It Came to Pass, When Pharaoh Had Let the People Go

"When he sent" (Exodus 13:17). This "sending" means escorting, as you say, "and Abraham went with them to send them off" (Genesis 18:16). And likewise it says, "and Isaac sent them off and they went" and so on (Genesis 26:31). And why did Scripture open with this expression? The mouth that said, "I will not let them go" (Exodus 5:2), turned back and said, "I myself will send you away." Therefore it opened with "and it was when he sent." And what was his reward? "You shall not abhor an Egyptian" (Deuteronomy 23:8). The mouth that said, "I do not know the LORD" (Exodus 5:2), turned back and said, "The LORD is the righteous one" (Exodus 9:27). And what was his reward? He gave them burial, as it is said, "You stretched out Your right hand, the earth swallowed them" (Exodus 15:12). "And God did not lead them" (Exodus 13:17); He guided them, as you say, "You led Your people like a flock" (Psalms 77:21). And it says, "and He led them with a cloud by day" (Psalms 78:14). "By way of the land of the Philistines, for it was near" (Exodus 13:17): near was the matter that the Holy One, blessed be He, had said to Abraham. And further, for the way was near to return to Egypt. And further, near was the oath that Abraham swore to Abimelech, "if you deal falsely with me" and so on (Genesis 21:23), and his grandson had not yet come. And further, the first war was near to the second. Another interpretation: "for it was near," near it was that the Canaanites should inherit the land, as it is written, "and in the fourth generation they shall return here" (Genesis 15:16), and they did not yet have a fourth generation. And He led them around the wilderness for forty years. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: If I lead them by a straight way, now each and every one will take hold of a field and a vineyard and neglect the Torah; rather, I will lead them by way of the wilderness, and they will eat the manna and drink the water of the well, and the Torah will settle in their bodies. And further, when the Canaanites heard that Israel was entering the land, they arose and burned the crops, and uprooted the trees, and cut down the saplings, and tore down the buildings, and stopped up the springs. The Holy One, blessed be He, said: I promised Abraham their father to bring them into a land full of all good things; behold, I will delay them in the wilderness forty years until the Canaanites arise and repair what they have ruined. "And the children of Israel went up armed" (Exodus 13:18): one out of five. And some say: one out of fifty. And some say: one out of five hundred. Rabbi Nehorai says: By the Temple service, not even one out of five thousand! And when did the rest die? In the days of the darkness, when Israel was burying their dead, and the Egyptians sat in darkness, and Israel gave thanks and praise that their enemies did not see them and rejoice in their downfall.