Verse 10. Verse 11. Verse 12. Verse 13. Verse 14.

unleavened bread; and he spared us, and did not give power to the destroying angel to destroy us.

Verse 10. My beloved spake, and said unto me, &c.] And in the morning my beloved answered, and said unto me, Arise, O congregation of Israel, my love, who wast so of old, and who art fair in good works; go, get thee out from the bondage of the Egyptians.

Verse 11. For lo, the winter is past, &c.] For behold, the time of bondage, which is like to winter, is ceased; and the years {l} which I spake of to Abraham between the pieces are at an end; and the tyranny of the Egyptians, which is like to a violent rain, is over and gone; neither shall ye see them any more for ever.

Verse 12. The flowers appear on the earth, &c.] And Moses and Aaron, {m} who are like to branches of palm trees, appeared to do wonders in the land of Egypt; and the time of cutting the first-fruits is come, and the voice of the Holy Spirit of redemption, which I spake of to Abraham your father. Now ye hear what I said unto him; yea, the people whom ye shall serve I will judge, and after that ye shall come forth with great substance; and now it is my pleasure to do what I sware to him by my word.

Verse 13. The fig tree putteth forth, &c.] The congregation of Israel, which is like to the first-fruits of figs, opened her mouth, and sang a song at the Red Sea; yea, the babes and sucklings praised the Lord of the world with their tongues. Immediately the Lord of the world said unto them, Arise, O congregation of Israel, my love, and my fair one, and go from hence into the land which I have sworn unto thy fathers.

Verse 14. O my dove, that art to the clefts of the rock, &c.] And when wicked Pharaoh {n} pursued after the children of Israel, the congregation of Israel was like to a dove that is shut up in the clefts of the rock, when the serpent afflicts within, and the hawk oppresses without; even so the congregation of Israel was shut up on the four sides of the world, for before them was the sea, and behind them enmity {o} pursued; and on the two sides of them were the wildernesses, which were full of fiery serpents, which bite and kill the sons of men with their poison. And immediately she opened her mouth in prayer before the Lord, and Bath Kol {p} went out from the highest heavens, and thus it said, O thou congregation of Israel, who art like to a clean dove, and which is hid in the closure of the clefts of the rock, and in the secret places of the stairs, show me thy countenance, and thy works, which are right; cause me to hear thy voice, for thy voice is sweet in prayer in the house of the little sanctuary, and thy countenance is fair in good works.

Verse 15. Take us the foxes, &c.] After that they had passed through the sea, they murmured for water; then came wicked Amalek against them, who hated them on the account of the birthright and blessing which Jacob our father took away from Esau; and he came to make war with Israel, for they had made void the words of the law; and wicked Amalek {q} stole from under the wings of the clouds of glory several persons from the tribe of Dan, and slew them, because the idol of Micah was in their hand. In that very hour the house of Israel, which is like to a vineyard, was condemned to be destroyed, except the righteous of that generation, who were like to the best spice.

Verse 16. My beloved is mine, &c.] In that very hour they returned by repentance: then stood Moses the prophet, and prayed before the Lord; and Joshua his minister girded himself, and went out from under the {r} wings of the clouds of the glory of the Lord, and with him mighty men that were righteous, who in their works are like to the rose; and they made war with Amalek, and they broke Amalek and his people with the anathema of the Lord, and with slaughter, and with breach, and with the edge of the sword.

Verse 17. Until the day break, &c.] But in a very few days the children of Israel made the golden calf, and the clouds of glory which covered them removed; and they were left open, and were spoiled of the apparatus of their armour, on which was engraven the Great Name, {s} that is explained by seventy names. And the Lord sought to destroy them out of the world; but that he remembered before him the oath which he sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, who were swift in their service, as a roe or a young hart, and the offering which Abraham offered up, even Isaac, his own son, on Mount Moriah, and where, before then, he had offered his offering, and divided them equally.