출애굽기 1:10의 주석
הָ֥בָה נִֽתְחַכְּמָ֖ה ל֑וֹ פֶּן־יִרְבֶּ֗ה וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־תִקְרֶ֤אנָה מִלְחָמָה֙ וְנוֹסַ֤ף גַּם־הוּא֙ עַל־שֹׂ֣נְאֵ֔ינוּ וְנִלְחַם־בָּ֖נוּ וְעָלָ֥ה מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ׃
자 우리가 그들에게 대하여 지혜롭게 하자 두렵건대 그들이 더 많게 되면 전쟁이 일어날 때에 우리 대적과 합하여 우리와 싸우고 이 땅에서 갈까 하노라 하고
Rashi on Exodus
הבה נתחכמה COME ON, LET US DEAL WISELY — Wherever הבה is used it has the meaning of preparing oneself and making oneself ready to do a particular matter; it signifies as much as: get yourself ready for this (cf. Rashi on Genesis 11:4 and Rashi on Genesis 38:16).
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Ramban on Exodus
COME, LET US DEAL WISELY WITH HIM. Pharaoh and his wise counsellors27See Isaiah 19:11. did not see fit to slay them by the sword, for it would have been a gross treachery to smite without reason a people that had come into the land by command of a former king. The people of the country also would not give the king consent to commit such perfidy since he took counsel with them,28As it says in Verse 9: And he said unto his people… and all the more so since the children of Israel were a numerous and mighty people and would wage a great war against them. Rather, Pharaoh said he would do it wisely so that the Israelites would not feel that it was done in enmity against them.
It is for this reason that he placed a levy upon them, as it was customary that strangers in a country contribute a levy to the king, as it is mentioned in the case of King Solomon.29II Chronicles 2:16-17. Afterwards he secretly commanded the midwives to kill the male children upon the birthstool30Verse 16. so that even the mothers should not know it. Following that, he charged all his people, Every son that is born, ye — yourselves — shall cast into the river.31Verse 22. Essentially, Pharaoh did not want to charge his executioners to slay them by the decree of the king or to cast them into the river. Rather, he said to the people that whoever would find a Jewish child should throw him into the river. Should the child’s father complain to the king or to the master of the city, they would tell him to bring witnesses and then they will exact vengeance [for the crime]. Now once the king’s restriction was removed,32Literally, “And when the king’s strap was untied.” In other words, when the government’s restraint against murder was removed, the Egyptians, etc. Ramban thus traces through the verses the gradual disintegration of the Israelites’ right to life in ancient Egypt. the Egyptians would search the houses, entering them at night, and indifferent [to the cries of the parents], would remove the children therefrom. It is therefore said, And when she could no longer hide him.33Further, 2:3.
It appears that this [decree to drown the Israelite children] lasted but a short time, for when Aaron was born [three years before Moses],34Ibid., 7:7. the decree was not yet in existence,35This would explain why his mother did not have to seek a way to preserve his life. and when [shortly after] Moses was born, it appears that the decree was revoked. Perhaps it was through Pharaoh’s daughter, who, in her compassion for the child Moses, said to her father that he should not act in that way. It may be that when it became known that this decree was enacted by the king, he revoked it, or again it may be that it was revoked on account of the astrologers, as is the opinion of the Rabbis,36“When Moses was thrown into the waters, the astrologers said to Pharaoh, ‘Their deliverer has already been cast into the waters.’ Immediately, they voided the decree” (Shemoth Rabbah 1:29). See also Rashi to Verse 22 here. since it was all done dexterously by them in order that the crime not be known. This is the meaning of the complaint made to Moses our teacher [by the officers of the children of Israel], Ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us,37Further, 5:21. meaning, “Now they will increase their hatred of us and find justification for saying that we rebel against the government, and they will then openly slay us by the sword without the necessity of doing it slyly.”
It is for this reason that he placed a levy upon them, as it was customary that strangers in a country contribute a levy to the king, as it is mentioned in the case of King Solomon.29II Chronicles 2:16-17. Afterwards he secretly commanded the midwives to kill the male children upon the birthstool30Verse 16. so that even the mothers should not know it. Following that, he charged all his people, Every son that is born, ye — yourselves — shall cast into the river.31Verse 22. Essentially, Pharaoh did not want to charge his executioners to slay them by the decree of the king or to cast them into the river. Rather, he said to the people that whoever would find a Jewish child should throw him into the river. Should the child’s father complain to the king or to the master of the city, they would tell him to bring witnesses and then they will exact vengeance [for the crime]. Now once the king’s restriction was removed,32Literally, “And when the king’s strap was untied.” In other words, when the government’s restraint against murder was removed, the Egyptians, etc. Ramban thus traces through the verses the gradual disintegration of the Israelites’ right to life in ancient Egypt. the Egyptians would search the houses, entering them at night, and indifferent [to the cries of the parents], would remove the children therefrom. It is therefore said, And when she could no longer hide him.33Further, 2:3.
It appears that this [decree to drown the Israelite children] lasted but a short time, for when Aaron was born [three years before Moses],34Ibid., 7:7. the decree was not yet in existence,35This would explain why his mother did not have to seek a way to preserve his life. and when [shortly after] Moses was born, it appears that the decree was revoked. Perhaps it was through Pharaoh’s daughter, who, in her compassion for the child Moses, said to her father that he should not act in that way. It may be that when it became known that this decree was enacted by the king, he revoked it, or again it may be that it was revoked on account of the astrologers, as is the opinion of the Rabbis,36“When Moses was thrown into the waters, the astrologers said to Pharaoh, ‘Their deliverer has already been cast into the waters.’ Immediately, they voided the decree” (Shemoth Rabbah 1:29). See also Rashi to Verse 22 here. since it was all done dexterously by them in order that the crime not be known. This is the meaning of the complaint made to Moses our teacher [by the officers of the children of Israel], Ye have made our savor to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us,37Further, 5:21. meaning, “Now they will increase their hatred of us and find justification for saying that we rebel against the government, and they will then openly slay us by the sword without the necessity of doing it slyly.”
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy
Rashbam on Exodus
נתחכמה לו, so that they will not increase further. In the event that they would continue to multiply and a war should break out between us and our enemies. The construction here is just as in Judges 5,26 ידה ליתד תשלחנה, “her left hand reached for the tent pin”. The word תשלחנה is in the plural mode although Devorah speaks of Yael using a single hand to do this. In our verse too the word תקראנה is unaccountably in the plural mode.
Ask RabbiBookmarkShareCopy