Why God Spared Pharaoh Alive in Egypt

Midrash Aggadah Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 9:16 View source

Curated by The Jewish Mythology Team · Published January 5, 2025

It is one of the hardest verses in Exodus. Why didn't the Lord simply strike Pharaoh dead and free the slaves?

The Targum Pseudo-Jonathan on Exodus 9:16, the Aramaic paraphrase preserved in the tradition of Yonatan ben Uzziel, gives the answer in the Lord's own voice: "Verily I have spared thee alive, not that I may benefit thee, but that My power may be made manifest to thee, and that My Holy Name may be made known in all the earth."

The Targumist makes two things painfully clear. First, Pharaoh's survival is not a kindness. He is not being rewarded. He is not being given another chance to become a tzaddik. Second, the reason he is kept alive is pedagogical — for display. So that My power may be made manifest. <p>The Maggid teaches: the Lord could have ended this story in a single night. Instead, He stretched it across ten plagues, because the world needed to see. Not only Egypt. All the earth. Every nation, every century, every Pesach Seder where a child asks why this night is different — the answer begins with Pharaoh's preservation.

The tyrant was spared so that the story could be told. That is a terrifying thought. But it is also the mechanism by which a slave people became a witness to the Name of God forever.

Themes

Divine justice Prophecy Exile

Biblical References

Exodus 9:16

Continue Reading

Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael The Holy One Blessed be He heals all who enter the world, viz The Holy One Blessed be He heals all who enter the world, viz. (Exodus 15:26) "for I am the L–rd who heals you", (Jeremi... Midrash Aggadah Elijah Why did you enter this ruin?' 'To We are taught that R. Jose says: "once upon a time I was walking on a road and I entered one of the ruins of Jerusalem t... Midrash Aggadah The Blood That Would Not Stop Boiling in Jerusalem For seven years after the destruction of the First Temple, the Sages say, the nations of the world cultivated their vine... Midrash Aggadah Nebuchadnezzar's Three Arrows All Pointed to Jerusalem Before he launched his final assault on Judah, Nebuchadnezzar paused to consult the omens. He was a king of his age, and... Midrash Aggadah Jeremiah Tells the Captives Why Jerusalem Fell The midrashic retelling of the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE preserves an image that belongs to nightmares.... Midrash Aggadah Two Nations Wrestling Inside Rebekah's Womb This is the prophecy Rebekah receives in the study house of Shem, and it reframes every story that follows. Targum Pseud... Midrash Aggadah The Deep Counsel That Sent Joseph Toward Egypt The Torah says Jacob sent Joseph from the Valley of Hebron. The word valley — emek — also means depth. Targum Pseudo-Jon... Midrash Aggadah Fear Not to Go Down — God's Vision to Jacob at Beersheba Jacob pauses at Be'er Sheva on his way to Egypt. He offers sacrifices. He waits. He listens. And the Holy One speaks to ... Midrash Aggadah Why God Knew Pharaoh Would Refuse Before Moses Asked Here is a difficult teaching: the Holy One tells Moses the outcome before the negotiation begins. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan...