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Exodus 14 says the Egyptian and Israelite camps did not come near each other all night at the sea. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Sanhedrin draws on this to say God silenced the angels who wished to sing, since God's own creation was drowning.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Exodus 14:20
Hebrew Bible
19 The angel of God, who was going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them. 20 It came between the Egyptian camp and the Israelite camp; it was a dark cloud and it lit up the night so that one camp did not come near the other the whole night. 21 Moses stretched out his hand toward the sea, and the Lord drove the sea apart by a strong east wind all that night, and he made the sea into dry land, and the water was divided.
Sanhedrin 39b
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
The Gemara asks: But is the Holy One, Blessed be He, gladdened by the downfall of the wicked? Isn’t it written in the verse describing the victory of the Jewish people in battle: “He appointed them that should sing unto the Lord, and praise in the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and say: Give thanks to the Lord, for His mercy endures forever” (II Chronicles 20:21). And Rabbi Yonatan says: For what reason is it not stated in this praise: “Give thanks to the Lord for He is good, for His mercy endures forever,” as is stated elsewhere, e.g., Psalms 118:1? This is because the Holy One, Blessed be He, is not gladdened by the downfall of the wicked. The Gemara comments: As Rabbi Shmuel bar Naḥman says that Rabbi Yonatan says: What is the meaning of that which is written in the passage describing the splitting of the Red Sea: “And the one came not near the other all the night” (Exodus 14:20)? At that time the ministering angels desired to recite a song before the Holy One, Blessed be He. The Holy One, Blessed be He, said to them: My handiwork, i.e., the Egyptians, are drowning in the sea, and you are reciting a song before Me? Apparently, God is not gladdened by the downfall of the wicked. Rabbi Yosei bar Ḥanina says: He, i.e., God, does not rejoice in their downfall, but He does cause others to feel joy. The Gemara comments: Accordingly, the language of the verse is also precise, as it is written: “And it shall come to pass, that as the Lord rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you; so the Lord will cause rejoicing [yasis] over you to cause you to perish” (Deuteronomy 28:63), and it is not written: Will have joy [yasus]. The term “yasis” connotes causing joy to others, not that God will experience joy Himself. The Gemara affirms: Conclude from this inference that it is so.
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
... A midrash on the above verse asks the question, “What does it mean that ‘one could not come near the other’?” Rabbi Yohanan’s answer was that the angels in heaven wanted to sing in celebration of the impending death of the Egyptians. God, in response, said to the angels, “The works of My hands are drowning in the sea, and you would utter song in My presence!” (Babylonian Megillah 10b, Babylonian Sanhedrin 39b). This midrash reflects a fundamental principle in Israel’s use of military force ...
Garfinkel, Stephen P.
The JPS Jewish Heritage Torah Commentary
(p. on Exodus 14:20) The Jewish Publication Society, 2023
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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