- there are 70 faces to 
Post by alon on Nov 11, 2022 17:37:15 GMT -8
This Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Exodus 8:20-9:35
Haftara- Isaiah 34:11-35:4
D’rash: Isaiah 19:1 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
This weeks haftara, though about a future event could as well be looking back to the time of our parashah.
Exodus 8:21-24 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies. Now, for the first time God separates the Hebrews and the Egyptians, sparing the Hebrews from the plague sent upon Mitzrayim. There is also a play on words here: שָׁלַח shâlach, to send is used twice here. Literally this would read “If you do not send my people, I will send flies.” Something is going to get sent here, and Pharaoh gets to choose what! Melech ha’M’lechim, King of Kings (Rev 19:16) wants to make it clear He is The God of all, not just the Hebrews; and He wants Pharaoh to acknowledge this. Instead, Pharaoh places a further restriction on the Hebrews worship: “Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”” Exodus 8:25. Now he only offers to allow them to worship within the land of Mitzrayim.
Exodus 8:26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? This, while a sound refutation of Pharaoh’s ‘offer’ is also a derision of his religion. Moshe is effectively saying “We are going to kill your gods.” Furthermore Moshe rebukes Pharaoh by saying “Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Exodus 8:29b. Of course, he did cheat, yet again.
Exodus 9:1-5 (redacted) … ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go… behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, … But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” Again, a time is set for this plague so it cannot be construed as a natural event. This follows onto Moses’ mention of the sacred animals worshiped by Egyptians. There is a word play here in vs. 5, the term דָּבָר- spelled the same, “this thing,” Heb. debar, and dever which is the term for the affliction which struck the Egyptian livestock. It is a particularly poignant plague as it directly challenges the gods of the Egyptians and dramatically makes Pharaoh look impotent in the face of YHVH-Shammah, God Who is There (Eze 48:35) as much of the Egyptian livestock (and theirs only) dies.
Exodus 9:8-9 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” This time Pharaoh gets no advance warning; no chance to relent. God, the Shofet, Judge (Ps 75:7) has stepped up His judgement once again in the face of the continuing perfidy of the Egyptian ruler. “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.” Exodus 9:11. The Egyptian sorcerers were now especially shown to be impotent.
Revelation 16:2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. In the tradition of biblical patterns repeating, we will see this again as God makes a distinction between His people and unbelievers and causes boils to plague those who will not acknowledge Him as God.
Exodus 9:14-16 For this time I will send all my plagues [on your heart], and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Now Pharaoh is told he is no more than a pawn in the plan of Kadosh Yisroel, the Holy One Of Israel (Psalm 78:41). He could be destroyed any time, at God’s pleasure. But he is allowed to live so that he may be shown a fool before Elohei Ha’Ivriyim, Lord God of the Hebrews (Ex 3:18).
Exodus 9:17-20 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses.
This is what is meant in the literal translation “I will send all my plagues [on your heart].” His heart hardened as Pharaoh exalts himself against El-Shaddai, Almighty God (Gen 17:1), now God tells him he is to announce the next plague to his people himself, otherwise what little livestock they have remaining will be lost.
Exodus 9:21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
While many of their fellow Egyptians have now acknowledged the power of God, still many had not. Sadly here we see it emphasized that people suffer because of those appointed over them. Many slaves died because of both the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart and because their own masters would not believe El Elyon, Most High God (Heb 7:1).
The term קוֹל qôl, sounds/noises is repeated here several times. This was possibly constant massive thunder, but also a hard hailstorm makes a lot of noise hitting structures. This, like other plagues was designed to drive the Egyptians mad!
Exodus 9:27,34 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. … But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
Pharaoh acknowledges that both he and the Egyptian people have sinned before El-Elyon, Most High God (Gen 14:18). Yet again, when the plague is past he repents, but in the wrong direction: “This is typical of evildoers. They plead to be forgiven, and then resume their bad behavior as soon as they are forgiven, or as soon as their punishment is ended. … A biblical example: The book of Jeremiah records that during a time of great peril to the citizens of Judaea (around 586 BCE), when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and his troops were about to invade Jerusalem, the Jews freed all their Hebrew slaves (indentured servants), many of whom were held in violation of Torah law for longer than the permitted six years. Then, as soon as the danger seemed to pass, they “turned about and brought back the men and women they had set free and forced them into slavery again” (Jeremiah 34:11). This act of cruelty caused God to declare, through Jeremiah, that the Judeans would now suffer the worst sorts of suffering, involving famine, pestilence, and death. … It is of great importance to note that both the punishment of Pharaoh and his nation and of the Jews in sixth century BCE Judea- as described in this episode- are in response to the mistreatment of slaves. God holds His own people and the Egyptians accountable to the same basic standard- a unique concept in religious history up to that time.” Dennis Prager.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; JPS Study TNK: Dennis Prager; Dr. D Stern; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Ex 10:1-12:12
Haftara- Is 19:1–17
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
Parashah- Exodus 8:20-9:35
Haftara- Isaiah 34:11-35:4
D’rash: Isaiah 19:1 An oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt; and the idols of Egypt will tremble at his presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.
This weeks haftara, though about a future event could as well be looking back to the time of our parashah.
Exodus 8:21-24 Or else, if you will not let my people go, behold, I will send swarms of flies on you and your servants and your people, and into your houses. And the houses of the Egyptians shall be filled with swarms of flies, and also the ground on which they stand. But on that day I will set apart the land of Goshen, where my people dwell, so that no swarms of flies shall be there, that you may know that I am the Lord in the midst of the earth. Thus I will put a division between my people and your people. Tomorrow this sign shall happen.”’” And the Lord did so. There came great swarms of flies into the house of Pharaoh and into his servants' houses. Throughout all the land of Egypt the land was ruined by the swarms of flies. Now, for the first time God separates the Hebrews and the Egyptians, sparing the Hebrews from the plague sent upon Mitzrayim. There is also a play on words here: שָׁלַח shâlach, to send is used twice here. Literally this would read “If you do not send my people, I will send flies.” Something is going to get sent here, and Pharaoh gets to choose what! Melech ha’M’lechim, King of Kings (Rev 19:16) wants to make it clear He is The God of all, not just the Hebrews; and He wants Pharaoh to acknowledge this. Instead, Pharaoh places a further restriction on the Hebrews worship: “Then Pharaoh called Moses and Aaron and said, “Go, sacrifice to your God within the land.”” Exodus 8:25. Now he only offers to allow them to worship within the land of Mitzrayim.
Exodus 8:26 But Moses said, “It would not be right to do so, for the offerings we shall sacrifice to the Lord our God are an abomination to the Egyptians. If we sacrifice offerings abominable to the Egyptians before their eyes, will they not stone us? This, while a sound refutation of Pharaoh’s ‘offer’ is also a derision of his religion. Moshe is effectively saying “We are going to kill your gods.” Furthermore Moshe rebukes Pharaoh by saying “Only let not Pharaoh cheat again by not letting the people go to sacrifice to the Lord.” Exodus 8:29b. Of course, he did cheat, yet again.
Exodus 9:1-5 (redacted) … ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, “Let my people go, that they may serve me. For if you refuse to let them go… behold, the hand of the Lord will fall with a very severe plague upon your livestock that are in the field, … But the Lord will make a distinction between the livestock of Israel and the livestock of Egypt, so that nothing of all that belongs to the people of Israel shall die.”’” And the Lord set a time, saying, “Tomorrow the Lord will do this thing in the land.” Again, a time is set for this plague so it cannot be construed as a natural event. This follows onto Moses’ mention of the sacred animals worshiped by Egyptians. There is a word play here in vs. 5, the term דָּבָר- spelled the same, “this thing,” Heb. debar, and dever which is the term for the affliction which struck the Egyptian livestock. It is a particularly poignant plague as it directly challenges the gods of the Egyptians and dramatically makes Pharaoh look impotent in the face of YHVH-Shammah, God Who is There (Eze 48:35) as much of the Egyptian livestock (and theirs only) dies.
Exodus 9:8-9 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Take handfuls of soot from the kiln, and let Moses throw them in the air in the sight of Pharaoh. It shall become fine dust over all the land of Egypt, and become boils breaking out in sores on man and beast throughout all the land of Egypt.” This time Pharaoh gets no advance warning; no chance to relent. God, the Shofet, Judge (Ps 75:7) has stepped up His judgement once again in the face of the continuing perfidy of the Egyptian ruler. “And the magicians could not stand before Moses because of the boils, for the boils came upon the magicians and upon all the Egyptians.” Exodus 9:11. The Egyptian sorcerers were now especially shown to be impotent.
Revelation 16:2 So the first angel went and poured out his bowl on the earth, and harmful and painful sores came upon the people who bore the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. In the tradition of biblical patterns repeating, we will see this again as God makes a distinction between His people and unbelievers and causes boils to plague those who will not acknowledge Him as God.
Exodus 9:14-16 For this time I will send all my plagues [on your heart], and on your servants and your people, so that you may know that there is none like me in all the earth. For by now I could have put out my hand and struck you and your people with pestilence, and you would have been cut off from the earth. But for this purpose I have raised you up, to show you my power, so that my name may be proclaimed in all the earth. Now Pharaoh is told he is no more than a pawn in the plan of Kadosh Yisroel, the Holy One Of Israel (Psalm 78:41). He could be destroyed any time, at God’s pleasure. But he is allowed to live so that he may be shown a fool before Elohei Ha’Ivriyim, Lord God of the Hebrews (Ex 3:18).
Exodus 9:17-20 You are still exalting yourself against my people and will not let them go. Behold, about this time tomorrow I will cause very heavy hail to fall, such as never has been in Egypt from the day it was founded until now. Now therefore send, get your livestock and all that you have in the field into safe shelter, for every man and beast that is in the field and is not brought home will die when the hail falls on them.”’” Then whoever feared the word of the Lord among the servants of Pharaoh hurried his slaves and his livestock into the houses.
This is what is meant in the literal translation “I will send all my plagues [on your heart].” His heart hardened as Pharaoh exalts himself against El-Shaddai, Almighty God (Gen 17:1), now God tells him he is to announce the next plague to his people himself, otherwise what little livestock they have remaining will be lost.
Exodus 9:21 but whoever did not pay attention to the word of the Lord left his slaves and his livestock in the field.
While many of their fellow Egyptians have now acknowledged the power of God, still many had not. Sadly here we see it emphasized that people suffer because of those appointed over them. Many slaves died because of both the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart and because their own masters would not believe El Elyon, Most High God (Heb 7:1).
The term קוֹל qôl, sounds/noises is repeated here several times. This was possibly constant massive thunder, but also a hard hailstorm makes a lot of noise hitting structures. This, like other plagues was designed to drive the Egyptians mad!
Exodus 9:27,34 Then Pharaoh sent and called Moses and Aaron and said to them, “This time I have sinned; the Lord is in the right, and I and my people are in the wrong. … But when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and the thunder had ceased, he sinned yet again and hardened his heart, he and his servants.
Pharaoh acknowledges that both he and the Egyptian people have sinned before El-Elyon, Most High God (Gen 14:18). Yet again, when the plague is past he repents, but in the wrong direction: “This is typical of evildoers. They plead to be forgiven, and then resume their bad behavior as soon as they are forgiven, or as soon as their punishment is ended. … A biblical example: The book of Jeremiah records that during a time of great peril to the citizens of Judaea (around 586 BCE), when the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar and his troops were about to invade Jerusalem, the Jews freed all their Hebrew slaves (indentured servants), many of whom were held in violation of Torah law for longer than the permitted six years. Then, as soon as the danger seemed to pass, they “turned about and brought back the men and women they had set free and forced them into slavery again” (Jeremiah 34:11). This act of cruelty caused God to declare, through Jeremiah, that the Judeans would now suffer the worst sorts of suffering, involving famine, pestilence, and death. … It is of great importance to note that both the punishment of Pharaoh and his nation and of the Jews in sixth century BCE Judea- as described in this episode- are in response to the mistreatment of slaves. God holds His own people and the Egyptians accountable to the same basic standard- a unique concept in religious history up to that time.” Dennis Prager.
Mekorot: All scripture from the ESV unless otherwise specified; JPS Study TNK: Dennis Prager; Dr. D Stern; my father and others
Next Week’s Readings:
Parashah- Ex 10:1-12:12
Haftara- Is 19:1–17
* Apostolic references will be given in the darashot
