Egyptian Background and the Exodus Narrative/0

Egyptian Background and the Exodus Narrative¹

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Egyptian Names

A number of Israelite names in the generation of the Exodus appear to be of Egyptian origin.² These include:

• מֹשֶׁה – In Egyptian, the noun msw means a child, and as a verb, this form means "born of". It is found in a number of royal names, such as Thutmose ("born of [the god] Thoth"), Ramesses ("born of [the god] Ra"), etc. This etymology is cited by the NetzivShemot 2:10About R. Naftali Tzvi Yehuda Berlin,³ who adds that Paroh's daughter's explanation in Shemot 2:10 of "כִּי מִן הַמַּיִם מְשִׁיתִהוּ" is the reason she gives for why Moshe is her son rather than for his name, and is merely a literary pun on the name מֹשֶׁה.‎⁴
• פִּינְחָס – P(3)nḥs(y), meaning "the Nubian", was a common Egyptian personal name, given even to non-Nubians.
• מְרָרִי – Egyptian mrry means "beloved one."
• מִרְיָם – Possibly derived from the same root as מְרָרִי, although the final ם is unexplained.
• אַהֲרֹן – The etymology of this name is debated, and various Egyptian derivations have been proposed.
• חוּר – Possibly named for the God Ḥorus

"יָד חֲזָקָה"

Pharaohs often bragged about their "strong arm", with which they smote their enemies. This is seen as early as the Egyptian king Narmer, who is depicted smiting with his arm (see picture). Pharaohs also sometimes used the title nb ḫpš, literally "arm master". Thus, the repeated references to Hashem's strong and outstretched arm (see Shemot 3:19-20, 6:1, 7:4, 15:6) may highlight that it is Hashem's arm which is the powerful one and which twisted Pharaoh's arm into releasing the Israelites.⁵

"כָּבֵד לֵב פַּרְעֹה"

In ancient Egypt, to enter into the afterlife one had to pass a simple test: the heart was weighed on a scale against a feather (see picture). If it was pure, it would be as light as a feather, and the deceased, declared pure, would be allowed to proceed. If the heart were not as light as the feather, though, it meant that the person was tainted with sin, and could not be redeemed. Accordingly, when Hashem says, "כָּבֵד לֵב פַּרְעֹה", He may be saying that Paroh is guilty (rather than stubborn, for which "וַיֶּחֱזַק לֵב פַּרְעֹה" or "הִקְשָׁה פַרְעֹה" is used).⁶

The Plagues

Both Shemot 12:12 and Bemidbar 33:4 explicitly state that the Plague of the Firstborn executed a "judgment against the [Egyptian] gods". This may be true of the other plagues as well. Various Midrashim⁷ already note that the Nile was worshiped in Egypt, and that the first plague of Blood was directed against the belief in this god.⁸ Modern scholars⁹ have extended this theory. Their suggestions include that the Plague of צְפַרְדֵּעַ was intended to mock Heqet the Egyptian goddess of childbirth who was depicted as a frog, the Plague of דֶּבֶר came to show the powerlessness of the Egyptian gods Apis or Hathor who were portrayed as bovines, the Plagues of Hail and Locust were brought against Min the Egyptian god of fertility and vegetation, and the Plague of Darkness was directed at the belief in Ra the Egyptian sun god.

¹ This topic was contributed by Prof. Aaron Koller.

² For further discussion of the names below and others, see Yoshiyuki Muchiki, Egyptian Proper Names and Loanwords in Northwest Semitic (SBL Dissertation Series 173; Atlanta: 1999).

³ Cf. PhiloOn the Life of Moses I:IV (17)About Philo, JosephusAntiquities 2:9:6 (228)About Josephus, Ibn EzraShemot Long Commentary 2:10Shemot Short Commentary 2:10About R. Avraham ibn Ezra, and ShadalShemot 2:10About R. S.D. Luzzatto who suggest alternative Egyptian meanings of the name.

⁴ For similar cases, see Bereshit 11:9 and Biblical Names. The Netziv also cites his similar interpretation of Bereshit 4:25.

⁵ For elaboration, see J. Hoffmeier, "The Arm of God Versus the Arm of Pharaoh in the Exodus Narratives", Biblica 67 (1986): 378-387.

⁶ For further discussion, see N. Shupak, "Hzq, Kbd, Qsh Leb, the Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart in Exodus 4-15:21: Seen Negatively in the Bible but Favorably in Egyptian Sources", Egypt, Israel and the Mediterranean Worlds: Studies in Honor of Donald B. Redford, eds. G.N. Knoppers and A. Hirsch, (Leiden, 2004): 389-403 and D. Cox, "The Hardening of Pharaoh's Heart In Its Literary And Cultural Contexts," Bibliotheca Sacra 163 (2006): 292-311.

⁷ See TanchumaVaera 13About the Tanchuma, Midrash Aggadah (Buber)Shemot 7:15About Midrash Aggadah (Buber), Shemot Rabbah9:9About Shemot Rabbah.

⁸ The name of the Nile god was Hapi.

⁹ See for e.g. A. Yahuda and U. Cassuto. For a detailed presentation, see Z. Zevit, "Three Ways to Look at the Ten Plagues: Were They Natural Disasters, a Demonstration of the Impotence of the Egyptian Gods, or an Undoing of Creation?" BR 6 (1990): 16-23, 42.