פירוש על שמות 15:14

ירגזון means THEY TREMBLE (not they will tremble).

THE PEOPLES HAVE HEARD, THEY TREMBLE. The purport thereof is: “when the people will hear [of Thy visitation upon the Egyptians], they will tremble from the blow of Thy hands, and pangs will take hold of the inhabitants of Philistia when they will hear [of those deeds].” It is possible that Moses is saying that the peoples have already heard all that G-d has done in the land of Egypt, and that they will always tremble from the disease He has put upon them.²¹⁷See further, Verse 26. Thus Moses continues to pray that He should let fall upon them terror and dread²¹⁸Verse 16. so that they should not go out to war against Israel.
Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra explained that the verse, Horror and dread shall fall upon them,²¹⁸Verse 16. refers only to Philistia, [mentioned in Verse 14] and Edom and Moab, [mentioned in Verse 15], but not to the inhabitants of Canaan, [who are also mentioned at the end of Verse 15]. This is because Moses said afterward, [i.e., at the end of Verse 16 before us], till Thy people pass over, O Eternal. It was over them [Philistia, Edom and Moab] that the Israelites passed before they came into the land of Canaan, and these peoples really did not war against them. Even when Edom came out against him with much people, and a strong hand,²¹⁹Numbers 20:20. it was only so that the Israelites should not pass over his land, but he did not war against them. But were it not for the terror and dread that fell upon them, they would have wanted to battle against them out of their hatred of them. Now Moses did not mention Ammon, because Ammon and Moab are as one nation. It is possible that the dread of the Israelites fell on the Canaanite too, and he did not war against them until they had passed over [the Jordan], for the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the south²²⁰Ibid., 21:1. [and who warred against Israel when they were still in the wilderness], was not a Canaanite by descent, according to the opinion of our Rabbis.²²¹Tanchuma, Chukath 18. The explanation there is that this was Amalek, but he purposely changed his speech to the Canaanite language so that Israel might be misled and would pray that G-d should give the Canaanites into their hands. Since Amalek was actually not a Canaanite, their prayers would therefore be ineffectual. This interpretation is quoted by Rashi to Numbers 21:1.

יושבי פלשת, אלופי אדום, אילי מואב, all the aforementioned are neighbours of the land of Israel.

They tremble. Rashi is saying that ירגזון is the present tense, not future.

V. 14. חיל, von חול ist das Angstgefühl des passiven Werdens, wo auf Kosten des Bestehenden ein Neues sich erzeugt. Daher vor allem das Angstgefühl der Gebärerin. Die Bewohner Philistäas hatte bereits das Angstgefühl mit dem Bewusstsein ergriffen, dass über ihre Vernichtung hin das Volk zu freiem, neuem Dasein schreiten werde.

חיל אחז יושבי פלשת, “fear gripped the inhabitants of Palestine.” They were afraid that retribution for their having killed tens of thousands of the members of the tribe of Ephrayim was at hand. Those members of the tribe of Ephrayim had been trying to leapfrog the appointed time of the end of Jewish slavery. They had been killed by the inhabitants of Gat, who had been born in the land of the Philistines. (Compare Chronicles I 7,21.)

ישבי פלשת [REIGS SEIZED] THE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE, because they slew the children of Ephraim who anticipated the end fixed for the period of slavery and left Egypt forcibly, as is explained in Chronicles (1 7:21) “[The sons of Ephraim…] whom the men of Gath slew” (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 15:14:3).

Who had calculated prematurely the end. . . They calculated that the period began at the time of the decree of בין הבתרים , which was 30 years before Yitzchok was born [and thus they attempted to leave Egypt 30 years before the prescribed time].