Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 14

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Hardened Hearts

Paroh is the first of three people or groups of people of whom Hashem says He will harden their hearts. The other two are Sichon (Devarim 2:30) and the Canaanites (Yehoshua 11:20). Comparing the various narratives might help one understand both what is meant by the expression and how to deal with the theological problem of Hashem's apparent removal of free will in these stories.

Tools

  • See Makbilot Bamikra for a list and links to all the verses which speak of Hashem hardening someone's heart.

Articles

  • See Hardened Hearts for analysis of the wide range of different commentators’ approaches to the hardening of human beings’ hearts in Tanakh. Some propose that, at times, Hashem removes an individual’s free choice in order to bring about punishment. This is justified either due to the gravity of their sins, the fact that they used up their opportunities to change, or because, as idolaters, they were simply not bequeathed the gift of repentance. Others interpret the Biblical text to imply that free choice is never lost.
  • See And I Will Harden The Heart of Pharaoh, by R. Yaakov Medan, for a unified interpretation of the hardening of the hearts of Pharaoh, Sichon, and Canaan.  He suggests that in all three cases the characters never fully lost their free will.

Akeidat Yitzchak and the Splitting of the Sea

Though at first glance one might not think to compare the story of Akeidat Yitzchak and the splitting of the sea, several linguistic and thematic parallels exist between the two, calling to the reader to look deeper.

Sources

  • Bereshit Rabbah 55:8 connects the stories of the Akeidah and of the Splitting of the Sea, noting that in the merit of Avraham's splitting of the wood for the Akeidah and his readiness to wield his knife, Hashem split the sea for the nation and prevented Paroh from wielding his sword against them.

Tools

  • Concordance – The concordance demonstrates the the root "בקע" (to split) occurs only five times in Torah, three times in reference to the splitting of waters, once by Akeidat Yitzchak, and once in the story of Korach's rebellion.  The relative rarity of the verb might have been one of the motivations for Bereshit Rabbah (mentioned above) to connect the stories.

Articles

  • See עקידת יצחק וקריעת ים סוף, by R. Eliyahu Shai, for analysis of the commonalities between these two narratives. R. Shai notes several linguistic1 and thematic parallels. In each story there is mention of a three day journey to a sacrifice and recurring motifs of seeing and fearing (with a play on the roots "ירא" and "ראה"). He suggests that Avraham’s actions at the Akeidah (in which his fear of God led to a revelation) pave the way, in a metaphysical sense, for his descendants’ experience of Hashem’s revelation at the Yam Suf (where their seeing of God's might led them to fear Hashem).

Israelites’ Complaints

Shemot 14:10-14 describes the first many complaints of the Israelites in the desert.2 Other complaints can be found in Shemot 15:22-25, Shemot 16:2-4, Shemot 17:1-7, Bemidbar 11:5-6, Bemidbar 14:2-3, Bemidbar 20:1-6, and Bemidbar 21:4-7.

Tools

  • Use Makbilot BaMikra to find links to the many verses which speak of the nation's various complaints, including descriptions of the events in Tehillim.

Articles and Lectures

  • Listen to Sefer Bemidbar: From Doubt to Debate, by Atara Snowbell, for an insightful analysis and close reading of the evolution of the Israelites’ complaints from Shemot 15 through Bemidbar 21, reflecting their increasing faith and independence.
  • See מסע בעקבות תלונות עם ישראל במדבר, by Dr. Brachi Elitzur, for a nuanced comparison and contrast of the complaints in the desert along six different parameters: the situation that prompted the complaint, the way that the Torah describes the people and their complaint, the content of their request, the way that the nation relates to Egypt, and the consequences of the complaint. 

Fire and Cloud

Shemot 13 contains the first of the Torah’s many references to the fire and cloud that led the Israelites in the desert.  

Tools

Articles

  • See R. Alex Israel’s Beshalach: Fire and Cloud for analysis of the dual purposes of the fire and cloud: to protect and lead the Israelites and to represent God’s presence. R. Israel shares a suggestion of R. Lichtenstein that the fire represents rationality and order, while the cloud represents mystery and transcendence. Taken together, they symbolize the ways that man seeks to understand God.
  • See בעמוד אש וענן, by R. Tamir Granot, for analysis of the many places in the Torah where God’s revelation takes place through the medium of cloud and fire. R. Granot demonstrates that in all of these places, the cloud and fire are part of the same pillar, with the cloud surrounding the fire. This is true of the manifestation of God when He led the Israelites out of Egypt as well as the revelations at Mount Sinai and in the Tabernacle.
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