Midras Bilangan 5:18: Sifra, Midrash Tanchuma Buber, Shemot Rabbah & Midrash Tanchuma

3) If it were written "The hair he shall not dishevel and the garment he shall not rend, I might think that this refers to the hair and to the garment of a sotah (See Bamidbar 5:18); it is, therefore, written "his (the high-priest's) hair" and "his garments." R. Meir says: "his hair he shall not dishevel and his garments he shall not rend" — for his dead, as others do for their dead. How so? The high-priest rends from the bottom (of his garment), and others, from the top.

Another interpretation (of Exod. 7:1) SEE, I HAVE SET YOU AS A GOD TO PHARAOH. The Holy One said: Because he made himself into a god, they informed him that he was nothing in the world. See, I have made you a god over him.⁴⁹Tanh., Exod. 2:9. And where is it shown that Pharaoh made himself into a god? Where it is stated (of Pharaoh in Ezek. 29:3): {BECAUSE HE} [WHO] SAID {THE} [MY] NILE IS MY OWN, AND I MADE MYSELF.⁵⁰A more traditional rendering would be, AND I MADE IT FOR MYSELF. I am the one who created myself. Now this is one of four sons of Adam who made themselves into gods and had sexual relations like women.⁵¹See Enoch Zundel’s commentary, ‘Ets Yosef, on Tanh., Exod. 2:9, which explains that, because the four promoted themselves to divinity, they would have had to bestow largess like a god, who always bestows it to the world as the male bestows it in the female. He gives and she receives. Therefore, “they had sexual relations like women” to show that they were bestowed upon and did not do the bestowing. Three were from the nations of the world, and one was from Israel. They were the following: Hiram, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, and Joash. Where is it shown of Hiram? Where it is stated (in Ezek. 28:2): SAY TO THE PRINCE OF TYRE: THUS SAYS THE LORD GOD: BECAUSE YOUR HEART IS PROUD, YOU HAVE SAID: I AM A GOD. Because he had made himself into a god, he had sexual relations like women, as stated (in vs. 17): YOU HAVE DEBASED YOUR WISDOM…; <I HAVE CAST YOU UPON THE GROUND; I HAVE GIVEN YOU OVER BEFORE KINGS > TO STARE AT YOU. What is the meaning of TO STARE (R'WH) AT YOU? <That> they would work their "friendship" (as if from R'WT) on you. Where is it shown of Nebuchadnezzar? Where it is stated <of the king of Babylon that he said> (in Is. 14:14): I WILL ASCEND UPON THE HEIGHTS OF A CLOUD; I WILL BECOME LIKE THE MOST HIGH. The Holy One said to him: By your life, (in vs. 15) YOU SHALL ALSO BE BROUGHT DOWN UNTO SHEOL, UNTO THE UTTERMOST PARTS OF THE PIT. What did the Holy one do? He banished him while he was in his kingship and had him eat grass like the cattle. It is so stated (in Dan. 4:22 [25]): AND THEY SHALL FEED YOU GRASS LIKE OXEN…. So, when the cattle and the wild beasts saw him in the likeness of a <female> animal, they had sexual relations with him, as stated (in Hab. 2:17): AND THE VIOLENCE OF THE BEASTS WILL TERRIFY THOSE FEMALES. What is the meaning of TERRIFY THOSE FEMALES (rt.: HTT+N)? <Its meaning > is like what is stated (in Deut. 7:3): YOU SHALL NOT INTERMARRY (rt.: HTN) WITH THEM. So he became a bridegroom (HTN) to all cattle and wild beasts. Where is it shown of Joash? Where it is stated (in II Chron. 24:17): NOW AFTER THE DEATH OF JEHOIADA, THE PRINCES OF JUDAH CAME AND BOWED LOW TO THE KING. What is the meaning of BOWED LOW TO THE KING? That they made him < their > god. Moreover, since he was in agreement, as stated (ibid., cont.): THEN THE KING HEARKENED TO THEM, he had sexual relations like a woman. Thus it is stated (vs. 24): <FOR THE ARMY OF ARAM CAME WITH A FEW MEN….> SO THEY INFLICTED JUDGMENTS ON JOASH. It is just as it says (in Lev. 20:13): IF A MAN LIES WITH A MALE AS ONE LIES WITH A WOMAN, BOTH OF THEM HAVE COMMITTED AN ABOMINATION.⁵²The midrash is arguing that the JUDGMENT inflicted on Joash is this ABOMINATION. Cf. Mekhilta de Rabbi Ishmael, ‘Amaleq 1, which would revowel JUDGMENTS (shefatim) to read “sports” (shipputim). For a similar solution, see Exod. R. 8:2. Pharaoh also made himself into a god and had sexual relations like a woman. It is so stated (in Jer. 44:30): BEHOLD, I AM GIVING PHARAOH HOPHRA, KING OF EGYPT, <INTO THE HANDS OF HIS ENEMIES>. What is the meaning of HOPHRA (rt.: PR')?⁵³Although the Masoretic Text spells HOPHRA with a gutturalized initial H (het), the midrash text spells the name with a simple H (he), which need not be part of the root. That they uncovered (PR') his posterior. He was a pharaoh who had been a male and became a female. Another interpretation of HOPHRA. <Its meaning is> like that used (in the context of Numb. 5:18): AND HE (the priest) SHALL UNCOVER (PR') THE WOMAN'S HEAD. And to which father's house did he belong? (Is. 19:16:) IN THAT DAY {THE LAND OF EGYPT SHALL BE A FESTIVAL….} [EGYPT SHALL BE LIKE WOMEN.] And what was the cause? <It was> because he made himself into a god. Thus it is stated (in Ezek. 29:3): {BECAUSE HE} [WHO] SAID {THE} [MY] NILE IS MY OWN, AND I MADE MYSELF. For that reason the Holy One said to Moses: Because he has made himself into a god, go and become a god over him. It is so stated (in Exod. 7:1): SEE, I HAVE SET YOU AS A GOD TO PHARAOH. Why? (Eccl. 5:7 [8]:) FOR ONE EXALTED PERSON WATCHES ANOTHER FROM ABOVE, AND THERE ARE MORE EXALTED ONES OVER THEM. Ergo, you are a god over him; so make him an arrogant abomination (ShHTs) in the world because he became exalted by himself. And this is what is written (in Job 41:26 [34]): HE BEHOLDS EVERYTHING EXALTED, {AND} HE IS KING OVER ALL THE CHILDREN OF ABOMINABLE ARROGANCE (ShHTs). Does the Holy One not see the lowly? It is also written (in Zech. 4:10): <THESE SEVEN ARE> THE EYES OF THE LORD. THEY ROAM AROUND ALL THE EARTH. And (in Job 41:26 [34]) what is the meaning of HE BEHOLDS EVERYTHING EXALTED? R. Berekhyah said: These are the proud, whose spirit becomes <too> haughty for them, so that they exalt themselves and make themselves into gods. What does the Holy One do to them? He exhibits them to mortals and makes them arrogant abominations (ShHTs) in the world, as stated (in Job 41:26 [34]): HE IS KING OVER ALL THE CHILDREN OF ABOMINABLE ARROGANCE (ShHTs). <There is> Nebuchadnezzar, for example, in that he made him an arrogant abomination (ShHTs), as stated (in Dan. 5:21): HE WAS DRIVEN AWAY FROM HUMANS…. So also was Sennacherib made an arrogant abomination (ShHTs), as stated (II Kings 19:35 = Is. 37:36 // II Chron. 32:21): SO IT CAME TO PASS IN THAT NIGHT THAT THE ANGEL OF THE LORD WENT OUT AND SMOTE <ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY FIVE THOUSAND > IN THE CAMP OF ASSYRIA…. Thus the Holy One shows the abominable arrogance (ShHTs) of the proud to every creature. The Holy One has said (in Jer. 23:24): IF SOMEONE HIDES IN SECRET PLACES, SHALL I NOT SEE (rt.: R'H) HIM? SAYS THE LORD. R. Benjamin bar Levi said: If someone goes to handle the Torah and sits by himself, I will exhibit (rt.: R'H) his deed in the world. And so, if someone conceals himself to commit a transgression, I will exhibit (rt.: R'H)his deed to the world. It is so stated (in Jer. 23:24): SHALL I NOT SEE (rt.: R'H) HIM? SAYS THE LORD. DO I NOT FILL THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH? SAYS THE LORD. What is the meaning of I FILL? R. Hama b. R. Hanina said: The Holy One said: From him (i.e., from his evil works) I will fill the upper and lower worlds. Then I will exhibit (rt.: R'H) him to humankind as an arrogant abomination (ShHTs). Why? Because they (sic) are proud and make themselves into gods. (Job 41:26 [34]:) HE BEHOLDS EVERYTHING EXALTED, {AND} HE IS KING OVER ALL THE CHILDREN OF ABOMINABLE ARROGANCE (ShHTs). Thus he reigns over all those who are proud and makes them arrogant abominations (ShHTs). For that reason, the Holy One said to Moses (in Exod. 7:1): SEE, I HAVE SET YOU AS A GOD TO PHARAOH. Go and exact punishment from him.⁵⁴Exod. R. 8:3. Go and bring the ten plagues (of Exod. 7:14–12:29) upon him. He said to him: How shall I bring the plagues upon him? The Holy One said to him (in Exod. 4:17): AND YOU SHALL TAKE IN YOUR HAND THIS ROD, < WITH WHICH YOU SHALL PERFORM THE SIGNS>. R. Judah bar Ammi said: The rod which he had weighed forty seahs⁵⁵I.e., weighed forty seahs of wheat. and was <made> of sapphire.⁵⁶Gk.: sappheirinon. Moreover ten plagues were inscribed upon it through an acronym,⁵⁷Gk.: notarikon. <i.e.,> DeTsaKh 'aDaSh Be'aHaBh.⁵⁸The acronym stands for the following: Dam (blood), Tsefarde‘im (frogs), Kinnam (gnats), ‘arov (flies), Dever (pestilence), Shehin (boils), Barad (hail), ‘arbeh (locusts), Hoshekh (darkness), and Bekhor (first-born). The Holy One said to him: this rod will bring the plagues upon him. (Exod. 7:1:) SEE, I HAVE SET YOU AS A GOD TO PHARAOH.

Pharaoh was one of four people who rendered themselves deities and [thereby] caused themselves harm, and they are: Ḥiram, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, and Yoash king of Judah. Ḥiram, from where is it derived? It is as it is stated: “Say to the prince of Tyre…and you said: I am a god” (Ezekiel 28:2). From where is it derived that he destroyed himself? It is as it is stated: “Your heart was elevated because of your beauty, you have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your brightness; I have cast you to the ground, I have placed you before kings to gaze upon you” (Ezekiel 28:17).
Nebuchadnezzar, from where is it derived that he rendered himself a deity? It is as it is written: “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High” (Isaiah 14:14). The Holy One blessed be He said to him: “Yet you shall be brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit” (Isaiah 14:15). What did the Holy One blessed be He do to him? He exiled him to the wilderness while he was still reigning, and fed him grass like animals [eat], as it is stated: “And ate grass like oxen” (Daniel 4:30). And the animals and the beasts would see him in the image of a female, as it is stated: “And the destruction of the beasts, which made them afraid [yeḥitan]; because of men's blood, and for the violence done to the land, to the city…” (Habakkuk 2:17), similar to the matter that is stated: “You shall not marry [titḥaten] them” (Deuteronomy 7:3).²The implication is that the other animals will force themselves upon this animal, i.e., Nebuchadnezzar. Nevertheless, “a man’s heart was given to it” (Daniel 7:4),³Even when Nebuchadnezzar was in that state, he was still able to appreciate that all of this was from God to subdue him. as it is written: “And at the end of the days I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to the heavens, and my understanding returned to me” (Daniel 4:31).⁴The verse concludes: “I blessed the Most High, and I praised and honored Him who lives forever; for His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom from generation to generation.”
Pharaoh, from where is it derived that he rendered himself a deity? It is as it is stated: “My river is mine, and I have made it for myself” (Ezekiel 29:3). The Holy One blessed be He delivered him into the hand of his enemies, as it is stated: “So said the Lord: Behold, I will give Pharaoh Ḥofra king of Egypt [into the hand of his enemies and into the hand of those who seek his life]” (Jeremiah 44:30). What is Ḥofra? It is similar to the matter that is stated: “He shall loosen [ufara] the hair on the woman’s head and put the meal offering of memorial in her hands” (Numbers 5:18), and it is written: “On that day, Egypt will be like women” (Isaiah 19:16).
Yoash, from where is it derived that he rendered himself a deity? It is as it is written: “After the death of Yehoyada the princes of Judah came and prostrated themselves before the king; then the king listened to them” (II Chronicles 24:17). What is “and prostrated themselves before the king”? It is that they rendered him a deity. They said to him: ‘Were you not a god, you would not have emerged from the Holy of Holies after seven years.’ He said to them: ‘This is so.’ He accepted upon himself to be rendered a deity, and engendered his demise, as it is stated: “It was at the turn of the year that the Aramean army rose against him” (II Chronicles 24:23), and it is written: “They executed judgment [shefatim] upon Yoash” (II Chronicles 24:24). Do not read it as shefatim, but rather as shefutim,⁵A reference to the verse: “They exposed her nakedness…she became a byword among women, for judgments [shefutim] were executed upon her” (Ezekiel 23:10). and it is written: “When they departed from him, as they left him with great diseases…he died…but they did not bury him in the burials of the kings” (II Chronicles 24:25).
What caused Pharaoh to be stricken? It is because he said: “My river is mine, and I have made it for myself.” That is why the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “See, I have set you as god to Pharaoh.” “For one higher than the high is watching, and there are higher than they” (Ecclesiastes 5:7). Go and render he who rendered himself a deity despicable in the world, because he elevated himself, as it is stated: “He sees all the elevated, He is king over all the despicable” (Job 41:26). Does He see only the elevated, and the lowly He does not see? But is it not written: “The eyes of the Lord, they range over the entire earth” (Zechariah 4:10)? Rather, Rabbi Berekhya said: These are the haughty who render themselves deities, and the Holy One blessed be He renders them despicable in the world.
Likewise, Sennacherib was haughty and was rendered despicable in the world, as it is stated: “It was that night, the angel of the Lord emerged, and smote in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand” (II Kings 19:35) men. That is why it is written: “He sees all the elevated”; the Holy One blessed be He shows the despicableness of the haughty to all beings.
The Holy One blessed be He said: “Can a man hide himself in secret places and I will not see him? – says the Lord” (Jeremiah 23:24). Rabbi Binyamin bar Levi said: [God says:] If a person sits in the corner and engages in Torah study, I display him to the people. If a person conceals himself for idol worship, I display him to the people, as it is stated: “Can a man hide himself in secret places and I will not see him?” Rabbi Ḥama bar Ḥanina said: [God says:] I fill the upper and the lower worlds with him, and show his degradation to the people. That is why the Holy One blessed be He said to Moses: “See, I have set you as god to Pharaoh.”