English: “I would have said: I will scatter them” — I would have said to annihilate them. “I will cause their memory to cease from mankind” — to blot out their memory from among men. But He was concerned for the desecration of the Name, lest the enemies say: “Our hand is high, and it was not Hashem who did all this.”
The midrash explains the divine restraint: total annihilation was considered but rejected because of the resulting chillul Hashem among the nations.
Type of Learning
Custom (theological motive of avoiding chillul Hashem as the reason for preserving Israel).
What Is Learned
See the Core Text and context note for the specific point derived from the verse.