 | VaEra |  |
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| | 7:8 |
Fourth Reading
God said to Moses and Aaron,
Vayomer Adonay el-Moshe ve'el-Aharon lemor. |
| 7:9 |
'When Pharaoh speaks to you, he will tell you to prove yourself with a miraculous sign. You [Moses] must then tell Aaron, 'Take your staff and throw it down before Pharaoh. Let it become a viper!' '
Ki yedaber alechem Par'oh lemor tnu lachem mofet ve'amarta el-Aharon kach et-matcha vehashlech lifney Far'oh yehi letanin. |
| 7:10 |
Moses and Aaron came to Pharaoh. They did exactly as God had said. Aaron threw his staff down before Pharaoh, and it became a viper.
Vayavo Moshe ve'Aharon el-Par'oh vaya'asu chen ka'asher tsiva Adonay vayashlech Aharon et-matehu lifney Far'oh velifney avadav vayehi letanin. |
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Commentary:
Let it become
A command, cf. Genesis 1:3.
| viper
Tanin in Hebrew. Some say that this is the same snake (nachash) that it became at the Burning Bush (Exodus 4:3), see Exodus 7:15 (Rashi; Lekach Tov; Radak, Sherashim, s.v. tanan). Others say that by the Burning Bush, God gave Moses a sign for the Israelites, but before Pharaoh, the staff turned into a crocodile (Ibn Ezra; K'li Yekar), and that this was Aaron's staff and not Moses' (K'li Yekar, cf. Zohar). Others say that Moses gave his staff to Aaron (Ibn Ezra).
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