With a strong hand and an outstretched arm

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In Exodus 6 (Parshat Va'eira in the Torah), Moses has just reiterated to God the complaint of the Israelites that every time he has gone to Pharaoh on their behalf, things have gotten worse for them; in this case, Pharaoh has now ruled that they shall henceforward make bricks without straw.

God now replies to Moses that the time will come when Pharaoh himself will actually drive the Israelites out of Egypt; and that on behalf of His covenant with the Patriarchs, God will redeem the Israelites with a strong hand and an outstretched arm, so that they will know Him. The implication is that in order to provide a lesson to both the Israelites and the nations of the world showing God's power and the futility of trying to resist it, as well as His willingness to use His power on behalf of His Covenant, Pharaoh must be seen not to be freeing the Israelites as an act of benevolence; but instead to be adamantly resistant at first, then changing his mind to the point where he actually drives them to leave, due only to his eventual reluctant submission to God's might. This concept is repeated in the recount of the Plague of Hail This serves as the introduction to the actual demonstrations of God's power, beginning with Aaron's Rod and followed by the Ten Plagues of Egypt.

Moses and Aaron did not reply directly to the Israelites regarding their complaint, but when Moses conveys this reply from God to the Israelites, it fails to lift their spirits.

The phrase with a strong hand and an outstretched arm has come to have great value in Judaic tradition as the symbol of God's use of His great power on behalf of the Jews. It is repeated verbatim in Deuteronomy 26:8, which describes the commandment to tithe first fruits and which is read with emphasis in the Passover Haggadah and Seder.