Commentaire sur L’Exode 4:20

על החמור UPON “THE” ASS — the ass designated for this purpose: this was the ass which Abraham had saddled for the purpose of travelling to bind Isaac on Mount Moriah, and this, too, is the ass upon which King Messiah will once show himself in public, as it is said, (Zechariah 9:9) “[Behold, thy king cometh unto thee, …] lowly and riding upon an ass” (Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer 31).

AND MOSES TOOK HIS WIFE AND HIS SONS. The intent thereof is like that of the verse, And the sons of Pallu: Eliab.²⁹²Numbers 26:8. It states “sons” in the plural, but mentions only one son. A similar case is here, as Ramban explains. At that time, he had only Gershom, as Scripture mentions,²⁹³Above, 2:22. and his wife became pregnant with Eliezer on the way [to Egypt] or in Egypt, if she went there.²⁹⁴See Ramban further in this verse.
It is possible that before the Divine communication came to him on the mountain of G-d,²⁹⁵Above 3:1. only Gershom had been born. Zipporah however was already pregnant [with Eliezer], and when he returned to Jether his father-in-law,²⁹¹Verse 18. she gave birth, but because the King’s business required haste,²⁹⁶I Samuel 21:9. Ramban evidently understands here the word “king” as referring to G-d. he did not circumcise him, nor did he give him a name. On the way when his mother circumcised him,²⁹⁷Verse 25. she did not give him a name, as Moses was met at that time by the angel.²⁹⁸Verse 24. And see Rashi: “and the angel sought, etc.” It was after he came to Egypt and saw that he was saved from all those who sought his life that he then called him Eliezer, for the G-d of my father was my help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh.²⁹⁹Further, 18:4. Our Rabbis have also stated³⁰⁰Shemoth Rabbah 5:8. that the child that was circumcised [by Zipporah, as mentioned here in Verse 25], was Eliezer.

וירכיבם על החמור, to let them travel from the desert where Moses tended the sheep to Midian, i.e. to her father’s home.

ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו, “he took his wife and his sons, etc.” This verse is similar to Numbers 26,8 ובני פלוא אליאב, “and the sons of Phalu were Eliav. Even though Phalu is reported as having had only the one son, the Torah uses the plural mode ובני, when referring to this. Similarly, here. At this time Moses had only one son, Gershom. Tzippporah who had been pregnant with Eliezer at that time gave birth to him on the way, as becomes clear in verse 24 of our chapter. It is possible that before G’d had spoken to Moses at Mount Chorev, Tzipporah had born Gershom, and that she had again become pregnant. When Moses returned to Yitro from the desert Eliezer had just been born. Seeing that Moses was anxious to be on his way, he had not yet circumcised his new born son, so that his mother had not yet named the baby. She did not name him right after she had circumcised him, being not yet sure whether Moses would survive his encounter with the angel who had tried to harm him. It was only after Moses arrived safely in Egypt and realized that he had indeed been saved from all those who had wanted to kill him, that he named the baby with a name which reflected his gratitude to G’d for having saved him from all this.

“Earlier” or “later” are not exact in Scripture. [Rashi states that events are not always recorded chronologically. This answers the question:] it should have been written “Moshe took the rod” before “Moshe took his wife.” For Moshe did not take the rod in Egypt, rather in Midian.

V. 20. Es scheint, Mosche sei nur im Besitz eines einzigen Lasttieres gewesen, auf welchem er habe reiten wollen. Nun aber ließ er Frau und Kinder החמור besteigen, und er ging zu Fuß mit dem Stabe in der Hand.

ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו, “Moses took his wife and his sons;” seeing that both of his sons were still very young and in need of constant attention by their mother, their mother is mentioned here first, whereas when Yaakov fled from his uncle Lavan and fatherinlaw in Genesis 31,17, his sons are mentioned before his wives.

וישב ארצה מצרים ויקח משה את מטה AND HE RETURNED TO THE LAND OF EGYPT: AND MOSES TOOK THE STAFF [OF GOD] — “Earlier and later” are not strictly observed in the Scriptures (i. e. incidents are not necessarily related in the exact order in which they occur. Here it should state: He took the staff etc. and returned to Egypt; cf. v. 17).

AND HE RETURNED TO THE LAND OF EGYPT. I.e., with those mentioned [at the beginning of the verse, namely, his wife and his sons]. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said that the expression, and he returned to the land of Egypt, means that Moses alone returned. When he was met by G-d,³⁰¹Verse 24. Ibn Ezra refers to the language of the verse: and the Eternal met him. See above, Note 298. Eliezer was circumcised, and when he was healed, Zipporah together with her children returned to her father.
This [explanation of Ibn Ezra] is possible, for due to the fact that Eliezer was circumcised, Moses could not take him on the road until the child would become strong. At the same time, he did not want to delay the mission of the Holy One, blessed be He, and therefore he left them in the lodging-place and commanded Zipporah to return to her father’s home when the child will become healed. This is the purport of the expression, after he had sent her away.³⁰²Further, 18:2. It is also probable that they all went to Egypt, and after they stayed there for some time, she longed for her father and so Moses sent her with the children. This then would be the sense of the word shilucheha (after ‘he had sent her away’),³⁰²Further, 18:2. since Jethro feared that perhaps it was Moses’ intent to divorce her.
And in V’eileh Shemoth Rabbah,³⁰³Shemoth Rabbah 4:4. [the Rabbis have said]: “And Moses went and returned to Jether his father-in-law.²⁹¹Verse 18. Where did he go? He went to take his wife and sons. Jethro said to him, ‘Where do you take them?’ Moses replied, ‘To Egypt.’ Jethro said to him, ‘Now that those who are in Egypt wish to leave it, do you desire to lead them there?’ Moses replied, ‘Very soon [those held in bondage] are destined to go forth from there and stand at Mount Sinai and hear the words of the Almighty, I am the Eternal thy G-d Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt.³⁰⁴Further, 20:2. Should my children not hear it together with them?’ Jethro said to Moses, ‘Go in peace.’”²⁹¹Verse 18. In accordance with the opinion of the Rabbis [in the above Midrash], it is proper that we explain that after Moses and Jethro agreed on Moses’ returning to Egypt, the Holy One, blessed be He, commanded him thereon, thus confirming the word of His servant,³⁰⁵See Isaiah 44:26. and he returned to Egypt with his sons and his wife, as I have explained.

וישב ארצה מצרים, while Moses went on his way back to the land of Egypt.

וירכיבם על החמור, “he made them ride on the donkey.” The Torah specifies that it was a donkey, not a camel or some other animal used to ride on; perhaps because he had a number of animals to choose from for his wife and children to ride on.

וישב ארצה מצרים, “he returned headed for Egypt.” He now continued his journey alone. After the angel, (G-d’s messenger), had shown him that G-d had been displeased that Eliezer had not yet been circumcised, Moses left his family there (at the inn), and continued on towards Egypt. After Eliezer had recovered from his circumcision, Tzipporah and children returned to her father in Midian.

וישב ארצה מצרימה, “he returned in the direction of the land of Egypt.” According to Nachmanides, even though the Torah uses the singular mode וישב, what are meant are Moses and his family. Ibn Ezra writes that the reason why the Torah used the singular mode is that though Moses had intended to bring his family with him to Egypt; he changed his mind after his encounter with the angel and the circumcision, after which, in the interest of the baby’s recovery from that procedure, Tzipporah decided the return to her father’s home for a while. Moses had not wanted to delay beginning his mission while waiting for his son to recover. It is also possible that they all went to Egypt together, and that when it became evident that the redemption of the Israelites was still some time in the future, Tzipporah, who had pined for her father’s home, returned there pending the Exodus becoming reality.

את מטה האלוהים, “the staff of G-d.” This staff had not yet been renamed as “Moses’ staff” because he had not yet performed miracles with it.