4,138 related texts · 13 related myths · Page 1 of 87
The order was given; now it is done. Aharon lifts the rod, strikes the Nile in full view of Pharaoh and his court, and the whole river turns (Exodus 7:20). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan o...
Pharaoh, hardened of heart, remained unimpressed by the first plague, water turning to blood. Why? Because his magicians, aided by "Angels of Destruction," could replicate the effe...
The Legends of the Jews, that monumental work by Louis Ginzberg, gives us some fascinating insights. Ginzberg compiles centuries of Jewish tradition to paint a richer picture than ...
It's a direct confrontation, a symbolic smackdown, if you will. Pharaoh saw himself as a god, the supreme ruler of Egypt, unshakeable and all-powerful. But Shemot Rabbah draws a li...
The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 14:7) notices a strange detail in the chariot count. Pharaoh assembles six hundred choice chariots, plus all the chariots of his servants. But...
When the people again cried for water, the Holy One's instruction to Moses, as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan renders (Exodus 17:5), is quietly pointed: Pass over before the people, and ta...
When Pharaoh demanded a sign, Aharon was to throw down his rod and watch it become a serpent. But Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 7:9) translates the Hebrew tannin with the word ...
The Egyptian magicians threw down their rods too, and theirs also became serpents. So far, a tie. But Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 7:12) adds a detail the Hebrew only hints at...
God commands Aharon to lift his rod and bring up the frogs upon the land of Mizraim (Exodus 8:1). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 8:1) echoes the Hebrew faithfully but it is the ...
Pharaoh, puffed up with his own power, demanded proof. "Who will believe you," he sneered, "when you claim to be God's ambassadors, if you can't even perform wonders that convince ...
The Holy One does not argue with Moses. He simply issues a new set of orders. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the dual commission: the Lord spake with Mosheh and with Aharon, and ...
When the Torah sums up who stood before Pharaoh to demand Israel's release, it simply says these are they (Exodus 6:27). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 6:27) supplies the titles...
The moment arrives. Moses and Aharon enter Pharaoh's court, and Aharon throws down the rod. The Torah says it became a tannin, usually translated serpent or sea-monster (Exodus 7:1...
Moses stands at the water with the rod lifted, and God's words are simple and total: By this sign thou shalt know that I am the Lord (Exodus 7:17). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodu...
Every earlier plague, Pharaoh's court magicians had something to say. They turned their rods to serpents. They conjured frogs. They strained against lice and failed. But when the s...
The familiar story is this: Pharaoh, terrified by the growing number of Israelites, orders all newborn Hebrew boys to be cast into the Nile. A desperate act of cruelty. But what wa...
A reader can think of them as just escalating horrors, but sometimes the sequence itself holds a clue. the story turns to the plague of the frogs, the second of the ten, and see wh...
The Torah is full of these kinds of startling transformations, and the story of Moses' rod is a perfect example. It’s more than just a cool magic trick; it’s a lesson about power, ...
Really trapped. Centuries of slavery, your identity almost erased. Then, a glimmer of hope appears: MOSES. But even after plagues and miracles, freedom seems just out of reach. Wha...
It begins with Moses and Aaron, standing before Pharaoh, delivering a message that must have sounded utterly insane: "Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, Let my people go" (Exo...
When the Hebrew Bible says Aaron threw down his staff before Pharaoh and it became a serpent (Exodus 7:10), the Targum Jonathan makes a far more terrifying claim. The rod did not b...
It's all there in the book of Exodus, chapter 7, verse 9: "When Pharaoh will speak to you, saying: Provide a wonder for you; then you shall say to Aaron: Take your staff, and cast ...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Why Aaron Not Moses Struck the Dust for Lice. Rabbi Tanchum offers a powerful explanation. The Holy One, blessed be He, says to Moses, ‘It is not proper that...
Confession is easy when the sky is falling on you. "Intercede before the Lord," Pharaoh pleads to Moses, "that with Him it may be enough, and there may be no more maledictory thund...
When 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 seems to single out M...
Here is one of the most tender footnotes in all of Targum Pseudo-Jonathan. Aharon lifts his hand, the frogs swarm up. And the meturgeman pauses to explain why it is Aharon, not Mos...
It wasn’t just a random act of divine anger. According to Jewish tradition, there was a method to the madness, a specific reason why certain plagues were assigned to certain people...
Pharaoh's daughter did not accidentally find Moses. According to Sotah 12b, she came to the river to immerse herself, not for bathing, but to wash away the spiritual impurity of he...
R. Yehudah b. Betheira says: It is written (Exodus 6:9) "And they would not hearken to Moses (as to G–d's delivering them), for shortness of spirit, etc." Now is there anyone who i...
The 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 greater, Aaron the lesser...
After the slaves refuse to hear him, Moses turns to God with a new version of his old protest. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan preserves the logic: Behold, the sons of Israel do not hearken...
Why did Moses have to meet Pharaoh by the water at sunrise? The plain text only says that Pharaoh went out to the river (Exodus 7:15). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 7:15) tells...
The Egyptian astrologers had matched the first two plagues. Blood, yes. Frogs, yes. Lice, no. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 8:14) is blunt: The astrologers wrought with their b...
"Uplift thy hand towards the height of the heavens," the Lord says to Moses (Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 9:2)2), "and there shall be hail on all the land of Mizraim, upon men...
Legends of the Jews turns to Moses and Aaron Confront Pharaoh Face to Face. Two representatives of the enslaved children of Israel, standing before the most powerful man in the wor...
That feeling isn't new. It goes all the way back to Moses and Aaron facing down Pharaoh in the book of Exodus. They’re walking into the lion's den, asking the most powerful ruler o...
It's about a clash of wills, a battle of divine power, and ultimately, liberation. But have you ever stopped to consider the why behind how those plagues unfolded? to the very firs...
Think of that friend who finally starts exercising after a doctor's warning, or the colleague who suddenly becomes a team player when their job is on the line. Well, Pharaoh, in th...
God tells Moses that Pharaoh will not listen, but that redemption will come anyway, by force. The Hebrew says God will lay His hand upon Egypt (Exodus 7:4). Targum Pseudo-Jonathan ...
Moses's promise is exact and generous. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on (Exodus 8:7): The frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy house, and from thy servants, and from thy people; and...
“It was during the days of Aḥashverosh; that [hu] Aḥashverosh who reigned from India to Kush, one hundred and twenty-seven provinces” (Esther 1:1). Hu [appears] five [times] for ev...
The scene: Pharaoh's birthday. A huge deal. He's not just any king, remember – according to Legends of the Jews, he fancied himself ruler of the entire world. The book, compiled by...
Can you picture it? Not just some dusty throne room, but a bustling hub of Egyptian power. The scene is almost comical – seventy secretaries, scribbling away, managing Pharaoh's co...
The familiar picture has Moses and Aaron striding confidently into Pharaoh's court, ready to unleash divine power. But according to tradition, there was a crucial pep talk from God...
At the burning bush, the Holy One asks Moses to do something that violates every shepherd's instinct. The staff he has carried through decades in Midian has just become a serpent. ...
Before the sixth plague breaks on Egypt, the Holy One gives Moses and Aaron a strange instruction. Not a rod to raise. Not a river to strike. Handfuls of fine ash from the kiln. "T...
Shemot Rabbah turns to Moses Set as God Before Pharaoh and Aaron as His Prophet. The story takes an unexpected turn. We're transported to the time of King Solomon and the construct...
Some folks sneak around, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Others? They give you a heads-up, a warning shot across the bow. That difference, Before each plague struck, Mose...
