Tanach · Rishonim on Tanach · Ramban · Torah

Ramban on Exodus 8:5/רמב"ן על שמות ח׳:ה׳

אלְמָתַי אַעְתִּיר לְךָ כָּתַב רַשִׁ"י (רש"י על שמות ח':ה') אִלּוּ נֶאֱמַר מָתַי אַעְתִּיר הָיָה מַשְׁמָע מָתַי אֶתְפַּלֵּל, עַכְשָׁו שֶׁנֶּאֱמַר לְמָתַי, אֲנִי הַיּוֹם אֶתְפַּלֵּל עָלֶיךָ שֶׁיִּכָּרְתוּ לִזְמַן שֶׁתִּקְבַּע לִי, אֱמֹר לְאֵיזֶה יוֹם תִּרְצֶה שֶׁיִּכָּרְתוּ. וְעַל דֶּרֶךְ הַפְּשָׁט בְּעֵת תְּפִלָּתוֹ הָיוּ סָרוֹת הַמַּכּוֹת, כִּי כָּתוּב "וַיִּצְעַק מֹשֶׁה אֶל ה' וְגוֹ' וַיַּעַשׂ ה'", וְאֵין כָּתוּב "וַיַּעַשׂ ה' מִמָּחֳרָת" וְאֵין לְשׁוֹן לְמָתַי רְאָיָה שֶׁהִתְפַּלֵּל מִיָּד, כִּי הוּא כְּמוֹ מָתַי וְרַבּוּ הלמדי"ן הַבָּאִים כָּכָה, "לְמָחָר יִהְיֶה הָאֹת הַזֶּה" (שמות ח':י"ט), "לְמִן הַיּוֹם אֲשֶׁר יָצָאתָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם" (דברים ט ז), "לְמִנְחַת הָעֶרֶב" (עזרא ט ד), "כְּנַף הָאֶחָד לְאַמּוֹת חָמֵשׁ" (דהי"ב ג יא) וְרַבִּים כָּכָה:

1L’MATHAI’ (AGAINST WHAT TIME) SHALL I ENTREAT FOR THEE? Rashi commented: “If the text said mathai (when) — [not l’mathai] — shall I entreat, it would signify ‘when shall I pray?’ But now that it said l’mathai, it means ‘Today I will pray for you that the frogs be destroyed by the time which you will set for me. Say then by what day you wish that they shall be destroyed.’”In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, the removal of the plagues took place at the time of Moses’ prayer, as it is written, And Moses cried unto the Eternal, etc., and the Eternal did according to the word of Moses¹³² and it is not written “and the Eternal did so tomorrow.” The letter lamed in the word l’mathai is no proof that Moses prayed immediately, for the word l’mathai is equivalent to mathai, there being many verses where the lamed occurs [just for elegance of language], thus: ‘l’min’ (from) the day that thou didst go forth out of the land of Egypt;¹³³ in the word l’min is superfluous. until ‘l’minchath’ (the offering) of the evening;¹³⁴ in l’minchath is a superfluous style. the wing of the one cherub was five ‘l’amoth’ (cubits).¹³⁵ in l’amoth is superfluous. There are many other such cases.

בוְטַעַם לְהַכְרִית הַצְפַרְדְּעִים רֶמֶז לְמִיתָתָם, כִּלְשׁוֹן "וְנִכְרְתָה הַנֶּפֶשׁ הַהִיא" (שמות י"ב:י"ט), "וְהִכְרַתִּי לְאַחְאָב" (מלכים א כ"א:כ"א). וְאָמַר מֹשֶׁה פַּעַם אַחֶרֶת "וְסָרוּ הַצְפַרְדְּעִים", לֵאמֹר כִּי מִיָּד שֶׁיִּתְפַּלֵּל יָסוּרוּ כֻּלָּם, שֶׁלֹּא יִפְחַד פַּרְעֹה שֶׁיָּמוּתוּ אֵלֶּה וְיַעֲלוּ אֲחֵרִים מִן הַיְאוֹר, רַק תָּסוּר הַמַּכָּה לְגַמְרֵי, ואע"פ שֶׁתִּשָּׁאַרְנָה מֵהֶם בַּיְאוֹר. וְכָל זֶה לְהוֹדִיעוֹ כִּי הַמַּכָּה מֵאֵת הָאֱלֹהִים עַל עִנְיַן יִשְׂרָאֵל בִּלְבַד:

2THAT THE FROGS BE DESTROYED. This is an allusion to their death, just as the expressions: that soul shall be cut off;¹³⁶ and I will cut off from Ahab every man-child.¹³⁷The intent of Moses’ repeating the promise to Pharaoh, And the frogs shall depart, etc.,¹³⁸ was to state that as soon as he will have prayed, the frogs will all be removed, and that Pharaoh should not fear that when these frogs die, others will come up from the river. Rather, the plague will be completely removed even though some of them will remain in the river.¹³⁸ All this was to inform Pharaoh that the plague came from G-d for the sake of Israel alone.