The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael pauses on a single phrase from the Ten Commandments to ask a question about dignity. When God declared "who took you out from the land of Egypt," what exactly was He saying about the status of the Israelites?
They had been slaves in Egypt. But slaves to whom? The Mekhilta insists on precision. The Israelites were servants of kings, not servants of servants. This distinction matters enormously. Being enslaved by a king is degrading, but being enslaved by another slave, by someone who is himself property, would be a far deeper humiliation.
The proof comes from (Deuteronomy 7:8): "And He redeemed you from the house of servants, from the hand of Pharaoh, the king of Egypt." The verse specifies that their master was Pharaoh, a king. This makes clear that the Israelites were servants of royalty, not servants of servants. Their bondage was political subjugation under a sovereign, not the lowest possible form of degradation.
The Mekhilta then offers an alternative reading. "From the house of servants" could also mean "from the house of servants of idolatry." In this reading, Egypt itself was a house of idol worship, and the Israelites were redeemed not merely from physical slavery but from a culture saturated with false gods.
Both readings preserve the dignity of Israel even in slavery. They were not the lowest of the low. They were captives of a powerful king in a land of idolatry, and God redeemed them from both forms of bondage.