Whether we admit it or not, most of us take our cues about the Exodus from the classic film The Ten Commandments. We picture Charlton Heston wearing a ragged, red tallit and demanding from Pharaoh, Let my people go! And Pharaoh thunders, No, I will not let them go! Eventually, under the pressure of the plagues, Pharaoh relents and frees the Israelites. But he changes his mind and tries to get his slaves back, leading to his downfall at the Sea of Reeds.And that all makes perfect sense, except it's not what the Bible actually says.
In the Bible's version, Moses never actually asks for Israelite freedom. He asks for a vacation for a few days to worship the Israelite God in the desert. Pharaoh allows this after a couple of plagues, but insists the Israelites leave behind some people or animals as security. He wants to make sure they don't make a run for it. Moses, whose intentions are not clear, argues that the Israelites need all the people and all the animals for worship purposes. When Pharaoh does eventually relent after the plague of the firstborn, he does not free the Israelites from slavery. He gives them only what they've been asking for: a vacation to worship God, with no qualifications (Ex. 12:31-32, emphasis mine):
"Bless me also" is a reference to the promised worship service. Note that Pharaoh does not change his mind this time. He lets the people go to worship. Only when he sees that the Israelites have tricked him and made a run for it (Hebrew root BRH) does he give chase (Ex. 13:17, 14:5).וַיִּקְרָא לְמֹשֶׁה וּלְאַהֲרֹן לַיְלָה, וַיֹּאמֶר קוּמוּ צְּאוּ מִתּוֹךְ עַמִּי--גַּם-אַתֶּם, גַּם-בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל; וּלְכוּ עִבְדוּ אֶת-יְהוָה, כְּדַבֶּרְכֶם גַּם-צֹאנְכֶם גַּם-בְּקַרְכֶם קְחוּ כַּאֲשֶׁר דִּבַּרְתֶּם, וָלֵכוּ; וּבֵרַכְתֶּם, גַּם-אֹתִיAnd [Pharaoh] called for Moses and Aaron by night and said: 'Rise up, get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the LORD, as ye have said. Take both your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.' (JPS 1917 translation)
Now, if the Israelites wanted freedom, why did Moses/God have to lie to Pharaoh to get it? Given the harshness of the Egyptian bondage, a demand for total freedom seems very appropriate. Why the trickery? Is God so weak that he can't bring the Israelites out of Egypt without resorting to subterfuge? Also, it's somewhat astounding that God himself is lying to Pharaoh's face here. Worse, God commands the Israelites to outright trick the Egyptians out of their riches (Ex. 11:12). They borrow gold and silver vessels from the Egyptians just before taking off for their little "holiday." Of course, none of it ever gets returned. Did God/Israel really have to trick Egypt to get her valuables?
The answer to all this is actually obvious. Can you see it yet?
-The Candy Man
9 comments:
To force a face-off at the Yam Suf?
I think you've got it, BB. Care to explain it to the rest of the class?
Wheee!
Had God's request been to let the Jews leave for good, then after Makkas Bchoros when Pharoah let them go, there'd be no need for the Miracle at the Yam Suf.
Hashem is so smart!
What would stop Pharaoh from just changing his mind, or to be more in line with the theme of the story, since God continually "hardened Pharaoh's heart" during the exchanges with Moses, why couldn't God make Pharaoh change his mind and pursue the Jews to the shore of the sea, even without this "lie"?
>Makkas Bchoros when Pharoah let them go, there'd be no need for the Miracle at the Yam Suf.
Exactly. The Exodus is like a game of poker. God could have gotten the Jews free with the plague of the firstborn, but then that would be the end of the hand. Instead, God waited for the "river" -- in this case, the Sea of Reeds. When Pharaoh went all in, God showed his cards, and the hand was over.
Did that make any sense?
I feel dumb for saying this, but I don't think I fully get your point. Are you trying to say that God wanted to show off more of his power with a grand show at the Yam Suf, or am I going way out on t he wrong limb?
mo, you pretty much got it. God's point throughout was to put on a grand show at the Sea. The ten plagues were just a warm up.
By asking only for a few days' leave, God set a trap for Pharaoh. If your slaves ask for leave and then appear to run away, what do you do? Of course, you chase after them. And that's what God wanted Pharaoh to do... to chase Israel right into the middle of the sea, where he was most vulnerable and God could show off.
>since God continually "hardened Pharaoh's heart" during the exchanges with Moses, why couldn't God make Pharaoh change his mind and pursue the Jews to the shore of the sea, even without this "lie"?
kvetcher, you raise an interesting point. I think God could have done it your way, but this way was more surefire.
Plus, as a friend pointed out to me, the "lie" left the choice in the hands of Pharaoh. He broke his side of the deal first, which means that God didn't really lie in the end.
So, perhaps God was choosing the more truthful path, after all. Hardening hearts isn't exactly playing fair!
(Note however that Pharaoh did need to have "his heart strengthened" just to chase down his slaves into the desert. After the plagues, he apparently had some reservations about chasing down Israel. But this was not a change of heart, unlike the plagues.)
Note also that the continual "hardening of Pharaoh's heart" during the plagues was indeed just a way of delaying the encounter at the Sea of Reeds. This is what God means when he says that he will bring more and more plagues, just to "increase the wonders." The miracle at the Sea was the main wonder, the heart of the Exodus, which was always going to happen no matter what, but God delayed it to bring more plagues and "increase the wonders."
This all also explains why God had to harden Pharaoh's heart during the plagues. The Israelites were only asking for a vacation. This is a modest request, and Pharaoh would definitely grant it if not for God's interference.
Hey,
I saw you commented on Bad Rabbis blog once, on the post about head covering for women. I wrote a response post in my blog I though you might want to see...
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