Shemos 2:5 · unit 2 — her maidens walking

Parashas Shemos

The Complete Passuk

וַתֵּ֤רֶד בַּת־פַּרְעֹה֙ לִרְחֹ֣ץ עַל־הַיְאֹ֔ר וְנַעֲרֹתֶ֥יהָ הֹלְכֹ֖ת עַל־יַ֣ד הַיְאֹ֑ר וַתֵּ֤רֶא אֶת־הַתֵּבָה֙ בְּת֣וֹךְ הַסּ֔וּף וַתִּשְׁלַ֥ח אֶת־אֲמָתָ֖הּ וַתִּקָּחֶֽהָ׃

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe in the Nile, while her maidens walked along the Nile. She spied the basket among the reeds and sent her handmaid to fetch it.

Chabad.org — 2:5

Source Citation

Torah Temimah points to R’ Yochanan — Sotah 12b (verified).

Sefaria — Sotah

Core Text of Chazal

Core Text

ונערותיה הולכות — א״ר יוחנן: אין הליכה זו אלא לשון מיתה.

English: “And her maidens were walking” — R’ Yochanan said: This “walking” is nothing other than a language of death.

On the daf / in context: When the maidens objected to saving Moshe, the angel Gavriel struck them down; only one attendant remained.

Type of Learning

Custom

What Is Learned

The maidens who opposed the rescue were struck down; the verse’s “walking” is read as their death.