Parashat Shemot Exodus 1:1 - 6:1 פָּרָשַׁת שְׁמוֹת
SYNOPSIS:
Parashat Shemot contains four sidrot. The first containing, the oppression of Israel in Egypt; the second, birth of Moses, Moses escapes to Midian, and God remembers Israel; the third, the burning bush, the calling of Moses, the revelation of the Divine Name, Moses' instructions, the signs, and Aaron is appointed Moses' mouthpiece; and the fourth, Moses returns to Egypt, the circumcision of Moses' son, Moses meets Aaron, the first audience with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh increases Israel's hardship.
First Sidra՚ (Ex. 1:1-22): The oppression of Israel in Egypt.
Sefer Shemot begins with the words, "And these are the names of the Children of Israel, who came down to Egypt" (Ex.1:1). We are then informed that the events that are about to take place occurred long after the death of Joseph and his brothers. The Torah tells us that the Children of Israel prospered in Egypt and they became exceedingly many filling the land. We are then told that "a new king arose over Egypt; who did not know Joseph" (Ex. 1:8). The words, "a new king arose over Egypt" could mean that a new dynasty had taken power and the phrase, "who did not know Joseph", would therefore mean that this new dynasty did not feel that it owed any gratitude to the Children of Israel on behalf of all that Joseph had done for Egypt. We then become acquainted for the first time in Jewish history with the words that have been stamped throughout the pages of our history in all the lands of our exile; "He said to his people; here the people of the Children of Israel, are many and mightier than we. Come let us deal wisely toward it" (Ex. 1:9-10): Thus begins the first ever merciless oppression of the Jewish people. The Children of Israel are afflicted with many burdens and are put to forced labour building the storage cities of Pithom and Raՙamses, but the more they are afflicted the more they increase, "And they felt a sickening dread before the Children of Israel" (Ex. 1:12); so the Egyptians increased their burdens and torment. Pharaoh then plans and executes his "final solution" for the Children of Israel. In the first stage of his "final solution", Pharaoh orders the midwives of the Hebrews to murder all the male baby Israelites that they deliver, but they are to let the female babies live. By doing this Pharaoh hopes to destroy the Children of Israel, for people hood is passed on through the patrilineal line; from Jacob (Israel) to his sons (the tribes of Israel; note there is no tribe of Dinah). The midwives however - Shiphrah and Puah - hold God in awe and do not carry out Pharaoh's command, letting the male babies live. When Pharaoh calls the midwives to account for their actions - or lack of - they tell Pharaoh that the Hebrew woman are not like the Egyptian woman for they are more vigorous given birth before the midwife arrives. From the language of the Torah most commentators believe that the midwives were Egyptians and not Israelites. Nevertheless, by saving the life's of the Israelite babies the midwives place their own in jeopardy - as so many righteous Gentiles will do in future ages - in turn God deals well with them making them "houses"; possibly meaning that they became a part of the Children of Israel and God established families for them within Israel. Pharaoh now commands his people to carry out the task of executing his "final solution" for the Children of Israel, "Every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile, but let every daughter you shall let live" (Ex. 1:22).
Second Sidra՚ (Ex. 2:1-25): The birth of Moses, Moses escapes to Midian, and God remembers Israel.
The Torah now relates the birth of Moses and his adoption by Pharaoh's daughter, however, at this point the Torah does not reveal to us Moses' name nor the name of his parents only that they both hailed from the tribe of Lewi. In order to protect him from Pharaoh's decree that all new born male Israelites must be cast into the Nile, his mother hides him. After three months his mother is no longer able to hide him so she takes an ark made of papyrus, coats it with bitumen and pitch - so as to make it water proof - and placing the child inside she leaves it amongst the reeds by the shore of the Nile while the child's sister keeps her eye on the ark from afar. Pharaoh's daughter accompanied by her maids goes down to the Nile in order to bathe. As her maids are walking along the Nile she notices the ark amongst the reeds, so she sends one of her maids to fetch it. Pharaoh's daughter opens the ark and behold; a boy crying! She takes pity on the child realizing that it must be a Hebrew child. The child's sister approaches Pharaoh's daughter and asks, "shall I go and call for you a wet nurse, from the Hebrew woman; and she shall nurse the child for you" (Ex. 2:7). Moses' sister placed the safety of her brother above her own, for a slave approaching Pharaoh's daughter in such a brazen manner was placing their life in jeopardy; but by her intervention she secured Moses' future. Pharaoh's daughter agrees. The child's sister goes to fetch her mother and Pharaoh's daughter, not realizing that the woman is the mother of the child, gives the child to his mother and she is hired to nurse the child. Therefore, not only had Moses' life been saved and his future secured, but as an extra bonus his mother is also being paid to nurse her own child. Moses grows and he is brought to Pharaoh's daughter who adopts him as her own son calling him Moses [מֹשֶׁה from מָשָׁה - draw out]. Whether Moses' parents had called him by another name we do not know. The years pass by and Moses is now a man. The Torah proceeds to tell us that, "he went out to his brothers, and he saw their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian man, smiting a Hebrew man one of his brothers" (Ex. 2:11). Because of this verse - especially the words "his brothers" - and the fact that Moses' formative years were spent with his birth mother, many commentators believe that Moses knew that he was a Hebrew. Moses looks around to see if anyone is watching and assuming that nobody can see he smites the Egyptian and buries him in the sand. Moses goes out the very next day and sees two Hebrew men fighting. He asks the guilty party why he is hitting his fellow Hebrew, to which he receives the response, "Who made you prince and judge over us, do you mean to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian" (Ex. 2:14). During the years of the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness Moses' leadership will be challenged with words resembling these; but in truth it will be YHWH who will make Moses a judge over His people. Realizing that there was a witness to his killing of the Egyptian, Moses becomes afraid. The matter is brought to Pharaoh's attention who demands that Moses be killed for his crime. Moses flees from Pharaoh and Egypt. He arrives in the land of Midian and sits down by a well. While Moses is resting at the well the seven daughters of the priest of Midian come to draw water from the well for their father's sheep, but a group of shepherds come and drive them away. Moses witnessing the incident and comes to their rescue and then draws water for their sheep. When the sisters return home to Reuel [רְעוּאֵל - shepherd of god] their father he asks them how come they are home so early. The sisters proceed to tell him that they were rescued from a group of shepherds by an Egyptian man (Moses obviously had the appearance and attire of an Egyptian) who also drew water for their sheep. Reuel wants to know where the man is and why they left him behind and tells his daughters to fetch him so that he may eat with them. Reuel invites Moses to settle down with them and Moses agrees. Moses marries Reuel's daughter Zipporah [צִפֹּרָה - a female bird] and gives birth to a son whom Moses calls Gereshom [גֵּרְשֹׁם from גֵּר - sojourner and שׇׁם - there]; for he said, "a sojourner I have been, in a foreign land" (Ex. 2:22). Many years later the Pharaoh from whom Moses fled dies, but the Children of Israel are still held in slavery. They cry out because of their bondage and their cry ascends to God. The sidra՚ ends with the words, "And God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant, with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob. And God saw the Children of Israel; and God knew" (Ex. 2:24-25). The words, "and God knew" mean that God had pathos for the Children of Israel and empathised with all their suffering.
Third Sidra՚ (Ex. 3:1-4:17): The burning bush, the calling of Moses, the revelation of the Divine Name, Moses' instructions, the signs, and Aaron is appointed Moses' mouthpiece.
Many years later Moses is shepherding the flock of his father-in-law whom the Torah refers to as Jethro the priest of Midian. There is no contradiction between the verse stating that Moses' father-in-law was called Reuel and this one, for Jethro [יִתְרוֹ] is not an actual name but a title which means, "His Excellency". Moses leads the flock deep into the wilderness and comes to Mt. Ḥorev (חֹרֵב - waste, desolate; also known as Mt. Sinai), which the Torah calls "the mountain of God" (Ex. 3:1). There Moses sees the messenger of YHWH in a flame of a fire in the midst of a bush that burnt but was not consumed by the fire. Moses curiosity is kindled by this amazing phenomenon and he desires to see it up closer. Just then God calls out to Moses from the midst of the bush, Moses simply responds, "Here I am" (Ex. 3:4). God tells Moses not to come any closer and to remove his shoes, "for the place on which you stand, it is holy ground" (Ex. 3:5). God continues by introducing Himself, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6); Moses hides his face because he is afraid to gaze upon God. YHWH tells Moses that He has seen the affliction of His people, has heard their cry, and has known their sufferings. Therefore, He will rescue them from the hand of Egypt and take them to a land that is good and spacious, a land flowing with milk and honey; the land of Canaan. YHWH commissions Moses with the task of going to Pharaoh to secure the release of the Children of Israel from Egypt. Moses responds with the words, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh; and that I should bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt" (Ex. 3:11); Moses is doubts his ability to fulfil such an enormous task. God counters, "I will be [אֶהְיֶה] with you, and this is the sign for you, that I have sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God, by this mountain" (Ex. 3:12). Moses wants to know what he should answer the Children of Israel when they ask him the name of the God of their fathers. God says to Moses, "I will be Who I will be [אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה]; and He said thus you shall say to the Children of Israel, I will be [אֶהְיֶה from the verb הָיָה - to be] has sent me to you....Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel, YHWH [יְהוָה from the verb הָוָה - to become] the God of your fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you; this is My name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation." (Ex. 3:14-15) YHWH commands Moses to gather the Elders of Israel so he can tell them that YHWH the God of their fathers had appeared to him for He has seen their affliction, thus He will deliver them from slavery in Egypt and bring them to the land of Canaan a land flowing with milk and honey. YHWH tells Moses that he and the elders of Israel are to approach Pharaoh and say to him that YHWH the God of the Hebrews has met them and request that he let them go a three days' journey into the wilderness and offer sacrifices to YHWH their God. YHWH informs Moses that He knows that Pharaoh will not permit them to leave, not even by a strong hand, therefore, He will smite Egypt with all His wonders and then Pharaoh will send Israel free. YHWH also tells Moses that the Children of Israel will not leave empty handed, but whatever a Hebrew woman shall ask from her Egyptian neighbours it will be given to her; whether objects of silver, gold, or clothing. Moses is still doubtful of his abilities and retorts that they will not believe him nor listen to him and will say that he is lying. In response to Moses, YHWH commands him to throw his staff to the ground. He does so and it becomes a snake! Moses flees from the snake. YHWH then commands Moses to grasp the snake by its tail. Moses does so and it becomes a staff once again. YHWH tells Moses that through this sign the Children of Israel will believe that He appeared to Moses Thus, when Aaron's rod is turned into a snake before Pharaoh the sign is meant for the Elders of Israel rather than for the Egyptians. YHWH then requests that Moses place his hand in his bosom. Moses obliges, and when he withdraws his hand it is covered with "leprosy"[1] and is as white as snow. Moses is told return his hand to his bosom, he does so, and this time when he withdraws his hand it has returned to normal. YHWH tells Moses that if they do not believe him nor listen to the voice of the first sign then they will believe the voice of the second sign. However, if they still do not believe nor listen to him after these two signs then he is to take some of the water of the Nile and pour it out onto the dry land and it will become blood on the dry land. Moses then comes up with another pretext as to why he cannot undertake this great mission, for he is not a man of words and never has been, "for heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I" (Ex. 4:10). YHWH rejoins, "Who placed a mouth in human beings, or who makes one mute, or deaf, or clearly sighted or blind; is it not I YHWH" (Ex. 4:11). YHWH tells Moses to go and He will be with his mouth and instruct him as to what he shall speak. Moses still begs YHWH to send someone. YHWH's anger flares up against Moses, and tells him that He knows that his brother Aaron the Lewi can speak well, thus he will act as Moses' spokesman, and YHWH will be with their mouths, "And he shall speak for you to the people; and it shall be that he will be for you for a mouth, and you shall be to him for a god" (Ex. 4:16). YHWH reminds Moses to take his staff with him, for with it he shall do the signs.
Fourth Sidra՚ (Ex. 4:18-6:1): Moses returns to Egypt, the circumcision of Moses' son, Moses meets Aaron, the first audience with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh increases Israel's hardship.
YHWH tells Moses to return to Egypt since all those who sought to take his life are now dead. Moses requests permission from Jethro to return to his brothers that are in Egypt. Jethro duly grants his permission, so Moses takes his wife and his sons, mounts them upon a donkey and returns to Egypt with the staff of God in his hand. The Torah mentions "his sons", Moses had two sons, Gereshom, and Eliezer who will be mentioned later in the Book of Exodus. YHWH tells Moses to perform all the wonders that He has placed in his hand before Pharaoh, but YHWH will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will not send the Children of Israel free. Once this has passed Moses is to say to Pharaoh, "Thus says YHWH, My son my firstborn is Israel.... Send free My son and he may serve Me, but you have refused to send him free; here I will kill, your son your firstborn" (Ex. 4:22-23). The Torah then narrates a very strange scene; "And it was on the way at the inn; and YHWH met him, and sought to put him to death. And Zippora took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and caused it to touch his legs; and she said, for a bridegroom of blood are you to me. Then He let him alone; then she said, a bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision." (Ex. 4:24-26) These few verses beckon so many questions; 'who did YHWH seek to kill, Moses or his uncircumcised son?', 'whose leg was touched by the foreskin, Moses' or his son's?', 'why had Moses circumcised one son and not the other?' The narration then changes to YHWH telling Aaron to go and meet Moses in the wilderness. Aaron meets Moses at the mountain of God (Mt. Ḥorev) and the brothers kiss. Moses relates to Aaron all the words and signs of YHWH. Moses and Aaron return to Egypt and gather together all the Elders of the Children of Israel, "And Aaron spoke, all of the words, which YHWH had spoken to Moses; and he did the signs before the people's eyes. And the people believed" (Ex. 4:30-31). Next, Moses and Aaron come to Pharaoh and say to him in the name of YHWH - those famous words - 'Send free My people'. Pharaoh refuses to let them free and denies any knowledge of YHWH, declaring if he doesn't know a god he is not obliged to heed the words of that god. Moses and Aaron tell Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews has ordered them to go a three days' journey into the wilderness and to offer sacrifices to Him otherwise He will send pestilence or the sword upon them. Pharaoh still refuses. Pharaoh's rational for not letting the people celebrate a festival to YHWH in the wilderness is that they are many and thus if they cease from their burdens the economy of the country would come to a stand still causing too much of an inconvenience. Moses and Aaron's request, which Pharaoh called "lying words" (Ex. 5:9), obviously angered Pharaoh for he probably regarded it as a challenge to his authority. In response, Pharaoh commands the slave drivers and constables of the people to no longer provide them with the straw needed to make the bricks, but instead the people are to go out and gather the straw for themselves; nevertheless the daily quota for brick production is to remain unchanged. Pharaoh thus increases the servitude of the Children of Israel, and all because they requested time-off in order to offer sacrifices to YHWH in the wilderness! Even though the people now needed to gather their own straw they were pressed even harder by the slave drivers who also mercilessly beat the constables of the Children of Israel because they were behind on the quota. The constables of the Children of Israel approach Pharaoh and cry to him wanting to know why he is treating his servants this way. Pharaoh tells them that it is their fault as they are idle in wanting time off to offer sacrifices to YHWH. When the constables of the Children of Israel leave the presence of Pharaoh they say to Moses and Aaron who are waiting outside, "May YHWH see you and judge; for you have made our smell stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hands to kill us" (Ex. 5:21). Moses returns to YHWH and wants to know why He is dealing ill with this people. Moses argues that he spoke to Pharaoh in YHWH's name but the people still haven't been rescued and things have only become worse, so why has he been sent? YHWH says to Moses, "Now you shall see, what I shall do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them free, and with a strong hand, he will drive them out of his land" (Ex. 6:1).
THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS:
Can you imagine the Creator and Master of the universe "hand" picking you for the greatest mission in the entire history of mankind and you say, "Find someone else"! Well that's what Moses did. YHWH selected Moses from all of the Children of Israel to be His instrument through whom great wonders will be performed and through whom His people will be freed, but Moses refuses the offer; Why? Because he realizes the enormity of what is being asked of him and doubts his abilities to fulfil such a task. YHWH tells Moses not to worry for He will be there with him, but Moses is still full of self doubt. Moses is fearful that the people will reject him - rejection on such a scale can be soul destroying. YHWH alleviates his fears by providing him with the ability to perform signs. From the text it appears that Moses was of the opinion that the person best suited to carry out such a great mission would need the following three qualities; i) the credentials of the One who sent him - the Name revealed to Moses, ii) the ability to establish one's authority - Moses given the ability to perform signs; and iii) be able to present the case in an eloquent manner, this Moses could not do! But there was no getting around it, Aaron Moses' brother was an eloquent speaker so YHWH would appoint him to be Moses' mouth piece; problem solved! Moses need not worry for all that Moses lacked YHWH would provide. You see YHWH had already chosen Moses for this great task as the qualities that Moses regarded as being essential to fulfil such a task were not those that YHWH was looking for. Moses was looking at the job description and thought he wasn't qualified, while YHWH - the employer - saw in Moses the potential of his greatness; even if he didn't. Thrice Moses had proven himself a man of action, a man who was not afraid to stand up for the rights of the oppressed. YHWH did not want an end product. YHWH is interested in the kernel within the man, the kernel that will grow while the task is being fulfilled; a deep sense of justice and righteousness. But it is not the ability to sympathize with the oppressed and the down trodden in our society or even high words that YHWH wants from us, it is the willingness to act upon the conviction that He needs from us. And as with Moses, we too must stop the excuses and realizes that the ability to perform our Divine task on earth is already there within us.
[1] The Hebrew צָרָעַת (ṣārāՙath) is usually translated as leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but when one considers all the circumstances, this translation seems unlikely. צָרָעַת seems to be an impurity sent by YHWH as a punishment for various types of sins; see Deut. 24:8-9.
Parashat Shemot contains four sidrot. The first containing, the oppression of Israel in Egypt; the second, birth of Moses, Moses escapes to Midian, and God remembers Israel; the third, the burning bush, the calling of Moses, the revelation of the Divine Name, Moses' instructions, the signs, and Aaron is appointed Moses' mouthpiece; and the fourth, Moses returns to Egypt, the circumcision of Moses' son, Moses meets Aaron, the first audience with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh increases Israel's hardship.
First Sidra՚ (Ex. 1:1-22): The oppression of Israel in Egypt.
Sefer Shemot begins with the words, "And these are the names of the Children of Israel, who came down to Egypt" (Ex.1:1). We are then informed that the events that are about to take place occurred long after the death of Joseph and his brothers. The Torah tells us that the Children of Israel prospered in Egypt and they became exceedingly many filling the land. We are then told that "a new king arose over Egypt; who did not know Joseph" (Ex. 1:8). The words, "a new king arose over Egypt" could mean that a new dynasty had taken power and the phrase, "who did not know Joseph", would therefore mean that this new dynasty did not feel that it owed any gratitude to the Children of Israel on behalf of all that Joseph had done for Egypt. We then become acquainted for the first time in Jewish history with the words that have been stamped throughout the pages of our history in all the lands of our exile; "He said to his people; here the people of the Children of Israel, are many and mightier than we. Come let us deal wisely toward it" (Ex. 1:9-10): Thus begins the first ever merciless oppression of the Jewish people. The Children of Israel are afflicted with many burdens and are put to forced labour building the storage cities of Pithom and Raՙamses, but the more they are afflicted the more they increase, "And they felt a sickening dread before the Children of Israel" (Ex. 1:12); so the Egyptians increased their burdens and torment. Pharaoh then plans and executes his "final solution" for the Children of Israel. In the first stage of his "final solution", Pharaoh orders the midwives of the Hebrews to murder all the male baby Israelites that they deliver, but they are to let the female babies live. By doing this Pharaoh hopes to destroy the Children of Israel, for people hood is passed on through the patrilineal line; from Jacob (Israel) to his sons (the tribes of Israel; note there is no tribe of Dinah). The midwives however - Shiphrah and Puah - hold God in awe and do not carry out Pharaoh's command, letting the male babies live. When Pharaoh calls the midwives to account for their actions - or lack of - they tell Pharaoh that the Hebrew woman are not like the Egyptian woman for they are more vigorous given birth before the midwife arrives. From the language of the Torah most commentators believe that the midwives were Egyptians and not Israelites. Nevertheless, by saving the life's of the Israelite babies the midwives place their own in jeopardy - as so many righteous Gentiles will do in future ages - in turn God deals well with them making them "houses"; possibly meaning that they became a part of the Children of Israel and God established families for them within Israel. Pharaoh now commands his people to carry out the task of executing his "final solution" for the Children of Israel, "Every son that is born you shall cast him into the Nile, but let every daughter you shall let live" (Ex. 1:22).
Second Sidra՚ (Ex. 2:1-25): The birth of Moses, Moses escapes to Midian, and God remembers Israel.
The Torah now relates the birth of Moses and his adoption by Pharaoh's daughter, however, at this point the Torah does not reveal to us Moses' name nor the name of his parents only that they both hailed from the tribe of Lewi. In order to protect him from Pharaoh's decree that all new born male Israelites must be cast into the Nile, his mother hides him. After three months his mother is no longer able to hide him so she takes an ark made of papyrus, coats it with bitumen and pitch - so as to make it water proof - and placing the child inside she leaves it amongst the reeds by the shore of the Nile while the child's sister keeps her eye on the ark from afar. Pharaoh's daughter accompanied by her maids goes down to the Nile in order to bathe. As her maids are walking along the Nile she notices the ark amongst the reeds, so she sends one of her maids to fetch it. Pharaoh's daughter opens the ark and behold; a boy crying! She takes pity on the child realizing that it must be a Hebrew child. The child's sister approaches Pharaoh's daughter and asks, "shall I go and call for you a wet nurse, from the Hebrew woman; and she shall nurse the child for you" (Ex. 2:7). Moses' sister placed the safety of her brother above her own, for a slave approaching Pharaoh's daughter in such a brazen manner was placing their life in jeopardy; but by her intervention she secured Moses' future. Pharaoh's daughter agrees. The child's sister goes to fetch her mother and Pharaoh's daughter, not realizing that the woman is the mother of the child, gives the child to his mother and she is hired to nurse the child. Therefore, not only had Moses' life been saved and his future secured, but as an extra bonus his mother is also being paid to nurse her own child. Moses grows and he is brought to Pharaoh's daughter who adopts him as her own son calling him Moses [מֹשֶׁה from מָשָׁה - draw out]. Whether Moses' parents had called him by another name we do not know. The years pass by and Moses is now a man. The Torah proceeds to tell us that, "he went out to his brothers, and he saw their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian man, smiting a Hebrew man one of his brothers" (Ex. 2:11). Because of this verse - especially the words "his brothers" - and the fact that Moses' formative years were spent with his birth mother, many commentators believe that Moses knew that he was a Hebrew. Moses looks around to see if anyone is watching and assuming that nobody can see he smites the Egyptian and buries him in the sand. Moses goes out the very next day and sees two Hebrew men fighting. He asks the guilty party why he is hitting his fellow Hebrew, to which he receives the response, "Who made you prince and judge over us, do you mean to kill me, as you killed the Egyptian" (Ex. 2:14). During the years of the wanderings of the Children of Israel in the wilderness Moses' leadership will be challenged with words resembling these; but in truth it will be YHWH who will make Moses a judge over His people. Realizing that there was a witness to his killing of the Egyptian, Moses becomes afraid. The matter is brought to Pharaoh's attention who demands that Moses be killed for his crime. Moses flees from Pharaoh and Egypt. He arrives in the land of Midian and sits down by a well. While Moses is resting at the well the seven daughters of the priest of Midian come to draw water from the well for their father's sheep, but a group of shepherds come and drive them away. Moses witnessing the incident and comes to their rescue and then draws water for their sheep. When the sisters return home to Reuel [רְעוּאֵל - shepherd of god] their father he asks them how come they are home so early. The sisters proceed to tell him that they were rescued from a group of shepherds by an Egyptian man (Moses obviously had the appearance and attire of an Egyptian) who also drew water for their sheep. Reuel wants to know where the man is and why they left him behind and tells his daughters to fetch him so that he may eat with them. Reuel invites Moses to settle down with them and Moses agrees. Moses marries Reuel's daughter Zipporah [צִפֹּרָה - a female bird] and gives birth to a son whom Moses calls Gereshom [גֵּרְשֹׁם from גֵּר - sojourner and שׇׁם - there]; for he said, "a sojourner I have been, in a foreign land" (Ex. 2:22). Many years later the Pharaoh from whom Moses fled dies, but the Children of Israel are still held in slavery. They cry out because of their bondage and their cry ascends to God. The sidra՚ ends with the words, "And God heard their groaning; and God remembered His covenant, with Abraham with Isaac and with Jacob. And God saw the Children of Israel; and God knew" (Ex. 2:24-25). The words, "and God knew" mean that God had pathos for the Children of Israel and empathised with all their suffering.
Third Sidra՚ (Ex. 3:1-4:17): The burning bush, the calling of Moses, the revelation of the Divine Name, Moses' instructions, the signs, and Aaron is appointed Moses' mouthpiece.
Many years later Moses is shepherding the flock of his father-in-law whom the Torah refers to as Jethro the priest of Midian. There is no contradiction between the verse stating that Moses' father-in-law was called Reuel and this one, for Jethro [יִתְרוֹ] is not an actual name but a title which means, "His Excellency". Moses leads the flock deep into the wilderness and comes to Mt. Ḥorev (חֹרֵב - waste, desolate; also known as Mt. Sinai), which the Torah calls "the mountain of God" (Ex. 3:1). There Moses sees the messenger of YHWH in a flame of a fire in the midst of a bush that burnt but was not consumed by the fire. Moses curiosity is kindled by this amazing phenomenon and he desires to see it up closer. Just then God calls out to Moses from the midst of the bush, Moses simply responds, "Here I am" (Ex. 3:4). God tells Moses not to come any closer and to remove his shoes, "for the place on which you stand, it is holy ground" (Ex. 3:5). God continues by introducing Himself, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob" (Ex. 3:6); Moses hides his face because he is afraid to gaze upon God. YHWH tells Moses that He has seen the affliction of His people, has heard their cry, and has known their sufferings. Therefore, He will rescue them from the hand of Egypt and take them to a land that is good and spacious, a land flowing with milk and honey; the land of Canaan. YHWH commissions Moses with the task of going to Pharaoh to secure the release of the Children of Israel from Egypt. Moses responds with the words, "Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh; and that I should bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt" (Ex. 3:11); Moses is doubts his ability to fulfil such an enormous task. God counters, "I will be [אֶהְיֶה] with you, and this is the sign for you, that I have sent you; when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God, by this mountain" (Ex. 3:12). Moses wants to know what he should answer the Children of Israel when they ask him the name of the God of their fathers. God says to Moses, "I will be Who I will be [אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה]; and He said thus you shall say to the Children of Israel, I will be [אֶהְיֶה from the verb הָיָה - to be] has sent me to you....Thus shall you say to the Children of Israel, YHWH [יְהוָה from the verb הָוָה - to become] the God of your fathers the God of Abraham the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob has sent me to you; this is My name forever, and this is My remembrance from generation to generation." (Ex. 3:14-15) YHWH commands Moses to gather the Elders of Israel so he can tell them that YHWH the God of their fathers had appeared to him for He has seen their affliction, thus He will deliver them from slavery in Egypt and bring them to the land of Canaan a land flowing with milk and honey. YHWH tells Moses that he and the elders of Israel are to approach Pharaoh and say to him that YHWH the God of the Hebrews has met them and request that he let them go a three days' journey into the wilderness and offer sacrifices to YHWH their God. YHWH informs Moses that He knows that Pharaoh will not permit them to leave, not even by a strong hand, therefore, He will smite Egypt with all His wonders and then Pharaoh will send Israel free. YHWH also tells Moses that the Children of Israel will not leave empty handed, but whatever a Hebrew woman shall ask from her Egyptian neighbours it will be given to her; whether objects of silver, gold, or clothing. Moses is still doubtful of his abilities and retorts that they will not believe him nor listen to him and will say that he is lying. In response to Moses, YHWH commands him to throw his staff to the ground. He does so and it becomes a snake! Moses flees from the snake. YHWH then commands Moses to grasp the snake by its tail. Moses does so and it becomes a staff once again. YHWH tells Moses that through this sign the Children of Israel will believe that He appeared to Moses Thus, when Aaron's rod is turned into a snake before Pharaoh the sign is meant for the Elders of Israel rather than for the Egyptians. YHWH then requests that Moses place his hand in his bosom. Moses obliges, and when he withdraws his hand it is covered with "leprosy"[1] and is as white as snow. Moses is told return his hand to his bosom, he does so, and this time when he withdraws his hand it has returned to normal. YHWH tells Moses that if they do not believe him nor listen to the voice of the first sign then they will believe the voice of the second sign. However, if they still do not believe nor listen to him after these two signs then he is to take some of the water of the Nile and pour it out onto the dry land and it will become blood on the dry land. Moses then comes up with another pretext as to why he cannot undertake this great mission, for he is not a man of words and never has been, "for heavy of mouth and heavy of tongue am I" (Ex. 4:10). YHWH rejoins, "Who placed a mouth in human beings, or who makes one mute, or deaf, or clearly sighted or blind; is it not I YHWH" (Ex. 4:11). YHWH tells Moses to go and He will be with his mouth and instruct him as to what he shall speak. Moses still begs YHWH to send someone. YHWH's anger flares up against Moses, and tells him that He knows that his brother Aaron the Lewi can speak well, thus he will act as Moses' spokesman, and YHWH will be with their mouths, "And he shall speak for you to the people; and it shall be that he will be for you for a mouth, and you shall be to him for a god" (Ex. 4:16). YHWH reminds Moses to take his staff with him, for with it he shall do the signs.
Fourth Sidra՚ (Ex. 4:18-6:1): Moses returns to Egypt, the circumcision of Moses' son, Moses meets Aaron, the first audience with Pharaoh, and Pharaoh increases Israel's hardship.
YHWH tells Moses to return to Egypt since all those who sought to take his life are now dead. Moses requests permission from Jethro to return to his brothers that are in Egypt. Jethro duly grants his permission, so Moses takes his wife and his sons, mounts them upon a donkey and returns to Egypt with the staff of God in his hand. The Torah mentions "his sons", Moses had two sons, Gereshom, and Eliezer who will be mentioned later in the Book of Exodus. YHWH tells Moses to perform all the wonders that He has placed in his hand before Pharaoh, but YHWH will harden Pharaoh's heart so that he will not send the Children of Israel free. Once this has passed Moses is to say to Pharaoh, "Thus says YHWH, My son my firstborn is Israel.... Send free My son and he may serve Me, but you have refused to send him free; here I will kill, your son your firstborn" (Ex. 4:22-23). The Torah then narrates a very strange scene; "And it was on the way at the inn; and YHWH met him, and sought to put him to death. And Zippora took a flint and cut off her son's foreskin, and caused it to touch his legs; and she said, for a bridegroom of blood are you to me. Then He let him alone; then she said, a bridegroom of blood because of the circumcision." (Ex. 4:24-26) These few verses beckon so many questions; 'who did YHWH seek to kill, Moses or his uncircumcised son?', 'whose leg was touched by the foreskin, Moses' or his son's?', 'why had Moses circumcised one son and not the other?' The narration then changes to YHWH telling Aaron to go and meet Moses in the wilderness. Aaron meets Moses at the mountain of God (Mt. Ḥorev) and the brothers kiss. Moses relates to Aaron all the words and signs of YHWH. Moses and Aaron return to Egypt and gather together all the Elders of the Children of Israel, "And Aaron spoke, all of the words, which YHWH had spoken to Moses; and he did the signs before the people's eyes. And the people believed" (Ex. 4:30-31). Next, Moses and Aaron come to Pharaoh and say to him in the name of YHWH - those famous words - 'Send free My people'. Pharaoh refuses to let them free and denies any knowledge of YHWH, declaring if he doesn't know a god he is not obliged to heed the words of that god. Moses and Aaron tell Pharaoh that the God of the Hebrews has ordered them to go a three days' journey into the wilderness and to offer sacrifices to Him otherwise He will send pestilence or the sword upon them. Pharaoh still refuses. Pharaoh's rational for not letting the people celebrate a festival to YHWH in the wilderness is that they are many and thus if they cease from their burdens the economy of the country would come to a stand still causing too much of an inconvenience. Moses and Aaron's request, which Pharaoh called "lying words" (Ex. 5:9), obviously angered Pharaoh for he probably regarded it as a challenge to his authority. In response, Pharaoh commands the slave drivers and constables of the people to no longer provide them with the straw needed to make the bricks, but instead the people are to go out and gather the straw for themselves; nevertheless the daily quota for brick production is to remain unchanged. Pharaoh thus increases the servitude of the Children of Israel, and all because they requested time-off in order to offer sacrifices to YHWH in the wilderness! Even though the people now needed to gather their own straw they were pressed even harder by the slave drivers who also mercilessly beat the constables of the Children of Israel because they were behind on the quota. The constables of the Children of Israel approach Pharaoh and cry to him wanting to know why he is treating his servants this way. Pharaoh tells them that it is their fault as they are idle in wanting time off to offer sacrifices to YHWH. When the constables of the Children of Israel leave the presence of Pharaoh they say to Moses and Aaron who are waiting outside, "May YHWH see you and judge; for you have made our smell stink in the eyes of Pharaoh and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hands to kill us" (Ex. 5:21). Moses returns to YHWH and wants to know why He is dealing ill with this people. Moses argues that he spoke to Pharaoh in YHWH's name but the people still haven't been rescued and things have only become worse, so why has he been sent? YHWH says to Moses, "Now you shall see, what I shall do to Pharaoh; for with a strong hand he will send them free, and with a strong hand, he will drive them out of his land" (Ex. 6:1).
THE AUTHOR'S THOUGHTS:
Can you imagine the Creator and Master of the universe "hand" picking you for the greatest mission in the entire history of mankind and you say, "Find someone else"! Well that's what Moses did. YHWH selected Moses from all of the Children of Israel to be His instrument through whom great wonders will be performed and through whom His people will be freed, but Moses refuses the offer; Why? Because he realizes the enormity of what is being asked of him and doubts his abilities to fulfil such a task. YHWH tells Moses not to worry for He will be there with him, but Moses is still full of self doubt. Moses is fearful that the people will reject him - rejection on such a scale can be soul destroying. YHWH alleviates his fears by providing him with the ability to perform signs. From the text it appears that Moses was of the opinion that the person best suited to carry out such a great mission would need the following three qualities; i) the credentials of the One who sent him - the Name revealed to Moses, ii) the ability to establish one's authority - Moses given the ability to perform signs; and iii) be able to present the case in an eloquent manner, this Moses could not do! But there was no getting around it, Aaron Moses' brother was an eloquent speaker so YHWH would appoint him to be Moses' mouth piece; problem solved! Moses need not worry for all that Moses lacked YHWH would provide. You see YHWH had already chosen Moses for this great task as the qualities that Moses regarded as being essential to fulfil such a task were not those that YHWH was looking for. Moses was looking at the job description and thought he wasn't qualified, while YHWH - the employer - saw in Moses the potential of his greatness; even if he didn't. Thrice Moses had proven himself a man of action, a man who was not afraid to stand up for the rights of the oppressed. YHWH did not want an end product. YHWH is interested in the kernel within the man, the kernel that will grow while the task is being fulfilled; a deep sense of justice and righteousness. But it is not the ability to sympathize with the oppressed and the down trodden in our society or even high words that YHWH wants from us, it is the willingness to act upon the conviction that He needs from us. And as with Moses, we too must stop the excuses and realizes that the ability to perform our Divine task on earth is already there within us.
[1] The Hebrew צָרָעַת (ṣārāՙath) is usually translated as leprosy (Hansen’s disease), but when one considers all the circumstances, this translation seems unlikely. צָרָעַת seems to be an impurity sent by YHWH as a punishment for various types of sins; see Deut. 24:8-9.