Parshat Bo5 min read

The Four Nights God Marked Before the Exodus

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan records four sacred nights written before God: creation, Abraham's covenant, the exodus, and the final redemption still to come.

Curated by Arthur · Told by Maggid ·
Table of Contents
  1. The Book of Memorials
  2. Creation Happened in the Dark
  3. Abraham Fought on Passover Night
  4. The Night That Has Not Yet Come

Passover night belongs to a chain of nights God marked before history knew what they meant.

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 12:42 turns one verse about the night of watching into a calendar of four sacred nights. The same date, recurring across creation. The same darkness, used four times for the most important things in the world.

The Book of Memorials

The verse says this night is a night of watching for God, from Egypt, for all the children of Israel throughout their generations. The Targum reads watching with unusual attention. If God watches on this night, the question is: what else happened on nights God watched?

The answer the Targum gives is a list. Four nights are written in the Book of Memorials before the Lord of the world.

The first night was when God was revealed in creating the world. The second was when God was revealed to Abraham at the Covenant Between the Pieces. The third was when God was revealed in Egypt, striking Egypt's firstborn and saving Israel's. The fourth is the one that has not arrived. It is the night when God will liberate the house of Israel from among the nations.

The pattern is staggering. Creation, covenant, exodus, final redemption. Each happens at night. The tradition says each happens on the same date. The calendar date of Passover is not an anniversary. It is a recurrence. The same opening is made four times in the same darkness, and the fourth has not yet been used.

Creation Happened in the Dark

The Targum's first night reaches back before sun and moon existed. Before any lamp was lit, before the world had any way to see itself, God brought order into a world covered in darkness. That was the first night of creation.

That choice matters for what follows. Every subsequent redemption begins the same way: before the light is clear, before the people can see what is about to happen, before the visible evidence matches the promise. Redemption does not begin with people seeing clearly. It begins when God speaks before anyone can see.

Abraham encountered it at the Covenant Between the Pieces, waiting in the dark between the cut animals while a great terror came upon him and God made the covenant. Moses encountered it in Egypt, in the middle of the night, when the cry arose from every house that had lost a firstborn and every house that had been passed over. Darkness is not the absence of God in these four nights. It is the medium through which God moves most directly.

Abraham Fought on Passover Night

Legends of the Jews, compiled by Louis Ginzberg between 1909 and 1938, places Abraham's great battle against the four kings on the fifteenth of Nisan, the night of Passover. He was outnumbered. His enemies were professional warriors backed by powerful allies. But the tradition says the projectiles aimed at Abraham turned to dust and chaff, and the night itself conspired with him.

This is the night of the covenant planted backward into the military narrative. Abraham at war on Passover night is already inside the same sacred time that will later produce the exodus. The miraculous protection he receives in Genesis anticipates the miraculous protection Israel receives in Egypt. Both happen in the same darkness, on the same date, as part of the same divine pattern that the Book of Memorials records.

The Night That Has Not Yet Come

The fourth night is the most powerful element in the Targum's scheme precisely because it has no content yet. Creation was described. The covenant with Abraham was described. The exodus from Egypt is being described right now, as Moses speaks and the Torah is written. But the final redemption is described only as future: the night when God will redeem Israel from among the nations.

That open space is intentional. Every Passover Seder night participates in the chain of four nights. The ritual is not merely a commemoration of what happened in Egypt. It is a practice of waiting for the fourth night. The same darkness that held creation, covenant, and exodus holds one more event not yet placed. The Seder ends with next year in Jerusalem. The Book of Memorials still has a page to fill.

PassoverRedemptionCreationAbrahamMessiah
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From the tradition

Sources

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

Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 12:42Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus

Of all the expansions in Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, few are as beautiful as the Four Nights passage on (Exodus 12:42). The Aramaic says there are four nights written in the Book of Memorials before the Lord of the world.

The first night was when He was revealed in creating the world. The second night was when He was revealed to Abraham at the Covenant Between the Pieces. The third night was when He was revealed in Mizraim, His hand killing all the firstborn of Egypt and His right hand saving the firstborn of Israel. The fourth night is the one that has not yet come, when He will be revealed to liberate the house of Israel from among the nations.

The pattern is staggering. Creation, covenant, Exodus, final redemption. Each happens at night. Each happens on the same calendar date. The rabbis understood this as a claim about the nature of God's intervention in history. The great turning points of the world do not happen at noon. They happen in the dark, in the hours when most of creation is asleep, when only the watchers, human and angelic, are awake to notice.

The Targum closes by tying the concept to Moses's teaching. This is the "Night of preservation from the destroying angel for all the sons of Israel who were in Mizraim, and of redemption of their generations from their captivity." Every seder night, Jews re-enter this liturgical structure, one night that holds four nights inside it.

The messianic reading of the Four Nights became foundational for later Jewish mysticism. The seder is not only a commemoration; it is an anticipation. The fourth night is still ahead.

Takeaway: Four of the most important nights in history share one calendar date. When you sit down to the seder, you are sitting inside all of them.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 5:116Legends of the Jews

The familiar story is this: Abraham, the righteous one, goes to war to rescue his nephew Lot. But the Legends of the Jews, that incredible collection of rabbinic lore compiled by Louis Ginzberg, paints a picture of this battle that's, well, let's just say it's not your average skirmish.

In legend, this monumental battle took place on the fifteenth of Nisan – that's the very night destined for miracles, the night of Pesach (Passover), Passover! It was a night ripe for the impossible. And what was impossible? Well, try facing down a coalition of mighty kings with a comparatively small force.

These weren't just any ordinary arrows and stones flying through the air. The projectiles aimed at Abraham were rendered utterly useless, impotent. Instead, the dust of the ground, the chaff, even the stubble that Abraham threw at his enemies transformed into deadly weapons – javelins and swords, each finding its mark. The very earth fighting alongside him.

Abraham himself? He wasn't just a brave leader; he was a veritable giant. The text describes him as being as tall as "seventy men set on end" and consuming as much food and drink as them too! Can you picture that? A colossus striding across the battlefield.

Each of his steps, we’re told, measured four miles! He was a force of nature, relentlessly pursuing the kings until he overtook them and utterly decimated their armies. It’s a staggering image of power and divine assistance.

But there's a curious twist. Abraham’s advance stopped at a specific place: Dan. Now, Dan might seem like just another location, but in this context, it carries a heavy weight. Dan is where, much later in history, Jeroboam would erect the golden calves, leading the people of Israel into idolatry. This act is seen as a profound betrayal of God.

And it was at this very spot, laden with the ominous foreshadowing of future sin, that Abraham's strength began to wane. Why? What's the connection?

Perhaps the legend is telling us that even the most righteous among us, even someone as close to God as Abraham, is vulnerable to the echoes of future transgressions. That no matter how powerful or divinely protected, we are all, in some way, connected to the sins and struggles of generations to come. The shadow of Jeroboam's sin, even before it happened, seems to have cast a pall over Abraham’s divinely-granted strength.

It's a potent reminder that history, both past and future, shapes us, influences us, and even limits us. And it makes you wonder: how much of our own strength is influenced by the echoes of choices yet to be made?

Full source
Legends of the Jews, IV. Moses In Egypt, The First PassoverLegends of the Jews

As the time approached for the Israelites' redemption from Egyptian slavery, a dilemma arose. They hadn't accumulated enough good deeds to merit their freedom! So, what did God do? He gave them two commandments: to sacrifice the paschal lamb (the Passover lamb), and to circumcise their sons.

There’s more. With the paschal lamb came the Jewish calendar, its year beginning with the month of Nisan, in which Passover is celebrated on the fifteenth day. The computations, however, were so complex that Moses couldn't grasp them until God revealed the movements of the moon to him. Ginzberg's retelling highlights that the intricacies of the calendar weren't the only thing that required divine intervention. Compounding the holy anointing oil, constructing the candlestick in the Tabernacle, and distinguishing between permitted and prohibited animals also needed God's direct teaching.

The determination of the new moon, the Rosh Chodesh, warranted special attention. God, as the story goes, appeared to Moses in a fringed garment, instructed Moses to stand at His right and Aaron at His left, and questioned the angels Michael and Gabriel about the appearance of the new moon. Then, God told Moses and Aaron, "Thus shall My children proclaim the new moon, on the testimony of two witnesses and through the president of the court."

When Moses told the Israelites that their redemption would occur in the month of Nisan, they were skeptical. "How can we be redeemed when Egypt is full of our idols, and we have no good deeds to our name?" they asked. Moses reassured them, saying, "God desires your redemption, and He pays no heed to your idols. He passes them by. Nor does He look upon your evil deeds, but only upon the good deeds of the pious among you."

The key, it seems, was abandoning idol worship. That's why God commanded them to sacrifice the paschal lamb. This act was a clear renunciation of Egyptian idolatry, particularly the worship of the ram. According to the lore, they were instructed to select their sacrificial animal four days before the offering and publicly designate it, a bold statement that they no longer feared the Egyptians.

Can you imagine the tension? The Egyptians watched, hearts heavy, as the Israelites prepared to sacrifice the very animals they worshipped. Yet, they dared not interfere. And when the time came, the Israelites, emboldened by days of unchallenged preparation, performed the ceremonies without fear.

Another act of defiance involved the blood of the lamb. The Israelites openly put it on the doorposts and lintels of their houses. This wasn’t just any ritual; it was a public declaration. Moses conveyed the laws of the Passover sacrifice to the elders, who then shared them with the people. The elders were praised for their early support of Moses, their faith inspiring the entire nation to follow him. God recognized their role, saying, "I will reward the elders for inspiring the people with confidence in Moses…They shall lead the people to the Passover sacrifice, and through this the redemption will be brought about."

The symbolism of the Passover sacrifice is rich. The blood on the doorposts, according to Ginzberg, was a reminder of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The bunch of hyssop used to sprinkle the blood symbolized Israel's humble position among nations, yet their unity and preciousness to God, just like the tightly bound hyssop.

The paschal sacrifice also presented Moses with an opportunity to persuade the Israelites to undergo circumcision, a commandment many had resisted. God intervened with a divine fragrance. A wind carried the sweet scents of Paradise toward Moses' lamb, drawing crowds from all over Egypt. When they desired to partake in the offering, Moses declared, "This is the command of God, 'No uncircumcised person shall eat thereof,'" leading them to embrace circumcision.

Finally, when God passed through Egypt, He blessed every Israelite for fulfilling the commandments of the paschal sacrifice and circumcision.

And there’s a final, almost unbelievable detail. As no sacrifice is to be eaten outside the Holy Land, God performed a miracle: transporting all the Israelites to the Holy Land on clouds to partake in the sacrifice, and then returning them to Egypt in the same manner.

So, what does this all mean for us today? The story of the first Passover is more than just a historical event; it's a evidence of faith, courage, and the power of divine intervention. It reminds us that even when we feel unworthy or surrounded by challenges, God can create opportunities for redemption. It challenges us to consider what "idols" we need to abandon in our own lives and what acts of faith we can embrace to move closer to freedom and purpose.

Full source
Legends of the Jews 4:347Legends of the Jews

Because, according to some traditions, even the ten plagues weren't enough to soften the hearts of the Egyptians. The oppression of the Hebrews continued relentlessly, right up to the very moment of their freedom. In fact, the Legends of the Jews (Ginzberg) tells a heartbreaking tale of a woman named Rachel, daughter of Shuthelah.

On the very day of the Exodus, as Rachel and her husband toiled, making bricks from clay, she went into labor. In the midst of this grueling work, the baby slipped from her womb and vanished into the clay. A truly devastating moment.

Then, something extraordinary happened.

Gabriel, the archangel, appeared. He molded that very clay, the clay that had swallowed the child, into a brick. And what did he do with this brick? He carried it all the way to the highest heavens, placing it as a footstool before the Divine throne. Can you picture that? A symbol of unimaginable suffering transformed into something that literally supports the glory of God.

It was on that very night, the Legends of the Jews continues, that God finally looked upon the suffering of Israel, and the tenth and final plague – the slaying of the firstborn – was unleashed upon Egypt. This night, according to tradition, is one of four nights so significant that God inscribed them in the Book of Memorial.

So, what are the other three?

The first, unsurprisingly, is the night God appeared to create the world. Imagine the scene: utter chaos, emptiness, darkness covering the abyss. Then, the Lord's word bursts forth, and light floods everything. (Ginzberg, Legends).

The second night commemorates God's appearance to Abraham at the brit bein ha-betarim (ברית בין הבתרים), the covenant of the pieces. This is a pivotal moment in our history, marking the beginning of God's special relationship with Abraham and his descendants.

And the third? Well, we've already touched on it: the night in Egypt when God struck down the firstborn of the Egyptians with His right hand, while simultaneously protecting the firstborn of the Israelites with His left. It's a night of both destruction and salvation, forever etched in the memory of our people (Midrash Rabbah).

But the story doesn't end there. The fourth night, the Legends of the Jews tells us, is yet to come. It will be the night when the final redemption is accomplished, when the iron yoke of the wicked kingdom is broken, and evildoers are destroyed. In this future, Moses will emerge from the desert, and the Messiah will come from Rome – each leading their respective flocks. And the word of God, the ultimate mediator, will guide them both to walk together in harmony.

It’s a powerful vision, isn't it? A reminder that even in the midst of suffering and oppression, hope remains. That even the darkest moments can be transformed into something sacred. And that the story of redemption is not just a thing of the past, but a promise for the future.

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