Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 4/0

Biblical Parallels Index – Shemot 4

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Overview

This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.

Initiation Prophecies

It is fruitful to compare and contrast Moshe’s initial prophecy (נבואת הקדשה) in Shemot 3-4,  with that of others, such as Gideon (Shofetim Chapter 6), Shemuel (Shemuel I Chapter 3), Yeshayahu (Yeshayahu Chapter 6), Yirmeyahu (Yirmeyahu Chapter 1), and Yechezkel (Yechezkel Chapter 1), in order to note the similarities and differences that reflect the unique personality and mission of each prophet.

Articles

• See Shemuel’s Consecration Prophecy by R. Amnon Bazak for comparison of Moshe’s and Shemuel’s consecration prophecies. Both the prophecies themselves, as well as broader aspects of Moshe’s and Shemuel’s lives, share much in common. These parallels convey that Shemuel represents a new beginning for the Jewish people after the failure of Eli’s leadership.
• See Before I Formed You in the Belly I Knew You: Yirmiyahu’s Prophecy of Consecration, by R. David Sabato, for analysis of the essential components of prophecies of consecration. The focus of the article is on Yirmeyahu’s prophecy of consecration and how it contains the seeds of his future prophecies. While Yirmeyahu’s first prophecy has much in common with Moshe’s, Yirmeyahu’s task is to prophesy about destruction and exile whereas Moshe’s is to lead the people to redemption. Throughout his life, Yirmeyahu must contend with false prophets, maintaining fidelity to the word of God as he follows in Moshe’s footsteps as a true prophet of Hashem.
• Among the most salient aspects of Moshe’s initial prophecy is his great reluctance to accept his mission (a feature that is echoed in other initiation prophecies).  Several of Nechama Leibowitz’s gilyonot on this chapter focus on understanding Moshe’s reluctance.¹ 

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.

Moshe and Yosef

One may draw parallels between the stories of Yosef and Moshe.  Both experience rejection at the hands of their brethren in their place of birth² and both escape to a new place where they must decide whether or not to integrate into the foreign society in which they now live. Ultimately, each saves their brothers, one by bringing them to Egypt and one by leading them out.³  

Sources

• See Devarim Rabbah (Vilna) 2:8 which contrasts Yosef and Moshe, noting that only the former merits to be buried in Israel.  The Midrash suggests that this is because Yosef associates and identifies himself as an "עברי" whereas when Yitro's daughters refer to Moshe as Egyptian, he does not correct their misconception and identify himself as a Hebrew.

Articles

• In his article Moshe’s Delay and God’s Encouragement, R. Gad Eldad points out some of the parallels between Yosef and Moshe and explores how Torah hints to Moshe’s process of deciding to commit to Hashem’s mission after experiencing the rejection of his brethren and escaping to Midyan.

Yaakov and Esav, Moshe and Aharon

There are parallels between the narrative of the anticipated reunion of Yaakov and Esav in Bereshit 32-33 and the reunion of Moshe and Aharon in Shemot 4.⁴

Tools

• Concordance – The concordance demonstrates that the root "פגש" appears only four times in Torah, twice in each of these stories, perhaps a linguistic hint to compare the two.

Sources

• See RashbamBereshit 32:29About R. Shemuel b. Meir who draws parallels between the stories of Yaakov’s and Moshe’s near-death encounters with angels in Bereshit 32 and Shemot 4, noting that both relate to a refusal/delay to fulfill a mission.

Articles

• See Moses in Danger, by R. Alex Israel, for an exploration of these parallel stories, who, like Rashbam, suggests that both relate to a character's avoidance of a mission and the repercussions of such delay. The solution, as Tzipporah understands, is to overcome this reluctance through decisive action.⁵

¹ See also Moshe: The Reluctant Leader for exploration of different approaches to understanding this reticence.

² Yosef suffers at the hands of his brothers in Israel and Moshe at the hands of his Jewish brethren in Egypt after he kills the Egyptian taskmaster.

³ One may note that these parallels demonstrate the different scope and character of Bereshit and Shemot; whereas the brothers of Yosef are his actual biological brothers and the narrative is confined to the family unit, the brothers of Moshe are the entire Jewish people and the narrative is national in scope.

⁴ In both, a younger brother on his way to reunite with an older brother encounters an angel who attacks him or someone in his family (the only two such stories in Torah). In addition, both stories have an association with a commandment: the prohibition of eating the sciatic nerve in the story of Yaakov, and the mitzvah of circumcision in the story of Moshe.

⁵ Alternatively, one might suggest that the harmonious reunion relationship of Moshe and Aharon represents a resolution of the tensions between brothers that were so prominent in Sefer Bereshit, and is a necessary precursor to the redemption of the Jewish people.