שמות, פרק י״א, פסוק א׳

The climax of the confrontation between Moses and Pharaoh reaches a breaking point. After Pharaoh threatens Moses with death and Moses agrees they will not meet again, God intervenes to announce the final, decisive blow that will end the slavery. The details of this prophecy are kept brief, relying on the fact that they will become clear moments later when Moses delivers the detailed warning to Pharaoh [רמב״ן, טור, ריב״א]. God emphasizes that He will execute this final plague Himself, without the use of an angel or messenger [שפתי כהן].

Because Moses is standing inside Pharaoh's palace during this confrontation, commentators explore the exact timing of God's communication. One approach suggests that the divine speech occurred at that very moment. God revealed Himself to Moses right inside the palace so that Moses could immediately announce the plague of the firstborn, thereby keeping his promise to never see Pharaoh's face again [רש״י, רמב״ן, רשב״ם]. To overcome the impurity of the Egyptian idols present in the palace, God elevated Moses ten handbreadths above the ground while speaking to him [דעת זקנים, חזקוני]. Another perspective suggests that God had already informed Moses about this final plague much earlier, while he was still in Midian. In the heat of the confrontation, Moses recalled this earlier prophecy and understood that the moment had arrived to bring it to fruition [אבן עזרא, אור החיים, שד״ל, רלב״ג, קאסוטו].

Regarding how the liberation will unfold, the description of Pharaoh sending the Israelites away carries a dual meaning of completeness and finality. The primary approach among commentators is that the release will be absolute in its scope; Pharaoh will send away everyone without exception—men, women, children, and livestock—leaving no one behind [רש״י, רשב״ם, מזרחי, שפתי חכמים, גור אריה, רבנו בחיי, שד״ל, ביאור יש״ר]. Furthermore, it signifies an absolute end. This will no longer be a temporary three-day journey to worship God, but a permanent departure into eternal freedom with no return [העמק דבר, מלבי״ם, רש״ר הירש].

The narrative points to a dramatic escalation in Pharaoh's behavior. Initially, he will merely grant the Israelites permission to leave, but this will rapidly devolve into a forceful expulsion, accompanied by intense pressure to abandon Egypt in extreme haste [מלבי״ם, שד״ל]. This reflects a profound sense of divine justice: just as Pharaoh angrily drove Moses and Aaron from his presence, he will find himself forced by overwhelming distress to drive out the entire nation [ספורנו, כלי יקר]. He will not do this out of goodwill, but entirely against his own will [העמק דבר].

This forced expulsion carries an underlying legal dimension. Because Pharaoh drives the Israelites out before the completion of the originally decreed four hundred years of servitude, he effectively acts as an employer who breaches a labor contract prematurely. This sudden termination of their enslavement grants the Israelites the legal right to demand and receive the wealth of Egypt as rightful compensation [חנוכת התורה, פרדס יוסף].