Commentary for Exodus 9:19
וְעַתָּ֗ה שְׁלַ֤ח הָעֵז֙ אֶֽת־מִקְנְךָ֔ וְאֵ֛ת כָּל־אֲשֶׁ֥ר לְךָ֖ בַּשָּׂדֶ֑ה כָּל־הָאָדָ֨ם וְהַבְּהֵמָ֜ה אֲשֶֽׁר־יִמָּצֵ֣א בַשָּׂדֶ֗ה וְלֹ֤א יֵֽאָסֵף֙ הַבַּ֔יְתָה וְיָרַ֧ד עֲלֵהֶ֛ם הַבָּרָ֖ד וָמֵֽתוּ׃
Now therefore send, hasten in thy cattle and all that thou hast in the field; for every man and beast that shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.’
Rashi on Exodus
שלח העז translate it as the Targum: SEND, GATHER. Similar examples of this sense are, (Isaiah 10:31) “The inhabitants of Gebim gather together (העיזו)”; (Jeremiah 6:1) “Gather together (העיזו), ye children of Benjamin”.
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Rashbam on Exodus
העז, “gather in!” (as a form of escaping the hail) We find this word in a similar sense in Jeremiah 6,1העיזו אנשי בנימין!, “flee for refuge O people of Binyamin!” A similar verse in Isaiah 10,31 reads יושבי הגבים העיזו, “the dwellers of Gevim sought refuge.”
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Sforno on Exodus
ועתה שלח העז את מקנך, in order that also the servants supervising the cattle would escape the hail together with their herds.. If G’d cared about the beasts, He most certainly cared about the human beings, as we know from Avot 3,18 חביב אדם כי נברא בצלם, “man is beloved as he (alone) has been created in G’d’s image.”
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