Commento su Esodo 15:11

באלם means AMONGST THE MIGHTY, just as (Ezekiel 17:13) “and the mighty of (אילי) the land he took away”; (Psalms 22:20) “O, thou my strength (אילותי) hasten to my help”.

WHO IS LIKE UNTO THEE, O ETERNAL, ‘BA’EILIM’. “I.e., among the mighty ones, just as in the verses: And ‘eilei’ (the mighty) of the land he took away;¹⁷⁸Ezekiel 17:13. ‘eyaluthi’ (O Thou my strength), hasten to help me.”¹⁷⁹Psalms 22:20. Thus the language of Rashi.
Now it is true that the word eilim is an expression of power and strength, but Who is like unto Thee ‘ba’eilim’ is a reference to the angels who are called eilim, the usage of the word being similar to that in the verse, This is ‘E-ili’ (my G-d), and I will glorify Him,¹⁸⁰Verse 2. and the Holy One, blessed be He, is called E-il Elyon (G-d the Most High)¹⁸¹Genesis 14:18. above all powers. Similarly, And he shall speak strange things against the G-d of ‘eilim’¹⁸²Daniel 11:36. is like the expression, He is G-d of gods.¹⁸³Deuteronomy 10:17. Also, Ascribe unto the Eternal, O ye ‘b’nei eilim’ (sons of might)¹⁸⁴Psalms 29:1. is like the expression b’nei ha’elohim,¹⁸⁵Genesis 6:2. since they are at times called eilim or b’nei eilim, and sometimes also ha’elohim or b’nei elohim. Thus: For the Eternal is greater than all ‘ha’elohim;’¹⁸⁶Further, 18:11. And the ‘b’nei ha’elohim’ came to present themselves before the Eternal.¹⁸⁷Job 1:6. Some scholars¹⁸⁸Reference is to R’dak, who mentions this point clearly in his Sefer Hamichlal, and quotes the verses mentioned here. If b’nei is not in the construct state, b’nei eilim will not mean “sons of the mighty ones,” as it would if the word b’nei were in the construct state. Instaed, it means “the sons who are the mighty ones.” say that the word b’nei is not in the construct state, nor are these expressions: b’nei shileishim,¹⁸⁹Genesis 50:23. In the construct state, it would mean “children of the third generation,” i.e., the fourth generation. In the non-construct state, it would mean “children who were the third generation.” ‘anshei’ (men) portrayed upon the wall.¹⁹⁰Ezekiel 23:14. The point here is that the word anshei (men) is vocalized with a tzeirei, as is the rule in the construct state. See Vol. I, p. 503. Yet it is not in the construct state. So also the word b’nei, although vocalized with a tzeirei, is not in the construct state. And this is the meaning of Who is like Thee, ‘ne’edar’ (majestic) in holiness? since there is no adir (lofty one) like Him in the celestial holy abode. And so we find in the Mechilta:¹⁹¹Mechilta on the verse here. “Who is like unto Thee among those who serve before Thee in heaven, as it is said, For who in the skies can be compared unto the Eternal, who among the sons of might can be likened unto the Eternal, a G-d to be feared in the great council of the holy ones?”¹⁹²Psalms 80:7-8.

מי כמוכה בא-לים; Moses praised the Lord for His third war, the one against the Egyptian cavalry of the second quality. G’d’s incomparable stature consists in His ability to change the nature of phenomena in the universe which had previously been considered as indestructible, inviolate, impervious to any attempt by man to influence their nature in any way.