Pharaoh and the Rotten Fish Who Suffered Three Punishments

Pesikta DeRav Kahana 11:3

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

"A rebuke enters deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool" (Proverbs 17:10). Rabbi Ishmael taught a parable: To a king who said to his servant, Go out and bring me a fish from the market. He went and brought him a rotten fish. The king said to him: By your life, one of three you will not escape — either you eat the fish, or you receive a hundred lashes, or you pay a fine. He said: I will eat the fish. He had not finished eating it before his stomach turned against him, and he said: I will take the lashes. He had not finished taking fifty lashes before he said: I will pay the fine. So he was found eating the fish, taking the lashes, and paying the fine. So too the Holy One, blessed be He, said to wicked Pharaoh: By your life, you will receive ten blows in succession, and you will pay your money, and you will send Israel away. "You will receive ten blows in succession" — these are the ten plagues. "You will pay your money" — "and they despoiled Egypt" (Exodus 12:36). "And you will send Israel away" — "And it came to pass when Pharaoh let the people go" (Exodus 13:17).

Themes

Divine JusticeEgyptParables

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