Filling in the Gaps: Identifying Literary Techniques the Last Three Plagues with Ramban

(31) He summoned Moses and Aaron in the night and said, “Up, depart from among my people, you and the Israelites with you! Go, worship the LORD as you said! (32) Take also your flocks and your herds, as you said, and begone! And may you bring a blessing upon me also!”

(1) AND THE ETERNAL GAVE THE PEOPLE FAVOR IN THE SIGHT OF THE EGYPTIANS. The purport thereof is that the Egyptians did not hate them because of the plagues. Instead, they conceived affection for them, and the Israelites found favor in their eyes, the Egyptians acknowledging, “we are the wicked ones. There is violence in our hands, and you merit that G-d be gracious to you.” (2) MOREOVER, THE MAN MOSES, who brought the plagues upon them, WAS VERY GREAT IN THE ENTIRE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH’S SERVANTS — his opponents — AND IN THE SIGHT OF THE PEOPLE, Israel. After [the officers of the children of Israel] had said to Moses and Aaron, The Eternal look upon you, and judge, after they hearkened not unto Moses for impatience of spirit, he now became very great in their sight when they saw that he was established to be a prophet of the Eternal. And some scholars say that the expression, in the sight of the people, means the Egyptians.
The reason Scripture does not state [that Moses was very great] “in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants,” [but instead mentions only Pharaoh’s servants], is that G-d made Pharaoh’s heart obstinate towards Moses because he [Pharaoh] had twice spoken to him improperly, and He desired that Pharaoh come to Moses and bow down to him as one comes before his enemy, all this being a sign of the power and achievement of Moses.
Now it is impossible to explain the expression, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, as referring to the favor they found in the eyes of the Egyptians at the time of the borrowing, [mentioned further, 12:36]. In that case, the verse there relates that G-d later fulfilled the promise He made here. If the verse here were establishing the Divine promise, [i.e., that the people will find favor in the sight of the Egyptians and that they will let them have what they asked], the verse here should not have said, And the Eternal gave; it should have said, “And I will give the people favor.” [Hence we must conclude that the intent of the verse here is to be explained as above, i.e., that the Egyptians bore no grudge against the Israelites because of the plagues.] It is further on at the time of the actual event that Scripture says, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.

(1) AND MOSES SAID: THUS SAITH THE ETERNAL: ABOUT MIDNIGHT WILL I GO OUT INTO THE MIDST OF EGYPT. Moses said this to Pharaoh and to his servants, as he mentioned at the end of his words, And all these thy servants shall come down unto me. Now he did not explain on what night this plague will take place, since this Divine communication to Moses and the transmission thereof to Pharaoh happened before the first of Nisan, and when he said about midnight, he did not yet know on which night it would be. Thus Moses did not inform them of the specific night on which this plague would take place, but instead he said in kindled anger, “I will see thy face again no more. It is you who will call upon me at about midnight to go out from your country, and your servants will bow down to me.” In the second section He elucidated to Israel, And I will go through the land of Egypt in that night, and in the third section Scripture states, And it came to pass at midnight, i.e., the night mentioned when they were eating the paschal lamb.

(1) AND MOSES AND AARON CAME IN UNTO PHARAOH. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra commented: “We know that Moses never came to Pharaoh without being accompanied by Aaron, who was the interpreter. Scripture here makes a point of mentioning Moses and Aaron in order [to make clear] that Pharaoh’s command that both of them be brought again before him and his final act of driving them out — something he had not done previously — [applied to the two brothers alike].”

(1) NEITHER AFTER THEM SHALL BE SUCH [LOCUSTS]. Scripture informs us by way of prophecy that after them, there would never be such [locusts]. Now Rashi commented: “[The plague of locusts] which occurred during the days of Joel, of which it is said, There hath not been ever the like, teaches us that it was greater than that in the days of Moses. The one that happened in the days of Joel was caused by many species together: locust, caterpillar, canker-worm, palmer-worm. But the one which occurred in the days of Moses consisted only of one species, the like of which there never was and never will be.”
I have found difficulty in understanding the explanation of the Rabbi [Rashi]. It is written [of the plague which happened in the days of Moses], He also gave their produce unto the caterpillar, and it is also written, He spoke, and the locust came, and the canker-worm without number. Perhaps the Rabbi [Rashi] will answer by saying that in the days of Moses, locust proper was greater than that in the days of Joel, but all other species of locusts in the days of Joel were greater than those in the days of Moses. But these are useless arguments. Instead, [we must say that the expression], in all the borders of Egypt, is connected with the end of the verse: before them there were no such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such there [in Egypt, but in other places there may be]. It is possible that because the land of Egypt is exceedingly moistened by the river, locusts are not abundant there, for these naturally come in years of drought, as is mentioned by the prophet Joel.
Now Rabbeinu Chananel has written in his commentary on the Torah: “From the time that Moses our teacher prayed [for the removal of the locusts] till now, the locusts have not caused damage to the entire land of Egypt, and if an attack of them does occur in the Land of Israel and they proceed to enter within the border of Egypt, they do not devour the produce of the land. People say that this is known by all. Come and see! In the case of frogs, Moses said, Only in the river they will remain, and therefore the altamtzach — [the Arabic word for frogs] — have remained in the river till now. However, in the case of the locusts it is written, There remained not one locust in all the border of Egypt. It is of a phenomenon of this kind that Scripture says, Speak ye of all His marvellous works. ” Thus the language of the Rabbi.
In my opinion, the plain meaning of the verse, [neither after them shall be such], is that because the plague of locusts is known to come in all generations, and moreover since this one [in the days of Moses] came in a natural way, it having been the east wind that brought the locusts, [and there was thus reason to believe that such a plague would again come upon Egypt in a natural way], Scripture therefore states that such locusts were the greatest that ever occurred in the natural order of things. Neither before them were there such locusts as they, nor after them shall be such. Through the magnitude of the plague, the Egyptians thus knew that it was a special act of G-d, since the like never happened before. [The plague] that occurred in the days of Joel was likewise a special act of G-d, [and hence Scripture also describes it by saying, There hath never been the like].

(1) AND HE CALLED FOR MOSES AND AARON BY NIGHT. “This teaches us that Pharaoh went round to the entrances leading into the city, crying out, ‘Where does Moses dwell? Where does Aaron dwell?’” Thus the language of Rashi. Now this happened because Moses and Aaron lodged [close to the vicinity of the palace] that night, [the city of] Egypt, so that Moses’ words would be fulfilled, as he said, And all these thy servants shall come down unto me, and bow down unto me, saying: Get thee out. And when Pharaoh came to them, they sent messengers to the land of Goshen where the children of Israel dwelled, giving them permission to leave, and they all assembled in Rameses. By that time, it was already well into the day. From there they journeyed with a high hand, with Moses at their lead, as it is said, And they journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. The verse stating, The Eternal thy G-d brought thee forth out of Egypt by night [is no contradiction], since from the time Pharaoh gave them permission to go — [which was at night] — they are already deemed as “going forth” from Egypt.
And thus the Rabbis have said in the Sifre: “Had they not gone forth out of Egypt only at daytime, as it is said, On the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went out? [How then does Scripture say that we were brought forth out of Egypt by night?] Simply, this teaches us that the redemption [from bondage] took place at night [although the actual exodus took place during the day].” And in the Gemara of Tractate Berachoth we read: “All Rabbis agree that the redemption took place at night, as it is said, The Eternal thy G-d brought thee forth out of Egypt by night, but the actual going forth took place only at daytime, as it is said, On the morrow after the Passover the children of Israel went with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.”
And some scholars say that they went out from [the city of] Egypt at night, and at daytime they went out from the land of Egypt, which is Rameses, for many of them dwelled in the city of Egypt, and they left at night and joined their brothers in Rameses. But this is not correct, since Scripture says, And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. Thus they were forbidden to go out of their homes at all at night. And similarly the Rabbis have said in the Mechilta: “And he called to Moses, and Aaron by night, and said: Rise up, get you forth. But Moses said to Pharaoh: ‘Thus we have been commanded: And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until the morning. Are we thieves that we should go forth at night? We shall go forth only with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.’”
Now Onkelos explained that the miracles which were done for the Israelites on that night make it proper to say that on that night G-d “brought thee forth,” because on account of these miracles, they went forth from Egypt. (2) RISE UP, GET YOU FORTH FROM AMONG MY PEOPLE. The intent thereof is that it was a royal command that they go forth at once, “for I will not give you permission to tarry among my people at all, since they are being killed on account of you.” (3) BOTH YE — [i.e., Moses and Aaron], who do the smiting — AND THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL. “All of you go out, and do not tarry here under any circumstance.” This was to fulfill what G-d had said to Moses, He shall surely thrust you hence. (4) AND GO SERVE THE ETERNAL, AS YE HAVE SAID. Pharaoh said this by way of conciliation so that they would be willing to go forth and listen to him, “since you have been wanting to go to the desert to serve the Eternal.”

(1) AND THE ETERNAL GAVE THE PEOPLE FAVOR IN THE SIGHT OF THE EGYPTIANS. The purport thereof is that the Egyptians did not hate them because of the plagues. Instead, they conceived affection for them, and the Israelites found favor in their eyes, the Egyptians acknowledging, “we are the wicked ones. There is violence in our hands, and you merit that G-d be gracious to you.” (2) MOREOVER, THE MAN MOSES, who brought the plagues upon them, WAS VERY GREAT IN THE ENTIRE LAND OF EGYPT, IN THE SIGHT OF PHARAOH’S SERVANTS — his opponents — AND IN THE SIGHT OF THE PEOPLE, Israel. After [the officers of the children of Israel] had said to Moses and Aaron, The Eternal look upon you, and judge, after they hearkened not unto Moses for impatience of spirit, he now became very great in their sight when they saw that he was established to be a prophet of the Eternal. And some scholars say that the expression, in the sight of the people, means the Egyptians.
The reason Scripture does not state [that Moses was very great] “in the sight of Pharaoh and in the sight of his servants,” [but instead mentions only Pharaoh’s servants], is that G-d made Pharaoh’s heart obstinate towards Moses because he [Pharaoh] had twice spoken to him improperly, and He desired that Pharaoh come to Moses and bow down to him as one comes before his enemy, all this being a sign of the power and achievement of Moses.
Now it is impossible to explain the expression, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, as referring to the favor they found in the eyes of the Egyptians at the time of the borrowing, [mentioned further, 12:36]. In that case, the verse there relates that G-d later fulfilled the promise He made here. If the verse here were establishing the Divine promise, [i.e., that the people will find favor in the sight of the Egyptians and that they will let them have what they asked], the verse here should not have said, And the Eternal gave; it should have said, “And I will give the people favor.” [Hence we must conclude that the intent of the verse here is to be explained as above, i.e., that the Egyptians bore no grudge against the Israelites because of the plagues.] It is further on at the time of the actual event that Scripture says, And the Eternal gave the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked.