פירוש על שמות 8:4

'העתירו אל ה, he did pay attention to the aspect of getting rid of this plague, recognising that there was some use in calling on the G’d of the Israelites to remove the plague.

העתירו אל ה׳, "Implore G'd, etc." Why did Pharaoh not simply go to his home as he had done during the first plague? After all, his magicians had demonstrated in both instances that they were able to duplicate Moses' and Aaron's magic? Actually, we should interpret Pharaoh's beliefs as reflected by his reactions. He would not have called in Moses and Aaron to pray for him unless he had been afraid of the deathly effect of the plague in question.

V. 4. עתר. העתירו, verwandt mit חתר: irgendwo gewaltsam eindringen, auch mit Gewalt ein Schiff gegen den Strom rudern, daher עתר: heftig in jemanden dringen. Im Hiphil also: lasset meine dringende Bitte zu Gott kommen, oder: wie man beim Pharao eines Fürsprechers bedarf, so, meinte er, kämen auch Mosche und Aaron nicht direkt bei Gott vor, hätten vielmehr mächtige Fürsprecher bei ihm, die sie jetzt für ihn verwenden möchten.