Why God Made Moses a God Over Pharaoh in Tanchuma Vaera

Another interpretation of (Exodus 7:1) "See, I have set you as a god to Pharaoh": The Holy One, blessed be He, said: Because he made himself into a god, He made known to him that he is nothing in the world. Behold, I will make you a god over him. And from where do we know that Pharaoh made himself into a god? As it is said (Ezekiel 29:3): "{Because he} [Who] said, {the} [My] Nile is my own, and I made myself" — I am the one who created myself. And this is one of four human beings who made themselves into divinities and were sexually penetrated like women; three were from the nations of the world and one from Israel. These are they: Hiram, Nebuchadnezzar, Pharaoh, and Joash. From where do we know of Hiram? As it is said (Ezekiel 28:2): "Say to the prince of Tyre: Thus says the Lord God: Because your heart is proud and you have said, I am a god." And because he made himself into a god, he was penetrated like women, as it is said (Ezekiel 28:17): "You have corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor… to gaze at you." What is "to gaze (lera'avah) at you"? They would perform their "loves" (re'utehen) upon you. From where do we know of Nebuchadnezzar? As it is said (Isaiah 14:14): "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By your life! (Isaiah 14:15) "Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the recesses of the pit." What did the Holy One, blessed be He, do? He exiled him while he was still in his kingship, and fed him grass like a beast, as it is said (Daniel 4:22): "And they shall make you eat grass like oxen." And the cattle and the wild beasts saw him in the likeness of a beast and had relations with him, as it is said (Habakkuk 2:17): "And the destruction of the beasts shall terrify them (yeḥittan)." What is "shall terrify them" (yeḥittan)? It is in the sense of what is said (Deuteronomy 7:3): "You shall not intermarry (titḥatten) with them" — for he became a bridegroom (ḥatan) to every beast and wild animal. From where do we know of Joash? As it is said (II Chronicles 24:17): "And after the death of Jehoiada, the princes of Judah came and bowed down to the king." What is "and bowed down to the king"? That they made him into a god, and he accepted it upon himself, as it is said (ibid.): "Then the king hearkened {to them} [the king to them]." And he was penetrated like women, as it is said (II Chronicles 24:24): "And upon Joash they executed judgments" — as you say (Leviticus 20:13): "And a man who lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination." And Pharaoh made himself into a god and was penetrated like women, as it says (Jeremiah 44:30): "Behold, I will give Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt." What is "Hophra"? That they uncovered (par'u) him from behind — he is Pharaoh, who was male and became female. Another interpretation of "Hophra": in the sense of what is said (Numbers 5:18): "And he shall uncover (ufara') the woman's head." And which is his father's house? (Isaiah 19:16) "On that day {the land of Egypt shall be in dread…} [Egypt shall be like women]." And what caused him to make himself into a god? As it is said (Ezekiel 29:3): "{Because he} [Who] said, {the} [My] Nile is my own, and I made myself." Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: Because he made himself into a god, go and be made a god over him, as it is said (Exodus 7:1): "See, I have set you as a god to Pharaoh." Why? "For one higher than the high watches, and there are higher ones over them" (Ecclesiastes 5:7). Thus, you are a god over him; and make of him an arrogant abomination (shaḥatz) in the world, because he made himself high. And this is what is written (Job 41:26): "He beholds everything high; {and} he is king over all the children of arrogance (benei shaḥatz)." And does the Holy One, blessed be He, not see the lowly? Is it not written (Zechariah 4:10): "The eyes of the LORD, they range through the whole earth"? Then what is "He beholds everything high"? Rabbi Berekhyah said: These are the arrogant, whose spirit is coarse within them, and who exalt themselves and make themselves into divinities. What does the Holy One, blessed be He, do to them? He shows them to His creatures and makes them an arrogant abomination (shaḥatz) in the world, as it is said: "he is king over all the children of arrogance" — such as Nebuchadnezzar, whom He made an arrogant abomination, as it is said (Daniel 5:21): "And he was driven from the sons of men." And likewise Sennacherib was made an arrogant abomination, as it is said (II Kings 19:35): "And it came to pass that night that the angel of the LORD went out and smote in the camp of Assyria." For the Holy One, blessed be He, shows the arrogant abomination of the haughty to every creature. The Holy One, blessed be He, said (Jeremiah 23:24): "If a man hide himself in secret places, shall I not see him? says the LORD." Rabbi Benjamin bar Levi said: If a man goes and busies himself with the Torah and sits alone, I show his deeds in the world; and likewise, if a man hides himself to commit a transgression, I show his deeds to the world, as it is said: "shall I not see him? says the LORD. Do I not fill the heavens and the earth? says the LORD" (ibid.). And what is "I fill"? Rabbi Hama son of Rabbi Hanina said: The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I fill from him the upper worlds and the lower worlds, and I show him as an arrogant abomination to the creatures. Why? Because they exalt themselves and make themselves into divinities. "He beholds everything high; {and} he is king over all the children of arrogance" — for He reigns over all those who exalt themselves and makes them an arrogant abomination. Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, said to Moses: "See, I have set you as a god to Pharaoh" — go and exact punishment from him; go and bring upon him the ten plagues. He said to Him: How shall I bring the plagues upon him? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him (Exodus 4:17): "And you shall take this rod in your hand." Rabbi Judah bar Ammi said: The rod had in it the weight of forty seah, and it was of sapphire, and the ten plagues were inscribed upon it by notarikon: DeTzaKh ADaSh BeAHaB. The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: This rod shall bring the plagues upon him. "See, I have set you as a god to Pharaoh."