Commentaire de citation sur L’Exode 3:20

HIS GREATNESS, HIS MIGHTY HAND, AND HIS OUTSTRETCHED ARM. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “[His greatness etc.] to bring you out from Egypt; and the signs²⁷⁹Mentioned in Verse 3. and wonders, which He did to Pharaoh; and what He did unto you in the wilderness,²⁸⁰Verse 5. in the matter of the manna.” But in my opinion it is incorrect, for now he [Moses] speaks only of the chastisement with which G-d admonished those who transgressed His will; [instead, the correct interpretation of the verse is as follows:] His greatness in that He exalted and elevated Himself when saying, Have thou this glory over me;²⁸¹Exodus 8:5. These are Moses’ words to Pharaoh to make the plague of frogs cease on the day fixed by Pharaoh. By tomorrow shall this sign be;²⁸²Ibid., Verse 19. And I will distinguish [between My people and thy people];²⁸²Ibid., Verse 19. that thou mayest know that the earth is the Eternal’s.²⁸³Ibid., 9:29. And His mighty hand [refers to], And I will put forth My hand, and smite Egypt;²⁸⁴Ibid., 3:20. the great work which the Eternal did [upon the Egyptians].²⁸⁵Ibid., 14:31. “Work” — literally: “hand.” And His outstretched arm [means] that He did not give the Egyptians relief and deliverance from the moment His hand was stretched out upon them, and He hath not withdrawn His hand from consuming²⁸⁶Lamentations 2:8. until He destroyed them. And what He did unto you in the wilderness,²⁸⁰Verse 5. [means] that He smote you [Israel] in the affair of the calf,²⁸⁷Exodus 32:35. in the fire that burned at Taberah,²⁸⁸Numbers 11:1-3. [in the affair of] the fiery serpents,²⁸⁹Ibid., 21:6. Kibroth-hattaavah,²⁹⁰Ibid., 11:35. the plague at Shittim,²⁹¹Ibid., 25:9. and the decree in the affair of the spies so that the hand of G-d was upon them until they came to this place. He [Moses] shortened, however, the account of the punishments that He inflicted upon them. And if so, Therefore shall ye keep all the commandment etc. that ye may be strong,²⁹²Verse 8. for His mighty hand strengthens those who keep His commandments, neither will He uphold the evildoers.²⁹³Job 8:20.

ימצאהו בארץ מדבר, “He found him (Israel) in a desolate land.” I believe that the reason Moses said: “in a desolate land,” i.e. ארץ מדבר instead of simply: מדבר, is that the clouds representing the attribute כבוד joined the people at the time they entered the desert, מדבר. The meaning of the words בארץ מדבר then is: “in a land adjoining a land, i.e. cultivated, inhabited areas.” You will find something similar in the Torah’s description of the Jewish people’s departure from Egypt, when the Torah writes (Exodus 3,20-21) “they journeyed from Sukkot and they encamped in Eytam, at the edge of the desert, בקצה המדבר. The Torah adds: “and the Lord would walk with them both by day and by night.” The meaning of the words ימצאהו then is twofold: it can mean “He found them,” i.e. the word is derived from מצא, or it can mean “supplied, “ i.e. ספק.“ Onkelos appears to have understood it as meaning the latter when he translated ספיק צרכיהון בארעא מדברא, “He supplied their needs in a desert-like country.” Onkelos means that the attribute כבוד found the Jewish people when they were about to enter a desert-like country and proceeded to supply their needs.

AND THOU SHALT TAKE IN THY HAND THIS ROD, WHEREWITH THOU SHALT DO THE SIGNS. Concerning the rod, only one sign — that it turn into a serpent — has thus far been mentioned. But the [plural] expression “the signs” means “the signs which I will tell you.”
It appears to me that when G-d said to Moses, With all My wonders which I will do in his midst,²⁸⁸Above, 3:20. He informed him of all the wonders in detail, but Scripture speaks briefly, and this is the intent of the expression here, wherewith thou shalt do the signs.