וּפַרְעֹ֖ה הִקְרִ֑יב וַיִּשְׂאוּ֩ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֨ל אֶת־עֵינֵיהֶ֜ם וְהִנֵּ֥ה מִצְרַ֣יִם ׀ נֹסֵ֣עַ אַחֲרֵיהֶ֗ם וַיִּֽירְאוּ֙ מְאֹ֔ד וַיִּצְעֲק֥וּ בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֶל־יְהוָֽה׃
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians were marching after them; and they were sore afraid; and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
Zohar
"And it came to pass, when he came (lit. 'caused to come') near to enter to Egypt..." (Gen. 12:11). Rabbi Elazar said that the verse says, "when he caused to come near," whereas it should have stated, 'When he came near.' Why does it say, "when he caused to come near?" This is similar to the verse, "And Pharaoh caused to come close..." (Shemot 14:10), that he brought Yisrael to come near to repentance. The same applies here, so "caused to come near" means he brought himself to come near to the Holy One, blessed be He, as should properly be. "To enter to Egypt,", to observe those grades, and keep his distance from them, as well as to keep his distance from the worshipers of Egypt.