וַיֹּ֖אמֶר אֶל־עַמּ֑וֹ הִנֵּ֗ה עַ֚ם בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל רַ֥ב וְעָצ֖וּם מִמֶּֽנּוּ׃
At sinabi niya sa kanyang bayan: “Narito, ang bayan ng mga anak ni Israel ay higit na marami at higit na makapangyarihan kaysa sa atin.
Marbeh Lesaper
And great: the author of the Haggadah was curious why the word, rav, “great,” comes after the word atzum, ‘mighty” in Deuteronomy 26:5. Earlier the words appeared the other way around. Pharaoh says: “Look, the children of Israel are great (rav) and mightier (v’atzum) than us.”140Exodus 1: 9 Also in the book of Joel, we read: “A great, mighty nation.”141Joel 2:2 The word rav here is an allusion to the verse “I let you grow like the plants of the field,” and the explanation found in Sotah11b. Rabbi Awira142There is a mistake in the text – Rabbi Weil writes Akiva – the Talmud says Awira. expounded:
As the reward for the righteous women who lived in that generation, were the Israelites delivered from Egypt. When they went to draw water, the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged that small fish should enter their pitchers, which they drew up half full of water and half full of fish. They then set two pots on the fire, one for hot water and the other for the fish, which they carried to their husbands in the field, and washed, anointed, fed, gave them to drink and had intercourse with them among the sheepfolds… After the women had conceived they returned to their homes; and when the time of childbirth arrived, they went and were delivered in the field beneath the apple-tree… The Holy One, blessed be He, sent down someone from the high heavens who washed and straightened the limbs [of the babes] in the same manner that a midwife straightens the limbs of a child; ….He also provided for them two cakes, one of oil and one of honey…. When the Egyptians noticed them, they went to kill them; but a miracle occurred on their behalf so that they were swallowed in the ground, and [the Egyptians] brought oxen and ploughed over them, as it says, “The ‘ploughmen’ ploughed upon my back.”143Psalms 129:3 After they had departed, they broke through [the earth] and came forth like the herbage of the field, as it is said: “I caused thee to multiply (r’vava) like plants of the field;”144Ezekiel 16:6-7 Note that Rabbi Weil carefully edited this passage from the Talmud removing some of the proof texts and leaving the ones necessary for his explanation. and when [the babes] had grown up, they came in flocks to their homes, as it is said: “And thou didst increase and wax great and didst come with ornaments,” - read not with ornaments (ba'adei 'adayim) but in flocks (be'edre 'adarim). At the time the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself by the Red Sea, they recognized Him first, as it is said: “This is my God and I will praise Him.”145Exodus 15:2
Why do we read ba’adei adayim as ‘flocks’ instead of the plain sense meaning of the words, ‘ornaments?’ If the expression means ornaments, then how can the verse also say, “You were naked and bare;”146Ezekiel Ibid if they had ornaments then they weren’t naked. Therefore the expression must mean, ‘flocks.’ There wore their ornaments, that they were easily recognizable to their parents as we have said above. Everyone immediately knew that these children were not the offspring of loose Egyptian women.147The expression adei adayim, Weil explains refers to the children (adei) and the parents (adayim) The expression “mighty and great,” then, is a reference to this. They not only increased in number but they were only numerous in their numbers but they were born like the plants of the field and protected by God.
According to the Midrash ten thousand babies were cast into the Nile, “I let you like ten thousand plants of the field.”148Song of Songs Rabbah Parshah 2 The verse from Ezekiel is used elsewhere to explain how the Israelite babies were saved in Egypt.149Pirke D’rebbe Eliezer, chapter 32 In both of these midrashim, the word r’vava is taken in its literal sense of ten thousand. The children that were thrown into the Nile were carried away and ejected into the wilderness – this too is, “I let you grow like ten thousand the plants of the field.”
As the reward for the righteous women who lived in that generation, were the Israelites delivered from Egypt. When they went to draw water, the Holy One, blessed be He, arranged that small fish should enter their pitchers, which they drew up half full of water and half full of fish. They then set two pots on the fire, one for hot water and the other for the fish, which they carried to their husbands in the field, and washed, anointed, fed, gave them to drink and had intercourse with them among the sheepfolds… After the women had conceived they returned to their homes; and when the time of childbirth arrived, they went and were delivered in the field beneath the apple-tree… The Holy One, blessed be He, sent down someone from the high heavens who washed and straightened the limbs [of the babes] in the same manner that a midwife straightens the limbs of a child; ….He also provided for them two cakes, one of oil and one of honey…. When the Egyptians noticed them, they went to kill them; but a miracle occurred on their behalf so that they were swallowed in the ground, and [the Egyptians] brought oxen and ploughed over them, as it says, “The ‘ploughmen’ ploughed upon my back.”143Psalms 129:3 After they had departed, they broke through [the earth] and came forth like the herbage of the field, as it is said: “I caused thee to multiply (r’vava) like plants of the field;”144Ezekiel 16:6-7 Note that Rabbi Weil carefully edited this passage from the Talmud removing some of the proof texts and leaving the ones necessary for his explanation. and when [the babes] had grown up, they came in flocks to their homes, as it is said: “And thou didst increase and wax great and didst come with ornaments,” - read not with ornaments (ba'adei 'adayim) but in flocks (be'edre 'adarim). At the time the Holy One, blessed be He, revealed Himself by the Red Sea, they recognized Him first, as it is said: “This is my God and I will praise Him.”145Exodus 15:2
Why do we read ba’adei adayim as ‘flocks’ instead of the plain sense meaning of the words, ‘ornaments?’ If the expression means ornaments, then how can the verse also say, “You were naked and bare;”146Ezekiel Ibid if they had ornaments then they weren’t naked. Therefore the expression must mean, ‘flocks.’ There wore their ornaments, that they were easily recognizable to their parents as we have said above. Everyone immediately knew that these children were not the offspring of loose Egyptian women.147The expression adei adayim, Weil explains refers to the children (adei) and the parents (adayim) The expression “mighty and great,” then, is a reference to this. They not only increased in number but they were only numerous in their numbers but they were born like the plants of the field and protected by God.
According to the Midrash ten thousand babies were cast into the Nile, “I let you like ten thousand plants of the field.”148Song of Songs Rabbah Parshah 2 The verse from Ezekiel is used elsewhere to explain how the Israelite babies were saved in Egypt.149Pirke D’rebbe Eliezer, chapter 32 In both of these midrashim, the word r’vava is taken in its literal sense of ten thousand. The children that were thrown into the Nile were carried away and ejected into the wilderness – this too is, “I let you grow like ten thousand the plants of the field.”
Or HaChaim
Another meaning of the words ופניתי אליכם may be gleaned after we examine Samuel II 6,10. The prophet reports that David did not want to transfer the Holy Ark to him in Jerusalem and instead made it detour to the house of Oved Edom Hagitti. As a result of the latter's willingness to be host to the Holy Ark G'd blessed his entire family. Our sages in Berachot 63 describe the blessing as Oved Edom's wife and eight daughters-in-law being very prolific in bearing many children during the three months that the ark stayed in Oved Edom's home. According to Chronicles I 26, 6 children were born to that family during that time. This is the kind of blessing referred to by the words… ופניתי אליכם והרביתי אתכם, "I will turn to you….and multiply you." Once G'd turns His face to you, the rest will follow automatically. The expression והרביתי אתכם contains within it a special distinction. Normally, when we encounter a great number of something, the multiplicity of the numbers is at the expense of the worth of the individual. If someone owns 1.000 head of cattle for instance, he does not treasure each animal as a separate possession as much as he would if he only owned three cows. G'd blessed Oved Edom in that though his family became very numerous this did not detract from the individual worth of each family member (compare our comments on Exodus 1,9 and Numbers 13,18). The words והקימותי את בריתי אתכם are a blessing similar to that in Isaiah 59,21: "and as for Me, this will be My covenant with them says the Lord….My words will not depart from your mouth or the mouth of your children." It is the promise that the Torah will not depart from their offspring. Another meaning of the words is that G'd renews the covenant which He had already entered into with the patriarchs.
Malbim
And the king of Egypt said: According to the straightforward understanding, he spoke to Egyptian women who were delivering the Jewish women. And there were two types of midwives: 1) One who would deal with the one sitting on the travailing chair, to deliver the newborn; and the second to deal with the newborn, to cut his umbilical cord and to take care of his needs. One was called Shifrah and the second was called Puah.. And the understanding is not that there were only two midwives; for behold they were a large people. So it only means that there were two types of midwives. Or it is like Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra, that two women were the ministers over all of them; and likewise did Rabbi Yitzchak Abarbanel explain. And that which it states, "And the king of Egypt said," and it does not explain what he said, is understood as referring to what is above, when it stated at the beginning (Exodus 1:9), "And he said to his people, 'Look, the Israelite people are more and stronger.'" So he now said this to the midwives and also took counsel with them about what to do, lest they multiply. And after he presented his concern and his worry, then...
Or HaChaim
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בביתך — first into thine house and afterwards, בבית עבדיך — into the house of thy servants; he took the first step in counselling evil against Israel, as it is stated (1:9) “He spake to his people, “[Behold, the children of Israel are more numerous and powerful than we]”, and with him, therefore, did punishment begin (cf. Sotah 11a and Exodus Rabbah 10:3).