Exodus 8 & 9

[gib65]

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted but I do intend on continuing my project of working my way through Exodus and asking questions chapter by chapter. My source is here: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9862

I'm covering chapter 8 & 9 in this post, and I'm noticing a pattern in which any time God wants to bring about one of the plagues or perform any miraculous act, he tells Moses to instruct Aaron to stretch out his staff to make it happen.

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, stretch forth your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt."

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch forth your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall become lice throughout the entire land of Egypt.' "

Aaron is obvious instrumental in this role, but why specifically did God intend for Aaron to play this role? He could have instructed Moses himself to stretch out his staff, so why Aaron?

13 The Lord said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand erect before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'So said the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let My people go so that they may worship Me. 14 Because this time, I am sending all My plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people, in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth. 15 For if now I had stretched forth My hand, and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth. 16 But, for this [reason] I have allowed you to stand, in order to show you My strength and in order to declare My name all over the earth.

This is a very strange passage. This is said by God before warning Pharaoh about the next plague (hail), and for some reason he says "I am sending all my plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people..." What does this mean? How are the plagues "sent into Pharaoh's heart"? And does God mean all the plagues so far? Or all the plagues from here on in? Or all the plagues in total? And does this have anything to do with Exodus 9:12: "But the Lord strengthened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord spoke to Moses," which comes just before this passage? What does it means to "strengthen" Pharaoh's heart? Is this to be contrasted with Pharaoh "hardening" his heart (which he did on his own accord up until this point). And why would God decide to do this? He says that it's "in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth" and more interestingly "For if now I had stretched forth My hand, and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth". Why does God choose to do this now? Based on the latter passage (about being annihilated from the earth), it sounds like God is saying he let Pharaoh handle all the plagues on his own up until the point where he couldn't take it anymore, at which point God "strengthen his heart" so that he could take some more. But why? Is God trying to avoid Pharaoh's annihilation in exchange for his concession? Give him enough strength to reach the point where he concedes rather than gets annihilated? And it seems that God wants specifically for Pharaoh to concede because he sees "that there is none like [God] in the entire earth".

^ Is this the correct interpretation?

21 Thereupon, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." 22 But Moses said, "It is improper to do that, for we will sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to God our Lord. Will we sacrifice the deity of the Egyptians before their eyes, and they will not stone us? 23 Let us go [for] a three day journey in the desert and sacrifice to the Lord, our God, as He will say to us." 24 Pharaoh said, "I will let you go out, and you will sacrifice to the Lord, your God, in the desert, but do not go far away; entreat [Him] on my behalf."

This seems like a major compromise on the part of Moses and Aaron. I thought the goal was to get Pharaoh to free the slaves permanently, but here it seems Pharaoh is proposing an extremely reduced offer in exchange for the plague of noxious creatures to stop and Moses accepts. Is it understood that even if Pharaoh lets the Hebrews journey in the desert for 3 days to sacrifice to their God, this will not be the end? That Moses will return with his original demand lest the next plague be inflicted?

[searchinmyroots]

Hello Gib, thanks for keeping the conversation going.

Of course there isn't one straight forward answer to your questions, so I'll give mine and others can chime in with theirs.

" Aaron is obvious instrumental in this role, but why specifically did God intend for Aaron to play this role? He could have instructed Moses himself to stretch out his staff, so why Aaron? "

I seem to remember Moses not having confidence and G-d telling him not to worry, that Aaron will be by his side. Maybe this is one of those times.

For your next question, I'll reply with what I know.

Yes, there is a big contrast regarding strengthening and hardening of Pharaoh's heart. There is a great book titled "The Exodus You Almost Passed Over" by Rabbi Fohrman that goes into great details with his thoughts on the matter.

G-d strengthened Pharaoh's heart as to not take away his free will in the beginning plagues. Then once Pharaoh admitted to knowing there was a G-d of Israel (initially he said he didn't know the G-d of the Hebrews), G-d proceed to harden his heart. G-d gave him many chances.

I have to look deeper into your other questions.

[rosends]

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted but I do intend on continuing my project of working my way through Exodus and asking questions chapter by chapter. My source is here: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9862

I'm covering chapter 8 & 9 in this post, and I'm noticing a pattern in which any time God wants to bring about one of the plagues or perform any miraculous act, he tells Moses to instruct Aaron to stretch out his staff to make it happen.

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, stretch forth your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt."

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch forth your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall become lice throughout the entire land of Egypt.' "

Aaron is obvious instrumental in this role, but why specifically did God intend for Aaron to play this role? He could have instructed Moses himself to stretch out his staff, so why Aaron?

13 The Lord said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand erect before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'So said the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let My people go so that they may worship Me. 14 Because this time, I am sending all My plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people, in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth. 15 For if now I had stretched forth My hand, and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth. 16 But, for this [reason] I have allowed you to stand, in order to show you My strength and in order to declare My name all over the earth.

This is a very strange passage. This is said by God before warning Pharaoh about the next plague (hail), and for some reason he says "I am sending all my plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people..." What does this mean? How are the plagues "sent into Pharaoh's heart"? And does God mean all the plagues so far? Or all the plagues from here on in? Or all the plagues in total? And does this have anything to do with Exodus 9:12: "But the Lord strengthened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord spoke to Moses," which comes just before this passage? What does it means to "strengthen" Pharaoh's heart? Is this to be contrasted with Pharaoh "hardening" his heart (which he did on his own accord up until this point). And why would God decide to do this? He says that it's "in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth" and more interestingly "For if now I had stretched forth My hand, and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth". Why does God choose to do this now? Based on the latter passage (about being annihilated from the earth), it sounds like God is saying he let Pharaoh handle all the plagues on his own up until the point where he couldn't take it anymore, at which point God "strengthen his heart" so that he could take some more. But why? Is God trying to avoid Pharaoh's annihilation in exchange for his concession? Give him enough strength to reach the point where he concedes rather than gets annihilated? And it seems that God wants specifically for Pharaoh to concede because he sees "that there is none like [God] in the entire earth".

^ Is this the correct interpretation?

21 Thereupon, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." 22 But Moses said, "It is improper to do that, for we will sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to God our Lord. Will we sacrifice the deity of the Egyptians before their eyes, and they will not stone us? 23 Let us go [for] a three day journey in the desert and sacrifice to the Lord, our God, as He will say to us." 24 Pharaoh said, "I will let you go out, and you will sacrifice to the Lord, your God, in the desert, but do not go far away; entreat [Him] on my behalf."

This seems like a major compromise on the part of Moses and Aaron. I thought the goal was to get Pharaoh to free the slaves permanently, but here it seems Pharaoh is proposing an extremely reduced offer in exchange for the plague of noxious creatures to stop and Moses accepts. Is it understood that even if Pharaoh lets the Hebrews journey in the desert for 3 days to sacrifice to their God, this will not be the end? That Moses will return with his original demand lest the next plague be inflicted?

a quick note about your first 2 questions. Because the water protected Moses (when he was in the basket) and the dirt hid the Egyptian whom Moses killed, it would have been inappropriate for Moses to repay their kindness by striking them. So Aaron did it.

[COmentator]

Why AAron was chosen
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_c...sights.htm
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_c...d-Know.htm

also
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_c...-Story.htm
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_c...inking.htm
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_c...lation.htm

[gib65]

Hello Gib, thanks for keeping the conversation going.

You're welcome!

Of course there isn't one straight forward answer to your questions, so I'll give mine and others can chime in with theirs.

Much appreciated

" Aaron is obvious instrumental in this role, but why specifically did God intend for Aaron to play this role? He could have instructed Moses himself to stretch out his staff, so why Aaron? "
I seem to remember Moses not having confidence and G-d telling him not to worry, that Aaron will be by his side. Maybe this is one of those times.

I see. So perhaps God understood that in order for Moses and Aaron to succeed, they must worked together as a team, each playing different roles.

For your next question, I'll reply with what I know.
Yes, there is a big contrast regarding strengthening and hardening of Pharaoh's heart. There is a great book titled "The Exodus You Almost Passed Over" by Rabbi Fohrman that goes into great details with his thoughts on the matter.

Might be worth picking up this book. It reminded me of some things that were said in Jordan Peterson's Exodus where he and a group of about 8 or 9 scholars discuss the meaning behind this and many other passages. Concerning this passage, I seem to recall (with a very fuzzy recollection) that something changed after the 5 plague: Pharaoh ceased to harden his heart on his own and from then on God did the hardening (or strengthening?). This partially informs my interpretation in the OP (i.e. that God wanted Pharaoh to survive through all 10 plagues so that he would finally yield on account of beholding God's might and understanding that the Hebrew God was the one true God (rather than perishing from the plagues before all 10 due to his pride and stubbornness).

G-d strengthened Pharaoh's heart as to not take away his free will in the beginning plagues. Really? I would think that preserving one's free will would require God to not interfere. Then once Pharaoh admitted to knowing there was a G-d of Israel (initially he said he didn't know the G-d of the Hebrews), G-d proceed to harden his heart. G-d gave him many chances.

So then what's the difference between hardening a heart and strengthening it?

I have to look deeper into your other questions.

What you have contributed here is more than enough. Feel free to look deeper and come back with further insights but know that I am doing the same and by all means I don't expect others to do my homework for me.

Hello everyone,

It's been a while since I last posted but I do intend on continuing my project of working my way through Exodus and asking questions chapter by chapter. My source is here: https://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9862

I'm covering chapter 8 & 9 in this post, and I'm noticing a pattern in which any time God wants to bring about one of the plagues or perform any miraculous act, he tells Moses to instruct Aaron to stretch out his staff to make it happen.

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, stretch forth your hand with your staff over the rivers, over the canals, and over the ponds, and bring up the frogs on the land of Egypt."

The Lord said to Moses, "Say to Aaron, 'Stretch forth your staff and strike the dust of the earth, and it shall become lice throughout the entire land of Egypt.' "

Aaron is obvious instrumental in this role, but why specifically did God intend for Aaron to play this role? He could have instructed Moses himself to stretch out his staff, so why Aaron?

13 The Lord said to Moses, "Rise early in the morning and stand erect before Pharaoh, and say to him, 'So said the Lord, the God of the Hebrews, "Let My people go so that they may worship Me. 14 Because this time, I am sending all My plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people, in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth. 15 For if now I had stretched forth My hand, and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth. 16 But, for this [reason] I have allowed you to stand, in order to show you My strength and in order to declare My name all over the earth.

This is a very strange passage. This is said by God before warning Pharaoh about the next plague (hail), and for some reason he says "I am sending all my plagues into your heart and into your servants and into your people..." What does this mean? How are the plagues "sent into Pharaoh's heart"? And does God mean all the plagues so far? Or all the plagues from here on in? Or all the plagues in total? And does this have anything to do with Exodus 9:12: "But the Lord strengthened Pharaoh's heart, and he did not hearken to them, as the Lord spoke to Moses," which comes just before this passage? What does it means to "strengthen" Pharaoh's heart? Is this to be contrasted with Pharaoh "hardening" his heart (which he did on his own accord up until this point). And why would God decide to do this? He says that it's "in order that you know that there is none like Me in the entire earth" and more interestingly "For if now I had stretched forth My hand, and I had smitten you and your people with pestilence, you would have been annihilated from the earth". Why does God choose to do this now? Based on the latter passage (about being annihilated from the earth), it sounds like God is saying he let Pharaoh handle all the plagues on his own up until the point where he couldn't take it anymore, at which point God "strengthen his heart" so that he could take some more. But why? Is God trying to avoid Pharaoh's annihilation in exchange for his concession? Give him enough strength to reach the point where he concedes rather than gets annihilated? And it seems that God wants specifically for Pharaoh to concede because he sees "that there is none like [God] in the entire earth".

^ Is this the correct interpretation?

21 Thereupon, Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron, and he said, "Go, sacrifice to your God in the land." 22 But Moses said, "It is improper to do that, for we will sacrifice the abomination of the Egyptians to God our Lord. Will we sacrifice the deity of the Egyptians before their eyes, and they will not stone us? 23 Let us go [for] a three day journey in the desert and sacrifice to the Lord, our God, as He will say to us." 24 Pharaoh said, "I will let you go out, and you will sacrifice to the Lord, your God, in the desert, but do not go far away; entreat [Him] on my behalf."

This seems like a major compromise on the part of Moses and Aaron. I thought the goal was to get Pharaoh to free the slaves permanently, but here it seems Pharaoh is proposing an extremely reduced offer in exchange for the plague of noxious creatures to stop and Moses accepts. Is it understood that even if Pharaoh lets the Hebrews journey in the desert for 3 days to sacrifice to their God, this will not be the end? That Moses will return with his original demand lest the next plague be inflicted?

a quick note about your first 2 questions. Because the water protected Moses (when he was in the basket) and the dirt hid the Egyptian whom Moses killed, it would have been inappropriate for Moses to repay their kindness by striking them. So Aaron did it.

Ah, that's interesting. But would that imply that Aaron did wrong to the water and the dirt? Did the water and the dirty do wrong to Aaron in the past and this evens the score (so to speak)?

COmentatorWhy AAron was chosen
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_c...sights.htm
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_c...d-Know.htm
also
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_c...-Story.htm
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_c...inking.htm
https://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_c...lation.htm

Thanks COmentator,

The common thread in these articles, in regard to my question about Aaron's role next to Moses, seems to be that Aaron is the one to carry out the deeds whereas Moses is to vocalize the deeds to be done (either instructing Aaron directly or implying it by vocalizing God's commands). When Israel is established, this seems to slide Aaron into the role of high priest of the whole nation, the one to carry out the rituals and spiritual practices on behalf of his people. Moses seems to be more the vessel for God's knowledge and teaching, the one who knows how he, Aaron, and the Israelites ought to conduct themselves. God seems to want to solidify this role even in the beginning, when they are dealing with Pharaoh. So it could be said that Moses is the keeper of the doctrine whereas Aaron is the keeper of the practice.

While filling the role of practitioner, Aaron also seems to fill the role of conveyer--that is, he often performs the function of teaching the Israelite people what Moses (and God?) had taught him (which I suppose gives the people confidence that he should fill the role of practitioner as he obviously has the knowledge to know what he's doing).

As always, everyone, this is great material. I plan to continue this thread when I find time to do some research myself and post what I find. And I would like to say, I'm finding all this absolutely fascinating. Who knew Jewish scripture was so rich in detail and hidden layers of meaning? (Well, most of you probably did, but to a neophyte like me, it's like being a child in a candy store ).