For you shall not go out in a tumult, neither shall you make haste by flight: For the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will gather you together.
Rashi
for...goes before you Two things at the end of this verse explain two things in its beginning, [viz.] For not with haste shall you go forth. What is the reason? For the Lord goes before you to lead you on the way, and one whose agent advances before him to lead him on the way his departure is not in haste. And not in the flurry of flight shall you go, for your rear guard is the God of Israel. He will follow you to guard you from any pursuer. Comp. (Num. 10:25) “And the division of the camp of Dan shall travel, the rear guard of all the camps.” Whoever goes after the camp is called מְאַסֵּף, the rear guard, because he waits for the stragglers and the stumblers. Similarly, Scripture states in Joshua (6: 13): “And the rear guard was going after the Ark.”
Hebrew and Aramaic words are the commentator’s citations of the sacred text; the English translation that follows each is the translator’s.
Imported from an open dataset — not yet checked against the printed edition.