Exodus P-Source (Everett Fox)

Now these are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt—; with Yaakov, each-man and his household they came: Re’uven, Shim’on, Levi and Yehuda, Yissakhar, Zevulun and Binyamin, Dan and Naftali, Gad and Asher. So all the persons, those issuing from Yaakov’s loins, were seventy persons, —Yosef was [already] in Egypt.

Yet the Children of Israel bore fruit, they swarmed, they became many, they grew mighty [in number]—exceedingly, yes, exceedingly; the land filled up with them.

So they, Egypt, made the Children of Israel subservient with crushing-labor; they embittered their lives with hard servitude in loam and in bricks and with all kinds of servitude in the field—all their service in which they made them subservient with crushing-labor.

{...}. But the Children of Israel groaned from the servitude, and they cried out; and their plea-for-help went up to God, from the servitude. God hearkened to their moaning; God called-to-mind his covenant Avraham Yitzhak Yaakov; God saw the Children of Israel; God knew.

God spoke to Moshe, he said to him: I am YHWH. I was seen by Avraham, by Yitzhak, and by Yaakov as God Shaddai, but [by] my name YHWH I was not known to them. I also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their sojournings, where they had sojourned. And I have also heard the moaning of the Children of Israel, whom Egypt is holding-in-servitude, and I have called-to-mind my covenant.

Therefore, say to the Children of Israel: I am YHWH. I will bring you out from beneath the burdens of Egypt; I will rescue you from servitude to them; I will redeem you with an outstretched arm, with great acts-of-judgment; I will take you for me as a people, and I will be for you as a God; and you shall know that I am YHWH your God, who brings you out from beneath the burdens of Egypt. I will bring you into the land [over] which I lifted my hand [in an oath] to give to Avraham, to Yitzhak, and to Yaakov. I will give it to you as a possession, I, YHWH.

Moshe spoke thus to the Children of Israel. But they did not hearken to Moshe, out of shortness of spirit and out of hard servitude.

YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying: Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he may send free the Children of Israel from his land. Moshe spoke before YHWH, saying: Here, [if] the Children of Israel do not hearken to me, how will Pharaoh hearken to me? And I am of foreskinned lips!

YHWH spoke to Moshe and to Aharon, and charged them to the Children of Israel and to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt. These are the heads of their Fathers’ Houses: The sons of Re’uven, firstborn of Israel: Hanokh and Pallu, Hetzron and Karmi; these are the clans of Re’uven. And the sons of Shim’on: Yemuel, Yamin, Ohad, Yakhin and Tzohar, and Sha’ul the son of the Canaanite-woman; these are the clans of Shim’on. Now these are the names of the Sons of Levi according to their begettings: Gershon, Kehat and Merari. Now the years of Levi’s life were seven and thirty and a hundred years. The sons of Gershon: Livni and Shim’i, according to their clans. And the sons of Kehat: Amram, Yitzhar, Hevron and Uzziel. Now the years of Kehat’s life were three and thirty and a hundred years. And the sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. These are the Levite clans, according to their begettings. Amram took himself Yokheved his aunt as a wife, and she bore him Aharon and Moshe. Now the years of Amram’s life were seven and thirty and a hundred years. Now the sons of Yitzhar: Korah, Nefeg and Zikhri. And the sons of Uzziel: Mishael, Eltzafan and Sitri. Aharon took himself Elisheva daughter of Amminadav, Nahshon’s sister, as a wife. She bore him Nadav and Avihu, Elazar and Itamar. Now the sons of Korah: Assir, Elkana and Aviasaf; these are the Korahite clans. Elazar son of Aharon took himself one of Putiel’s daughters for himself as a wife, and she bore him Pin’has. These are the heads of the Levite father-groupings according to their clans. That is [the] Aharon and Moshe to whom YHWH said: Bring the Children of Israel out of the land of Egypt by their forces; [it was] they who spoke to Pharaoh king of Egypt, to bring the Children of Israel out of Egypt, that Moshe and Aharon.

So it was on the day that YHWH spoke to Moshe in the land of Egypt, YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying: I am YHWH; speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt all that I speak to you. Moshe said before YHWH: Here, I am of foreskinned lips, so how will Pharaoh hearken to me?

YHWH said to Moshe: See, I make you as a god for Pharaoh, and Aharon your brother will be your prophet. You are to speak all that I command you, and Aharon your brother is to speak to Pharaoh so that he may send free the Children of Israel from his land. But I, I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, I will make my signs and my portents many in the land of Egypt: Pharaoh will not hearken to you, so I will set my hand against Egypt, and I will bring out my forces, my people, the Children of Israel, from the land of Egypt, with great acts-of-judgment. And the Egyptians will know that I am YHWH, when I stretch out my hand over Egypt and bring the Children of Israel out from their midst!

Moshe and Aharon did [it]; as YHWH had commanded them, thus they did. Now Moshe was eighty years old, and Aharon was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh.

YHWH said to Moshe and to Aharon, saying: When Pharaoh speaks to you, saying: Give, you, a portent, then say to Aharon: Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh—; let it become a serpent!

Moshe and Aharon came to Pharaoh, and they did thus, as YHWH had commanded; Aharon threw down his staff before Pharaoh and before his servants, and it became a serpent.

Pharaoh too called for the wise men and for the sorcerers, that they too, the magicians of Egypt, should do thus with their occult arts, and they threw down, each one, his staff, and these became serpents. But Aharon’s staff swallowed up their staffs. Yet Pharaoh’s heart remained strong willed, and he did not hearken to them, as YHWH had spoken.

YHWH said to Moshe: Say to Aharon: Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, over their tributaries, over their Nile-canals, over their ponds and over all their bodies of water, and let them become blood! There will be blood throughout all the land of Egypt—in the wooden-containers, in the stoneware.

Moshe and Aharon did thus, as YHWH had commanded them. {...}. {...}; the blood was throughout all the land of Egypt.

But the magicians of Egypt did thus with their occult-arts, and Pharaoh’s heart remained strong-willed, and he did not hearken to them, as YHWH had spoken.

YHWH said to Moshe: Say to Aharon: Stretch out your hand with your staff, over the tributaries, over the Nile-canals, and over the ponds, and make the frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt!

Aharon stretched out his hand over the waters of Egypt, {...}.

Now the magicians did thus with their occult-arts: they made frogs ascend upon the land of Egypt.

{...}, and did not hearken to them, as YHWH had spoken.

YHWH said to Moshe: Say to Aharon: Stretch out your staff and strike the dust of the earth; it will become gnats throughout all the land of Egypt!

They did thus; Aharon stretched out his hand with his staff and struck the dust of the earth, and gnats were on man and on beast; all the dust of the earth became gnats throughout all the land of Egypt.

Now the magicians did thus with their occult-arts, to bring forth the gnats, but they could not, {...}. The magicians said to Pharaoh: This is the finger of a god! But Pharaoh’s heart remained strong-willed, and he did not hearken to them, as YHWH had spoken.

YHWH said to Moshe and to Aharon: Take yourselves fistfuls of soot from a furnace and let Moshe toss it heavenward before Pharaoh’s eyes; it will become fine-dust on all the land of Egypt, and on man and on beast, it will become boils sprouting into blisters, throughout all the land of Egypt!

They took the soot from a furnace and stood before Pharaoh, and Moshe tossed it heavenward, and it became boil blisters, sprouting on man and on beast.

Now the magicians could not stand before Moshe because of the boils, for the boils were upon the magicians and upon all Egypt. But YHWH made Pharaoh’s heart strong-willed, and he did not hearken to them, as YHWH had said to Moshe.

YHWH said to Moshe: Stretch out your hand toward the heavens, and let there be hail throughout all the land of Egypt, on man and on beast and on all the plants of the field, throughout the land of Egypt!

Moshe stretched out his staff toward the heavens, and YHWH gave forth thunder-sounds and hail, and fire went toward the earth, {...}. There was hail and a fire taking-hold-of-itself amidst the hail, {...}. The hail struck, throughout all the land of Egypt, all that was in the field, from man to beast; all the plants of the field the hail struck, and all the trees of the field it broke down;

Pharaoh’s heart remained strong-willed, and he did not send the Children of Israel free, as YHWH had spoken through Moshe.

YHWH said to Moshe: Stretch out your hand over the land of Egypt for the locust-horde, and it will ascend over the land of Egypt and consume all the plants of the land, all that the hail allowed to remain.

Moshe stretched out his staff over the land of Egypt, {...}. The locust-horde ascended over all the land of Egypt, it came to rest upon all the territory of Egypt: {...}. {...}; it consumed all the plants of the land, and all the fruit of the trees that the hail had left; nothing at all green was left of the trees and of the plants of the field, throughout all the land of Egypt.

YHWH said to Moshe: Stretch out your hand toward the heavens, and let there be darkness over the land of Egypt, so that they will feel darkness!

Moshe stretched out his hand toward the heavens, and there was gloomy darkness throughout all the land of Egypt, for three days; no one could see his brother, and no one could arise from his spot, for three days. But for all the Children of Israel, there was light in their settlements.

YHWH said to Moshe: Pharaoh will not hearken to you, in order that my portents may be many in the land of Egypt. Now Moshe and Aharon had done all the portents in Pharaoh’s presence, but YHWH had made Pharaoh’s heart strong-willed, and he had not sent the Children of Israel free from his land.

YHWH said to Moshe and to Aharon in the land of Egypt, saying: Let this month be for you the beginning of months, the beginning-one let it be for you of the months of the year. Speak to the entire community of Israel, saying: On the tenth day of this month they are to take them, each-man, a lamb, according to their Fathers’ House, a lamb per household. Now if there be too few in the house for a lamb, he is to take [it], he and his neighbor who is near his house, by the computation according to the [number of] persons; each-man according to what he can eat you are to compute for the lamb. A wholly-sound male, year-old lamb shall be yours; from the sheep and from the goats are you to take it. It shall be for you in safekeeping, until the fourteenth day of this month, and they are to slaughter it—the entire assembly of the community of Israel—between the setting-times. They are to take some of the blood and put it onto the two posts and onto the lintel, onto the houses in which they eat it. And they are to eat the flesh on that night, roasted in fire, and matzot; with bitter-herbs they are to eat it. Do not eat any of it raw, or boiled, boiled in water, but rather roasted in fire, its head along with its legs, along with its innards. You are not to leave any of it until morning; what is left of it until morning, with fire you are to burn. And thus you are to eat it: your hips girded, your sandals on your feet, and your sticks in your hand. And you are to eat it in trepidation—it is a Passover-Meal to YHWH. I will proceed through the land of Egypt on this night and will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from man to beast, while on all the gods of Egypt I will render judgment, I, YHWH!. Now the blood will be a sign for you upon the houses where you are: I will see the blood, and I will pass over you, so that the blow will not become a bringer-of-ruin to you, when I strike down the land of Egypt. Now this day shall be a reminder for you; you are to celebrate it as a pilgrimage-celebration for YHWH;
throughout your generations, as a law for the ages you are to celebrate it! For seven days, matzot you are to eat; already on the first day you are to get rid of leaven from your houses, for anyone who eats what is fermented—from the first day until the seventh day—: that person shall be cut off from Israel! And on the first day, a proclamation of holiness, and on the seventh day, a proclamation of holiness shall there be for you—; no kind of work is to be made on them; only what belongs to every person to eat, that alone may be made-ready by you. And keep the [Festival of] matzot! For on this same day I have brought out your forces from the land of Egypt. Keep this day throughout your generations as a law for the ages. In the first [month], on the fourteenth day of the month, at sunset, you are to eat matzot, until the twenty-first day of the month, at sunset. For seven days, no leaven is to be found in your houses, for whoever eats what ferments, that person shall be cut off from the community of Israel, whether sojourner or native of the land. Anything that ferments you are not to eat; in all your settlements, you are to eat matzot. {...}: Pick out, take yourselves a sheep for your clans, and slaughter the Passover-animal. Then take a band of hyssop, dip [it] in the blood which is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two posts with some of the blood which is in the basin. Now you—you are not to go out, any man from the entrance to his house, until daybreak. YHWH will proceed to deal-blows to Egypt, and [when] he sees the blood on the lintel and on the two posts, YHWH will pass over the entrance, and will not give the ruinbringer [leave] to come into your houses to deal-the-blow. You are to keep this matter as a law for you and for your children, into the ages! Now it will be, when you come to the land which YHWH will give you, as he has promised, you are to keep this service! And it will be, when your children say to you: What does this service [mean] to you? then say: It is the sacrificial-meal of Passover to YHWH, who passed over the houses of the Children of Israel in Egypt, when he dealt-the-blow to Egypt and our houses he rescued. {...}. And the Children of Israel went and did [it]; as YHWH had commanded Moshe and Aharon, thus they did.

The Children of Israel moved on from Ra’amses to Sukkot, {...},

Now the settlement of the Children of Israel which they had settled in Egypt was thirty years and four hundred years. It was at the end of thirty years and four hundred years, it was on that same day: all of YHWH’s forces went out from the land of Egypt.

YHWH said to Moshe and Aharon: This is the law of the Passover-meal: Any foreign son is not to eat of it. But any man’s serf who is acquired for silver—if you have circumcised him, then he may eat of it. Settler and hired-hand are not to eat of it. In one house it is to be eaten; you are not to bring out of the house any of the flesh, outside. And you are not to break a bone of it. The entire community of Israel is to do it. Now when a sojourner sojourns with you, and would make the Passover-meal to YHWH, every male with him must be circumcised, then he may come-near to make it, and will be [regarded] as a native of the land. But any foreskinned-man is not to eat of it. One Instruction shall there be for the native and for the sojourner who sojourns in your midst! All the Children of Israel did [it]; as YHWH commanded Moshe and Aharon, thus they did.

YHWH spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel, that they may turn back and encamp before Pi ha-Hirot, between Migdol and the sea; before Baal-Tzefon, opposite it, you are to encamp by the sea. Now Pharaoh will say of the Children of Israel: They are confused in the land! The wilderness has closed them in! And I will make Pharaoh’s heart strong-willed, so that he pursues them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, so that the Egyptians may know that I am YHWH. They did thus.

And YHWH made the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt strong-willed, so that he pursued the Children of Israel, while the Children of Israel were going out with a high hand. The Egyptians pursued them and overtook them encamped by the sea, all of Pharaoh’s chariot-horses, his riders, and his army, by Pi ha-Hirot, before Baal-Tzefon. {...}. And the Children of Israel cried out to YHWH,

YHWH said to Moshe: Why do you cry out to me? Speak to the Children of Israel, and let-them-march-forward! And you—hold your staff high, stretch out your hand over the sea and split it, so that the Children of Israel may come through the midst of the sea upon the dry-land. While I, here, I will make Egypt’s heart strong-willed, so that they come in after them, and I will be glorified through Pharaoh and all his army, his chariots and his riders; and the Egyptians shall know that I am YHWH, when I am glorified through Pharaoh, his chariots and his riders.

Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, {...}, and made the sea into firm-ground; thus the waters split. The Children of Israel came through the midst of the sea upon the dry-land, the waters a wall for them on their right and on their left. But the Egyptians pursued and came in after them, all of Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots and his riders, into the midst of the sea.

Then YHWH said to Moshe: Stretch out your hand over the sea, {...}. The waters returned; they covered the chariots and the riders of all of Pharaoh’s army that had come after them into the sea, not even one of them remained. But the Children of Israel had gone upon dry-land, through the midst of the sea, the waters a wall for them on their right and on their left.