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Israel Kept Shabbat While Pharaoh's Army Sharpened Its Swords

A Mekhilta itinerary shows Israel observed Shabbat at Succoth before crossing the sea while Egyptian emissaries demanded their return.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. They Stopped Walking
  2. The Emissaries With the Deadline
  3. The Camp at Etham and the Sea Beyond
  4. Samael and the Case Against Israel

They Stopped Walking

The Israelites leave Egypt on the fifteenth of Nisan, the night after the Passover meal, with their unleavened bread on their shoulders and the Egyptians pressing gifts on them to hurry them out the door. The firstborn are dead. The empire is in shock. Israel walks out under a high hand, the text says, openly, in daylight, in the sight of every Egyptian. They go to Ramses first, and then they keep moving.

They arrive at Succoth. They set up camp. They rest. The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, the tannaitic midrash on Exodus compiled in the second century, has been tracking the exact days and it will not let this moment pass without accounting for it. The calendar does not lie. They left on a Thursday. They rested at Ramses on Friday and on Shabbat. When the first day of the week came, they prepared to continue. And then the Egyptian emissaries arrived.

The Emissaries With the Deadline

Pharaoh had given permission for three days. Israel had asked for three days into the wilderness to worship their God, and Pharaoh had agreed, or appeared to agree, before the plagues began again. Now the three days are up, and the emissaries have come to collect the debt. "Your time has arrived," they announce. "Return to Egypt."

Israel's response in the Mekhilta is precise and unhesitating. "When we left, was it by leave of Pharaoh?" The night of the Passover was not a negotiated departure that could be negotiated back. Numbers 33:3 describes Israel leaving "with a high hand," and the Mekhilta reads this as the authorization that superseded any permission Pharaoh had or had not granted. They did not leave because Pharaoh let them go. They left because God brought them out, and that act does not come with a return clause.

The Camp at Etham and the Sea Beyond

From Succoth, Israel moves to Etham on the edge of the wilderness, and then the divine navigation does something unexpected. They are told to turn back, to camp before Pi-hahiroth between Migdol and the sea. The turn looks like a retreat. They are moving toward the water instead of away from it, back in the direction of Egypt. Pharaoh, watching this from behind, will read it as exactly what it looks like: Israel is confused, wandering, trapped by the wilderness. He hardens his heart and rides.

But the Mekhilta preserves the detail that the Egyptian surveillance had been continuous. Pharaoh sent riders to watch Israel throughout their journey from the first day they left. The report that came back when Israel turned toward the sea was the report he had been waiting for. They are turning around. They are lost. Go get them.

Samael and the Case Against Israel

At the edge of the sea, with Egypt behind them and the water in front of them, the Mekhilta adds a dimension invisible to the pursuing army. Samael, the prosecuting angel, makes his case in the divine court. The Israelites have just come from Egypt where they worshipped idols. Why should the sea split for them? They are not distinguishable from the Egyptians in their spiritual condition. They are idolators fleeing idolators, and the sea should close on both sides equally.

The divine response is not a rebuttal of Samael's facts. It is a decision that transcends the facts. The sea splits. Israel crosses on dry ground. Egypt follows into the same corridor and the water comes back. The argument that the people did not deserve the miracle is technically correct and completely irrelevant to what God decided to do with that moment.

ExodusShabbatEgyptPassoverMekhilta
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From the tradition

Sources

3 sources

The texts this telling draws on, in full. Open a card to read inline, or expand it for a wider, quieter read.

Mekhilta Tractate Vayehi Beshalach 2:3Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael

The children of Israel journeyed from Ramses to Succoth, and from Succoth to Eitam, and from Eitam to Pi Hachiroth. On the fifth day (of the week) they journeyed from Egypt, and they came to Ramses. On the sixth day and on the Sabbath they rested there, and on the first day of the week, the fourth day of their journeying, Israel began to prepare their vessels and preparing their beasts to leave, at which their (Egyptian) emissaries said to them: Your time has arrived to return to Egypt (viz. [5:3] "Let us go a three days' distance, etc."), whereupon Israel said to them: When we left, was it by leave of Pharaoh? (viz. Numbers 33:3) "On the morrow of the Pesach (Passover) the children of Israel went out with a high hand"), to which the emissaries retorted: Whether you like it or not, you must fulfill the royal decree! At this, Israel rose up against them. Some they killed, some they wounded, some fled and reported to Pharaoh. At this, Moses said to them: Turn back, so that Pharaoh not say that you are fleeing. When he blew the shofar for return the faint-hearted among them began to tear their hair and rend their garments, until Moses said to them: The L–rd has said to me that you are free. Thus, "Let them return and encamp before Pi Hachiroth."

Full source
Legends of the Jews 1:23Legends of the Jews

Take the story of the Exodus, the moment when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt. They’re trapped between Pharaoh’s army and the raging sea. A miracle is needed. But according to Legends of the Jews, as retold by Rabbi Louis Ginzberg, there was another threat at play: Samael (the angel of death).

Samael isn't exactly an independent rebel. Think of him more like a celestial prosecutor, an adversary. According to tradition, he's been lodging accusations against Israel ever since they left Egypt. He's constantly pointing out their flaws, their past idolatry. "Look at them, God," he's saying, "are these really the people worthy of your miracles?"

Ginzberg paints a vivid picture: God, facing Samael's relentless accusations, acts like a seasoned shepherd. Imagine the scene: a flock needs to cross a rushing stream, but a hungry wolf is eyeing them, ready to strike. What does the shepherd do? He throws the wolf a strong ram – a distraction. While the wolf is busy with the ram, the rest of the flock crosses to safety. Then, the shepherd returns and rescues the ram.

That’s what God does, metaphorically. Samael, ever the critic, challenges God: "These Israelites? You’re going to split the sea for them? They were just worshipping idols!"

So, what does God do? He offers up… Job. "While he busies himself with Job," God says, "Israel will pass through the sea unscathed, and as soon as they are in safety, I will rescue Job from the hands of Samael." Job, the epitome of righteousness, becomes the distraction, the "ram" in this divine strategy. While Samael is busy tormenting Job, questioning his faith, putting him through unimaginable trials… the Israelites are making their escape.

It’s a stunning example of divine chess. A cosmic balancing act where one person's suffering, however unjust, becomes the means for another's salvation. It raises so many questions, doesn’t it? About justice, about sacrifice, about the unseen forces at play in our lives.

We might never fully understand the reasons behind suffering, but this story from Legends of the Jews offers a glimpse into a world where even hardship can be part of a larger, ultimately redemptive plan. It challenges us to consider the unseen battles being fought on our behalf, and perhaps, to find meaning even in the midst of our own trials.

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Tanchuma, Beshalach 4Midrash Tanchuma

"And the LORD went before them" (Exodus 13:21). By the measure with which a person measures, by it they measure to him. Abraham escorted the ministering angels, as it is said: "And Abraham went with them to send them on their way" (Genesis 18:16). Therefore the Holy One, blessed be He, escorted His children in the wilderness for forty years. Abraham said: "Let now a little water be fetched" (Genesis 18:4).

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