Ramban (Nachmanides) on the Torah

BEHOLD, THE HAND OF THE ETERNAL IS UPON THY CATTLE WHICH ARE IN THE FIELD. Scripture speaks of the ordinary custom that most cattle are in the field, but the plague was also upon the cattle in the houses, just as it is said, And all the cattle of Egypt died. It is possible that because every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians, the Egyptians removed the cattle from the cities except for the use of horses for riding and asses for loading. Thus the cattle were located far from Egypt, grazing in the fields bordering upon Goshen, and in those pastures the cattle of the Egyptians and of the Israelites would intermingle. Therefore it was necessary that it be said, And the Eternal shall make a division between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. It may be that the division was necessary because since the pestilence was caused by the change of air, it should naturally spread over the whole district, [affecting the cattle of the Israelites as well], but G-d dealt wondrously with them.

AND IT SHALL BECOME SMALL DUST OVER ALL THE LAND OF EGYPT. According to the opinion of our Rabbis, [the small quantity of] soot [in the hands of Moses] became the dust which settled over the whole land of Egypt, and that dust, coming upon man and upon beast, caused them to break forth with boils and blains throughout all the land of Egypt, since it was a burning hot dust. Perhaps the wind caused the dust to enter the homes as well, and there was thus no escape from it. This is a correct [conjecture]. Many times during a drought, the fall of the dew is accompanied by a sort of dust, and it is furthermore written, The Eternal will make the rain of thy land powder and dust. It is also possible to say, in line with the plain meaning of Scripture, that the purport of the expression, And it shall become small dust, is that the dust which will be produced in that place from the soot will bring the boils over all the land of Egypt, as He infected the air to do so, it being a decree of the Supreme One.

AND THE MAGICIANS COULD NOT STAND BEFORE MOSES. They were ashamed, and confounded, and covered their heads since they were full of boils and could not rescue themselves. Therefore they made no appearance in the royal palace, nor did they appear before Moses in the streets. And so they were imprisoned in their homes.

AND THE ETERNAL HARDENED THE HEART OF PHARAOH. It is possible that during the first plagues, the magicians hardened Pharaoh’s heart in order to pride themselves in their wisdom. But now that they did not come before him and there was none to help him and none to uphold him in his folly except his iniquities that ensnared him, [it was G-d Who hardened his heart]. It is possible that Scripture is alluding to that which our Rabbis have explained, i.e., that during the first plagues, the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart was his own doing, and now it was [rightfully] caused by G-d, as I have explained above. This is the true explanation.

In view of the fact that Scripture states, A very grievous hail, such as hath not been in Egypt since the day it was founded, and repeats it again, Very grievous, such as had not been in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation, there is an allusion that there are other places in the world where such hail did come down, such as is mentioned in the verse, And the Eternal cast down great stones from heaven upon them, or as is mentioned in connection with [the destruction of] Sodom, brimstone, and salt, and fire. But in the land of Egypt, where there is no rain or hail, this was a great wonder. I have not understood what is said in Midrash Rabbah: “The verse does not say, ‘as hath not been in Egypt like it,’ but instead it says, ‘as hath not been like it in Egypt,’ which means there has neither been like it in the world nor in Egypt.” And the expression, since the day it was founded, is equivalent to saying: “Your fathers and your grandfathers have never seen the like of it.” But it is not possible to say that it suggests that the like of it occurred before the world was founded or before the inception of nations. Perhaps because this hail came as a punishment upon the inhabitants of Egypt and was not in the natural order, [the verse] is saying that nothing like it has ever occurred because of the sins of the fathers, for before the inception of Egypt as a nation, surely there was no [reason for] such hail to come.
BEHOLD, TOMORROW ABOUT THIS TIME I WILL CAUSE IT TO RAIN A VERY GRIEVOUS HAIL, etc. 19. NOW THEREFORE SEND, HASTEN IN THY CATTLE. All this is G-d’s word to Moses, and it is self-understood that Moses came and told Pharaoh all the words of G-d that He sent him to speak, and there was no need to prolong the account [of Moses’ going to Pharaoh and so telling him]. Scripture only states, He that feared the word of the Eternal among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the houses, from which it is clear that Moses had told them [G-d’s words]. This advice was on account of G-d’s being merciful to them, since the plague of hail was sent only against the produce of the earth and not against man, therefore doth He instruct sinners in the way to save them from the plague.

ONLY IN THE LAND OF GOSHEN, WHERE THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL WERE, WAS THERE NO HAIL. Because Moses had stretched forth his hand toward heaven and brought down the hail, it should have followed that it came down also upon the land of Goshen, as the air thereof and that of Egypt are the same. Therefore Scripture explained that the air over the land of Goshen was saved [from the hail] because the children of Israel were there.

I HAVE SINNED THIS TIME. The explanation thereof is: “This time I will acknowledge the Eternal,, and explains them as follows: “This time I acknowledge the Eternal, for I have sinned against Him, etc.” for I have sinned against Him, and He is the righteous One, and I and my people are wicked, for we have rebelled against His word from then until now.”

AS SOON AS I AM GONE OUT OF THE CITY, I WILL SPREAD FORTH MY HANDS UNTO THE ETERNAL. In line with the plain meaning of Scripture, it is possible to say that [on other occasions] Moses prayed in his house, [which was within the city]. However, this time He saw fit that his hands be spread heavenward so that the thunders and the hail cease immediately, and that was impossible to be done in the city [because it was replete with idols]. Hence he said, As soon as I am gone out of the city. And so it is said further on, And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread forth his hands. But at first, [i.e., during the plague of swarms], Moses said to Pharaoh, Behold, I go out from thee, and I will entreat the Eternal, [for as soon as he left the palace he went to his house in the city and prayed]. But our Rabbis have said that Moses “did not pray within the city because it was full of idols, and all the more He did not converse with him except outside the city.” If so, we must say that since Pharaoh now pleaded with Moses that he remove the hail immediately, Moses found it necessary to explain to him that he must go out of the city first and after that he will spread forth his hands to the Eternal, and He will remove it on account of his prayer. This is the true explanation.

I KNOW THAT ‘TEREM’ (NOT YET) WILL YE FEAR THE ETERNAL G-D. Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra correctly criticized Rashi [for explaining that wherever the word terem occurs in Scripture, it signifies “not yet” and does not mean “before”]. It is the opposite: it does not mean “no,” but rather it means “before.” And Ibn Ezra explained that the verse here is missing one word, [namely, zeh (this), making it read]: terem zeh tir’un. That is to say, “Before I will spread forth my hands and the thunders and hail will cease, ye do fear G-d, for after the removal of the plague you will return and rebel against Him.” It is furthermore correct to explain that Moses is also alluding to the first occasions, saying: “I know from your [former actions] that before [I pray on your behalf] you fear G-d, and in the end, [after I pray], you rebel against Him. Before the plagues are removed from you, you fear G-d as you did in the plague of frogs and of swarms, and then you returned and ye rebelled against the commandment of the Eternal, and so will you continue to be forever.” It was for this reason that when Pharaoh recanted [his promise to let the people go], Moses no longer warned him of that but instead knowingly prayed on his behalf during the plague of the locust, in order that he continue to sin.

AND THE FLAX AND THE BARLEY WERE SMITTEN, etc. Scripture narrates what happened, but I do not know why these two verses were entered in this place before the subject of Moses’ prayer and the removal of the hail was completed. In the name of Rav Saadia Gaon, that there is some proof indicating that Ramban may have seen the Gaon’s commentary in the original Arabic. the commentators have said that these [two verses are also part of] Moses’ words to Pharaoh. He said to him: “Before you had feared G-d and said, The Eternal is the righteous One, the flax and the barley were already smitten and these can no longer be saved. But the wheat and the spelt were not smitten yet, and henceforth you will no longer suffer damage.” I find no sense in this explanation. The hail smote every herb of the field and broke every tree, and the wheat and the spelt were saved only because they had not sprouted at all or because they were so tender that they were not destroyed completely by the hail since they could sprout again. That being the case, even if the hail had continued for days more to come down upon them, there would not be a loss. There was thus no need for Moses to inform Pharaoh of what he lost and what he did not lose, for when the hail will be removed, he will himself see! In my opinion, these are Moses’ words to Pharaoh. Moses said to him: “I know that before the plagues are removed, you fear G-d, and afterward you repeat your folly. Now the flax and the barley were smitten while the wheat and the spelt which are your livelihood were not smitten in this plague, but it is within G-d’s power to destroy them if you return and sin again before Him.” Thus Moses alluded to them that which G-d said later [of the locust], And they shall eat the residue of that which escaped. Bo