LIV. (1) The sages say that when God brought the plague of the firstborn upon the Egyptians, He started first upon their gods, as it is said, 'I shall execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt; I am the Lord.' And what was this smiting of their gods, since they were but images of stone? They were broken up into small pieces; every idol of wood rotted and became a heap of dust, and all idols of silver, brass, iron and lead were melted to metal sheets on the ground; and when the Egyptians were drowned in the Red Sea fire descended upon their gods and consumed them, as it is said, 'And in the abundance of Thy majesty, Thou wilt overthrow all those who rise up against Thee.'
(2) The sages further say that before the plague of the firstborn descended upon them Moses went among the firstborn in Egypt and said to them, 'Thus saith the Lord, About the time of midnight I shall go forth in the midst. of the Egyptians, and all their firstborn shall die.' Thereupon all the firstborn went to their fathers and said, 'All the plagues which Moses foretold have come to pass; he now says that all the firstborn are to die.' 'Go to Pharaoh,' replied their fathers, 'for he is a firstborn.'
him they laughed, saying to him, 'Pharaoh, where art thou going, and whom dost thou seek?' 'It is Moses your master that I am searching for.' 'Here he lives, here he lives,' said the children, all the while laughing at him, until he at last said, 'Arise, go forth from among my people.' But the Israelites took no notice of him until he went to Moses’ house and said, 'I entreat thee, O my lord, pray to God for us.' But Moses and Aaron and all the Israelites were at that moment in their several houses, eating their paschal lambs and singing praises to the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, and sitting at home, and no one went out of his house, because God said to the Israelites, 'And no man of you shall go out of his house until the morning.' (5) So that when Pharaoh came to Moses’ door, Moses said to him from within his house, 'Who art thou calling?' 'I am Pharaoh,' said he. 'Why dost thou thyself come to me? Surely it is not customary for kings to come to men's houses, and, moreover, at night-time.' 'I entreat thee, go forth and pray for us, for there is no man left in Egypt that is not dead.' 'But I cannot go forth, for I have heard it from the mouth of God, saying, "You shall not go forth."' 'I beseech thee,' said Pharaoh, 'stand at the window and let me behold thy pleasant face.' 'But,' added Moses, 'didst thou not say to me, "Thou shalt no more see my face"?' 'I said this to thee before the firstborn died, but now they are already dead. Thou hast indeed never lied before me: now, why are they all dead?' And Moses said, 'Dost thou wish them to be brought to life again?' 'Yes,' said he. (6) 'If so, then raise thy voice and say, "O children of Israel, behold ye are free men, behold ye are your own masters. Now arise and go forth from the midst of my people. But now ye were the servants of Pharaoh, henceforward ye are the servants of God."' These words Pharaoh repeated. 'Say them again.' And Pharaoh did so. Say them a third time.' And Pharaoh said them a third time. When Pharaoh raised his voice, it was heard in all the land of Egypt, a distance of forty days or 400 parasangs. (8) Among these Egyptians there were two wizards whose names were Joḥanai and Mamre. As soon as they entered the sea and saw that the waters encompassed them, by means of their wiles they flew into the air as high as the firmament. There was not another nation in the world so much addicted to witchcraft as the Egyptians. Thus our sages have said, 'Ten measures of witchcraft descended into the world: nine parts the Egyptians took, and one remained for the rest of the world.' Joḥanai and Mamre were the princes of witchcraft, and, from their great knowledge of it, they ascended to the firmament; nor were Michael and Gabriel able to do anything against them. They therefore cried to God in supplication, saying, 'O Lord of the universe, these wicked men who oppressed Thy children with hard bondage dare to stand here without fear, and not only this, but they dare to defy even Thee.' (Whence do we know that God Himself descended in Egypt? Because it is said, 'I shall go down with thee to Egypt.') 'Now, if it is Thy will, O Lord of the universe, execute punishment for Thy children.' At this God immediately ordered Metatron, saying, 'Throw them down and cast them to the ground, but be careful that they only fall into the sea.' Metatron accordingly cast them forcibly into the midst of the sea. It was then that the Israelites broke forth with the 'Shirah' (the song), 'And in the abundance of Thy majesty Thou hast overthrown those who rise up against Thee.' (9) 'The nations heard it and trembled,' The sages say that when the Egyptians pursued the Israelites and beheld them, they were seized with great fear and dread, and did not wish to enter into the sea after them. God therefore sent Gabriel to them, and he appeared like a mare entering the sea. Pharaoh's horse immediately followed into the sea after it, and he was followed by all the Egyptians. Then spake God to Moses, saying, 'Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and the waters shall return upon the heads of Pharaoh and his chariot and his riders.' Moses thus stretched forth his hand upon the sea, which was cleft asunder and rent. When the nations of the world heard the report of the exodus from Egypt, and the rending of the Red Sea, they trembled, and in terror fled from their habitations.