parsha bit: Balak

[cellio]

This week's parsha tells of the gentile prophet Bilaam and his attempts to curse the Israelites. The rabbis tell another story about Bilaam. They say that when Paro was trying to decide what to do about the Hebrews that he feared would overrun Mitzrayim, he had three advisors. The first was Bilaam, who suggested that Paro kill the first-born males; for this Bilaam would later be killed by Israel. The second was Iyov (Job), who was silent and would later be afflicted as a result. The third was Yitro, who ran away from this evil and would be rewarded with great descendants. (Sh'mot Rabbah 1:9)

(The rabbis seem comfortable with moving notable people around through time and space. I don't know if they're positing reincarnation or physical movement.)

Comments

[cellio]

I wondered about that too. I would have figured Yitro more for "don't be daft" than just "I'm out of here".