Exoduschapter 11
10 verses · Moses, by tradition · 15th or 13th century BC · The Law
In Jewish life
The reading
Weekly portion 15 of 54
בֹּא Bo, Exodus 10:1 to 13:16
Read with it: Jeremiah 46:13 to 46:28.
The verse numbers here are the ones a Hebrew Bible carries, which differ from an English Bible by a verse or two in several places. The Sephardi reading is named only where this site records a difference; communities vary beyond what is listed. What these books are, and how a Christian reader meets them →
How it is read
Rashi reads the order to ask the Egyptians for silver in verse 2 as a promise being kept in full. The word for speak carries entreaty here, so that Abraham "may not say" that the affliction foretold to him came true while the going out with great substance did not (Rashi on Exodus 11:2:1). At verse 4 he places the whole announcement inside Pharaoh's hall, because Moses did not see his face again after leaving it (Rashi on Exodus 11:4:1). On the hour of it he carries a dispute. The plain sense is that the blow falls when the night is divided. The Rabbis read the word as about midnight, and held that Moses said it so loosely lest Pharaoh's astrologers mistake the hour and call him a liar (Rashi on Exodus 11:4:2). At verse 5 he asks why the captives were struck, since they had not enslaved Israel. His answer is that their own gods might otherwise be credited with the blow (Rashi on Exodus 11:5:1). At verse 8 he holds that Moses spoke of Pharaoh's servants coming down "out of respect for the king", though Pharaoh himself came in the end (Rashi on Exodus 11:8:1). Sforno reads verse 1 by the temper of the man. Pharaoh will send Israel out as he drove Moses from his presence, "under a similar type of stress" (Sforno on Exodus 11:1:1, the Eliyahu Munk translation, CC-BY). The Rashi text is the Rosenbaum and Silbermann translation of 1929 to 1934, in the public domain.
What the rabbis say
The rabbis take up the hour of midnight at Berakhot 3b:27, 4a:6 and 4a:7. On the dog that shall not move its tongue they taught at Berakhot 56b:12 and Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 7:2. On the firstborn of verse 5 they taught in the Mekhilta at Tractate Pischa 13:8 and 13:27. On the favour Israel found in Egyptian eyes they taught in Devarim Rabbah 11:10.
The text, verse by verse
Each word shows the Hebrew, the English under it, how it sounds and its Strong’s number. A rule between verses marks where the Hebrew manuscripts end a paragraph.
One Plague More
Ramban on Exodus 11:1
YET ONE PLAGUE MORE WILL I BRING UPON PHARAOH. “This [prophecy] was spoken to him while he was still standing before Pharaoh, for after he left him he did not see his face again.” Thus the language of Rashi. Our Rabbis have similarly said: 75 Shemoth Rabbah:1.
Read it in full at Sefaria · Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
Ramban on Exodus 11:3
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.
Read it in full at Sefaria · Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
Death of the Firstborn Announced
Ramban on Exodus 11:4
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. 91 Verse.
Read it in full at Sefaria · Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976
Ibn Ezra on Exodus 11:5
Who is fit to sit upon Pharaoh’s throne after him. 22 Pharaoh’s first-born did not sit on the throne of Egypt, hence I.E.’s comment.
Read it in full at Sefaria · Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004
Hebrew words in this chapter
The 40 most used Hebrew words of the chapter, counted by lemma. The article, the object marker, the negatives and the common prepositions are left out.
| Word | Sense here | Uses | Strong’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| פַּרְעֹהParʻôh | Pharaoh | 7 | H6547 |
| מִצְרַיִםMitsrayim | Egypt | 7 | H4714 |
| יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh | yahweh | 6 | H3068 |
| אָמַרʼâmar | to say | 5 | H559 |
| מֹשֶׁהMôsheh | Moses | 5 | H4872 |
| אֶרֶץʼerets | land | 5 | H776 |
| עַםʻam | people | 4 | H5971 |
| יָצָאyâtsâʼ | to come out | 4 | H3318 |
| בְּכוֹרbᵉkôwr | firstborn | 4 | H1060 |
| שָׁלַחshâlach | he will let go | 3 | H7971 |
| אִישׁʼîysh | man | 3 | H376 |
| עַיִןʻayin | in eyes of | 3 | H5869 |
| יִשְׂרָאֵלYisrâʼêl | Israel | 3 | H3478 |
| גָּרַשׁgârash | to drive out | 2 | H1644 |
| כְּלִיkᵉlîy | articles of | 2 | H3627 |
| גָּדוֹלgâdôwl | great | 2 | H1419 |
| עֶבֶדʻebed | servants of | 2 | H5650 |
| בְּהֵמָהbᵉhêmâh | livestock | 2 | H929 |
| כְּמוֹkᵉmôw | like | 2 | H3644 |
| בֵּןbên | people of | 2 | H1121 |
| Word | Sense here | Uses | Strong’s |
|---|---|---|---|
| מַעַןmaʻan | so that | 2 | H4616 |
| מוֹפֵתmôwphêth | wonder | 2 | H4159 |
| עוֹדʻôwd | yet | 1 | H5750 |
| נֶגַעnegaʻ | plague | 1 | H5061 |
| אֶחָדʼechâd | one | 1 | H259 |
| בּוֹאbôwʼ | I will bring | 1 | H935 |
| כָּלָהkâlâh | completely | 1 | H3617 |
| דָבַרdâbar | to speak | 1 | H1696 |
| נָאnâʼ | please | 1 | H4994 |
| אֹזֶןʼôzen | ear | 1 | H241 |
| שָׁאַלshâʼal | to ask | 1 | H7592 |
| רֵעַrêaʻ | neighbor | 1 | H7453 |
| אִשָּׁהʼishshâh | and everyone | 1 | H802 |
| רְעוּתrᵉʻûwth | neighbor | 1 | H7468 |
| כֶּסֶףkeçeph | silver | 1 | H3701 |
| זָהָבzâhâb | gold | 1 | H2091 |
| נָתַןnâthan | and he gave | 1 | H5414 |
| חֵןchên | favor | 1 | H2580 |
| מִצְרִיMitsrîy | egypt | 1 | H4713 |
| מְאֹדmᵉʼôd | very | 1 | H3966 |
Keep studying
Sources for this chapter
The Hebrew text
STEP Bible, the tagged Hebrew text and its English glosses and James Strong, Strong's Exhaustive Concordance.
In Jewish life
Rashi, Rashi on Exodus 11:2:1, 11:4:1, 11:4:2, 11:5:1 and 11:8:1, Pentateuch with Rashi's commentary by M. Rosenbaum and A. M. Silbermann, 1929 to 1934 (public domain); Sforno, Sforno on Exodus 11:1:1, the Eliyahu Munk translation of HaChut Hameshulash (CC-BY); Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra on Exodus 11:3:1 and 11:6:1, cited by ref alone under the corpus licence rule; The Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 3b:27, 4a:6, 4a:7 and 56b:12, cited by ref and The Midrash, Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Tractate Pischa 7:2, 13:8 and 13:27, and Devarim Rabbah 11:10, cited by ref.
The rabbinic texts
Ramban, Commentary on the Torah by Ramban (Nachmanides). Translated and annotated by Charles B. Chavel. New York, Shilo Pub. House, 1971-1976; Ibn Ezra, Ibn Ezra's commentary on the Pentateuch, tran. and annot. by H. Norman Strickman and Arthur M. Silver. Menorah Pub., 1988-2004 and Sefaria, texts and citation data.