Chumashחומש

וישבו המים. שֶׁזְּקוּפִין וְעוֹמְדִים כְּחוֹמָה, יָשׁוּבוּ לִמְקוֹמָם וִיכַסּוּ עַל מִצְרַיִם:

וישבו המים means THE WATERS that were standing erect as a wall SHALL RETURN to their places and form a cover over the Egyptians.

לפנות בקר. לְעֵת שֶׁהַבֹּקֶר פּוֹנֶה לָבֹא:

לפנות בקר AT THE TURNING OF THE MORNING at the time when the morning turns to come).

לאיתנו. לְתָקְפּוֹ הָרִאשׁוֹן (מכילתא):

לאיתנו means TO ITS ORIGINAL STRENGTH (Mekhilta).

נסים לקראתו. שֶׁהָיוּ מְהֻמָּמִים וּמְטֹרָפִים וְרָצִין לִקְרַאת הַמַּיִם:

נסים לקראתו FLED TOWARDS IT — because they were thrown into confusion and were bewildered and on that account ran towards it.

וינער ה'. כְּאָדָם שֶׁמְּנַעֵר אֶת הַקְּדֵרָה וְהוֹפֵךְ הָעֶלְיוֹן לְמַטָּה וְהַתַּחְתּוֹן לְמַעְלָה, כָּךְ הָיוּ עוֹלִין וְיוֹרְדִין וּמִשְׁתַּבְּרִין בַּיָּם, וְנָתַן הַקָּבָּ"ה בָּהֶם חַיּוּת לְקַבֵּל הַיִּסּוּרִין (שם):

וינער ה AND THE LORD OVERTHREW (or, shook out or emptied out) — as a person empties out a pot, turning what is on top underneath and what is underneath on top: thus they were emptied out of their chariots and they rose and fell till at last they were broken to pieces in the sea, and the Holy One, blessed be He, put vitality (strength) in them so that they could bear the pain (and thus their agony was protracted) (cf. Mekhilta).

וינער. "וְשַׁנֵּיק", וְהוּא לְשׁוֹן טֵרוּף בִּלְשׁוֹן אֲרַמִּי, וְהַרְבֵּה יֵשׁ בְּמִ"אַ:

וינער — Onkelos renders this by ושניק which is an expression for confounding in Aramaic, and there are many examples of it in the Agadic expositions.

ויכסו את הרכב, לכל חיל פרעה. כָּךְ דֶּרֶךְ הַמִּקְרָאוֹת לִכְתֹּב לָמֶ"ד יְתֵרָה, כְּמוֹ "לְכָל כֵּלָיו תַּעֲשֶׂה נְחֹשֶׁת" (שמות כ"ז), וְכֵן "לְכֹל כְּלֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן בְּכֹל עֲבֹדָתוֹ" (במדבר ד'), "וִיתֵדוֹתָם וּמֵיתְרֵיהֶם לְכָל כְּלֵיהֶם" (שם), וְאֵינָהּ אֶלָּא תִּקּוּן לָשׁוֹן:

ויכסו את הרכב ... לכל חיל פרעה AND COVERED THE CHARIOTS … AND ALL THE FORCES OF PHARAOH — in regard to the ל of לכל, this is the way of Scripture verses (of Biblical Hebrew) to write a redundant ל, as in (Exodus 27:3) “all (לכל) its vessels shalt thou make of copper”.. So, too, (Exodus 27:19) ‘‘all (לכל) the vessels of the dwelling in all the service thereof”; (Numbers 4:32) “and their pins and their cords and all (לכל) their vessels”. It is only an elegancy of style.

וירא ישראל את מצרים מת. שֶׁפְּלָטָן הַיָּם עַל שְׂפָתוֹ, כְּדֵי שֶׁלֹּא יֹאמְרוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל, כְּשֵׁם שֶׁאָנוּ עוֹלִים מִצַּד זֶה כָּךְ הֵם עוֹלִין מִצַּד אַחֵר, רָחוֹק מִמֶּנּוּ, וְיִרְדְּפוּ אַחֲרֵינוּ (פסחים קי"ח):

וירא ישראל את מצרים מת AND ISRAEL SAW THE EGYPTIANS DEAD — because the sea threw them out on its shore in order that the Israelites should not say: “Just as we have come up from out of the sea on this part, so they have come up on another part of this shore, but far away from us, and they will pursue us” (Mekhilta; Pesachim 118b; Arakhin 15a).

את היד הגדולה. אֶת הַגְּבוּרָה הַגְּדוֹלָה שֶׁעָשְׂתָה יָדוֹ שֶׁל הַקָּבָּ"ה. וְהַרְבֵּה לְשׁוֹנוֹת נוֹפְלִין עַל לְשׁוֹן יָד וְכֻלָּן לְשׁוֹן יָד מַמָּשׁ הֵן, וְהַמְפָרְשׁוֹ יְתַקֵּן הַלָּשׁוֹן אַחַר עִנְיַן הַדִּבּוּר:

את היד הגדלה denotes THE GREAT power which the HAND of the Holy One, blessed be He, had exercised. There are many meanings that are appropriate to the expression יד, hand, but all of them really signify the actual hand, and he who is explaining it must adapt the language according to the meaning of the passage.

אז ישיר משה. אָז כְּשֶׁרָאָה הַנֵּס עָלָה בְלִבּוֹ שֶׁיָּשִׁיר שִׁירָה. וְכֵן "אָז יְדַבֵּר יְהוֹשֻׁעַ" (יהושע י'), וְכֵן "וּבַיִת יַעֲשֶׂה לְבַת פַּרְעֹה" (מלכים א ז') – חָשַׁב בְּלִבּוֹ שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה לָהּ, אַף כָּאן יָשִׁיר אָמַר לוֹ לִבּוֹ שֶׁיָּשִׁיר וְכֵן עָשָׂה – וַיֹּאמְרוּ לֵאמֹר אָשִׁירָה לַה', וְכֵן בִּיהוֹשֻׁעַ כְּשֶׁרָאָה הַנֵּס אָמַר לוֹ לִבּוֹ שֶׁיְּדַבֵּר וְכֵן עָשָׂה – "וַיֹּאמֶר לְעֵינֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" (יהושע י'), וְכֵן שִׁירַת הַבְּאֵר, שֶׁפָּתַח בָּהּ אָז יָשִׁיר יִשְׂרָאֵל, פֵּרֵשׁ אַחֲרָיו "עֲלִי בְאֵר עֱנוּ לָהּ" (במדבר י"א), "אָז יִבְנֶה שְׁלֹמֹה בָּמָה" (מלכים א י"א), פֵּרְשׁוּ בוֹ חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל שֶׁבִּקֵּשׁ לִבְנוֹת וְלֹא בָנָה, לִמְּדָנוּ שֶׁהַיּוֹ"ד עַל שֵׁם הַמַּחֲשָׁבָה נֶאֶמְרָה, זֶהוּ לְיַשֵּׁב פְּשׁוּטוֹ. אֲבָל מִדְרָשׁוֹ אָמְרוּ רַבּוֹתֵינוּ זִ"לִ "מִכָּאן רֶמֶז לִתְחִיַּת הַמֵּתִים מִן הַתּוֹרָה" וְכֵן בְּכֻלָּן, חוּץ מִשֶּׁל שְׁלֹמֹה, שֶׁפֵּרְשׁוּהוּ בִּקֵּשׁ לִבְנוֹת וְלֹא בָנָה. וְאֵין לוֹמַר וּלְיַשֵּׁב לָשׁוֹן הַזֶּה כִּשְׁאָר דְּבָרִים הַנִּכְתָּבִים בִּלְשׁוֹן עָתִיד וְהֵן מִיָּד, כְּגוֹן "כָּכָה יַעֲשֶׂה אִיּוֹב" (איוב א'), "עַ"פִּ ה' יַחֲנוּ" (במדבר ט'), "וְיֵשׁ אֲשֶׁר יִהְיֶה הֶעָנָן" (שם), לְפִי שֶׁהֵן דָּבָר הַהוֹוֶה תָמִיד וְנוֹפֵל בּוֹ בֵּין לְשׁוֹן עָתִיד וּבֵין לְשׁוֹן עָבָר, אֲבָל זֶה שֶׁלֹּא הָיָה אֶלָּא לְשָׁעָה, אֵינִי יָכוֹל לְיַשְּׁבוֹ בַּלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה:

אז ישיר משה THEN SANG MOSES — with regard to the usage of the future ישיר, the meaning is: THEN — i. e. when he saw the miracle it entered his mind that HE WOULD SING a song. Similar is, (Joshua 10:12) “Then Joshua would speak (אז ידבר)”; and similar, (1 Kings 7:8) “and a house he would make (יעשה) for Pharaoh’s daughter”, which signifies “he purposed in his heart that he would make it for her”. So, also, ישיר here signifies: his heart told him that he should sing, and thus did he actually do, as it states, “and they (Moses and Israel) spake as follows, ‘I will sing unto the Lord’”. And in the same way, in the case of Joshua, it means: then (או) — when he saw the miracle mentioned in that narrative — his heart told him (prompted him) to speak, and thus did he actually do, as it is stated, “and he spake before the eyes of all Israel”. The same applies to the Song of the Well (Numbers 21:17) which begins with the words: אז ישיר ישראל, “then would Israel sing”; it expresses the intention quite plainly in the following words, “Come up, O Well — sing ye unto it” (i. e. these words are a call to the people to sing to it after Israel had expressed their intention so to do and are not part of the song itself which begins with the words that follow). With regard to (1 Kings 11:7) אז יבנה שלמה במה our Rabbis explained that He proposed to build a high place for Chemosh but actually did not build it (Sanhedrin 91b). This, too, teaches us that the י as a prefix of the imperfect is used in reference to intention to do a thing. This explanation serves to settle the literal meaning of the text. But so far as its Midrashic explanation is concerned our Rabbis, of blessed memory, said: from here (i. e. from the fact that the future tense is used) we may derive an intimation that the tenet of the Resurrection of the Dead is from the Torah (is alluded to, although only by inference, in the Torah) (Sanhedrin 91b). And thus, also, do they explain in the case of all them (all of the examples quoted) except in the case of that referring to Solomon which they explained in the sense that he purposed to build a high place but did not build it. — One cannot say that this can be appropriately explained in the same way as one explains other passages which are written in the future tense, but which really refer to an immediate action (i. e. to a then present time); for example, (Job. 1:5) “Thus was Job doing (יעשה)”; (Numbers 9:18) “At the command of the Lord were they encamping (יחנו)”; (Numbers 9:20) “And there were occasions when the cloud was (יהיה) upon the tabernacle”, because these were each of them something that was continuously happening, and there is proper to it either the future tense or the past tense (cf. Rashi on Genesis 29:3). But this (אז ישיר and other passages quoted) which happened only at the particular moment mentioned (once and once only), one cannot fittingly explain in this sense (i. e. of continuous action).

כי גאה גאה. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ. (דָּ"אַ – בָּא הַכֵּפֶל לוֹמַר שֶׁעָשָׂה דָּבָר שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְבָשָׂר וָדָם לַעֲשׂוֹת; כְּשֶׁהוּא נִלְחָם בַּחֲבֵרוֹ וּמִתְגַּבֵּר עָלָיו, מַפִּילוֹ מִן הַסּוּס, וְכָאן הַסוּס וְרֹכְבוֹ רָמָה בַיָּם, וְכָל שֶׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לַעֲשׂוֹת עַל יְדֵי זוּלָתוֹ נוֹפֵל בּוֹ לְשׁוֹן גֵּאוּת, כְּמוֹ "כִּי גֵאוּת עָשָׂה" (ישעיהו י"ב), וְכֵן כָּל הַשִּׁירָה תִּמְצָא כְפוּלָה, עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה, ה' אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה ה' שְׁמוֹ, וְכֵן כֻּלָּם). דָּבָר אַחֵר – כי גאה גאה, עַל כָּל הַשִּׁירוֹת וְכָל מַה שֶּׁאֲקַלֵּס בּוֹ, עוֹד יֵשׁ בּוֹ תּוֹסֶפֶת, וְלֹא כְמִדַּת מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם שֶׁמְּקַלְּסִין אוֹתוֹ וְאֵין בּוֹ:

כי גאה גאה FOR HE IS GLORIOUSLY SUBLIME — render this as the Targum does: for He is exalted above all exalted beings and real exaltation (supremity) is His alone. [Another explanation: the repetition of the word is intended to state that He has done something which it is impossible for a human being (lit., flesh and blood) to do. When he (the latter) fights against another and vanquishes him he throws him off the horse, but here — horse and its rider together hath He hurled into the sea. The usage is, that in the case of everything which cannot possibly be done by anyone except Him the appropriate expression to use is a form of the root גאה, as in (Isaiah 12:5), “for He hath done גאות” — gloriously. In the same way you will find that throughout the whole Song the words are repeated: (v. 2) “The strength and vengeance of the Lord have become my help”; (v. 4). “The Lord is a man of war, the Lord is His name” (cf. Rashi’s explanation of this), and this is the case in all the verses]. Another explanation of כי גאה גאה: I will sing unto the Lord although (כי) He is exalted high above all songs and however much I may praise Him there will still remain something additional in Him to be praised (עוד יש בו תוספת — I can never exhaust his praises), and not as is the practice in respect to a human king whom one praises, attributing to him certain virtues whilst these are really not in him (cf. Mekhilta).

סוס ורכבו. שְׁנֵיהֶם קְשׁוּרִים זֶה בָּזֶה וְהַמַּיִם מַעֲלִין אוֹתָן וְיוֹרְדִין לָעֹמֶק וְאֵינָן נִפְרָדִין (מכילתא):

סוס ורכבו THE HORSE AND ITS RIDER — both of them attached one to the other; and the waters lifted them up and then they descended into the depths and yet they did not become separated (Mekhilta).

רמה. הִשְׁלִיךְ, וְכֵן "וּרְמִיו לְגוֹא אַתּוּן נוּרָא" (דניאל ג'). וּמִדְרַשׁ אַגָּדָה: כָּתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר רָמָה, וְכָתוּב אֶחָד אוֹמֵר יָרָה, מְלַמֵּד שֶׁהָיוּ עוֹלִין לָרוּם וְיוֹרְדִין לַתְּהוֹם, כְּמוֹ "מִי יָרָה אֶבֶן פִּנָּתָהּ" (איוב ל"ח), מִלְמַעְלָה לְמַטָּה:

רמה means HE HATH CAST. Similar is (Daniel 3:21) “and they were cast (ורמיו) into the midst of the fiery furnace”. And an Agadic explanation is: One verse says רמה, which involves the idea of raising (רום), and another verse (v. 4) says, ירה which implies casting from a height (cf. Rashi on ירה יירה 19:13)! This teaches us that they first went up on high and then went down into the depths (i. e. they were tossed up and down). The meaning of ירה here is the same as in (Job. 38:6) “Who laid (ירה) the corner-stone thereof?” — implying laying from above to below (Mekhilta).

עזי וזמרת יה. אֻנְקְלוֹס תִּרְגֵּם "תָּקְפִּי וְתֻשְׁבַּחְתִּי", עָזִּי כְּמוֹ עֻזִּי, וְזִמְרָת כְּמוֹ וְזִמְרָתִי, וַאֲנִי תָּמֵהַּ עַל לְשׁוֹן הַמִּקְרָא, שֶׁאֵין לְךָ כָמוֹהוּ בִּנְקֻדָּתוֹ בַּמִּקְרָא אֶלָּא בִּשְׁלֹשָׁה מְקוֹמוֹת שֶׁהוּא סָמוּךְ אֵצֶל וְזִמְרָת, וְכָל שְׁאָר מְקוֹמוֹת נָקוּד שׁוּרֻ"ק, "ה' עֻזִּי וּמָעֻזִּי" (ירמיהו ט"ז), "עֻזּוֹ אֵלֶיךָ אֶשְׁמֹרָה" (תהילים נ"ט). וְכֵן כָּל תֵּבָה בַּת שְׁתֵּי אוֹתִיּוֹת הַנְּקוּדָה מְלָאפוּם כְּשֶׁהִיא מַאֲרֶכֶת בְּאוֹת שְׁלִישִׁית וְאֵין הַשְּׁנִיָּה בַּחֲטָף, הָרִאשׁוֹנָה נְקוּדָה בְּשׁוּרֻק, כְּגוֹן עֹז עֻזִּי, רֹק רֻקִּי, חֹק חֻקִּי, עֹל עֻלּוֹ – "וְסָר מֵעֲלֵהֶם עֻלּוֹ" (ישעיהו י"ד), כֹּל כֻּלּוֹ – "וְשָׁלִשִׁם עַל כֻּלּוֹ" (שמות י"ד), וְאֵלּוּ ג' עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת שֶׁל כָּאן, וְשֶׁל יְשַׁעְיָה, וְשֶׁל תְּהִלִּים, נְקוּדִים בַּחֲטָף קָמָץ, וְעוֹד אֵין בְּאֶחָד מֵהֶם כָּתוּב וְזִמְרָתִי אֶלָּא וְזִמְרָת, וְכֻלָּם סָמוּךְ לָהֶם "וַיְהִי לִי לִישׁוּעָה". לְכָךְ אֲנִי אוֹמֵר, לְיַשֵּׁב לְשׁוֹן הַמִּקְרָא, שֶׁאֵין עָזִּי כְּמוֹ עֻזִּי וְלֹא וְזִמְרָת כְּמוֹ וְזִמְרָתִי, אֶלָּא עָזִּי שֵׁם דָּבָר הוּא כְּמוֹ "הַיֹּשְׁבִי בַּשָּׁמָיִם" (תהילים קכ"ג), "שֹׁכְנִי בְחַגְוֵי סֶלַע" (עובדיה א'), "שֹׁכְנִי סְנֶה" (דברים ל"ג), וְזֶהוּ הַשֶּׁבַח עָזִּי וְזִמְרָת יָהּ הוּא הָיָה לִי לִישׁוּעָה. וְזִמְרָת דָּבוּק הוּא לְתֵבַת הַשֵּׁם, כְּמוֹ "לְעֶזְרַת ה'" (שופטים ה'), "בְּעֶבְרַת ה'" (ישעיהו ט'), "עַל דִּבְרַת בְּנֵי הָאָדָם" (קהלת ג'). וּלְשׁוֹן וְזִמְרָת לְשׁוֹן "לֹא תִזְמֹר" (ויקרא כ"ה), "זְמִיר עָרִיצִים" (ישעיהו כ"ה), לְשׁוֹן כִּסּוּחַ וּכְרִיתָה – עֻזּוֹ וְנִקְמָתוֹ שֶׁל אֱלֹהֵינוּ הָיָה לָנוּ לִישׁוּעָה. וְאַל תִּתְמַהּ עַל לְשׁוֹן וַיְהִי, שֶׁלֹּא נֶאֱמַר הָיָה, שֶׁיֵּשׁ לָנוּ מִקְרָאוֹת מְדַבְּרִים בְּלָשׁוֹן זֶה, וְזֶה דֻגְמָתוֹ: "אֶת קִירוֹת הַבַּיִת סָבִיב לַהֵיכָל וְלַדְּבִיר וַיַּעַשׂ צְלָעוֹת סָבִיב" (מלכים א ו'), הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר עָשָׂה צְלָעוֹת סָבִיב. וְכֵן בְּדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים: "וּבְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל הַיֹּשְׁבִים בְּעָרֵי יְהוּדָה וַיִּמְלֹךְ עֲלֵיהֶם רְחַבְעָם" (דברי הימים ב' י'), הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר מָלַךְ עֲלֵיהֶם רְחַבְעָם. "מִבִּלְתִּי יְכֹלֶת ה' וְגוֹ' וַיִּשְׁחָטֵם" (במדבר י"ד), הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר שְׁחָטָם. "וְהָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר שָׁלַח מֹשֶׁה וְגוֹ' וַיָּמֻתוּ" (שם) מֵתוּ הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר, "וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא שָׂם לִבּוֹ אֶל דְּבַר ה' וַיַּעֲזֹב" (שמות ט'), הָיָה לוֹ לוֹמַר עָזַב:

עזי וזמרת יה — Onkelos translated this by “my might and my praise”, taking עָזִּי the same as עֻזִּי, and וְזִמְרָת the same as וְזִמְרָתִי. But I wonder at the wording of the text if this translation is correct, for you will find no similar example of its punctuation (i. e. of עָזִּי) in the Scriptures except in three passages where it is, in each case, followed by וזמרת. In all other passages it is punctuated with שורק (i. e. our Kibbutz); e. g., (Jeremiah 16:19) ה' עֻזִּי ומעזי (Psalms 59:10) עֻזּו אליך אשמרה So, too, every word of two letters that is punctuated with a Melopum (our חולם) when it is lengthened by the addition of a third letter (i. e. when it has a pronominal suffix as in the examples given below), and the second has not a Sheva (חטף), the first is punctuated with a שורק (Kibbuts) — as, for instance, עֹז and עֻזִּי; ‎רֹק and ‎רֻקִי ; ‎חֹק and ‎חֻקִי ; ‎עֹל and עֻלִי as in (Isaiah 14:25) “then shall his yoke (עֻלּוֹ, from עֹל) depart from him”; — כֹּל and כֻּלּוֹ, as in (Exodus 14:7) “and captains over each of them (כֻּלּוֹ) — from כֹּל. But these three examples of עָזִּי וְזִּמְרָת, viz., that occuring here and that in Isaiah (12:2) and that in Psalms (118:14), are punctuated with short Kametz, whereas the translation of Onkelos would require עֻזִּי and not עָזִּי. Then further, in not one of them (these three passages) is it written וזמרתי, as Onkelos translates, but וזמרת and remarkably enough all of them are immediately followed by ויהי לי לישועה. — Therefore I say in explanation of the wording of the text that עָזִּי is not the same as עֻזִּי and וְזִמְרָת is not the same as וְזִמְרָתִי, but עָזִּי is a noun without a suffix of any kind, as we find in (Psalms 123:1) “The one who sits (הַיֹּשְׁבִי) in heaven”; (Obadiah 3:3) “The one who dwells (שֹׁכְנִי) in the cleft of the rock”; (Deuteronomy 33:16) “He that dwelleth (שֹׁכְנִי) in the bush” (where the syllable at the end of the word is part of the noun and is not the pronominal suffix denoting “my”). The praise, therefore, proclaimed in these words is this: The עז and the זִמְרָת of God, this was to me as a help. The word וזמרת is a noun in the construct state to the word which expressess the Divine Name (יָהּ), in the same sense as (Judges 5:23) “to the help of (לעזרַת — const.) the Lord”; (Isaiah 9:18) “through the wrath of (בעברת — constr.) the Lord”; (Ecc. 3:18) “because of (דברַת — const.) the sons of man”. The expression וזמרת has the meaning of the root which we find in (Leviticus 25:4) “thou shalt not prune (תזמר)” and in (Isaiah 25:5) “the cutting down (זמיר) of the terrible ones”, both of which have the meaning “lopping off” and “cutting down”. Thus the verse signifies: “The strength and vengeance of our God has become to us a help”. Do not be puzzled by the expression ויהי — that it does not state היה — for we have other verses also that use this idiom, and the following is an example of such a construction: (1 Kings 6:5) “round about the wall of the house, both of the temple and the most holy place, he made (ויעש) a side structure”, and it should have said (instead of ויעש etc.) עשה לו צלעות סביב. Similarly in Chronicles, (2 10:17) “But as for the children of Israel who dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned (וימלך) over them”, where it should have said מלך עליהם. Other examples are: (Numbers 14:16) “Because the Lord was unable etc…. He slaughtered them (וישחטם)”, where it should have said שחטם; (Numbers 14:36, 37) “And the men whom Moses sent … they died (וימתו)”, where it should have said מתו; (Exodus 9:21) “And he that regarded not the word of the Lord left (ויעזב) his cattle, etc.”, where it should have said עזב‎.

זה אלי. בִּכְבוֹדוֹ נִגְלָה עֲלֵיהֶם וְהָיוּ מַרְאִין אוֹתוֹ בְּאֶצְבַּע, רָאֲתָה שִׁפְחָה עַל הַיָּם מַה שֶּׁלֹּא רָאוּ נְבִיאִים (מכילתא):

זה אלי THIS IS MY GOD — In His glory did He reveal Himself to them and they pointed to Him — as it were — with the finger exclaiming “This is my God!” (Shir HaShirim Rabbah 3:15) A maid servant beheld at the Red Sea what even the prophets never saw (Mekhilta).

ואנוהו. אֻנְקְלוֹס תִּרְגֵּם לְשׁוֹן נָוֶה – "נָוֶה שַׁאֲנָן" (ישעיהו ל"ג), "לִנְוֵה צֹאן" (שם ס"ה). דָּבָר אַחֵר – וְאַנְוֵהוּ לְשׁוֹן נוֹי, אֲסַפֵּר נוֹיוֹ וְשִׁבְחוֹ לְבָאֵי עוֹלָם, כְּגוֹן "מַה דּוֹדֵךְ מִדּוֹד וְגוֹ' דּוֹדִי צַח וְאָדוֹם" (שיר השירים ה'), וְכָל הָעִנְיָן:

ואנוהו Onkelos translates this in the sense of a dwelling (viz., I will build Him a temple) as in (Isaiah 33:20) “a peaceful habitation (נוה)” and in (Isaiah 65:10) “a dwelling (נוה) for flocks”. Another explanation of ואנוהו is that it has the sense of נוי, “beauty”, and the meaning is: I will relate His splendour and praiseworthiness to the inhabitants of the world as, for example, was actually done by Israel: (Song 5:9, 10) The nations of the world ask, “What is thy beloved more than another beloved?” … and Israel replies, “My beloved is white and ruddy”, and thus you will find it in that whole section (cf. Mekhilta).

אלהי אבי. הוּא זֶה וארממנהו: אלהי אבי. לֹא אֲנִי תְּחִלַּת הַקְּדֻשָּׁה אֶלָּא מֻחְזֶקֶת וְעוֹמֶדֶת לִי הַקְּדֻשָּׁה וֵאלֹהוּתוֹ עָלַי מִימֵי אֲבוֹתַי:

אלהי אבי MY FATHER’S GOD is this וארממנהו AND I WILL EXALT HIM. אלהי אבי He is not merely my God but He was MY FATHER’S GOD also — I am not the beginning of the sanctity (i. e. I am not the first to hallow Him by proclaiming Him God), this hallowing of Him and the proclamation of His Godship over me is something that has been held by me and has remained mine since the days of my fathers.

ה' איש מלחמה. בַּעַל מִלְחָמוֹת, כְּמוֹ "אִישׁ נָעֳמִי" (רות א'), וְכָל אִישׁ וְאִישֵׁךְ מְתֻרְגָּמִין בַּעַל, וְכֵן "וְחָזַקְתָּ וְהָיִיתָ לְאִישׁ" (מלכים א ב') – לְגִבּוֹר:

ה' איש מלחמה means The Lord is a Master of war; just as, (Ruth 1:3) “the איש (i. e. the master) of Naomi”. (Cf. Rashi on that verse). Wherever the words איש and אישך occur they must be translated by בעל; so, too, (1 Kings 2:2) “Be thou strong and show thyself an איש” — a mighty person.

ה' שמו. מִלְחֲמוֹתָיו לֹא בִּכְלֵי זַיִן אֶלָּא בִּשְׁמוֹ הוּא נִלְחָם; כְּמוֹ שֶׁאָמַר דָּוִד "וְאָנֹכִי בָא אֵלֶיךָ בְּשֵׁם ה' צְבָאוֹת" (שמואל א י"ז). דָּבָר אַחֵר, ה' שמו – אַף בְּשָׁעָה שֶׁהוּא נִלְחָם וְנוֹקֵם מֵאוֹיְבָיו, אוֹחֵז הוּא בְּמִדָּתוֹ לְרַחֵם עַל בְּרוּאָיו וְלָזוּן אֶת כָּל בָּאֵי עוֹלָם; וְלֹא כְמִדַּת מַלְכֵי אֲדָמָה כְּשֶׁהוּא עוֹסֵק בְּמִלְחָמָה פּוֹנֶה עַצְמוֹ מִכָּל עֲסָקִים וְאֵין בּוֹ כֹּחַ לַעֲשׂוֹת זוֹ וְזוֹ (מכילתא):

ה' שמו THE LORD IS HIS NAME — His wars are not waged with martial weapons but He fights by means of His Name, just as David said, (I Samuel 17:45) “But I come against thee in the name of the Lord of Hosts”. Another explanation of ה׳ שמו — He is a man of war, but His Name is the Lord (the God of Mercy): even at the time when He battles against and avenges Himself upon His enemies He retains His attribute (that expressed by His name ה׳) showing pity to His creatures and feeding all the inhabitants of the world; not as is the nature of the kings of the world each one of whom when he is engaged in war turns aside from all other engagements, and has not the power to do both this and that (cf. Mekhilta).

ירה בים. "שְׁדִי בְיַמָּא", שְׁדִי לְשׁוֹן יְרִיָּה, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר "אוֹ יָרֹה יִיָּרֶה" (שמות י"ט) – אוֹ אִשְׁתְּדָאָה יִשְׁתְּדִי, וְהַתָּי"ו מְשַׁמֵּשׁ בְּאֵלּוּ בִּמְקוֹם יִתְפַּעֵל:

ירה בים Onkelos translates this by שדי בימא: HE HATH CAST IN THE SEA. The word שדי is an expression for “casting”. And thus, also, it says, (Exodus 19:13) או ירה יירה which Onkelos renders by או אשתדאה ישתדי “or he shall certainly be thrown down” where the ת is used in both these words in place of (as marking) the Ithpael form, so that in these Targum words the root is שדי‎.

ומבחר. שֵׁם דָּבָר. כְּמוֹ מֶרְכָּב, מִשְׁכָּב, מִקְרָא קֹדֶשׁ:

ומבחר AND THE CHOICEST — This word is a noun of similar form to מֶרְכָּב and מִשְׁכָּב and מִקְרָא [קדש]‏.

טבעו. אֵין טְבִיעָה אֶלָּא בִּמְקוֹם טִיט, כְּמוֹ "טָבַעְתִּי בִּיוֵן מְצוּלָה" (תהילים ס"ט), "וַיִּטְבַּע יִרְמְיָהוּ בַּטִּיט" (ירמיהו ל"ח), מְלַמֵּד, שֶׁנַּעֲשָׂה הַיָּם טִיט, לִגְמֹל לָהֶם כְּמִדָּתָם שֶׁשִׁעְבְּדוּ אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּחֹמֶר וּבִלְבֵנִים (מכילתא):

‎טבעו ARE SUNK — The root טבע always denotes sinking in slimy matter, as may be seen from (Psalms 69:3) “I am sunk (טבעתי) in deep mire”, and from (Jeremiah 38:6) “And Jeremiah sank (ויטבע) in the mire”. The fact that this expression is used teaches, therefore, that the sea became slime (cf. Rashi on 14:24) to requite them according to their own measure — because that they had made the Israelites work as slaves with slime and with bricks (Mekhilta).

יכסימו. כְּמוֹ יְכַסּוּם, וְהַיּוֹ"ד הָאֶמְצָעִית יְתֵרָה בוֹ; וְדֶרֶךְ מִקְרָאוֹת בְּכָךְ, כְּמוֹ "וְצֹאנְךָ יִרְבְּיֻן" (דברים ח'), "יִרְוְיֻן מִדֶּשֶׁן בֵּיתֶךָ" (תהלים ל"ו), וְהַיּוֹ"ד רִאשׁוֹנָה שֶׁמַּשְׁמָעָהּ לְשׁוֹן עָתִיד, כָּךְ פָּרְשֵׁהוּ: טֻבְּעוּ בְיַם סוּף כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּחְזְרוּ הַמַּיִם וִיכַסּוּ אוֹתָן. יְכַסְיֻמוּ אֵין דּוֹמֶה לוֹ בַמִּקְרָא בִּנְקֻדָּתוֹ, וְדַרְכּוֹ לִהְיוֹת נָקוּד יְכַסְיֻמוֹ מְלָאפוּם:

יכסימו THEY COVER THEM — this is the same as יְכַסּוּם and the middle י is redundant. This is quite usual in Scripture–verses (in Biblical Hebrew), just as in (Deuteronomy 8:13) וצאנך ירביון, and (Psalms 36:9) ירויון מדשן ביתך, and the force of the first י which expresses the future tense you must explain as follows: they have been sunk in the Red Sea in order that the waters should return and should cover them. The word יכסימו has no similar example in Scripture so far as its punctuation is concerned; ordinarily it would be יְכַסְיֻמוּ with Melopum (חולם)‎.

כמו אבן. וּבְמָקוֹם אַחֵר "צָלְלוּ כַּעוֹפֶרֶת", וּבְמָקוֹם אַחֵר "יֹאכְלֵמוֹ כַּקַּשׁ", הָרְשָׁעִים כַּקַּשׁ, הוֹלְכִים וּמִטָּרְפִין עוֹלִין וְיוֹרְדִין, בֵּינוֹנִים כָּאֶבֶן, וְהַכְּשֵׁרִים כַּעוֹפֶרֶת שֶׁנָּחוּ מִיָּד (מכילתא):

כמו אבן AS A STONE — But in another passage (v. 10) it states, “they dropped like lead”, and in yet another passage (v. 7) “it consumes them as stubble”! The wicked amongst the Egyptians were as stubble, being continually dashed about, and tossed up and down; those of average worth sank as a stone, suffering less agony, whilst the best amongst them sank as lead so that they came to their rest at once (cf. Mekhilta).

ימינך ימינך. שְׁנֵי פְעָמִים, כְּשֶׁיִּשְׂרָאֵל עוֹשִׂין אֶת רְצוֹנוֹ שֶׁל מָקוֹם הַשְּׂמֹאל נַעֲשֵׂית יָמִין (שם):

ימינך ... ימינך THY RIGHT HAND — twice! — When Israel performs the will of the Omnipresent the left hand (intended for punishment) becomes a right hand (bestowing reward, so that God has two right hands as it were) (Mekhilta).

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח. לְהַצִּיל אֶת יִשְׂרָאֵל וִימִינְךָ הַשֵּׁנִית תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב. וְלִי נִרְאֶה אוֹתָהּ יָמִין עַצְמָהּ תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב, מַה שֶּׁאִי אֶפְשָׁר לְאָדָם – לַעֲשׂוֹת שְׁתֵּי מְלָאכוֹת בְּיָד אַחַת; וּפְשׁוּטוֹ שֶׁל מִקְרָא יְמִינְךָ הַנֶּאֱדֶרֶת בַּכֹּחַ מַה מְּלַאכְתָּהּ? יְמִינְךָ ה' תִּרְעַץ אוֹיֵב; וְכַמָּה מִקְרָאוֹת דֻּגְמָתוֹ, "כִּי הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ ה' כִּי הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ יֹאבֵדוּ" (תהלים צ"ב), וְדוֹמֵיהֶם:

ימינך ה' נאדרי בכח THY RIGHT HAND, O LORD, IS GLORIOUS IN POWER to deliver Israel, and thy second right hand dashes the enemy in pieces. But it seems to me that if we have to take it in the sense: Thy right hand is glorious to save, thy right hand dashes in pieces etc. the explanation is that the self-same right hand itself dashes the enemy in pieces, something which it is impossible for a human being — to do two actions with one hand. But the literal sense of the text is: “Thy right hand, that is glorious in power — what does it do?” — “Thy right hand, O Lord, dashes the enemy in pieces”. There are many Scriptural verses exactly in this poetical form, e. g., (Psalms 92:10) “For, behold, thine enemies, O Lord, for behold, thine enemies shall perish” and others similar.

נאדרי. הַיּוֹ"ד יְתֵרָה, כְּמוֹ "רַבָּתִי עָם, שָׂרָתִי בַּמְּדִינוֹת" (איכה א'), "גְּנֻבְתִי יוֹם" (בראשית ל"א):

נאדרי The י is redundant as in (Lamentations 1:1) “full of (רבתי) people . . . princess (שרתי) amongst the provinces”; (Genesis 31:39) “stolen (גנבתי) by day”.

תרעץ אויב. תָּמִיד הִיא רוֹעֶצֶת וּמְשַׁבֶּרֶת הָאוֹיֵב; וְדוֹמֶה לוֹ "וַיִּרְעֲצוּ וַיְרוֹצְצוּ אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל", בְּשׁוֹפְטִים (י, ח). (דָּ"אַ – יְמִינְךָ הַנֶּאֱדֶרֶת בַּכֹּחַ הִיא מְשַׁבֶּרֶת וּמַלְקָה אוֹיֵב):

תרעץ אויב means, it always crushes and shatters the enemy; similar in meaning to it is, “And they crushed (וירעצו) and broke the children of Israel”, in the Book of Judges (Judges 10:8). [Another explanation is: Thy right hand that is glorious in power shatters and punishes the enemy, and these words must be connected with the following:

וברב גאונך. זֹאת הַיָּד בִּלְבָד רוֹעֶצֶת הָאוֹיֵב – כְּשֶׁהוּא מְרִימָהּ בְּרֹב גְּאוֹנוֹ אָז יַהֲרֹס קָמָיו – וְאִם בְּרֹב גְּאוֹנוֹ לְבַד אוֹיְבָיו נֶהֱרָסִים קַל וָחֹמֶר כְּשֶׁשִּׁלַּח בָּם חֲרוֹן אַף יֹאכְלֵמוֹ):

וברב גאנך AND THROUGH THE GREATNESS OF THINE EXCELLENCY: if the hand alone crushes the spirit of the enemy, then when He raises it aloft IN THE GREATNESS OF HIS EXCELLENCY surely then HE WILL OVERTHROW THEM THAT RISE UP AGAINST HIM; and if through the greatness of His excellency alone His enemies are overthrown, how much more sure is it that when HE SENDETH FORTH THE FIERCENESS OF HIS WRATH against them IT WILL CONSUME THEM].

תהרס. תָּמִיד אַתָּה הוֹרֵס קָמֶיךָ הַקָּמִים נֶגְדְּךָ, וּמִי הֵם הַקָּמִים כְּנֶגְדּוֹ? אֵלּוּ הַקָּמִים עַל יִשְׂרָאֵל; וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר "כִּי הִנֵּה אוֹיְבֶיךָ יֶהֱמָיוּן" (תהלים פ"ג), וּמַה הִיא הַהֶמְיָה? "עַל עַמְּךָ יַעֲרִימוּ סוֹד" (שם), וְעַל זֶה קוֹרֵא אוֹתָם אוֹיְבָיו שֶׁל מָקוֹם:

תהרס means, Thou always overthrowest קמיך i. e. those that rise up against thee. And who are those who rise up against Him? They are those who rise up against Israel; and similarly it says, (Psalms 83:3, 4) “For, lo, thine enemies are in an uproar!” And what is this uproar? “against thy people they take crafty counsel”, and on this account — because they are Israel's enemies — it calls them the enemies of the Omnipresent (Mekhilta).

וברוח אפיך. הַיּוֹצֵא מִשְּׁנֵי נְחִירַיִם שֶׁל אַף. דִּבֵּר הַכָּתוּב כִּבְיָכוֹל בַּשְּׁכִינָה דֻּגְמַת מֶלֶךְ בָּשָׂר וָדָם, כְּדֵי לְהַשְׁמִיעַ אֹזֶן הַבְּרִיּוֹת כְּפִי הַהֹוֶה, שֶׁיּוּכְלוּ לְהָבִין דָּבָר; כְּשֶׁאָדָם כּוֹעֵס יוֹצֵא רוּחַ מִנְּחִירָיו; וְכֵן "עָלָה עָשָׁן בְּאַפּוֹ" (תהלים י"ח), וְכֵן "וּמֵרוּחַ אַפּוֹ יִכְלוּ" (איוב ד'), וְזֶהוּ שֶׁאָמַר "לְמַעַן שְׁמִי אַאֲרִיךְ אַפִּי", (ישעיהו מ"ח) – כְּשֶׁזַּעְפּוֹ נָח, נְשִׁימָתוֹ אֲרֻכָּה, וּכְשֶׁהוּא כּוֹעֵס נְשִׁימָתוֹ קְצָרָה, "וּתְהִלָּתִי אֶחֱטָם לָךְ" (שם) – וּלְמַעַן תְּהִלָּתִי אָשִׂים חֹטֶם בְּאַפִּי לִסְתֹּם נְחִירַי בִּפְנֵי הָאַף וְהָרוּחַ שֶׁלֹּא יֵצְאוּ, לָךְ – בִּשְׁבִילְךָ, אֶחֱטָם, כְּמוֹ "נְאָקָה בְּחֹטֶם" בְּמַסֶּכֶת שַׁבָּת, כָּךְ נִרְאֶה בְּעֵינַי. וְכָל חֲרוֹן אַף שֶׁבַּמִּקְרָא אֲנִי אוֹמֵר כֵּן; חָרָה אַף כְּמוֹ "וְעַצְמִי חָרָה מִנִּי חֹרֶב" (איוב ל'), לְשׁוֹן שְׂרֵפָה וּמוֹקֵד, שֶׁהַנְּחִירַיִם מִתְחַמְּמִים וְנֶחֱרִים בְּעֵת הַקֶּצֶף, וְחָרוֹן מִגִּזְרַת חרה כְּמוֹ רָצוֹן מִגִּזְרַת רצה, וְכֵן חֵמָה לְשׁוֹן חֲמִימוּת, עַל כֵּן הוּא אוֹמֵר "וַחֲמָתוֹ בָּעֲרָה בוֹ" (אסתר א'), וּבְנוֹחַ הַחֵמָה אוֹמֵר "נִתְקָרְרָה" דַּעְתּוֹ:

וברוח אפיך AND WITH THE BREATH OF THY NOSTRILS — the breath that issues from both nostrils. Scripture speaks — if this were at all possible (i. e. if one may be permitted to speak so of God) of the Shechina (God) in the same manner as it does of a human monarch, in order to make peoples’ ears hear the facts in accordance with what usually happens to that they may understand the matter: when a man is angry the breath issues from his nostrils (and Scripture attributes this to God, also, when He is in anger). A similar idea is: (Psalms 18:9) “Smoke rose up in His nostril”, and also, (Job. 4:9) “By the breath of his nostril they are consumed”. And this is the meaning of what He said, (Isaiah 48:9) “For My name’s sake אאריך I will make long My אף”: when one’s anger subsides his breathing becomes long, whilst when one is in anger his breathing is short (consequently אאריך אפי signifies “I will not be angry”). The text continues ותהלתי אחטם לך which means “for the sake of My praise I will place a nose-ring in My nose to close up the nostrils against the anger and the breath so that they should not issue forth”. The word לך, for thee, in this text, means “for thy sake”, אחטם has the same meaning and root as in “a wild camel with a nose-ring (חֹטֶם)” which occurs in Mishna Treatise Sabbath (Mishnah Shabbat 5:1). Thus does the explanation appear to me. And wherever אף and חרון (i. e. where אף and words formed from the same root as חרון) occur in the Scriptures I say that it has the following sense: In the phrase חרה אף the first word is the same as (Job 30:30) “My bone is חרה with heat”, where חרה denotes burning and glowing, and this metaphor is used because the nostrils become hot and burning in a time of anger. The noun חרון is a derivation of חרה, just as רצון is a derivation of רצה, and therefore signifies “burning”. In the same way, חַמה which also signifies wrath really denotes heat (from a root יחם, not חמם, since the מ of חַמָה has no Dagesh. חַמָה is formed from יחם as עֵדָה, congregation, from יעד). That is why Scripture says, (Esther 1:12) וחמתו בערה בו “his wrath burned in him”, and when one’s wrath subsides one says, “his mind has become cooled” (נתקררה from קר cold).

נערמו מים. אֻנְקְלוֹס תִּרְגֵּם לְשׁוֹן עַרְמִימוּת, וּלְשׁוֹן צַחוּת הַמִּקְרָא כְּמוֹ "עֲרֵמַת חִטִּים" (שיר השירים ז'), וְנִצְּבוּ כְמוֹ נֵד יוֹכִיחַ: נערמו. מִמּוֹקֵד רוּחַ שֶׁיָּצָא מֵאַפְּךָ יָבְשׁוּ הַמַּיִם, וְהֵם נַעֲשׂוּ כְּמִין גַּלִּים וּכְרִיּוֹת שֶׁל עֲרֵמָה, שֶׁהֵם גְּבוֹהִים:

נערמו מים THE WATERS WERE HEAPED UP — Onkelos translated this in the sense of ערמימות, subtlety (the waters showed themselves clever); (cf. ערום Genesis 3:1); but it is more in accordance with the elegance of Biblical style to take it as the noun of the same root as in (Song 7:3) “a stack of (ערמת) wheat”, and the following words, “the floods placed themselves like a mound”, prove that this is so (cf. Mekhilta). נערמו — Through the burning heat of the breath that issued from thy nostrils (וברוח אפיך) the waters were dried up and they became like heaps and piles of gain-stacks (ערמה) which are high.

כמו נד. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ "כְּשׁוּר" – כְּחוֹמָה:

כמו נד — Render this as the Targum does: like a שור, i. e. a wall.

נד. לְשׁוֹן צִבּוּר וְכִנּוּס, כְּמוֹ "נֵד קָצִיר בְּיוֹם נַחֲלָה" (ישעיהו י״ז:י״א), "כּוֹנֵס כַּנֵּד" (תהילים ל״ג:ז׳), לֹא כָתוּב כּוֹנֵס כַּנֹּאד אֶלָּא כַּנֵּד, וְאִלּוּ הָיָה כנד כְּמוֹ כנאד וְכוֹנֵס לְשׁוֹן הַכְנָסָה, הָיָה לוֹ לִכְתֹּב מַכְנִיס כִּבְנֹאד מֵי הַיָּם, אֶלָּא כוֹנֵס לְשׁוֹן אוֹסֵף וְצוֹבֵר הוּא, וְכֵן "קָמוּ נֵד אֶחָד" (יהושע ג׳:י״ג), "וַיַּעַמְדוּ נֵד אֶחָד" (שם), וְאֵין לְשׁוֹן קִימָה וַעֲמִידָה בְּנֹאדוֹת אֶלָּא בְּחוֹמוֹת וְצִבּוּרִים, וְלֹא מָצִינוּ נֹאד נָקוּד אֶלָּא בִּמְלָאפוּם כְּמוֹ "שִׂימָה דִמְעָתִי בְנֹאדֶךָ" (תהילים נ״ו:ט׳), "אֶת נֹאד הֶחָלָב" (שופטים ד׳:י״ט):

נד is an expression for anything heaped up and gathered together, as, (Isaiah 17:11) “a heap (נד) of boughs in the day of grief”; (Psalms 33:7) “He gathereth as a heap (כַּנֵד) [the waters of the sea]”. It is not written “He gathereth כנאד”, but כנאד”, and if כנד, were the same as כנאד “like a water-skin”, and כונס were an expression for “bringing a thing in”, it should have written: “He gathered in (מכניס and not כונס) the waters of the sea as in a water-skin”, (כבנאד and not כנד), but כונס denotes gathering together and heaping up. And this must also be the meaning of נד in (Joshua 3:16) “[the waters] rose up as one נד”, and (Joshua v. 13) “and they shall stand in one נד”; for the expressions “rising up” and “standing up” cannot be used in reference to water in water-skins but only to water that stands up as walls and heaps (and this must therefore be the meaning of כמו נד in our text also). And, then again, we find the word נֹאד punctuated only with a Melopum (חולם), as, (Psalms 56:9) “Put thou my tears into thy bottle (נֹאדֶךָ)” and (Judges 4:19) “the bottle of (נֹאד) milk”.

קפאו. כְּמוֹ "וְכַגְּבִנָּה תַּקְפִּיאֵנִי" (איוב י׳:י׳), שֶׁהֻקְשׁוּ וְנַעֲשׂוּ כַּאֲבָנִים וְהַמַּיִם זוֹרְקִים אֶת הַמִּצְרִיִּים עַל הָאֶבֶן בְּכֹחַ וְנִלְחָמִים בָּם בְּכָל מִינֵי קֹשִׁי:

קפאו WERE CONGEALED, like (Job 10:10) “thou hast curdled me (תקפיאני) like cheese”; the meaning is that the depths were hardened and became like stones, and the waters cast the Egyptians against the stony wall with force and battled against them with every harsh means (cf. Mekhilta).

בלב ים. בְּחֹזֶק הַיָּם; וְדֶרֶךְ הַמִּקְרָאוֹת לְדַבֵּר כֵּן, "עַד לֵב הַשָּׁמַיִם" (דברים ד'), "בְּלֵב הָאֵלָה" (שמואל ב י"ח), לְשׁוֹן עִקָּרוֹ וְתָקְפּוֹ שֶׁל דָּבָר:

בלב ים means IN THE VERY STRENGTH OF THE SEA. It is the way of Scripture-verses to speak thus (to use לב in a metaphorical sense); e. g., (Deuteronomy 4:11) “unto the very midst of (לב) heaven”; (II Samuel 18:14) “in the midst of (בלב) the terebinth”. It is an expression denoting the essence and strength of a thing.

אמר אויב. לְעַמּוֹ, כְּשֶׁפִּתָּם בִּדְבָרִים, אֶרְדֹּף וְאַשִּׂיגֵם וַאֲחַלֵּק שָׁלָל עִם שָׂרַי וַעֲבָדַי:

אמר אויב THE ENEMY SAID to his people, when he was persuading them with words (cf. Rashi on 14:6), I WILL PURSUE and I WILL OVERTAKE them and I WILL DIVIDE THE SPOIL with my captains and my subjects.

תמלאמו. תִּתְמַּלֵא מֵהֶם, נַפְשִׁי רוּחִי וּרְצוֹנִי. וְאַל תִּתְמַהּ עַל תֵּבָה הַמְדַבֶּרֶת בִּשְׁתַּיִם, תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ – תִּמָּלֵא מֵהֶם, יֵשׁ הַרְבֵּה בַּלָּשׁוֹן הַזֶּה "כִּי אֶרֶץ הַנֶּגֶב נְתַתָּנִי" (שופטים א׳:ט״ו), כְּמוֹ נָתַתָּ לִי, "וְלֹא יָכְלוּ דַּבְּרוֹ לְשָׁלוֹם" (בראשית ל״ז:ד׳), כְּמוֹ דַּבֵּר עִמּוֹ, "בָּנַי יְצָאוּנִי" (ירמיהו י׳:כ׳), כְּמוֹ יָצְאוּ מִמֶּנִּי, "מִסְפַּר צְעָדַי אֲגִידֶנּוּ" (איוב ל״א:ל״ז), כְּמוֹ אַגִּיד לוֹ, אַף כָּאן "תִּמְלָאֵמוֹ" – תִּמָּלֵא נַפְשִׁי מֵהֶם:

תמלאמו means SHALL BE FILLED WITH THEM (not it shall fill them). נפשי MY SOUL — my spirit, my desire. Do not be puzzled at a word, that expresses an idea usually expressed by two, viz., תמלאמו for תִּמָּלֵא מֵהֶם, for there are many examples of this way of speaking; e. g., (Judges 1:15) “the south country נְתַתָּנִי”, which is the same as נָתַתָּ לִי, “thou hast given to me”; (Genesis 37:4) “And they were not able דַּבְּרוֹ peaceably”, which is the same as דַּבֵּר עִמּוֹ “to speak with him”; (Jeremiah 10:20) “My children יְצָאוּנִי which is the same as יָצְאוּ מִמֶּנִי “have gone away from me”; (Job. 31:37) “the number of my steps אַגִידֶנּוּ which is the same as אַגִּיד לוֹ “I would declare unto him”. Similarly here: תמלאמו means תִּמָּלֵא נַפְשִׁי מֵהֶם “my soul shall be filled with them”.

אריק חרבי. אֶשְׁלֹף, וְעַל שֵׁם שֶׁהוּא מֵרִיק אֶת הַתַּעַר בִּשְׁלִיפָתוֹ וְנִשְׁאָר רֵיק, נוֹפֵל בּוֹ לְשׁוֹן הֲרָקָה, כְּמוֹ "מְרִיקִים שַׂקֵּיהֶם" (בראשית מ״ב:ל״ה), "וְכֵלָיו יָרִיקוּ" (ירמיהו מ״ח:י״ב). וְאַל תֹּאמַר אֵין לְשׁוֹן רֵיקוּת נוֹפֵל עַל הַיּוֹצֵא, אֶלָּא עַל הַתִּיק וְעַל הַשַּׂק וְעַל הַכְּלִי שֶׁיָּצָא מִמֶּנָּה, אֲבָל לֹא עַל הַחֶרֶב וְעַל הַיַּיִן, וְלִדְחֹק וּלְפָרֵשׁ "אָרִיק חַרְבִּי" כִּלְשׁוֹן "וַיָּרֶק אֶת חֲנִיכָיו" (בראשית י״ד:י״ד), אֶזְדַּיֵּן בְּחַרְבִּי, מָצִינוּ הַלָּשׁוֹן מוּסָב אַף עַל הַיּוֹצֵא, "שֶׁמֶן תּוּרַק" (שיר השירים א׳:ג׳), "וְלֹא הוּרַק מִכְּלִי אֶל כֶּלִי" (ירמיהו מ״ח:י״א), לֹא הוּרַק הַכְּלִי אֵין כְּתִיב כָּאן אֶלָּא לֹא הוּרַק הַיַּיִן מִכְּלִי אֶל כְּלִי, מָצִינוּ הַלָּשׁוֹן מוּסָב עַל הַיַּיִן, וְכֵן "וְהֵרִיקוּ חַרְבוֹתָם עַל יְפִי חָכְמָתֶךָ", דְּחִירָם (יחזקאל כ״ח:ז׳):

אריק חרבי Translate this as the Targum: I WILL DRAW [MY SWORD]. Because one empties the scabbard when one draws out the sword and it (the scabbard) then remains empty (ריק), the, expression “emptying” is appropriate to it (to the act of drawing the sword), as in (Genesis 42:35) “emptying (מריקים) their sacks”; (Jeremiah 48:12) “And they shall empty (יריקו) his vessels (of wine)”. Now do not say that the expression “emptiness” in these examples does not apply to the thing which comes out, but that it applies to the scabbard and the sack and the vessels from which these things come out and not to the sword and to the wine (it is the scabbard, the sack and the vessels which are empty not the sword, the corn and the wine), — and consequently give a forced explanation of אריק חרבי in the sense of the verb in (Genesis 14:14) “He armed (וירק) his trained servants”, saying that it means, “I will arm myself with my sword”, for we do, indeed, find the expression “empty” applied also to the thing which, comes out of a receptacle; e. g., (Song 1:3) “oil which is emptied (תורק)”; (Jeremiah 48:11) “it (the wine) hath not been emptied (הורק) from vessel to vessel”. It does not say here “the vessel hath not been emptied”, but “the wine has not been emptied (הורק) from vessel to vessel”; consequently this expression is applied to the wine. Exactly like the phrase in this verse, is (Ezekiel 28:7) “And they shall draw their swords (והריקו חרבותם) against the beauty of thy wisdom”, in the chapter about Hiram.

תורישמו. לְשׁוֹן רֵישׁוּת וְדַלּוּת, כְּמוֹ "מוֹרִישׁ וּמַעֲשִׁיר" (שמואל א' ב'):

תורישמו This is an expression for poverty and need, (meaning “my hand shall make them poor”), just as, (I Samuel 2:27) “He maketh poor (מוריש) and maketh rich.”

נשפת. לְשׁוֹן הֲפָחָה, וְכֵן "וְגַם נָשַׁף בָּהֶם" (ישעיה מ'):

נשפת — an expression for “blowing”. Similar is (Isaiah 40:24) “He bloweth (נשף) upon them”.

צללו. שָׁקְעוּ, עָמְקוּ, לְשׁוֹן מְצוּלָה:

צללו means THEY SANK, they went deep, — an expression of the same root as (Psalms 69:3) מצולה “the depths”.

כעופרת. אֲבָר, פלו"ם בְלַעַז:

כעופרת LIKE LEAD: old French plomb.

באלם. בַּחֲזָקִים, כְּמוֹ "וְאֶת אֵילֵי הָאָרֶץ לָקָח" (יחזקאל י"ז). "אֱיָלוּתִי לְעֶזְרָתִי חוּשָׁה" (תהלים כ"ב):

באלם means AMONGST THE MIGHTY, just as (Ezekiel 17:13) “and the mighty of (אילי) the land he took away”; (Psalms 22:20) “O, thou my strength (אילותי) hasten to my help”.

נורא תהלת. יָרְאוּי מִלְּהַגִּיד תְּהִלּוֹתֶיךָ פֶן יִמְעֲטוּ, כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב "לְךָ דוּמִיָּה תְהִלָּה" (תהילים ס״ה:ב׳):

נורא תהלות means Thou art an object of dread so that people do not recount thy praises fearing lest these may be enumerated less then they really are, just as it is written (Psalms 65:2) “To Thee, silence is praise”.

נטית ימינך. כְּשֶׁהַקָּבָּ"ה נוֹטֶה יָדוֹ, הָרְשָׁעִים כָּלִים וְנוֹפְלִים, לְפִי שֶׁהַכֹּל נָתוּן בְּיָדוֹ וְנוֹפְלִים בְּהַטָּיָתָהּ; וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר "וַה' יַטֶּה יָדוֹ וְכָשַׁל עוֹזֵר וְנָפַל עָזֻר" (ישעיהו ל"א), מָשָׁל לִכְלֵי זְכוּכִית הַנְּתוּנִים בְּיַד אָדָם, מַטֶּה יָדוֹ מְעַט וְהֵן נוֹפְלִים וּמִשְׁתַּבְּרִין (מכילתא):

נטית ימינך THOU INCLINEST THY RIGHT HAND — When the Holy One, blessed be He, inclines His hand the wicked cease to be and fall — because everything is held in His hand and consequently falls when He inclines it. Similarly it states, (Isaiah 31:3) “When the Lord inclineth His hand, he that helpeth shall stumble and he that is helped shall fall”. A parable: it may be compared to glass vessels held in a man’s hand: if he inclines his hand a little they fall and are shattered to pieces (cf. Mekhilta).

תבלעמו ארץ. מִכָּאן שֶׁזָּכוּ לִקְבוּרָה בִּשְׂכַר שֶׁאָמְרוּ ה' הַצַּדִּיק (מכילתא):

תבלעמו ארץ THE EARTH SWALLOWED THEM — From this it may be gathered that they received the privilege of burial as a reward for having said, (Exodus 9:27) “The Lord is righteous” (Mekhilta).

נהלת. לְשׁוֹן מְנַהֵל, וְאֻנְקְלוֹס תִּרְגֵּם לְשׁוֹן נוֹשֵׂא וְסוֹבֵל, וְלֹא דִקְדֵּק לְפָרֵשׁ אַחַר לְשׁוֹן הָעִבְרִית:

נהלת is of the same root, conjugation and meaning as מנהל a leader; Onkelos translated it in the sense of bearing and carrying, but he was not particular to translate according to the Hebrew expression (i. e., to translate literally)

ירגזון. מִתְרַגְּזִין:

ירגזון means THEY TREMBLE (not they will tremble).

ישבי פלשת. מִפְּנֵי שֶׁהָרְגוּ אֶת בְּנֵי אֶפְרַיִם – שֶׁמִּהֲרוּ אֶת הַקֵּץ וְיָצְאוּ בְחָזְקָה כַּמְפֹרָשׁ בְּדִבְרֵי הַיָּמִים – וַהֲרָגוּם אַנְשֵׁי גַת (מכילתא):

ישבי פלשת [REIGS SEIZED] THE INHABITANTS OF PALESTINE, because they slew the children of Ephraim who anticipated the end fixed for the period of slavery and left Egypt forcibly, as is explained in Chronicles (1 7:21) “[The sons of Ephraim…] whom the men of Gath slew” (Mekhilta).

אלופי אדום אילי מואב. וַהֲלֹא לֹא הָיָה לָהֶם לִירֹא כְלוּם, שֶׁהֲרֵי לֹא עֲלֵיהֶם הוֹלְכִים? אֶלָּא מִפְּנֵי אֲנִינוּת שֶׁהָיוּ מִתְאוֹנְנִים וּמִצְטַעֲרִים עַל כְּבוֹדָם שֶׁל יִשְׂרָאֵל (ילקוט שמעוני):

אלופי אדום אילי מואב [THEN WERE PERTURBED] THE CHIEFTAINS OF EDOM, THE MIGHTY MEN OF MOAB — But surely they had no cause to fear anything because they (the Israelites) were not marching against them! But the explanation is, that they were perturbed by annoyance, because they were annoyed and distressed by the glory that Israel had achieved (cf. Yalkut Shimoni on Torah 251:11).

נמגו. נָמַסּוּ, כְּמוֹ "בִּרְבִיבִים תְּמוֹגְגֶנָּה" (תהלים ס"ה), אָמְרוּ, עָלֵינוּ הֵם בָּאִים, לְכַלּוֹתֵינוּ וְלִירַשׁ אֶת אַרְצֵנוּ (מכילתא):

נמגו means THEY MELTED — just as, (Psalms 65:11) “Thou makest it soft (תמגגנה) with showers”. They said, “They are marching against us to destroy us and to take possession of our land” (therefore they melted away from fear, and were not merely perturbed in mind) (Mekhilta).

תפל עליהם אימתה. עַל הָרְחוֹקִים:

תפל עליהם אימתה THERE SHALL FALL UPON THEM DREAD — upon those of them who are far away (Mekhilta),

ופחד. עַל הַקְּרוֹבִים, כָּעִנְיָן שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "כִּי שָׁמַעְנוּ אֵת אֲשֶׁר הוֹבִישׁ וְגוֹ'" (יהושע ב'):

ופחד AND HORROR — shall fall upon those of them who are near by; and all this really happened just as the matter is stated, (Joshua 2:10) “For we have heard how the Lord dried up [the waters of the Red Sea]” (Mekhilta).

עד יעבר, עד יעבר. כְּתַרְגּוּמוֹ:

עד יעבר ... עד יעבר TILL THY PEOPLE PASS … TILL THE PEOPLE PASS — The repetition must be explained as the Targum takes it (until they pass over the Arnon, until they pass over the Jordan).

קנית. חִבַּבְתָּ מִשְּׁאָר אֻמּוֹת, כְּחֵפֶץ הַקָּנוּי בְּדָמִים יְקָרִים שֶׁחָבִיב עַל הָאָדָם:

קנית denotes [THE PEOPLE] WHICH THOU HOLDEST DEAR above all peoples — like an article purchased (קנוי) at a high price and which is therefore held in affection by the man who bought it.

תבאמו. נִתְנַבֵּא מֹשֶׁה שֶׁלֹּא יִכָּנֵס לָאָרֶץ לְכָךְ לֹא נֶאֱמַר "תְּבִיאֵנוּ" (בבא בתרא קי"ט):

תבאמו THOU WILL BRING THEM IN — Moses foresaw by prophetic inspiration that he would not enter the Holy Land: on this account it is not stated here, “Thou wilt bring us in” (Mekhilta).

מכון לשבתך. מִקְדָּשׁ שֶׁל מַטָּה מְכֻוָּן כְּנֶגֶד כִּסֵּא שֶׁל מַעְלָה אֲשֶׁר פָּעַלְתָּ (מכילתא):

מכון לשבתך THE PLACE FOR THY RESIDENCE — the Sanctuary here below will be exactly opposite the Divine Throne above which פעלת THOU HAST MADE (Mekhilta).

מקדש ה'. הַטַּעַם עָלָיו זָקֵף גָּדוֹל, לְהַפְרִידוֹ מִתֵּבַת הַשֵּׁם שֶׁלְּאַחֲרָיו, הַמִּקְדָּשׁ אֲשֶׁר כּוֹנְנוּ יָדֶיךָ ה'. חָבִיב בֵּית הַמִּקְדָּשׁ, שֶׁהָעוֹלָם נִבְרָא בְּיָד אַחַת, שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "אַף יָדִי יָסְדָה אֶרֶץ" (ישעיהו מ"ח), וּמִקְדָּשׁ בִּשְׁתֵּי יָדַיִם, וְאֵימָתַי יִבָּנֶה בִּשְׁתֵּי יָדַיִם? בִּזְמַן שֶׁ"ה' יִמְלֹךְ לְעֹלָם וָעֶד" – לֶעָתִיד לָבֹא שֶׁכָּל הַמְּלוּכָה שֶׁלּוֹ:

מקדש ה׳ The accent on it (the word מקדש) is a Zakef Gadol (a disjunctive accent) which serves to separate it from the word expressing the Divine Name (ה׳) which follows it, so that the translation is: “The sanctuary which Thy hands have established, O Lord”. The Temple is an object of affection to God because the Universe was created by one hand — as it is stated, (Isaiah 48:13) “Yea, My hand hath laid the foundation of the earth” — whilst the Temple by two hands, as stated here. And when will it be rebuilt by God, with the two hands? At the time when “the Lord shall reign for ever and ever”: at that future period when all the kingdom will be His (Mekhilta).

לעלם ועד. לְשׁוֹן עוֹלָמוּת הוּא וְהַוָּי"ו בּוֹ יְסוֹד, לְפִיכָךְ הִיא פְּתוּחָה, אֲבָל "אָנֹכִי הַיּוֹדֵעַ וָעֵד" (ירמיהו כ"ט), שֶׁהַוָּי"ו בּוֹ שִׁמּוּשׁ, קְמוּצָה הִיא:

לעלם ועד The word ועד is an expression denoting ETERNITY — The ו in it is a root-letter, and consequently it is vowelled with a Patach; but in the similar word in (Jeremiah 29:23) “I am He that knoweth and am witness (ועד)”, where the ו is a servile letter (a prefix) it is vowelled with a Kametz.

כי בא סוס פרעה. כַּאֲשֶׁר בָּא:

כי בא סוס פרעה means WHEN [THE HORSES] CAME.

ותקח מרים הנביאה. הֵיכָן נִתְנַבְּאָה? כְּשֶׁהָיְתָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, קֹדֶם שֶׁנּוֹלַד מֹשֶׁה, אָמְרָה עֲתִידָה אִמִּי שֶׁתֵּלֵד בֵּן וְכוּ' כִּדְאִיתָא בְּסוֹטָה. (דף י"ב). דָּ"אַ — אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן, לְפִי שֶׁמָּסַר נַפְשׁוֹ עָלֶיהָ כְּשֶׁנִּצְטָרְעָה נִקְרֵאת עַל שְׁמוֹ:

ותקח מרים הנביאה AND MIRIAM THE PROPHETESS TOOK — But where had she prophesied? When she was THE SISTER OF AARON alone — before Moses was born she said, “My mother will at some time bear a son who will deliver Israel etc.”, as is stated in Treatise Sotah 12b (cf. Megillah 14a). Another explanation of אחות אהרן, the sister of Aaron: because he jeopardised his life for her by entreating on her behalf and so possibly incurring God’s displeasure when she was stricken with leprosy, she is called by his name (Mekhilta; cf. Rashi Genesis 34:25).

את התף. כְּלִי שֶׁל מִינֵי זֶמֶר:

את התף A TIMBREL — an instrument for a particular kind of music.

בתפים ובמחלת. מֻבְטָחוֹת הָיוּ צַדְקָנִיּוֹת שֶׁבַּדּוֹר שֶׁהַקָּבָּ"ה עוֹשֶׂה לָהֶם נִסִּים וְהוֹצִיאוּ תֻפִּים מִמִּצְרַיִם (מכילתא):

בתפים ובמחלת WITH TIMBRELS AND WITH DANCES — The righteous women in that generation were confident that God would perform miracles for them and they accordingly had brought timbrels with them from Egypt (Mekhilta).

ותען להם מרים. מֹשֶׁה אָמַר שִׁירָה לָאֲנָשִׁים – הוּא אוֹמֵר וְהֵם עוֹנִין אַחֲרָיו – וּמִרְיָם אָמְרָה שִׁירָה לַנָּשִׁים (סוטה ל'):

ותען להם מרים AND MIRIAM SANG UNTO THEM — Moses sang the Song to the men — he sang it and they repeated it after him; and Miriam sang the Song to the women and they repeated it after her (Mekhilta).

ויסע משה. הִסִּיעָן בְּעַל כָּרְחָם, שֶׁעִטְּרוּ מִצְרַיִם אֶת סוּסֵיהֶם בְּתַכְשִׁיטֵי זָהָב וָכֶסֶף וַאֲבָנִים טוֹבוֹת, וְהָיוּ יִשְׂרָאֵל מוֹצְאִין אוֹתָן בַּיָּם – וּגְדוֹלָה הָיְתָה בִזַּת הַיָּם מִבִּזַּת מִצְרַיִם שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר "תּוֹרֵי זָהָב נַעֲשֶׂה לָּךְ עִם נְקֻדּוֹת הַכָּסֶף" (שיר השירים א') – לְפִיכָךְ הֻצְרַךְ לְהַסִּיעָן בְּעַל כָּרְחָם:

ויסע משה AND MOSES CAUSED [ISRAEL] TO JOURNEY — He made them journey against their own will, because the Egyptians had adorned their horses with ornaments of gold and silver and with precious stones, and the Israelites were finding these in the sea. Greater, indeed, was the booty they obtained at the Red Sea then the booty they had brought out of Egypt — as it is said (Song 1:11) “Circlets of gold (the booty of the Sea) will we make thee together with the studs of silver” (which we brought forth from Egypt) (Mekhilta). On this account he was compelled to make them journey on against their will.

ויבאו מרתה. כְּמוֹ לְמָרָה, ה"א בְּסוֹף תֵּבָה בִּמְקוֹם למ"ד בִּתְחִלָּתָהּ, וְהַתָּי"ו הִיא בִּמְקוֹם ה"א הַנִּשְׁרֶשֶׁת בְּתֵבַת מָרָה, וּבִסְמִיכָתָהּ, כְּשֶׁהִיא נִדְבֶּקֶת לַהֵ"א שֶׁהוּא מוֹסִיף בִּמְקוֹם הַלָּמֶ"ד, תֵּהָפֵךְ הַהֵ"א שֶׁל שֹׁרֶשׁ לְתָי"ו; וְכֵן כָּל הֵ"א שֶׁהִיא שֹׁרֶשׁ בַּתֵּבָה תִּתְהַפֵּךְ לְתָי"ו בִּסְמִיכָתָהּ, כְּמוֹ "חֵמָה אֵין לִי" (ישעיהו כ"ז), "וַחֲמָתוֹ בָּעֲרָה בוֹ" (אסתר א'), הֲרֵי הֵ"א שֶׁל שֹׁרֶשׁ נֶהְפֶּכֶת לְתָי"ו מִפְּנֵי שֶׁנִּסְמֶכֶת אֶל הַוָּי"ו הַנּוֹסֶפֶת, וְכֵן "עֶבֶד וְאָמָה" (ויקרא כ"ה), "הִנֵּה אֲמָתִי בִלְהָה" (בראשית ל'), "לְנֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה" (בראשית ב׳:ז׳), "וְזִהֲמַתּוּ חַיָּתוֹ לָחֶם" (איוב ל"ג), "בֵּין הָרָמָה" (שופטים ד'), "וּתְשֻׁבָתוֹ הָרָמָתָה" (שמואל א ז'):

ויבאו מרתה AND THEY CAME TO MARAH — The word מרתה is the same as למרה: a ה at the end of a word (as a suffix) replaces a ל at its beginning (as a prefix). The ת takes the place of the ה which is rooted in (an integral part of) the word מרה; when it is joined with another letter, viz., when it is attached to the ה which is added to the word in place of the ל, the ה of the primary form (the ordinary form of the noun from which longer forms are made by the addition of suffixes) is changed into a ת. Thus, also, every ה which is a root-letter (a letter in the primary form of the noun) is changed into a ת when it is joined to another letter. E. g., we have (Isaiah 27:4) “Fury (חמה) is not in Me”, but (Esther 1:12) “And his fury (חמתו) burned within him”; you see that the ה of the ground-form is changed into a ת because it is to be joined to the ו which has been added. Similar are: (Leviticus 25:44) “Manservant and handmaid (אמה)”, but (Genesis 30:3) “Behold, my handmaid (אמתי) Bilhah”; (Genesis 2:7) “a creature of life (חיה)”, but (Job 33:20) “His life (חיתו) maketh him to abhor bread”; (Judges 4:5) “Between Ramah (רמה) [and Beth-el]”, but (I Samuel 7:17) “And his return was to Ramah (הרמתה)” the latter example being exactly parallel to that in this verse (מרתה - מרה‎).

וילנו. לְשׁוֹן נִפְעָל הוּא, וְכֵן הַתַּרְגּוּם לְשׁוֹן נִפְעָל הוּא וְאִתְרַעֲמוּ, וְכֵן דֶּרֶךְ לְשׁוֹן תְּלוּנָה לְהָסֵב הַדִּבּוּר אֶל הָאָדָם – מִתְלוֹנֵן, מִתְרוֹעֵם וְלֹא אָמַר לוֹנֵן, רוֹעֵם, וְכֵן יֹאמַר הַלּוֹעֵז דקומפ"לישנ"ט ש"י בְלַעַז, מֵסֵב הַדִּבּוּר אֵלָיו בְּאָמְרוֹ ש"י:

וילנו AND THEY MURMURED — This is a Niphal form, and similarly the Targum is a Niphal form: ואתרעמו (the Ithpael form in Aramaic corresponds to the Hebrew Niphal). And such is the way in which the expression denoting murmuring (from root לון) is employed: to refer back the matter (the action of murmuring) to the person (the subject of the verb); thus one says מתלונן and מתרועם and one does not say לונן and רועם. So, too, the Frenchman says “decomplaisant se” in old French, where it turns back the matter (the action) to himself (the subject) by saying, “se”, English himself.

שם שם לו. בְּמָרָה נָתַן לָהֶם מִקְצָת פָּרָשִׁיּוֹת שֶׁל תּוֹרָה שֶׁיִּתְעַסְּקוּ בָהֶם, שַׁבָּת וּפָרָה אֲדֻמָּה וְדִינִין (סנהדרין נ"ו):

שם שם לו HERE HE MADE FOR THEM [A STATUTE AND AN ORDINANCE) — At Marah He gave them a few sections of the Torah in order that they might engage in the study thereof; viz., the sections containing the command regarding the sabbath, the red heifer and the administration of justice (Mekhilta; Sanhedrin 56b).

ושם נסהו. לָעָם, וְרָאָה קְשִׁי עָרְפּוֹ, שֶׁלֹּא נִמְלְכוּ בְמֹשֶׁה בְּלָשׁוֹן יָפָה "בַּקֵּשׁ עָלֵינוּ רַחֲמִים שֶׁיִּהְיֶה לָנוּ מַיִם לִשְׁתּוֹת" אֶלָּא נִתְלוֹנְנוּ:

ושם נסהו AND THERE HE TRIED THEM (lit., He tried him) — “him” (singular) means the people; and He saw their stubbornness: that they did not consult with Moses in a respectful fashion: “Entreat mercy for us that we may have water to drink” — but that they murmured.

אם שמוע תשמע. זוֹ קַבָּלָה שֶׁיְּקַבְּלוּ עֲלֵיהֶם:

אם שמע תשמע IF THOU WILL DILIGENTLY HEARKEN — this implies acceptance — that they should take upon themselves the duty of performing God’s commands.

תעשה. הִיא עֲשִׂיָּה:

תעשה AND IF THOU WILT DO — this implies the performance of the commands.

והאזנת. תַּטֶּה אָזְנַיִם לְדַקְדֵּק בָּהֶם:

והאזנת means THOU WILT INCLINE THE EAR to be punctilious in the practice of the details.

כל חקיו. דְּבָרִים שֶׁאֵינָן אֶלָּא גְּזֵרַת מֶלֶךְ, בְּלֹא שׁוּם טַעַם, וְיֵצֶר הָרָע מְקַנְטֵר עֲלֵיהֶם: מָה אִסּוּר בְּאֵלּוּ? לָמָּה נֶאֶסְרוּ? כְּגוֹן לְבִישַׁת כִּלְאַיִם וַאֲכִילַת חֲזִיר וּפָרָה אֲדֻמָּה וְכַיּוֹצֵא בָהֶם (יומא ס"ז):

כל חקיו ALL HIS STATUTES — Matters which are only the decrees of the King (decrees of God imposed by Him, as King, upon us, His subjects) and which appear to have no reason, and at which the evil inclination cavils saying, “What sense is there in prohibiting these? Why should they be prohibited?” — For instance: the prohibition of wearing a mixture of wool and linen, and of eating swine’s flesh, and the law regarding the red heifer, and similar matters (cf. Yoma 67b).

לא אשים עליך. וְאִם אָשִׂים הֲרֵי הוּא כְּלֹא הוּשְׂמָה, כי אני ה' רפאך – זֶהוּ מִדְרָשׁוֹ. וּלְפִי פְשׁוּטוֹ כִּי אֲנִי ה' רֹפְאֶךָ וּמְלַמֶּדְךָ תוֹרָה וּמִצְווֹת לְמַעַן תִּנָּצֵל מֵהֶם, כָּרוֹפֵא הַזֶּה הָאוֹמֵר לָאָדָם, אַל תֹּאכַל דָּבָר זֶה פֶּן יְבִיאֲךָ לִידֵי חֹלִי זֶה, וְכֵן הוּא אוֹמֵר "רִפְאוּת תְּהִי לְשָׁרֶּךָ" (משלי ג'):

לא אשים עליך I WILL NOT PLACE ON THEE — and if I do place them on thee because thou refusest to hearken to My voice, it will be as though they had not been placed on thee, for if thou repentest of thy disobedience I will remove them immediately, כי אני ה׳ רפאך BECAUSE I AM THE LORD THAT HEALETH THEE. This is its Midrashic explanation (Mekhilta). But according to its literal sense the meaning is: For I am the Lord who healeth thee and teacheth thee the Law and Commandments in order that thou mayst be saved from them (these diseases) — like a physician who says to a man: Do not eat this thing lest it will bring you into danger from this disease. So, too, it states, (Proverbs 3:8) “It (obedience to God) will be wholesome to thy body” (implying that disease will not fall upon thee) (Mekhilta).