Pharaoh Unknowingly Names Moses the Bewildered One

Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 230:7

Curated by Arthur·Told by Maggid·

Another interpretation: Pharaoh spoke and did not know what he was saying. Moses misled them and did not know where he was leading them, as it is said, "they are bewildered (nevukhim)." And nevukhim means none other than Moses, as it is said, "go up to this Mount Abarim, Mount Nevo" (Deuteronomy 32:49).

Themes

ExodusMosesEgypt

Continue Reading

Antiquities of the Jews (Josephus)The Ten Plagues That Broke EgyptSix hundred chariots. Fifty thousand horsemen. Two hundred thousand infantry. That was the army Pharaoh sent racing after the Hebrews barely three days after leMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelWhen God Told Moses in, See, I Have Made You an Overlord to PharaohWhen God told Moses in (Exodus 7:1), "See, I have made you an overlord to Pharaoh," a question immediately arose in the minds of the ancient rabbis. The verse sMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelMoses and Aaron Were Equal in Status Despite the Torah Listing Moses FirstThe Torah speaks "to Moses and to Aaron", in that order. Moses first, Aaron second. A natural reading would assume this reflects a hierarchy: Moses is the greatMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelIn the Land of Egypt He Spoke to ThemThe passage from the Mekhilta on Tractate Pischa examines the opening words of the Passover instructions, (Exodus 12:1) "in the land of Egypt." The rabbis read Mekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelRabbi Akiva on Moses Saying God's WordsRabbi Akiva found a hidden message in a single word from (Exodus 12:1), the word "saying." When God spoke to Moses, the instruction included "saying," which AkiMekhilta DeRabbi YishmaelPerhaps the Meaning Is Both for the PesachThe Mekhilta deRabbi Yishmael, the halakhic midrash on Exodus from the school of Rabbi Yishmael, here works through a precise question about the Passover offeri