출애굽기 9:3의 유대 사상

And that which he said to him: Now send word, give refuge to your livestock, etc. (Exodus 9:19) — why did He warn him? As behold, He came to attack him! The reason is that He only wanted to bring the hail upon the trees of the field, to be struck down by the hail. Hence He warned him that he should bring in that which was not the Omnipresent's will [to strike down], so that the plague not be counterproductive. As it was not the will of the Omnipresent about it, that the livestock be struck now. So He showed him that He wanted what was good for him, that which He did not want to strike the livestock now. Hence concerning this plague, Pharaoh said, "The Lord is in the right [tzaddik] (Exodus 9:27), for behold, I saw that He acted charitably [assah tzedekah] with me, however I did not recognize it." But with the plague of pestilence, which was also with the livestock in the field (Exodus 9:3), He did not warn them to bring them into the house. As there, the plague was against the livestock, so He did not want to warn them. So it was specifically about the hail that He warned them, since the strike was only [meant to be] against the trees of the field. So He warned him to bring anything that the plague was not aimed at into the house.

Instances of organs of locomotion being applied to the Creator occur as follows:—“My footstool” (Isa. 66:1); “the place of the soles of my feet” (Ezek. 43:7). For examples of organs of touch applied to God, comp. “the hand of the Lord” (Exod. 9:3); “with the finger of God” (ib. 31:18); “the work of thy fingers” (Ps. 8:4), “And thou hast laid thine hand upon me” (ib. 139:5); “The arm of the Lord” (Isa. 53:1); “Thy right hand, O Lord” (Exod. 15:6). In instances like the following, organs of speech are attributed to God: “The mouth of the Lord has spoken” (Isa. 1:20); “And He would open His lips against thee” (Job 11:5); “The voice of the Lord is powerful” (Ps. 29:4); “And his tongue as a devouring fire” (Isa. 30:27). Organs of sensation are attributed to God in instances like the following: “His eyes behold, His eyelids try” (Ps. 11:4); “The eyes of the Lord which run to and fro” (Zech. 4:10); “Bow down thine ear unto me, and hear” (2 Kings 19:16); “You have kindled a fire in my nostril” (Jer. 17:5). Of the inner parts of the human body only the heart is figuratively applied to God, because “heart” is a homonym, and denotes also “intellect”; it is besides the source of animal life. In phrases like “my bowels are troubled for him” (Jer. 31:20); “The sounding of thy bowels” (Isa. 63:15), the term “bowels” is used in the sense of “heart”; for the term “bowels” is used both in a general and in a specific meaning; it denotes specifically “bowels,” but more generally it can be used as the name of any inner organ, including “heart.” The correctness of this argument can be proved by the phrase “And thy law is within my bowels” (Ps. 40:9), which is identical with “And thy law is within my heart.” For that reason the prophet employed in this verse the phrase “my bowels are troubled” (and “the sounding of thy bowels”); the verb hamah is in fact used more frequently in connection with “heart,” than with any other organ; comp. “My heart maketh a noise (homeh) in me” (Jer. 4:19). Similarly, the shoulder is never used as a figure in reference to God, because it is known as a mere instrument of transport, and also comes into close contact with the thing which it carries. With far greater reason the organs of nutrition are never attributed to God: they are at once recognized as signs of imperfection.

So behold, the first three plagues, blood, frogs, and lice, are in the lower realms. As this is [the case] when the Nile turns into blood (Exodus 7:20); when the Nile swarms with frogs (Exodus 7:28), and the land with lice (Exodus 8:3). Whereas the plague of the mix of animals, the pestilence, and the boils were not at all in the lower realms, but rather with those that dwell on the earth’s surface. For example, the mix of animals dwells on the earth’s surface, as opposed to the frogs and lice which are in the water and the ground. But the mix of animals, which are dangerous wild animals, and the pestilence upon the domesticated animals (Exodus 9:3), and the boils upon man and domesticated animals (Exodus 9:9-10), were all upon animals which are on the earth’s surface. But this is not the case with the first ones, their habitat is not on the [its] surface. As the frogs only live in the water, and the lice only live in the ground, and not on the world’s surface. For swarming creatures that swarm upon the earth (alluding to Genesis 7:21) are not considered living on the earth’s surface; only animals and man, which are not from those which swarm on the earth. But even if the lice were considered as if they were on the Earth’s surface – which is not at all the case – it is inappropriate to call the plague of lice something on the earth’s surface. For behold, the plague was upon the ground, as it is written: Hold out your rod and strike the dust of the earth, etc. (Exodus 8:12)! And the next three are in the sky. For the hail is in the sky, as it is written in the verse (Exodus 9:23); the locusts are from those that surely fly (alluding to Genesis 1:20) in the firmament of the sky; and the darkness was so that the Egyptians could not use the luminaries of the sky. So you see that the next three plagues were in the sky. And afterwards was the plague of the firstborn, which was above everything. For behold, it was upon man’s supernal soul, and the soul has a greater value than the sky. Hence there is an order unique to the plagues of blood, frogs, and lices; an order unique to the plagues of the mix of animals, pestilence, and boils; and an order unique to the plagues of hail, locusts, darkness, and the firstborn.