Who was Enslaved in Egypt/2

Who was Enslaved in Egypt?

Exegetical Approaches

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Overview

Commentators disagree regarding who was enslaved in Egypt and this impacts their understandings of the nature of the bondage as a whole.  While the majority of exegetes assume that the entire nation were slaves and view the experience as being extremely oppressive in both scope and intensity, not all agree.  R"Y Bekhor Shor asserts that the Israelites worked in shifts.  Each worked for Paroh for a period of weeks and then returned home.  As such, individual Israelites were not always enslaved and had time for themselves and their families.  Ralbag presents a third possibility, that Paroh had instituted a monetary tax and only those who could not pay it labored for Paroh instead.  Thus, someone who was wealthy might have never worked for Paroh.

Everyone

The entire Israelite nation was enslaved, including men, women, children, and the elderly.

Sources:R. Shemuel b. Nachmani in Bavli SotahSotah 11bAbout the Bavli and Shemot Rabbah1:11About Shemot Rabbah, TanchumaVayetze 9About the Tanchuma, Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer48About Pirkei DeRabbi Eliezer,

Freedom of movement – This position might claim that although the entire nation was enslaved, they were not necessarily forced to work every day of the year.  R"Y Bekhor ShorShemot 1:11-14About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor and RambanShemot 1:10-14Shemot 5:4About R. Moshe b. Nachman, for example, suggest that the people worked in shifts, with each laboring for Paroh for a number of months and then returning home.¹  If so, Aharon might have been off duty when he went to meet Moshe in the Wilderness and Yocheved might have similarly been on leave when nursing Moshe.²

Compensation to Yocheved – If women were also enslaved it is not clear why the daughter of Paroh would think to compensate Yocheved for nursing Moshe. This position might suggest that this was a personal decision of the princess whose values differed from those of her father, and was not indicative of how the larger Egyptian populace would have acted.

Own homes and possessions – If the Israelites were slaves to the State rather than to individuals,³ it is possible that they daily returned to their own homes.  It is not clear, however, how they would have had time or money to amass and care for individual possessions or cattle.  If the enslavement was a gradually worsening process, it is possible that they still owned possessions from the time that they were free or partially free. In addition, it is possible that Paroh's work ended at nightfall, and the Israelites tended to their own after dark.

"לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם" – After Moshe and Aharon request leave for a three day holiday, Paroh refuses and then tells them: "לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם", suggesting that even Moshe and Aharon were among those who were enslaved.

"וַעָבְדוּ בָהֶם בְּפָרֶךְ" – R. Shemuel b. Nachmani understands "פָרֶךְ" to refer not to back breaking labor but to degradation, claiming that the Egyptians would give the males work suited for females and vice versa.⁴

How was this to accomplish Paroh's goal? With the entire nation in bondage, Paroh hoped that they would be too weak and tired to procreate.  In addition, in their physically and emotionally degraded state it would be hard for the Israelites to fight against him in case of war.

Relationship to other Egyptians – If the entire nation was enslaved it is likely that the average Egyptian disparaged them. 

Harshness of the slavery – This position views the slavery as being harsh due to both its all inclusive nature and the cruel conditions.

Tribal Exemption

The entire nation was enslaved with the exception of the the tribe of Levi.

Sources:R. Yehoshua b. Levi in Shemot Rabbah5:16About Shemot Rabbah, RashiShemot 1:11-13Shemot 5:4About R. Shelomo Yitzchaki, one possibility in RambanShemot 1:10-14Shemot 5:4About R. Moshe b. Nachman, ChizkuniShemot 5:4About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach

Why did Paroh spare the Levites? Ramban suggests that the Levites served as the nation's elders and teachers and that Paroh recognized the need for such religious sages and therefore exempted them.⁵

Why did Levi merit this exemption? Chizkuni implies that the tribe merited their freedom since they immersed themselves in Torah and set up houses of learning in Egypt.

When were the Levites chosen? This position assumes that the Levites held distinct status already in Egypt, and perhaps even from the period of the Patriarchs.  See Selection of the Priests and Levites for a full discussion and dissenting views.

Freedom of movement – The only characters who appear to have freedom of movement (Aharon, Yocheved, and Miriam) all stem from the tribe of Levi,⁶ supporting the possibility that they specifically were exempt.⁷

Compensation to Yocheved – If Yocheved was a free citizen, it is not surprising that Paroh's daughter would have to pay her for her work.

"לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם" – Rashi asserts that Paroh was not telling Moshe and Aharon to return to the slave labor but rather to whatever work they had to do at home.⁸

Genocide – Though the Levites might have been spared the harsh conditions of the enslavement, they were clearly included in the decree of genocide as attested to by Yocheved's hiding of Moshe.

Age / Gender Exemption

Men were enslaved, but women, children and the elderly were exempt.

"וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים" – These sources might understand this to refer to a work tax, which usually was limited to men.

"וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה" – Similarly, if the work consisted mainly of heavy building, it is possible that only able-bodied men were expected to participate.

"תִּכְבַּד הָעֲבֹדָה עַל הָאֲנָשִׁים" – This position might read the word "הָאֲנָשִׁים" literally to refer to men.  Similarly, it might suggest that when Moshe goes out to his "brothers" (וַיֵּצֵא אֶל אֶחָיו) this term is chosen because only men were included. In fact, throughout the descriptions of slavery only males are mentioned: Moshe witnesses the Egyptian hitting a male slave and later sees two male slaves fighting.

Freedom of movement – Though the text does not share Aharon's age when he meets Moshe, it reveals that he was 83 when performing the sign of the "תנין".  If so, it is possible that he was over the age of those enslaved.  Yocheved and Miriam, being female, were similarly free.

Compensation to Yocheved – If no women were forced to participate in the labor tax, it is possible that they had their own sources of employment and the princess compensated Yocheved just as any other woman would be paid for similar work.

Own homes and possessions – According to this approach, it is possible that the women were gainfully employed even though their husbands were forced to labor for free.  As such, they could amass possessions and care for their homes.

"לְכוּ לְסִבְלֹתֵיכֶם" – This position might suggest that Moshe and Aharon were accompanied by other laboring Israelites when they approached Paroh and it was to them that Paroh said, "return to your work".⁹

Economic Exemption

Paorh decreed a monetary tax on the nation.  Those who could afford to pay it were not enslaved; everyone else was forced to work in lieu of payment.

Sources:RalbagShemot Beur HaMilot 1:11-14Shemot Beur HaParashah 1:11-22About R. Levi b. Gershom, HaKetav VeHaKabbalahShemot 1:11Shemot 1:13About R. Yaakov Mecklenburg¹⁰

"וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלָיו שָׂרֵי מִסִּים" – These sources understand "מִסִּים" to refer to a monetary tax.¹¹

"וַיִּבֶן עָרֵי מִסְכְּנוֹת לְפַרְעֹה" – This part of the verse refers to those who did not have the finances to pay the monetary tax.  They, instead, were forced to build store houses for Paroh.  Ralbag implies that much of the nation fell into this category, as it was possible that Paroh taxed the people even daily.

Biblical parallels – The concept that a foreign minority might have to pay a tribute to the controlling majority occurs often when one country subdues another.¹²  In Egypt, however, the Israelites had not been conquered by Egypt but rather come to live peacefully. 

Freedom of movement – According to this position, those who could afford the monetary tax had no responsibilities to Paroh and were free to go where they pleased.  This could explain Aharon's ability to meet Moshe out of Egypt and Yocheved's availability to serve as nurse to Moshe.

Compensation to Yocheved – Yocheved might have been among those able to pay the monetary tax and thus a free citizen.

Own homes and possessions – Ralbag implies that after finishing their daily labor quotas the Israelites would return to their personal homes, suggesting that even those who worked did not live on site.

Relationship to other Egyptians – This position might assert that those Israelites who could afford the monetary tax and were not enslaved were not looked down upon by the neighboring Egyptians.  However, since a significant portion were enslaved, the nation as a whole likely held a degraded status.

How was this to accomplish Paroh's goal? According to Ralbag, Paroh allowed his officers to force the people to work beyond the limits of the law and gave them back-breaking types of labor hoping to ruin the people's health and lessen their seed.  Thus, even though some Israelites were exempt and did not physically suffer, Paroh hoped that the significant portion of Israelites who worked would be weakened and propagate less.

¹ For elaboration, see the Nature of the Bondage.

² Alternatively the princess took her from whatever task she had been doing to work for her.

³ For a discussion of the two possibilities see Nature of the Bondage.

⁴ See Tanchuma similarly.

⁵ Chizkuni, in contrast, following Bavli Sotah 11b, suggests that Pharaoh ensnared the Jewish people with his smooth talk, inviting them to volunteer and help him in public building.  Thereafter, he declared that whoever volunteered would have to continue to labor.  However, the Levites, knowing that in the future they were to carry the Ark of the Covenant, did not volunteer to soil themselves with other burdens and were thus never enslaved.

⁶ See Rashi who uses this point to prove that the Levites must have been exempt.

⁷ It should be noted, however, that the only named Israelite characters in Parashat Shemot are all related to Moshe and so the fact that the only known people to have freedom of movement are Levites might not be significant.

⁸ Ramban brings support for Rashi's understanding pointing to  Melakhim I 11:28, "סֵבֶל בֵּית יוֹסֵף" as evidence that the word can refer to any work in the house or field.

⁹ See RambanShemot 5:4About R. Moshe b. Nachman.

¹⁰ HaKetav VeHaKabbalah cites Ralbag.

¹¹ There is not much evidence for this usage in Tanakh, except perhaps in Esther 10:1.  See the Hoil Moshe who points out that in Tanakh a tribute or monetary fine is referred to as a "מִנְחָה" or "מֶכֶס" rather than "מַס".  The latter term, instead, is usually associated with forced labor as in Yehoshua 16:10, Melakhim I 5:27, and Melakhim I 9:21.

¹² See how Moav and Aram pay tribute to David in Shemuel II 8:2,6 and how Hoshea the King of Israel pays tribute to Assyria in Melakhim II 17:3.