출애굽기 12:12의 주석

ועברתי AND I WILL PASS — This is not to be taken literally, but is speaks of God as one speaks of a king who passes from place to place (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:12:1) but in this case all were punished at a single passage and in one moment.

AND AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT WILL I EXECUTE JUDGMENTS. The idol of wood rotted, and the one of metal melted.¹⁸³This is the language of Rashi. The Mechilta here has it: “the metal idols corroded.”
Now Scripture did not elucidate the nature of these judgments because the vanities by which they are instructed are but timber.¹⁸⁴Jeremiah 10:8. In other words, Scripture finds it inappropriate to speak at length about these hollow and worthless abominations. Similarly, at the time when this actually took place, it is written, And the Eternal smote all the firstborn … and all the firstborn of cattle,¹⁸⁵Further, Verse 29. but does not mention the judgments executed against their gods. Their apprehension [on that night] concerned the death of the firstborn, as it is said, And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians,¹⁸⁶Ibid., Verse 30. The verse there clearly states that “the great cry” was due to the death of the firstborn. whereas the judgments executed against their idols did not come to be known till the morning when they went to the house of their abominations. And it is written, And the Egyptians were burying them that the Eternal had smitten among them, even all their firstborn, and upon their gods the Eternal executed judgments.¹⁸⁷Numbers 33:4. The verse clearly hints that on the morning [of the fifteenth day of Nisan], when the Egyptians were burying the dead, they discovered that judgments had also been executed against their idols.
In my opinion, Scripture alludes here to the lords on high, the gods of Egypt, something like the verse, The Eternal will punish the host of the high heavens on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.¹⁸⁸Isaiah 24:21. Thus He subdued the power of the Egyptians and that of the lords over them. But Scripture hints and deals briefly with hidden matters.

ועברתי, in the sense of Psalms 78,50 יפלס נתיב לאפו, “He cleared a path for His anger;” something an agent, i.e. angel could not do. [once the agent has been given permission to wreak havoc, he cannot distinguish between the innocent and the guilty in that domain. Ed.]

אעשה שפטים. This was because the Egyptians had put their trust in these deities; G’d had to demonstrate their utter helplessness to help themselves, much less those who worshipped them. It was an indirect response to Pharaoh’s insolence in asking “Who is Hashem, etc.?” (5,2)

ובכל אלוה' מצרים אעשה שפטים, “and I will execute judgments on all the deities of Egypt.” Rashi, in illustrating how these judgments of the idols of the Egyptians were carried out, says that if the deities had been made of wood, the wood would rot, whereas if they had been made of metal, the metal would melt. Nachmanides points out that Rashi had failed to explain that the reason why the Torah had not given us these details may be understood in light of Jeremiah 10,8 ומוסר הבלים עץ הוא, “(according to Malb’im) seeing that in our imperfect world the instruments of enforcing discipline are usually made of wood, sticks to beat with, etc., although foolish people also make deities out of wood, destroying everything made of wood would hardly teach man a lesson. This is also why when the plague of the killing of the firstborn is carried out, the Torah does not mention precisely which of the Egyptian deities were destroyed, as the word כל is noticeably absent there. Moreover, destroying their idols at night would not worry the Egyptians, who, 1) worried first of all about their own lives, 2) did not become aware until daylight that something had happened to their personal idols. It would therefore not have had the desired effect at the appropriate time. Nachmanides therefore proposes the following: mention of the deities of the Egyptians refers to the respective representatives at the heavenly throne of the people of Egypt, their mazzal. The fact that the Torah writes (Numbers 33,4) that the Egyptians were busy burying their dead and that G’d had killed their deities lends support to Nachmanides’ interpretation.

As if He were a king who passes from place to place. . . Rashi is saying that Hashem was like a king who passes straight through without turning aside into the city’s alleys. Although Hashem passed through on one road only, the first-borns of Egypt were struck whether they were on that road or elsewhere. This is what “I will pass through” comes to teach us. (Re”m)

“and against all the deities worshipped in Egypt;” this is to be understood in the same way as when G-d said to Moses that He had appointed him as an elohim in relation to Pharaoh in 7,1, or as in Samuel II 7,23: אשר הלכו אלהים, “which G-d set out, etc.;” the word describes a terrestrial superpower as compared to a celestial superpower. [My words, Ed.] This power is higher than the Pharaoh of the land.

כל בכור בארץ מצרים ALL THE FIRSTBORN IN THE LAND OF EGYPT — also the first-born of other nations who happened then to be in Egypt. And whence may we deduce that the first-born of the Egyptians who happened to be in other countries also died? From what Scripture states: (Psalms 136:10) “To Him that smote the Egyptians in their first-born” (an unqualified statement) (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:12:2).

I WILL EXECUTE JUDGMENTS: I AM THE ETERNAL. “I Myself and not by means of the¹⁸⁹“The messenger.” In our text of Rashi: “a messenger.” Ramban’s version will be explained further on in the text. messenger.” Thus the language of Rashi. But the Midrash of the Sages is not so. Instead, the Midrash reads:¹⁹⁰Mentioned in the Hagadah recited on the night of Passover. “And I will go through the land of Egypt — I, and not an angel. And I will smite all the firstborn — I, and not a seraph. And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments — I, and not the messenger. I am the Eternal — I am He, and no other.” The purport of the Midrash is as follows: Since this chapter contains the words of Moses to Israel,¹⁹¹As indicated in Verse 3 above: Speak ye unto all the congregation of Israel, saying…. it would have been proper for the verse here to say, “And the Eternal will go through the land of Egypt and He will smite all the firstborn,” [instead of saying, And I will go through]. It is for this reason that the Rabbis interpreted the expression, and I will go through the land of Egypt, as meaning “I Myself” and not a messenger sent by Him in plagues, as in the days of David¹⁹²II Samuel 24:16. and Sennacherib.¹⁹³II Kings 19:35. “And I will smite all the firstborn — I, and not a seraph,” means that the striking of the plague will be done by the Holy One, blessed be He, and not like a king who wreaks vengeance on his enemies through his executioners, their counterparts on high being the seraphim from whom the fire comes forth consuming His enemies, as in the case of Elijah and the captain of the fifty.¹⁹⁴Ibid., 1:10. “And against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments, and not by means of the messenger” sent by Him, blessed be He, for whatever is to be done upon the earth. This is the great angel, who on account of it is called Mattatron, the meaning of the word being “the guide of the road.” Thus the Rabbis have said in the Sifre:¹⁹⁵Sifre, Ha’azinu, 338. “The Holy One, blessed be He, was the mattatron (guide) for Moses, and He showed him the entire Land of Israel.” And in the [Midrash] Yelamdeinu¹⁹⁶Literally: “May [our master] teach us.” This was a Midrash which contained homilies that opened with the expression yelamdeinu rabbeinu (may our master teach us) i.e., about some matter of Halachic (legal) content. The Rabbi answered the question briefly and then turned to elaborate on the moral and ethical aspects connected therewith. This Midrash is now practically lost except for some sections found in the Tanchuma. The particular Midrash Ramban mentions here is found in the Aruch, under the root mattator. we find: “And Balak heard that Balaam came¹⁹⁷Numbers 22:36. for Balaam sent his mattatron before him.” And it is furthermore written there:¹⁹⁸This Midrash too is found in the Aruch, under the root mattator, which mentions it in the name of the Yelamdeinu. “Behold, I have begun to deliver up Sihon and his land before thee.¹⁹⁹Deuteronomy 2:31. Do not let it worry you. I am your mattatron. And be not surprised at this for I am even to be the mattatron before an uncircumcised person, i.e., before Cyrus [king of Persia], as it is said, I will go before thee.²⁰⁰Isaiah 45:2. Before a woman — Deborah and Barak — I will lead on the way, as it is said, Is not the Eternal gone out before thee.”²⁰¹Judges 4:14. [We find this word mattatron] also in many other places. I have also heard that in the Greek language, a messenger is called mattator. And [finally] the Rabbis interpreted [in the Midrash mentioned at the beginning of this discussion]: “I am the Eternal — I am He, and no other,” meaning that He is one, and there is no other god beside Him to protest against His act. This is the purport of this Midrash.

והכיתי כל בכור, “I, personally, seeing I can distinguish between the drops of semen which become a firstborn and those that do not.”

Also other first-born who were in Egypt. [Rashi knows this] because otherwise, what does [the verse’s repetition of] בארץ מצרים come to teach?

אעשה שפטים, “I will execute judgments.” These will be of a physical nature, causing pain. Compare Chronicles II24,24, ואת יואש, “and upon Yoash they inflicted punishments.” In every house where there was a biological firstborn he was killed; in a house which did not have a biological firstborn, the most senior person was killed. In this verse the word elohim is not to be understood as a deity, as it is impossible to inflict physical pain on something which is not made of flesh and blood, and which is not alive. Rashi here understands the words אלוהי מצרים as referring to idols made of wood or molten metal cast in a form.

מאדם עד בהמה FROM MAN TO BEAST — He who first began the wrongdoing, from him began the punishment (Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:12:2).

ובכל אלוהי מצרים אעשה שפטים, I will humble the celestial representatives of the nation of Egypt. Once I have neutralised them, I can apply My retribution to their protégées with increased force.

I myself, not through an agent. [Rashi knows this] because it is written, “I will execute judgments,” and then adds, “I am Hashem,” [to indicate that Hashem did it Himself]. If so, on the verse “Hashem struck down every first-born” (v. 29), why does Rashi comment: “He and His Divine court”? The answer is: Since He Himself was striking, it was not considered through an agent even though His Divine court was with Him.

ובכל אלהי מצרים AND AGAINST ALL THE GODS OF EGYPT [WILL I EXECUTE JUDGEMENTS] — An idol of wood rotted, and one of metal melted and was poured out on the ground (cf. Mekhilta d'Rabbi Yishmael 12:12:3)).

'אני ה. This is something reserved for G’d personally, exclusively. The author of the Haggadah shel Pessach paraphrases this by writing אני הוא ולא אחר, “I alone and no one else.” This expression explains all that has been written before, i.e. why in this instance G’d personally had to mete out the retribution as opposed to the angel who killed 185,000 men of Sancheriv’s army all in the same night without assistance. (Kings II 19,35) There the angel did not have to divine who was a firstborn and who was not.

'אעשה שפטים אני ה I WILL EXECUTE JUDGEMENTS, I, THE LORD — I, Myself, and not by means of a messenger (Pesikta Zotarta).