Commentaire sur L’Exode 14:2

וישבו THAT THEY TURN backwards; all the third day they were moving nearer towards the Egyptians, in order to mislead Pharaoh, so that he should say: They have lost their way, as it is said, (v. 3) “so that Pharaoh will say of the children of Israel, [They are entangled in the land]”.

דבר אל בוי ישראל וישובו, "speak to the children of Israel so that they will turn backwards, etc." Anyone who reads this verse cannot help wondering why G'd would give an order designed to trick Pharaoh into pursuit of the Israelites, when He has many other means at His disposal to bring about the same result?

וישובו ויחנו פי החירות, “they turned around and encamped at Pi Hachirot. G’d ordered the Israelites to turn around facing Egypt at Pithom renamed Pi Hachirot, seeing that this was the place where they had become free (from slave labour) according to Rashi. The Torah added the words “in front of Baal Tzefon,” as a further means of identification because that idol had survived destruction. All of these details were important to help Pharaoh persuade himself that the Israelites were worth pursuing. When the Torah reports that G’d said to Moses: “I will strengthen the heart of Pharaoh so that he will pursue them” (verse 4), He referred to three causes which would determine Pharaoh’s course of action. 1) Their non-stop day and night travel which would persuade Pharaoh that they were in fact escaping, not following his instructions. 2) Their turnabout convinced Pharaoh that the people were completely lost in the desert. 3) that they should make camp near Baal Tzefon which would give Pharaoh the impression that this deity had impeded the Israelites’ ability to journey forward. The term ”בעל something or other,“ is usually associated with a deity such as בעל זבוב, אלוהי עקרן, בעל פעור, and others. G’d allowed this deity to survive in order to mislead Pharaoh. This is an illustration of Job 12,23: “He causes nations to deceive themselves resulting in their destruction.” The additional words (verse 3) נכחו תחנו על הים, ”opposite it you are to make camp,” was to give Pharaoh the impression that this deity had used the desert to encircle the Israelites, to make them prisoner. This verse contains an allusion to what the Israelites would observe later at the sea.