Komentarz do Wyjścia 8:25

התל is the same as להתל (i. e. the infinitive may be used with or without ל prefixed).

והעתרתי, a similar construction to vehacharamti in Numbers 21,2 והחרמתי את עריהם, “I will destroy their cities.” Another similar construction occurs in Ezekiel 26,3 והעליתי, and in Jeremiah 17,2 we find והעבדתיך, in all these examples the letters אהחע determine which vowels are used in this type of future tense, introduced by the inverted letter vav, if it is in the future tense or in the past tense. If it were in the ordinary past tense however, it should have read: he-evarti, he-eliticha, instead of ha-avarti and ha-aliticha. [the author quotes a few more examples which we can dispense with. Ed.]

AND MOSES SAID: BEHOLD, I GO OUT FROM THEE, AND I WILL ENTREAT THE ETERNAL THAT THE SWARMS WILL DEPART FROM PHARAOH, FROM HIS SERVANTS, AND FROM HIS PEOPLE, TOMORROW.¹⁹³The question here arises: Why did Moses say that he will pray that the removal of the plague be tomorrow, when Pharaoh had just said to him, Entreat for me (Verse 24)? Ramban proceeds to answer this question. Just as Pharaoh, during the plague of the frogs, had asked that it be removed tomorrow,¹⁹⁴Above, Verse 6. so did Moses want to do it in this case as well; he would pray that the swarms [of beasts] shall depart tomorrow. And then G-d removed the swarms,¹⁹⁵Verse 27. and they vanished completely, unlike the case of the frogs, [where Scripture states that they died].¹⁹⁶Above, Verse 9. This was for the reason, as stated by our Rabbis,¹⁹⁷Shemoth Rabbah 10:6. that the Holy One, blessed be He, desired to afflict them with plagues from which they would derive no benefit.¹⁹⁸If the beasts had died in the land of Egypt, the Egyptians would have made use of their skins. Hence they just disappeared. This of course was not the case with the frogs. Now Moses guarded himself when he spoke to Pharaoh, saying to destroy the frogs,¹⁹⁹Above, Verse 5. which alludes merely to their death, as I have explained there,¹⁹⁹Above, Verse 5. [while here in the case of swarms, he said that the swarms will depart].