a larger object and thus produce the illusion of creating it, but a spirit cannot do even that with a smaller object.
Rabbi Jose the Galilean reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" in must refer to 50 plagues upon the Egyptians, and thus to a variety of cruel and strange deaths.
Rabbi Phinehas ben Hama reasoned that as the phrase "the finger of God" in referred to 10 plagues, "the hand of God" in must refer to 50 plagues.
Reading “the finger of God” in , Rabbi Ishmael said that each of the five fingers of God's right hand appertain to the mystery of Redemption. Rabbi Ishmael said that God showed the little finger of the hand to Noah, pointing out how to make the Ark, as in God says, “And this is how you shall make it.” With the second finger, next to the little one, God smote the Egyptians with the ten plagues, as says, “The magicians said to Pharaoh, ‘This is the finger of God.’” With the middle finger, God wrote the Tablets of the Law, as says, “And He gave to Moses, when He had made an end of communing with him... tables of stone, written with the finger of God.” With the index finger, God showed Moses what the children of Israel should give for the redemption of their souls, as says, “This they shall give... half a shekel for an offering to the Lord.” With the thumb and all the hand, God will in the future smite God's enemies, as says, “Let your hand be lifted up above your adversaries, and let all your enemies be cut off.”
A Midrash interpreted the words of , "Lo, if we sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us?" to teach that the Egyptians saw the lamb as a god. Thus, when God told Moses to slay the paschal lamb, Moses asked God how he could possibly do so, when the lamb was as Egyptian god. God replied that the Israelites would not depart from Egypt until they slaughtered the Egyptian gods before the Egyptians' eyes, so that God might teach them that their gods were really nothing at all. And thus God did so, for on the same night that God slew the Egyptian firstborn, the Israelites slaughtered their paschal lambs and ate them. When the Egyptians saw their firstborn slain and their gods slaughtered, they could do nothing, as reports, "While the Egyptians were burying them whom the Lord had smitten among them, even all their firstborn; upon their gods also the Lord executed judgment."

Exodus chapter 9

The Pirke De-Rabbi Eliezer taught that for every plague that God brought upon the Egyptians, the magicians also produced the plague, until God brought upon them the boils, and then the magicians were not able to stand to do likewise, as says, "And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils."
A Midrash taught that when God perceived that Pharaoh did not relent after the first five plagues, God decided that even if Pharaoh now wished to repent, God would harden Pharaoh's heart in order to exact the whole punishment from him. Thus reports that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh." And the Midrash explained that the reference in "as the Lord had spoken to Moses," referred to God's prediction in that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart."
In Pharaoh's heart is hardened. A Midrash catalogued the wide range of additional capabilities of the heart reported in the Hebrew Bible. The heart speaks, sees, hears, walks, falls, stands, rejoices, cries, is comforted, is troubled, grows faint, grieves, fears, can be broken, becomes proud, rebels, invents, cavils, overflows, devises, desires, goes astray, lusts, is refreshed, can be stolen, is humbled, is enticed, errs, trembles, is awakened, loves, hates, envies, is searched, is rent, meditates, is like a fire, is like a stone, turns in repentance, becomes hot, dies, melts, takes in words, is susceptible to fear, gives thanks, covets, becomes hard, makes merry, acts deceitfully, speaks from out of itself, loves bribes, writes words, plans, receives commandments, acts with pride, makes arrangements, and aggrandizes itself.
sets forth the plague of hail. The Gemara told of the miracle of the hailstones of which and speak. A Midrash taught that they were stones which remained suspended for the sake of a man and came down for the sake of a man. The hailstones remained suspended for the sake of a man — this was Moses, of whom says, "Now the man Moses was very meek," and says, "And the thunder and hail ceased, and the rain poured not upon the earth." The hailstones came down for the sake of a man — this was Joshua, of whom says, "Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom there is spirit," and says, "And it came to pass as they fled from before Israel, while they were at the descent of Beth-Horon, that the Lord cast down great stones."
Rabbi Nechunia, son of Hakkanah, taught that God killed Pharaoh, and then because of Pharaoh's repentance, delivered him from among the dead. Rabbi Nechunia deduced that Pharaoh had died from in which God told Moses to tell Pharaoh, "For now I had put forth my hand, and smitten you."
Reading “Those among Pharaoh’s courtiers who feared the Lord’s word brought their slaves and livestock indoors to safety,” the Midrash HaGadol taught that one can surely draw the inference that if those who fear God on a particular occasion are saved from punishment, how much more will those who fear God all their life be saved.
The Pharisees noted that while in Pharaoh asked who God was, once God had smitten him, in Pharaoh acknowledged that God was righteous. Citing this juxtaposition, the Pharisees complained against heretics who placed the name of earthly rulers above the name of God.
Interpreting "And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunders had ceased, he sinned yet more," a Midrash taught that so it always is with the wicked: As long as they are in trouble, they humble themselves. But as soon as trouble passes, they return to their perversity.

In medieval Jewish interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these medieval Jewish sources:

Exodus chapter 6

taught that God's words "I am the Lord" in meant that God was faithful to recompense all those who followed God. Thus "I am the Lord" means that God is faithful to exact payment when it is stated in conjunction with an act warranting punishment, as in "or you will profane the name of your God; I am the Lord." And "I am the Lord" means that God is faithful to give reward when it is stated in conjunction with the fulfillment of commandments, as in "And you shall keep My commandments and perform them; I am the Lord."
The 12th century Spanish commentator Abraham ibn Ezra read God's statement "and I appeared" in to indicate that the Patriarchs received their prophesies in visions of the night.
Saadia Gaon taught that the word "only" was omitted from the statement "I did not make Myself known to them by My name YHVH" in so that one should read to say, "I did not make Myself known to them only by My name YHVH," for God also used the Name "El Shaddai."
Ibn Ezra quotes Rabbi Joshua as saying that Abraham and Jacob literally did not know the Name, YHVH, but Moses filled it in when writing down the Torah. However, he disagrees with this, asking how Moses could dare to write a name that God had not uttered.
Rashi noted that does not say, "but My Name YHVH I did not inform them," but, "I did not become known." God thus meant that God was not recognized by them with God's attribute of keeping faith, because of which God is called YHVH, which means that God is faithful to carry out God's words, for God made promises to them, but did not fulfill them while they were alive.
Nachmanides read God to say in that God appeared to the Patriarchs in God's form of El Shaddai, in which God performs hidden miracles that appear to the observer as part of the natural order. But God did not appear to them in God's form of YHVH, with which God called existence into being and in which God created open changes in nature.

Exodus chapter 7

Reading God's statement in "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," Ibn Ezra asked: If God hardened Pharaoh's heart, what was his transgression and what was his sin? Ibn Ezra answered that God granted people wisdom and implanted in their hearts the intelligence to receive power from on high to add to their good or diminish the evil destined to befall them.
Reading God's statement in that "I will harden Pharaoh's heart," the report of that "the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh," and similar statements in , ; and , and , Maimonides concluded that it is possible for a person to commit such a great sin, or so many sins, that God decrees that the punishment for these willing and knowing acts is the removal of the privilege of repentance. The offender would thus be prevented from doing repentance, and would not have the power to return from the offense, and the offender would die and be lost because of the offense. Maimonides read this to be what God said in "Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and their eyes weak, lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and their hearts will understand, do repentance and be healed." Similarly reports, "They ridiculed the messengers of God, disdained His words and insulted His prophets until the anger of God rose upon the people, without possibility of healing." Maimonides interpreted these verses to teach that they sinned willingly and to such an egregious extent that they deserved to have repentance withheld from them. And thus because Pharaoh sinned on his own at the beginning, harming the Jews who lived in his land, as reports him scheming, "Let us deal craftily with them," God issued the judgment that repentance would be withheld from Pharaoh until he received his punishment, and therefore God said in "I will harden the heart of Pharaoh." Maimonides explained that God sent Moses to tell Pharaoh to send out the Jews and do repentance, when God had already told Moses that Pharaoh would refuse, because God sought to inform humanity that when God withholds repentance from a sinner, the sinner will not be able to repent. Maimonides made clear that God did not decree that Pharaoh harm the Jewish people; rather, Pharaoh sinned willifully on his own, and he thus deserved to have the privilege of repentance withheld from him.
The Zohar taught that the “mixed multitude” mentioned in consisted entirely of Egyptian sorcerers and magicians, who sought to oppose God’s works, as reports, “And the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner with their enchantments.” When they beheld the signs and the wonders that Moses performed, they came to Moses to be converted. God advised Moses not to accept them, but Moses argued that now that they had seen God’s power, they desired to accept the Israelites’ Faith, and if they saw God’s power every day, they would learn that there is no God like God. So Moses accepted them. called them a “mixed multitude” because they consisted of all the grades of Egyptian magicians, at their head being Jannes and Jambres. During the day, these wizards practiced their enchantments, and after sunset, they made observations of the heavens until the middle of the ninth hour, which was called the “great evening”. The lesser magicians then made observation after that until midnight. The Egyptians, who had great faith in the chief wizards, thus called them the “great evening”.

Exodus chapter 8

Rashi read the words of Pharaoh’s magicians in “This is the finger of God,” to indicate that they perceived that this plague was not the result of sorcery but the Omnipresent.
Rashbam, however, read “This is the finger of God,” to indicate that the magicians assessed that the plague was a natural disaster not caused by Moses and Aaron, for if the lice had resulted from the sorcery of Moses and Aaron, then the magicians would have been able to replicate it. Ibn Ezra and Hezekiah ben Manoah similarly read the magicians’ remark to indicate that the magicians thought that a natural disaster had caused the plague, because the magicians said, “This is the finger of God,” and not, “This is the finger of the Lord.”
Nachmanides, however, disagreed with Ibn Ezra’s reading, arguing that a matter of chance is not called “the finger of God,” only a punishment from God is called that, as in “the hand of the Lord.” Further, Nachmanides noted that in the next plagues, Pharaoh no longer called on the magicians to do the same thing, indicating that the magicians had already conceded that the plagues were God’s doing.

Exodus chapter 9

Saadia Gaon read the words, “He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh,” in to indicate that those servants of Pharaoh feared God’s strength and power.

In modern interpretation

The parashah is discussed in these modern sources:

Exodus chapter 6

i Bible scholar Nahama Leibowitz identified the following chiastic structure in God's speech to Moses in
2And God spoke to Moses, and said to him:
Professor Robert Alter of the University of California, Berkeley, wrote that the designation, El Shaddai, in also used five times in the Patriarchal Tales, is an archaic, evidently Canaanite combination of divine names., El, was the high god of the Canaanite pantheon, and some scholars link, Shaddai, with a term for “mountain,” and others associate it with fertility.
Rabbi Gunther Plaut noted the difficulty that says that it is, YHVH, who guarantees the covenant made with the ancestors, although they did not know God by this Name, but this contradicts the frequent occurrence of the name, YHVH, in Genesis, implying that the forefathers knew the Name. Plaut reports that Biblical scholars have attempted to solve this contradiction in various ways, many positing that belongs to the Priestly source, which held that the Patriarchs knew God only as Elohim or El Shaddai, and that God first disclosed the Name, YHVH, to Moses. According to this theory, the passages in Genesis that use the Name, YHVH, and the passages in that refer to, YHVH, are assigned to the J tradition. Adherents of this theory argue that in the P school connected, YHVH, with Moses to establish the legitimacy of the priestly hierarchy. Acknowledging that this explanation does not address the text as it is now, Plaut presented the alternative explanation that Moses and the people had since patriarchal time known the Name, YHVH, as God's name, but this knowledge had hardly been more than a “customary appellation.” In however, after his first trials and failures, Moses confronted God again, and this time God revealed the Name more fully, which is to say that Moses saw God more clearly than before, in a new light. Turning to the etymology of the Name, Plaut reported that the most widely accepted explanation connects the Name with the word hayah, "to be", a causative form of which could be Yahveh, “one who causes to be.” Another form could be Yahuah, “he who indeed will be,” or “he who proves himself.” Plaut reported a different theory holds that the name was read Yahuh, a version of Yehu, a form that occurs several times independently in the Bible as and frequently as a prefix or suffix to proper names. According to Martin Buber, Yahu was a kind of “primitive sound,” an exclamation denoting awe, recognition, and affirmation: “Oh is the one!” or “Yah is the one!” or “Yah is!” or “Yah exists!” Finally, Plaut related yet another approach, seeing, YHVH, as having developed from a cultic name connected with El, perhaps El du Yahwi — “El who creates” — and that in time the Name Yahwi split off from El, ousting the Name El from preeminence.
Sarna and Tigay noted that “I will take you to Me for a people, and I will be to you a God,” prefigures the covenant that God would establish at Sinai.
Alter noted that the idea in “that I am the Lord your God Who takes you out from under the burdens of Egypt,” is emphasized repeatedly in the Torah and later books of the Bible. Alter called “the cornerstone of Israelite faith” that God had proven God's divinity and attachment to Israel by liberating the Israelites from Egyptian slavery. Alter reported that some modern scholars, arguing from the absence of Egyptian evidence on any Hebrew slave population or any mention of an exodus, have raised doubts about whether the Hebrews were ever in Egypt. Alter concluded that the story is surely a schematization and simplification of complex historical processes. Alter viewed it quite likely that a sizeable segment of the Hebrew people remained in the high country of eastern Canaan and never went down to Egypt. Yet Alter also found it hard to imagine that the Israelites would have invented a story of national origins involving the humiliation of slavery without some kernel of historical memory.

Exodus chapter 7

Professor Greta Hort of the University of Melbourne in the mid 20th century argued that the plagues concentrated within a period of about 12 months, based on the report of that Moses was 80 years old when he first spoke with pharaoh and the report of that Moses was 120 years old when he died, after spending 40 years in the wilderness.
Sarna noted that Aaron, not Moses, turned his rod into a snake in Sarna explained that Moses thus tacitly asserted his equal status with Pharaoh. Moses came to negotiate with Pharaoh as the representative of the people of Israel. Just as Pharaoh had his magicians, Moses had his assistant, Aaron. Sarna noted that in the narratives of the Ten Plagues, Aaron acted only as long as the Egyptian magicians appeared present. After their ingenuity failed them and they faded from the story, Moses acted personally to bring about the remaining plagues.
Professor Everett Fox of Clark University noted that “glory” and “stubbornness” are leading words throughout the book of Exodus that give it a sense of unity. Similarly, Professor William Propp of the University of California, San Diego, identified the root kvd — connoting heaviness, glory, wealth, and firmness — as a recurring theme in Exodus: Moses suffered from a heavy mouth in and heavy arms in Pharaoh had firmness of heart in ; ; and Pharaoh made Israel’s labor heavy in God in response sent heavy plagues in , ; and so that God might be glorified over Pharaoh in , and ; and the book culminates with the descent of God’s fiery Glory, described as a “heavy cloud,” first upon Sinai and later upon the Tabernacle in ; and
Plaut reported that scholars generally agree that the term “Hebrew”, as in and and , came from the name of a group called Habiru or Apiru, people who had lost their status in the community from which they came, and who were not necessarily related except by common fate. Plaut wrote that the Habiru were a class of people who lived in the Fertile Crescent during the 19th to 14th centuries B.C.E. who may originally have come from Arabia, became prominent in Mesopotamia, and later spread to Egypt. The Habiru followed distinct occupations, particularly mercenaries and administrators. Although at first they were nomads or seminomads, they later settled, but were usually considered foreigners and maintaining their group identity. The term Habiru referred not so much to an ethnic or linguistic group as to a social or political group. Plaut reported that the words Habiru and “Hebrew” appear to share a common linguistic root. Plaut concluded that Israelites in Egypt likely occupied positions similar to, or because of familial ties were identified with, the Habiru. When non-Israelites repeatedly applied the term to the Israelites, the Israelites themselves began to use the name Habiru, which they pronounced Ivri. Plaut considered it possible that for some time the term Ivri was used only when the Israelites spoke of themselves to outsiders and when outsiders referred to them. Thus calls Abram Ivri vis-a-vis an outsider, and Jonah says, "I am an Ivri,” when asked his identity by non-Israelite sailors in but otherwise Israelites referred to themselves by their tribes or by their common ancestor, Israel.
Plaut reported that most moderns take the view that the plague stories are unacceptable as fact and must be deemed legendary and unhistorical. Plaut argued that it was a mistake to consider the stories literally rather than as “essentially interpretive and legendary” — asserting that the release of the Israelites from slavery was unprecedented and could only be explained by crediting God. Plaut suggested that there was “possibly or even likely” a historical kernel that the biblical tradition transposed into the moral religious realm. Thus Plaut noted that some claim that the bloodiness of the Nile was caused by special deposits that the river picked up from the mountains ; that frogs accompanied a large-scale inundation; and that lice, gnats, and insects regularly infested the area. Plaut concluded that the plague stories teach: “Israel's redemption was the ultimate marvel, and it was caused by God. To bring it about, nature itself was harnessed, the drama of the plagues was unfolded, and the ground was laid for an experience that forever after was etched into the hearts of the people and their descendants.”
Professor John J. Collins of Yale Divinity School reported that some scholars have suggested that the plague stories contain a reminiscence of a mid-fourteenth century BCE epidemic referred to as “the Asiatic illness.”
Collins argued that the plague stories show that Exodus is not only the story of the liberation of Israel, but also of the defeat and humiliation of the Egyptians, and thus involved “less than edifying” nationalistic, ethnic vengeance.
Sarna suggested that the biblical narrator might have construed the affliction of the Nile’s waters and the plague of frogs as a kind of retribution for the pharaoh’s decrees ordering the killing of male Israelites at birth and their drowning in the Nile.

Exodus chapter 8

Reading the words of Pharaoh’s magicians in “This is the finger of God,” Samuel David Luzzatto wrote that although Pharaoh must have in his heart realized that the magicians were correct, Pharaoh carried on “business as usual,” as is the habit of atheists.
Alter noted that the narrative preceding repeatedly spoke of God’s “hand” or “arm,” but Pharaoh’s magicians appear to concede a lesser trace of divine action in mentioning God’s “finger.”

Exodus chapter 9

Reading the report of that “all the livestock of Egypt died,” but noting that reports that boils subsequently struck the animals, Plaut concluded that must be taken as hyperbole.
Jacob ben Asher read the words, “He that feared,” in to indicate that the Egyptians were fearful because of the sins they had committed.
The 19th century German-English Jewish scholar Moritz Markus Kalisch reported an interpretation that indicated a test by Moses of how far the fear of God had spread among the Egyptians.
The early 20th century German Rabbi and scholar Benno Jacob read to indicate that some of Pharaoh’s servants had become frightened of God’s warning through Moses.
Reading “Whoever feared the Lord’s word,” Alter wrote that whereas elsewhere, this idiom indicates piety, here it has been stripped down to its literal meaning of whoever was struck with terror by God’s grim threat.

In critical analysis

Some scholars who follow the Documentary Hypothesis find evidence of three or even four separate sources in the parashah. Professor Walter Brueggemann, formerly of Columbia Theological Seminary, reported that older source analysis saw as an insertion by the Priestly source, addressed to a community in exile, appealing to very old tradition to create a sense of structured, stable reality to give coherence, order, and legitimacy to communal life. Professor Richard Elliott Friedman, of the University of Georgia, however, saw four sources in alone. Friedman saw the opening verse of to have been composed by the Elohist who wrote in the north, in the land of the Tribe of Ephraim, possibly as early as the second half of the 9th century BCE. Friedman agreed with Brueggemann in attributing and to the Priestly source who wrote in the 6th or 5th century BCE. But Friedman attributed and to a later Redactor. And Friedman attributed the genealogy of to the Book of Records or some other separate source document, from which Friedman postulates that the Redactor chose to use only the first section covering genealogies from Reuben to Levi, stopping at Aaron.
In the balance of the parashah, Friedman attributed , and ; and ; and and ; to the Elohist; , and ; and ; and to the Priestly source; and and to the Redactor. For a color-coded display of verses according to this hypothesis, see at Wikiversity.

Commandments

According to Maimonides and Sefer ha-Chinuch, there are no commandments in the parashah.

In the liturgy

Reading the Passover Haggadah, in the magid section of the Seder, many Jews remove drops of wine from their cups for each of the ten plagues in
Next, the Haggadah recounts the reasoning of Rabbi Jose the Galilean that as the phrase "the finger of God" in referred to 10 plagues, "the great hand" in must refer to 50 plagues upon the Egyptians.
And the haggadah in the magid section quotes to elucidate the term "a mighty hand" in interpreting the "mighty hand" to mean the plague of pestilence on the Egyptian livestock.

Haftarah

Generally

The haftarah for the parashah is

Connection to the Parashah

Both the parashah and the haftarah describe God's instructions to a prophet to confront the Pharaoh of Egypt and bring on Israel's redemption. Both the parashah and the haftarah address God's judgments against Pharaoh and Egypt. A monster plays a role in both the parashah and the haftarah: In the parashah, God turns Moses' rod into a monster; the haftarah describes Pharaoh as a monster. In both the parashah and the haftarah, God attacks the river and kills fish. In both the parashah and the haftarah, God's actions would cause the Egyptians to know God. And in both the parashah and the haftarah, God proclaims, "I am the Lord."

On Shabbat Rosh Chodesh

When the parashah coincides with Shabbat Rosh Chodesh, the haftarah is

Biblical

*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*