Commentaire de citation sur L’Exode 11:5

AND THE ETERNAL SAID UNTO MOSES: YET ONE PLAGUE MORE WILL I BRING UPON PHARAOH. “This [prophecy] was spoken to him while he was still standing before Pharaoh, for after he left him he did not see his face again.” Thus the language of Rashi.
Our Rabbis have similarly said:⁷⁵Shemoth Rabbah 18:1. “G-d sprung upon Moses. He, as it were, entered Pharaoh’s palace, [which was replete with abominations], for the sake of Moses — who had said, I will see thy face again no more —⁷⁶Above, 10:29. so that Moses might not be branded a liar. Now you find no other occasion on which the Holy One, blessed be He, spoke to Moses in the royal palace except this moment. Whence may we deduce this? From the verse, As soon as I am gone out of the city, I will spread forth my hands unto the Eternal.⁷⁷Ibid., 9:29. And see Ramban there. But now the Holy One, blessed be He, sprang upon Moses and said to him, Yet one plague more, etc.”
Now here too⁷⁸See Ramban above, 10:2. there is a shortening of narrative. G-d said to Moses, Yet one plague more will I bring upon Pharaoh, and He informed him of the nature of that plague, saying to him, At midnight I will go out into the midst of Egypt, as well as the whole communication stated in this section, [further in Verses 5-8, as Moses’ address to Pharaoh in the Name of G-d]. But Scripture did not want to lengthen the account by first narrating what G-d said to Moses, it being sufficient to state what Moses said to Pharaoh, i.e., Thus saith the Eternal,⁷⁹Verse 4. just as I have explained in the case of the locusts.⁷⁸See Ramban above, 10:2. There are many such sections in the Torah. In this Seder (section of the Torah), in the segment, Sanctify unto Me all the firstborn,⁸⁰Further, 13:2. Scripture shortens the subject which the Holy One, blessed be He, communicated to Moses, and it prolongs the account of Moses’ words to the people, i.e., Remember this day, etc.,⁸¹Ibid., Verse 3. and so on to the end of that entire segment.⁸²I.e., to the end of Verse 16 there. They really are G-d’s words to Moses, which he said to Israel in the very language with which he was commanded.

One maidservant. Rashi had to explain so because the Rabbis state that Yisroel can only be defeated at a time when they act corruptly before Hashem. But here we do not find any corrupt behavior. Therefore he says that the captive who was taken here was merely the captive whom Yisroel captured from them. We need not ask how Rashi knew that there was only one, when perhaps there were two. For one can answer that the term שבי ["captive"] implies that there was only one. You might also ask how Rashi knew that the captive was a maidservant. The answer is that the term שבי implies a maidservant. For in Parshas Bo concerning the warning [before the tenth plague] it is written, “From the firstborn of Pharoh who sits on his throne to the firstborn of the maidservant…” (Shemos 11:5). Whereas later, when the plague struck, it is written “Until the firstborn of the שבי [captive]” (Shemos 12:29). Thus one must explain that שבי there refers to the firstborn of the maidservant and therefore the word שבי written here also refers to a maidservant. For if not so, Scripture should have clarified [whether] he took men, women or children from them.

כה אמר ה, ”thus has the Lord said, etc.;” other prophecies which have been introduced with this introductory phrase are numerous, as are commandments (in the future) which have been introduced with the introductory: “thus the Lord has said.” The author cites: Exodus 11,5; 32,27; Numbers 19,2; Numbers 30,2 as well as reminding us that in the Books of the prophets, especially Isaiah and Ezekiel, this formula is used frequently. It happens several times that what was predicted has not later on in the text been spelled out as having happened; [one of the reasons is that when the prophecy is a warning of something unpleasant it need not be fulfilled if the circumstances changed. Ed.] At any rate, in this case it was important for G-d to show Pharaoh that a prophecy by Moses would be fulfilled, because Moses, G-d’s spokesman, had said that it would. This is what Isaiah 44 26 had in mind when he said that G-d fulfills promises or threats made by His servants. (Compare our author on Exodus 11,4)