Pi-Hahiroth and the Idol Left Standing at Baal-Zephon

"And they turned back and encamped before Pi-Hahiroth" (Exodus 14:2). "Hiroth" means nothing other than the place of the freedom of the Egyptians—the place of their idle resort, the place of their idolatry. Formerly it was called Pithom, as it is said, "Pithom and Raamses" (Exodus 1:11); it came to be called Pi-Hahiroth because they would set their worshippers free there. They said: these "hiroth" were not chipped away but enclosed; they were not sloped but sheer like fortress walls; they were not round but square. They had eyes, and they were open. They were not the work of flesh and blood but the work of Heaven. They were shaped like a male and a female—these are the words of Rabbi Eliezer. Rabbi Joshua says: "hiroth" was on one side and a tower on the other, the sea before them and the Egyptians behind them. Another interpretation: "And they turned back and encamped before Pi-Hahiroth." Moses said to them, "Return backward." Once they sounded the horn to turn back, the ones lacking faith among them began tearing at their hair and rending their garments. Moses said to them, "From the mouth of the Holy One it was said to me that you are free men." "Between Migdol and the sea." There was the greatness of Egypt and there was their glory, and there Joseph gathered all the money, as it is said, "And Joseph brought the money into Pharaoh's house" (Genesis 47:14). "Before Baal-Zephon." Baal-Zephon was left to them out of the "hiroth" idols in order to lure the heart of the Egyptians, and of it is said, "He makes nations great and destroys them" (Job 12:23). "Opposite it you shall encamp by the sea." Scripture tells that at Migdol there were crowds equal to all who came out of Egypt. Another interpretation: "Opposite it you shall encamp by the sea"—in order to lure the heart of the Egyptians.