출애굽기 9:27의 주석

I HAVE SINNED THIS TIME. The explanation thereof is: “This time I will acknowledge the Eternal,²²¹See Ramban above, 8:15, that throughout, Pharaoh did not acknowledge the Eternal, the G-d of Israel. Ramban points out that this was the first time Pharaoh did acknowledge Him. Ramban transposes the words, chatathi hapa’am Hashem hatzadik, and explains them as follows: “This time I acknowledge the Eternal, for I have sinned against Him, etc.” for I have sinned against Him, and He is the righteous One, and I and my people are wicked, for we have rebelled against His word from then until now.”

חטאתי הפעם, now, this time I admit that I have sinned.

ה' הצדיק, “the Lord is righteous;” a reference to the warning issued by G’d to Pharaoh. When human beings exact vengeance they do not, as a rule, first warn the victim and provide him with a means to escape the impact of the punishment.

ה' הצדיק ואני ועמי הרשעים, “Hashem is the righteous One whereas I and my people are the wicked ones.” Pharaoh said to Moses in effect: ‘“you who are the messenger of Hashem are righteous and Hashem is righteous in His application of judgments. I and my people are wicked in that we refused to obey His commandments.” Seeing he had repeatedly denied even Hashem’s existence, Pharaoh now spelled out his mistake in detail as befits people confessing a sin. Actually, he only had to confess his own personal sin. However, seeing he was afraid he might be held responsible for the sins of his people because he was their king and he could have restrained them, he confessed their guilt also saying: “I and my people are the wicked ones.”.

V. 27. Das, was ich jetzt gelernt habe, lässt mich einsehen, dass Gott Recht und wir Unrecht haben. Ich habe jetzt gesehen, dass nicht wir, sondern dass Gott Herr des Landes ist, dass wir also Unrecht haben, uns als Herren des Landes Fremdlingen gegenüber zu benehmen. Nur den Konsequenzen der Macht war Pharaos Einsicht zugänglich, und unter dem gewaltigen Eindruck der Plage dämmerte bei ihm doch die Vorstellung von der unbedingten Macht des Gottes der Hebräer hervor. —

ה' הצדיק, “the Lord is the righteous One;” the reason why Pharaoh acknowledged this in connection with the plague of hail more than with any other plague, was that G–d had issued a warning to the people that G–d had issued a warning to the people to take refuge from the lethal effects of the hail if they did not move indoors. (verse 19) When he added: “I and my people are wicked,” this was an admission that by not bringing their livestock indoors they themselves had caused them to die. (Shmot Rabbah 12,5)

ה' הצדיק, it is Hashem who is righteous. During all of the plagues, the only one which resulted in Pharaoh acknowledging that G-d was righteous, hail was the only one. What prompted Pharaoh to make such a confession? When someone is at war with someone else and wants to liquidate him, he arranges to do this when his adversary does not suspect it, and he jumps him suddenly. Here, G-d, instead of bringing on the plague without warning, gives His creatures a chance to escape with their lives. He Himself urged them to take shelter.

צדיק, verwandt mit שדך, befriedigen: der den objektiven Verhältnissen entspricht. רשע, verwandt mit רשה, willkürlich handeln: der nur nach subjektivem Belieben verfährt. Was Gott hat geschehen lassen, entspricht unserer Schuld, und wir haben seiner Macht und den Verhältnissen keine Rechnung getragen, sondern nur nach unserer Willkür gehandelt.