פירוש על שמות 4:1
Ramban on Exodus
AND MOSES ANSWERED AND SAID: BUT, BEHOLD, THEY WILL NOT BELIEVE ME, NOR HEARKEN UNTO MY VOICE. “At that moment, Moses spoke improperly. The Holy One, blessed be He, had told him, And they shall hearken to thy voice,246Above, 3:18. and he said, But, behold, they will not believe me. Immediately, the Holy One, blessed be He, answered him according to his opinion,247Since it was Moses’ opinion that the people would not believe him, he was therefore in need of certain wonders which he was to do before them to convince them of the truth of his mission. Accordingly, G-d now gave him the wonders he was to do. The implication of the Midrash is thus clear: If Moses had not said that the people would not believe him, there would have been no need for him to do these wonders before them. and gave him signs commensurate with his words.” Thus the language of V’eileh Shemoth Rabbah.248Shemoth Rabbah 3:15.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, that G-d related to Moses that the elders will believe him, but He did not mention that the people will believe. Perhaps they may hearken to his voice but would not believe him wholeheartedly. But this does not appear to be correct. Rather, it is possible to say that v’sham’u l’kolecha (and they shall hearken to thy voice) does not constitute a promise but a command: “And they must hearken to your voice” — for it is to their advantage to listen — and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt.246Above, 3:18. A similar case is found in the verse, When the Egyptians shall hear — for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them — they will say to the inhabitants of this land,249Numbers 14:13-14. meaning it is fitting that the Egyptians should say so. Similarly, the verse, In this thou shalt know that I am the Eternal,250Further, 7:17. means it is fitting that it be so, but not that it so happened. In a similar vein is the verse in this chapter, and they will believe the voice of the latter sign,251Verse 8. [which means it is fitting that they believe the latter sign], and many similar cases.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the expression v’sham’u l’kolecha means that “they will listen to you to come with you to the king and say to him, The G-d of the Hebrews hath happened to meet us,252Ibid., 5:3. for what will they lose by it?” Thus G-d informed Moses that the king of Egypt would not give them leave to go, and this was why Moses said, But, behold, they will not believe me, for after seeing that Pharaoh did not give them permission to go, they would no longer believe him at all, for they will say: “The Eternal hath not appeared unto thee. If you were G-d’s messenger, Pharaoh would not have rebelled against His word.” It may be that they will say that “G-d has not appeared to you by the Great Name with the attribute of mercy, to do for us signs and wonders as you have said, for you are not greater than the patriarchs.253To whom He appeared as E-il Sha-dai. See Ramban above, 3:13, for a full explanation of this matter. This was why Pharaoh did not hearken, for if Pharaoh had believed your words, we would have gone out from Egypt under all circumstances, and it is not our iniquities that have separated between us and the G-d of mercies.”254See Isaiah 59:2.
And Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra said, by way of the plain meaning of Scripture, that G-d related to Moses that the elders will believe him, but He did not mention that the people will believe. Perhaps they may hearken to his voice but would not believe him wholeheartedly. But this does not appear to be correct. Rather, it is possible to say that v’sham’u l’kolecha (and they shall hearken to thy voice) does not constitute a promise but a command: “And they must hearken to your voice” — for it is to their advantage to listen — and thou shalt come, thou and the elders of Israel, unto the king of Egypt.246Above, 3:18. A similar case is found in the verse, When the Egyptians shall hear — for Thou broughtest up this people in Thy might from among them — they will say to the inhabitants of this land,249Numbers 14:13-14. meaning it is fitting that the Egyptians should say so. Similarly, the verse, In this thou shalt know that I am the Eternal,250Further, 7:17. means it is fitting that it be so, but not that it so happened. In a similar vein is the verse in this chapter, and they will believe the voice of the latter sign,251Verse 8. [which means it is fitting that they believe the latter sign], and many similar cases.
The correct interpretation appears to me to be that the expression v’sham’u l’kolecha means that “they will listen to you to come with you to the king and say to him, The G-d of the Hebrews hath happened to meet us,252Ibid., 5:3. for what will they lose by it?” Thus G-d informed Moses that the king of Egypt would not give them leave to go, and this was why Moses said, But, behold, they will not believe me, for after seeing that Pharaoh did not give them permission to go, they would no longer believe him at all, for they will say: “The Eternal hath not appeared unto thee. If you were G-d’s messenger, Pharaoh would not have rebelled against His word.” It may be that they will say that “G-d has not appeared to you by the Great Name with the attribute of mercy, to do for us signs and wonders as you have said, for you are not greater than the patriarchs.253To whom He appeared as E-il Sha-dai. See Ramban above, 3:13, for a full explanation of this matter. This was why Pharaoh did not hearken, for if Pharaoh had believed your words, we would have gone out from Egypt under all circumstances, and it is not our iniquities that have separated between us and the G-d of mercies.”254See Isaiah 59:2.
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Sforno on Exodus
והן לא יאמינו לי ולא ישמעו בקולי, once the people will see that Pharaoh will refuse to let them go, they will lose faith in me and will not listen to my promises. 'כי יאמרו לא נראה אליך ה, for they know that when G’d says something it will be so. They will not be able to account for my failure except by claiming that I am an impostor.
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Or HaChaim on Exodus
ויען משה ויאמר והן לא יאמינו לי, Moses replied saying: "But they will not believe me, etc." What could have prompted Moses to claim that the Jewish people would not believe him when G'd Himself had told him "they will listen to your voice?" Furthermore, why did Moses even add the almost unbelievable: "and they will not listen to my voice?" One might be tempted to say that inasmuch as a person is free to do what he wants to do and to believe what he wants to believe in, G'd's assurance on that score could not be absolute seeing He is not in control of our feelings. This is why Moses did not believe in the righteousness of their faith. He said: "and they will not listen to my voice," as if to say "they will not even want to listen to my voice." However, such an explanation would not do justice to Moses who certainly did not want to question G'd's attributes, nor to slander Israel by uttering such a gross suspicion. Besides, we must consider that Moses did not even say "suppose they will not believe me," but he made a flat statement והן לא יאמינו לי, "they will definitely not believe me."
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