The fifth chapter of Mishnah Avot (a/k/a Pirqei Avot) enumerates ten or more mythopoetic anomalies, all of which were created “on the eve of the Sabbath at twilight” — underscoring that the Creator was productive until the very first moment of the Shabbat, and that unlike for us, the hazy, liminal period between day and night is clearly defined for the Creator of Time. This litany of anomalies includes ten of biblical and parabiblical lore including “the Rainbow.” At first read, one might imagine this rainbow refers to the sign of the Noaḥide covenant (Genesis 9:12-17). But as with the way of reading Torah in the Jewish tradition, every verse is pregnant with meaning and intertextual references, and so one may be surprised to learn the anomalous Rainbow is not (or not only) that of Genesis after the Flood, but rather one identified with another miracle altogether — that of the Division of the Sea of Reeds. Such a reading is provided in Maimonides’ commentary on Pirqei Avot 5:4 where he provides the “received tradition” (qabalah) of the ten miracles at the Yam Suf according to midrash. In the parabiblical legend, the Sea of Reeds was split not into two but rather twelve distinct parts, one for each shevet, peripatetic tribe of the Israelites. The Rainbow, normally, seven colors, is here re-imagined analogous to these twelve submarine channels as possessing twelve distinct hues. Overall, the narrative parallel between the story of the Exile from Eden and the Survival of the Deluge is more strongly bridged with the Exodus from Egypt’s Goshen and the Passage through the Sea of Reeds.
| Source (Hebrew) | Translation (English) |
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The fifth [miracle at the Sea of Reeds] is that it was divided into many paths
equal to the number of tribes as the appearance of a rounded bow, as per this drawing. And so it is stated, “who divided (l’gozer) the Sea of Reeds into parts (gezarim)” (Psalms 136:13).[1] The midrash here is coming to provide an explanation for the repetition of גזר — why if the Sea was “split,” must the verse Psalms 136:13 add “into parts”? The use of repetitive language is a common inspiration for midrashic readings, otherwise explained by simple poetic license. The use of the Rainbow as an analagous comparative for this already surprising reading, is unexplained by the midrash, but find my reasoning above in the introduction. |
Illustration of the the miracle at the Sea of Reeds and twelve hued rainbow as found in the British Library manuscript, Add 14763; Miscellany of philosophical works including by Maimonides; 13th c.; Italy (Viterbo); f.135r.
BL Add 14763; Miscellany of philosophical works including by Maimonides; 13th c; Italy (Viterbo); f.135r
With gratitude to Ennius for posting an image of this folio. Thank you to Rabbi Oded Mazor for identifying the sourcetext of the Maimonidean commentary illustrated.
Notes
| 1 | The midrash here is coming to provide an explanation for the repetition of גזר — why if the Sea was “split,” must the verse Psalms 136:13 add “into parts”? The use of repetitive language is a common inspiration for midrashic readings, otherwise explained by simple poetic license. The use of the Rainbow as an analagous comparative for this already surprising reading, is unexplained by the midrash, but find my reasoning above in the introduction. |
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כמספר השבטים
כעין קשת עגול
על זאת הצורה והוא אמרו
לְגֹזֵ֣ר יַם־ס֭וּף לִגְזָרִ֑ים (תהלים קלו:יג).