Bo: Ibn Kaspi – Were the Last Three Plagues Exaggerated?

The free article addresses Arbeh, but Ibn Kaspi says that the truth about Choshech shouldn't be divulged publicly, and I'd extend the same reasoning to the Makkas Bechoros - hence, the paywall.

The Torah content for the rest of January is sponsored by Avital, “to continued growth, learning and clarity IY”H. Thank you for all your guidance!”

Click here for a printer-friendly version of the FREE version of this article. Paid subscribers can scroll to the end for the FULL version, which includes three additional pages (which Ibn Kaspi says should not be shared with the masses).

My ChatGPT-generated anime Ibn Kaspi character counting locusts.

Bo: Ibn Kaspi – Were the Last Three Plagues Exaggerated?

Arbeh (locusts), the eighth of the Ten Plagues, is described in Shemos 10:13-15 as an unparalleled catastrophe:

Moshe stretched his staff over the land of Egypt, and Hashem led an east wind through the land all that day and all that night. By morning, the east wind had carried in the locust swarm. The locust swarm ascended over all the land of Egypt and it settled throughout all the borders of Egypt, very severely. Never before had there been such a locust swarm and never again would there be its equal. It covered the surface of all the land and the land was darkened.⁠ It ate all the vegetation of the land and all the fruit of the tree that the hail left over. No greenery remained on the trees or the vegetation of the field in all the land of Egypt.

The phrase, “Never before had there been such a locust swarm and never again would there be its equal” appears to assert an incontrovertible historical fact. This is how Ibn Ezra (ibid. 10:14) understands it, noting: “This was written in accordance with prophecy”—meaning that Moshe Rabbeinu was informed that no locust swarm of this magnitude had ever occurred before, nor would it ever occur again.

But there’s a problem with Ibn Ezra’s reading: it’s factually incorrect. Yoel 2:2 describes another locust plague that seems to surpass the one in Moshe’s time:

Blow the trumpet in Tzion, sound an alarm on My holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of Hashem comes, for it is close at hand—a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness. Like the dawn spreading over the mountains, a great and mighty nation. Never before has there been anything like it, nor will there be again, even to the years of many generations.

The “great and mighty nation” in this verse refers to the devastating locust plague described in the first two chapters of Sefer Yoel. This presents a contradiction: if Moshe’s locust swarm was the worst in history, how can Yoel describe his locust plague in the same absolute terms?

Rashi (Shemos 10:14) addresses this contradiction:

and never again would there be its equal – that [plague of locusts] which happened during Yoel’s time, of which it is said, “never before has there been anything like it,” teaches us that it was even more destructive than the one in Moshe’s time. [This is because it consisted] of multiple species of locusts together: “arbeh (abundant locust), chasil (demolishing locust), yelek (chewing locust), and gazem (cutting locust)” (cf. Yoel 2:25). But the plague in Moshe’s time consisted of only one species (i.e. arbeh), and the likes of that there never was nor will there be again.

According to Rashi, the locust plague in Moshe’s time was the worst single-species locust swarm in history, while the plague in Yoel’s time was the worst multi-species infestation. This resolves the contradiction.

There’s only one problem with Rashi’s answer: it’s factually incorrect, as Ramban (Shemos 10:14) points out:

The statement of [Rashi] is difficult to me, for it is written [about Moshe’s plague]: “He gave their produce to the chasil and their toil to the arbeh” (Tehilim 78:46), and: “He spoke, and the arbeh came, and yelek beyond number” (ibid. 105:34). Perhaps [Rashi] can say that Moshe’s single species of arbeh were greater than Yoel’s, but the other species in Yoel’s [total locus count] was greater than in Moshe’s time – but these are words of nonsense.

Ramban notes that Moshe’s plague was not limited to the arbeh-species of locusts; it also included yelek and chasil. He rejects the idea that Moshe’s arbeh outnumbered Yoel’s while Yoel’s total locust count was higher, dismissing such reasoning outright. Instead, he offers his own explanation:

In my opinion, the peshat (plain meaning) of the verse [“and never again would there be its equal”] is because locust plagues are a recurring natural phenomenon in each generation. Moreover, this plague arose in the manner of nature (lit. “chance occurrence”), carried by an east wind. Therefore, [the Torah] stated that it was far more severe than any natural [locust plague] throughout time, with nothing like it before or after. Through its magnitude, [the Egyptians] knew it was a divine plague, for nothing like it had transpired in any generation. Likewise, Yoel’s [locust] was a divine plague, [which is why Scripture describes it similarly].

Ramban explains that the phrase “there never was nor will there be anything like it” is not a statistical statement about the relative size of the locust swarm. Rather, it conveys the supernatural character of the event —akin to saying, “It was out of this world,” or “I’ve never seen anything like it,” or, more precisely, “It was an act of God.” Since both plagues were divine in origin, the phrase can be applied to each without contradiction.

But perhaps no answer cuts through the problem with such ease as the one given by Ibn Kaspi (Shemos 10:14):

"Nor will there be again" – Ibn Ezra said, “this [was stated] by way of prophecy.” In truth, this is not the nature of this type of statement. Rather, it falls into the category [the Sages] call dibrah Torah bi’lshon havai (the Torah speaks in hyperbole), as explained by the Moreh (Guide for the Perplexed) …

Furthermore, what purpose would it serve for Hashem to inform us with absolute precision that no locust swarm of this magnitude had occurred in all the past or would occur in the infinite future? [Are we to believe] that, for instance, the number of locusts was exactly 600,000, and that never before nor after would there be a swarm of 599,999 or 600,001? God forbid that [a plague] would be calibrated to exactly 600,000 just to vindicate this verse! Moreover, if the Giver of the Torah intended to convey such precision, it would have been proper to provide the exact number of locusts in the verse, so that as time passes and new swarms of locusts arise, we could calculate their numbers and verify through sensory evidence and experimentation that this verse is accurate.

Similarly, it is stated, "Not one locust remained." Could anyone think that this negation is absolutely precise, such that not a single locust remained anywhere in the vast land of Egypt, even in the most obscure corners? What purpose would such precise detail serve? In truth, such total negations carry no more weight than total affirmations, like the word "all." We have already provided many examples of this.

The resolution to all these questions is that the Torah speaks in hyperbole (dibrah Torah bi’lshon havai), as well as in the manner of human speech (dibrah Torah bi’lshon bnei adam), for hyperbole is also the manner of human speech, even by us even today. Why elaborate further? The truth speaks for itself.

The idea that the Torah speaks in hyperbole is not, in itself, controversial. The Gemara (Tamid 29a) explicitly states: “The Torah spoke in exaggerated language, the prophets spoke in exaggerated language, and the Sages spoke in exaggerated language” and then proceeds to provide examples from each category.

Personally, I don’t think Ibn Kaspi’s application of this principle to Arbeh is controversial either. In fact, not only are the two statements he highlights hyperbolic, but every single word of the Torah’s account is overflowing with excessive hyperbole. “The locust swarm ascended over all the land of Egypt” – really? ALL the land? “and it settled throughout all the borders of Egypt” – really? ALL the borders? “It covered the surface of all the land” – really? EVERY single surface of land in ALL of Egypt was covered? Nobody in the history of mankind with a shred of intelligence would take all these uses of “all” literally. So, is it really such a stretch to say that the statement about the magnitude of the swarm was hyperbolic as well—both here and in Yoel?

However, Ibn Kaspi extends this principle to Choshech (Darkness) and explicitly states that what REALLY happened shouldn’t be revealed to the masses. For this reason, I’ll keep that part of the discussion behind the paywall.