Parshat Shemot

This verse is taken from the new Pharaoh’s first demagogic tirade – which starts all of nine verses into Sefer Shemot (the Book of Shemot)! The phraseology appears difficult. We will look at the use of the singular and Pharaoh’s fear that the Children of Israel will ‘go up from the land’.

The use of the singular, e.g., ‘lest it become numerous’, refers to the Bnei Yisrael (Children of Israel) as a group.

The commentator Rashi (1040-1105) queries Pharaoh’s fear that the people will go up from the land. If he is scared that the Bnei Yisrael are a potential fifth column, why would he want them to stay in Egypt? Rashi writes that Pharaoh acts like somebody who curses himself while blaming somebody else for the fact that he is cursed! What Pharaoh really feared was that the Bnei Yisrael would join forces with Egypt’s enemies and take over Egypt.

Another commentator, Ramban (1194-1270) queries how Rashi’s interpretation fits the words. Although he substantiates Rashi’s approach, he also presents a different way of viewing this verse. Ramban writes that Pharaoh and his advisors knew that they could not simply physically attack the Bnei Yisrael. The Egyptian people would not allow this to happen as the Bnei Yisrael were only in Egypt due to an invitation from a previous king, with the acquiescence of the Egyptian people.

Therefore, the ‘outthinking’ refers to more subtle ways of subduing Bnei Yisrael, so that they would not actually realise that they were being demonised. Hence the taxes which are described in verse eleven, justified as a normal levy for foreign residents. Then Pharaoh secretly commanded Egyptian midwives to kill the Bnei Yisrael’s babies, during labour when the baby’s mother had to trust the midwife. The midwife would then tell the mother that a tragedy had occurred. For Pharaoh, this was a more subtle way of stopping a growing birth rate than actually sending out soldiers to kill people. Once Pharaoh felt confident enough to proclaim that babies should be thrown into the river, many Egyptians were convinced by his demagogy and began to search the Bnei Yisrael’s houses for children. This is why Miriam had to take her younger brother Moses out of the family home (see chapter 2, verse 3).

This sheds some light on how Pharaoh managed to demonise Bnei Yisrael, with such frightening speed. It also helps us to understand the phraseology used in the pasuk (verse).