Мидраш к Йоэль 4:19

And the Lord went before them by day (Exod. 13:21). Has it not already been said: Do not I fill heaven and earth? (Jer. 23:25), and also: The earth is full of His glory (Isa. 6:3)? Why, then, does Scripture say: And the Lord went before them? In order to reveal to the nations of the world the extent of His love for Israel, so that they would pay homage to them. However, not only did they not pay homage to them, but they slaughtered them most cruelly. Because of that it says: I will gather all the nations, and will bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat; and I will enter into judgment with them there for My people and for My heritage Israel, whom they scattered among the nations (Joel 4:2). It does not say “Because they committed idolatry” or “committed sexual crimes” or (were guilty) “of shedding blood,” but rather: For My people and for My heritage Israel whom they have scattered among the nations. And it says also: Egypt shall be a desolation, and Edom shall be a desolate wilderness (ibid., v. 19), while at that very time Judah shall be inhabited forever, and Jerusalem from generation to generation. And I will hold as innocent their blood that I have not held as innocent (ibid., v. 20). When will that be? When the Lord dwelleth in Zion (ibid.).

R. Jochanan said: "One who robs his neighbor even to the value of a parutha (half a cent) is considered as if he would take away his life; for it is said (Prov. 1, 19) So are the ways of every one who is greedy of [unlawful] gain; it takes away the life of the owners thereof. And again there is a verse (Jer. 5, 17) And they shall eat up thy harvest, and thy bread, they shall eat up thy sons and thy daughters. And again (Joel. 4, 19) For the violence against the children of Judah. And again (II. Sam. 21, 1) It is for Saul, and for his bloody house, because he put to death the Gibeonites. To what purpose is the second verse cited? One may say that it refers only to his own life, but not to the life of his children; hence the other verse, The flesh of thy sons and daughters. And still one may say that it refers only to a robber who does not pay for the robbery, but not if he does pay; hence the verse, For the violence against the children of Judah. [Violence means even when he gives money]. And, finally, one may say: This deals only when he actually did it with his hands, but not when he was only a cause of it; hence the last verse, Who has slain the Gibeonites; where do we find that Saul had slain them? We must say, therefore, that because he has slain Nob the city of the priests, who liad supported the Gibeonites with water and food, Scripture considers Saul as though he himself had slain the Gibeonites.

God said to Moshe, "Say to them, to the Jews, 'What are you doing? Be aware that He will strike the Egyptians,'" as is is stated (Exodus 12:23), "And the Lord will pass to strike the Egyptians." Rabbi Levi said, "What is [the meaning of], 'and the Lord will pass (veavar)?' The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them, 'I am going against (ohver) that which I said.' There is a parable of a king whose son went to Barbaria. The Barbarians got up and received him and made him king over them. The king heard and said, 'what honor should I do for these [people], who raised my son and crowned him over them? Rather, I shall call the name of that country according to the name of my son.' After some time, they went back and they cursed the son of the king and they subjugated him. The king said, 'I will go against that which I honored them - I will go out and make war with them and rescue my son.' So [too is it that when] Yosef went to Egypt, they received him and made him king over them, as it is stated (Genesis 42:6), 'And Yosef was the ruler over the land;' they honored Yakov, as it is stated (Genesis 50:3), 'and the Egyptians cried for him seventy days.' The Holy One, blessed be He, said, 'What honor should I do for Egypt? Behold, I will call it with the name of the Garden of Eden,' as it is stated (Genesis 13:10), 'like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt.' When they went back and subjugated them, the Holy One, blessed be He, said (Exodus 12:12), '"And I will pass over ( avarti, here understood as, went against)" - I am going back from that honor and I will make it into a desolate place,' as it is stated (Joel 4:11), 'Egypt will be a desolate place.'"