פירוש על שמות 6:4

וגם הקמתי את בריתי וגו׳ Then, ALSO, when I appeared unto them by the name of God Almighty I ESTABLISHED and set up MY COVENANT between Myself and them

וגם הקימותי, I have also sworn, as per Onkelos in Genesis 31,53 on the word וישבע which he renders as וקיים. “G’d swore to keep His promise.” Compare a similar phrase but worded differently in Psalms 106, 44-45. “When He saw that they were in distress, when He heard their cry, He was mindful of His covenant and in His great faithfulness He relented.”

וגם הקימותי את בריתי, "And I also maintain My covenant, etc." G'd may have added here (according to our previous commentary) that even if He had already fulfilled His covenant with the patriarchs, they still would not have become privy to the degree of revelation that Moses had already now become privy to.

וגם הקימותי, “moreover, I have established;” I have also sent you in order for you to be the instrument through which I will keep My covenant with the patriarchs, if they are like them, to give them the land of Canaan

Also when I revealed Myself to them as Almighty Shaddai. . . Rashi is answering the question: How does our verse’s wording, “I also,” fit in with what precedes it? It would be understandable if it had been written in the preceding verse: And My Name Adonoy I did make known to them. Then, “I also” would mean: I also did this for them, [to establish My covenant]. Or if it had been written in this verse: I also did not establish My covenant, it would be understandable — [as it would fit in with “I did not make known”]. But since it is written, “My Name Adonoy I did not make known to them,” what does “I also established” mean? Therefore Rashi explains, “Also when I revealed Myself. . .” Rashi means that Hashem says, so to speak, “Do not think that since I revealed Myself to them as Almighty Shaddai rather than as Adonoy, I do not need to fulfill My promise. This is not true, because I also set up and established a covenant with them. For these two reasons, Almighty Shaddai and the covenant, I need to fulfill My word that I promised them. This is because, [when combined,] they are as if I had promised them with the Name of Adonoy [which is unconditional]. According to this, the phrase “I also established My covenant” refers back to “I revealed Myself to Avraham. . . as Almighty Shaddai,” rather than referring to “but My Name Adonoy I did not make known to them.”

AND I HAVE ALSO ESTABLISHED MY COVENANT WITH THEM … AND MOREOVER I HAVE HEARD THE GROANING OF THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL.³⁴Verses 4-5. The meaning thereof is as follows: “I have appeared to the patriarchs by the Name ‘E-il Sha-dai’ and I have also established this covenant [by this Divine Name] before Me, and moreover with My Great Name I have now heard the groaning of the children of Israel, and I have remembered My covenant which I have established for them with Me.” The student learned [in the mystic lore of the Cabala] will understand.
Now as regards what our Rabbis have expounded:³⁵Shemoth Rabbah 6:4, and mentioned by Rashi in Verse 9 with variants. i.e., that [the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses], “Alas for those that are gone, [namely, the patriarchs], and are no more to be found! Many a time did I reveal Myself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob by the Name E-il Sha-dai, and I did not inform them that My Name is the Eternal as I have said it to you, and yet none of them cast aspersions upon My dealings with them, etc. Moreover, none of them asked Me what My Name is, as you asked. Right at the beginning of My mission, you said to Me, ‘What is Your Name?’³⁶Above, 3:13. And at the end you said, For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Thy name, he hath dealt ill with this people, etc.³⁷Ibid., 5:23. It is in connection with this [complaint] that G-d said to Moses, And I have also established My covenant with them, etc.³⁸Verse 4. That is to say, “Not only did I promise them the Land but I also established My covenant with them on that, and yet they did not find fault with Me” (ibid., Shemoth Rabbah). The purport of this Midrash likewise fits in with the text.³⁹See Rashi on Verse 9 where he explains that this Midrash does not fit in with the text for several reasons. Ramban proceeds to show that it can be fitted in with the verses. The Rabbis, of blessed memory, found it difficult to understand why G-d mentioned the prophecy of the patriarchs altogether, diminishing their accomplishment in prophecy and saying that He appeared to them only by the Name of E-il Sha-dai. What purpose did that serve? He could have said, “I am the Eternal, and wherefore say unto the children of Israel: ‘I am the Eternal, and I will bring you [from under the burdens of the Egyptians], and you shall know that I am the Eternal Who brought you out.’” Therefore the Rabbis explained that the message constituted a rebuke to Moses, telling him: “Behold, the patriarchs, whose accomplishment in prophecy was not as high as yours inasmuch as they contemplated Deity only through the Name E-il Sha-dai, believed in Me, And I have also established My covenant with them, and I have heard the groaning of their children for their sake. Surely you who have known Me by the Great Name and whom I have given My assurance [by that Name], you should have trusted in [My] mercies and assured Israel in My Name that I will do signs and wonders for them.” This interpretation too is correct and fitting.

V. 4. Ich war aber ה׳, hätte sofort sie und ihre Nachkommen als freien, selbständigen Volkskern herstellen können, als ich erst mein Bündnis mit ihnen errichtete, ihnen ein Land zu geben, in welchem sie lebenslänglich Fremdlinge blieben,

וגם אני הקימותי, Accordingly, the correct translation of the word הקימותי here is: “and also I have sworn,” exactly as in Genesis 3,53, where the word וישבע does not mean “I have sworn,” in the sense of “it is the truth,” but “I confirm solemnly something that I have promised already previously.”

לתת להם את ארץ כנען TO GIVE THEM THE LAND OF CANAAN — Of Abraham it is stated in the chapter that contains the commandment of the Circumcision, (Genesis 17:1, and 17:8) “[The Lord appeared to Abraham and said unto him], I am God Almighty etc., and I will give to thee and to thy seed after thee the land of thy sojourning”. Of Isaac it is stated, (Genesis 26:3) “[The Lord appeared unto him and said], For unto thee and unto thy seed I will give all these countries, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham, thy father”, and that oath here referred to which I sware to Abraham I uttered by the name of God Almighty. Of Jacob it is stated, (Genesis 35:9, 11, 12) “[And God appeared unto Jacob … and God said unto him], I am God Almighty; be fruitful and multiply, … the land which I gave [Abraham and Isaac to thee I will give it] etc.” So you see that I made certain vows to them and I have not yet fulfilled them.

The land of their sojourning. I promised them the Land because it is the land of their sojourning and they have become accustomed to Divine Providence in it, and not solely because it is a land of milk and honey. Hashem looks after the Land in detail, making it the place of abundant Providence. I promised this to their sons, for it is My Will to watch over them.

I have made vows to them but have not fulfilled. In other words, [Rashi is saying that] from the verses he cited, we see that Hashem made vows to them. However, from these verses we do not see that Hashem has not fulfilled [those vows]. Without citing a proof [for that point,] Rashi is answering why Hashem sent Moshe, [in response to Moshe’s question at the end of Parshas Shemos. The answer is]: Since “I have not yet fulfilled those vows,” I must send you in order to fulfill My word to the Patriarchs.

Put simply, G'd explains to Moses in our verse that He owed the patriarchs something over and beyond His having revealed Himself to the patriarchs as the אל שדי. That something was the fulfilment of His promise/oath that the people of Israel would be redeemed from bondage. The time had now arrived for that promise to be kept; G'd also explained to Moses why he had to wait for the redemption somewhat longer, i.e. that G'd now invoked His מדת הרחמים. G'd was afraid that Moses would not have the emotional fortitude to pursue his mission with all the necessary vigour when he saw Pharaoh's obstinacy, or when he would face the pursuing Egyptian cavalry behind him and the sea in front; G'd therefore explained to Moses that the purpose of the redemption was not only the Exodus but also the conquest of the Holy Land.

את ארץ מגוריהם, "the land in which they (the patriarchs) used to sojourn." Why did the Torah not content itself with describing the land the patriarchs had lived in as "the land of Canaan?" Why did the words את ארץ מגוריהם have to be added? Perhaps the Torah wanted to make us aware that the status of being aliens (which was part of the period of 400 years G'd had spoken to Abraham about) had already commenced during the lifetime of the patriarchs. This would have a great bearing on the timing of the Exodus. Still, this would leave open why the Torah had to use the word את twice when referring to that land. Use of that word creates the impression that the land of Canaan and the land in which the patriarchs sojourned were two different countries. Perhaps the Torah wanted to include the land of the Philistines [the coastal strip including Gaza, seeing that the Philistines were not of Canaanitic descent Ed.]. I have already explained this on Genesis 26,3.