The Roundabout Route and The Road Not Traveled/3
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The Roundabout Route and The Road Not Traveled
Points of Dispute
These are some of the central points of dispute (נקודות המחלוקת) between the various exegetes:
- Purpose of Yam Suf
- To free the Israelites permanently – Seforno
- To destroy the Egyptian army –
- Avoiding war with whom?
- Egyptians and Philistines – R. Yosef Bekhor Shor
- Egyptians – Seforno
- Philistines
- Previous War – opinion in Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan), first opinion in Shemot Rabbah
- Future War – Akeidat Yitzchak, Abarbanel
- Canaanites – perhaps Rashi, Rashbam
- Meaning of "כִּי קָרוֹב הוּא" – close to what?
- Close to Egypt (too easy to return to Egypt) – Seforno, Abarbanel
- Close to Canaan
- Reason for not taking the Philistine Route (one would arrive too quickly) – U. Cassuto
- Reason for considering taking the Philistine Route (quicker to arrive in Canaan) – R. Chananel, R. Yosef Bekhor Shor, Akeidat Yitzchak, R. S"R Hirsch
- Problem with Philistine Route
- Too easy to return to Egypt – Rashi, Seforno
- Danger from Philistines – Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael, R"Y Bekhor Shor, Ramban
- Too close to Canaan and no time in the wilderness – Rambam, Shadal, Malbim, Netziv
