Shemos 1:10 · unit 2

Parashas Shemos · Passuk 1:10

The Complete Passuk

הָ֥בָה נִֽתְחַכְּמָ֖ה ל֑וֹ פֶּן־יִרְבֶּ֗ה וְהָיָ֞ה כִּֽי־תִקְרֶ֤אנָה מִלְחָמָה֙ וְנוֹסַ֤ף גַּם־הוּא֙ עַל־שֹׂ֣נְאֵ֔ינוּ וְנִלְחַם־בָּ֖נוּ וְעָלָ֥ה מִן־הָאָֽרֶץ׃

Let us deal shrewdly with them, so that they may not increase; otherwise in the event of war they may join our enemies in fighting against us and rise from the ground.”arise from the ground Meaning, perhaps, from their wretched condition, cf. Hos. 2.2; or “gain ascendancy over the country.” In contrast to others “get them up out of the land.”

Chabad.org — 1:10

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to R’ Abba bar Kahana — Sotah 11a (verified).

Sefaria — Sotah 11a

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text — Sotah 11a

ועלה מן הארץ — ועלינו מבעי ליה. א״ר אבא בר כהנא: כאדם שמקלל עצמו ותולה קללתו בחבירו.

English: “And he will go up from the land” — it should have said “and we will go up.” R’ Abba bar Kahana said: Like a person who curses himself and hangs the curse on his fellow.

On the daf / in context: The Egyptians spoke of Israel “going up” when the feared outcome was that Egypt itself would be forced out. The midrash treats the wording as an involuntary self-curse that the speakers projected onto Israel.

Type of Learning

Custom — diyuk from the unexpected subject of the verb.

What Is Learned

Chazal teach that the Egyptians’ own words already contained the outcome that would later befall them: they would be the ones compelled to leave their land empty-handed.