시편 29:7의 인용 해설

In the final part of the speech, he continues his discourse (Job 27:1, 29:1) with three formal declarations, bursting forth flames of fire (Psalms 29:7).

“For at this time, I will send all My plagues.” Rashi explained that we learn that the plague of the firstborn is equivalent to all the plagues. The Re’em [Rabbi Eliyahu Mizrachi] explained that “bechorot” [firstborn] has the letter bet with a patach vowel [which would mean the early crops], because in the hail, only the early-ripening [crops] that had ripened early were struck, as it says, For the barley was aviv [early-ripening]. Rashi explained: “It had already ripened.” Some versions read “betzarot” [famines] instead of “bechorot” [firstborn], because the hail caused them hunger and famine, and this is the version that Abarbanel taught.
Nevertheless, the questioner’s concern was not satisfied as to why this plague was greater than all the other plagues. One cannot say that it was greater because of the great terror that came from “the voice of God hewing flames of fire,” for these are truly terrifying things, because if so, why did Rashi attribute the matter to the striking of the early crops or to famine? Weren’t the thunderous sounds the main cause of terror? On the contrary, it appears they weren’t so concerned about the crops, for if they were, the plague of locusts would be equivalent to all the plagues, since it consumed what the hail left behind. Rather, certainly they weren’t so concerned [about the crops] since the wheat and spelt were not struck. So why would this plague be greater than all the plagues?

וכל העם רואים את הקולות, “And all the people saw the sounds (thunder), etc.” The word “saw” in this context is to be understood as “understood, comprehended,” similar to when Yitzchak spoke of ראה ריח בני “look at the fragrance of my son” (Genesis 27,27). He was well aware that fragrance just as sound cannot be seen by the eye. He meant that just as the eye is used to understand something clearly, so he experienced a clear understanding of what his son’s fragrance represented. Similarly, here; the Torah describes that the aural perceptions of the people were as convincing to them as if they had experienced the same thing with their eyes, a normally superior tool for clear perceptions. An alternative meaning could be that the Torah employed the word “saw” because these thunders were invariably accompanied by fire, something very visible to the eye. We have examples of such expressions and meanings in Psalms 29,7: “the voice of the Lord kindles flames of fire.” The people then saw the fire not the thunder. The words of the text may then be understood literally without the Torah telling us of an additional miracle.