Unveiling Pharaoh: Three Astonishing Insights about Egypt's Ruler

Our sages offer fascinating insights about Pharaoh's character and deeds during the oppression and Exodus. Today, we have additional pieces of information that might shed light on history.

1) Was Pharaoh circumcised? Good question. We don't have an answer for the Pharaoh mentioned in the Torah portion, but we do know some Pharaohs were circumcised. There are records of circumcision in Egypt, including mummified remains that were circumcised.

The sages knew this and shared that Joseph taught the Egyptians to circumcise so his brothers wouldn't feel different. Not all Egyptians did, but the mere existence of this practice in Egypt normalized it in their eyes.

However, the circumcision of non-Jews lacks "priah" and does not reach the covenant level of Abraham. Even the descendants of Ishmael, who circumcise themselves, do not perform "priah," and according to halacha, this is not considered circumcision.

2) Another interesting and chilling tale told by the sages is that Pharaoh suffered from leprosy, and his wise men advised him to bathe in the blood of Israeli infants.

Today, we know it was common in various parts of the ancient world to treat infections or defeat bacteria using different materials, which we now understand as a weakened form of the virus. We know a healthy immune system produces antibodies when an infection or toxin comes in a weakened form, and these antibodies multiply and may defeat the infection itself.

The Chinese used powder from smallpox scabs to inoculate sick people. They might not have understood how it worked, but they knew it could heal. This was essentially the first antibiotic. Various ancient sources mentioned battling and healing diseases by feeding the patient feces from someone who had been sick before. They didn't comprehend the reasoning, but it likely led to healing as the patient's body had developed antibodies. The Mishnah also mentions feeding rabies patients with the diaphragm of a rabid dog.

Another known fact in modern medicine is that children develop immunity much more efficiently than adults. We saw this during the COVID-19 pandemic – children were barely affected. As a person's age increases, their immune system struggles more with the disease.

During times of leprosy outbreaks, it's possible that certain infants, who came into contact with a weakened form of the disease, developed antibodies. Thus, statistically, someone who killed hundreds of infants and bathed in their blood daily might receive immunity to leprosy (while adult blood is more likely to carry other diseases).

3) The sages also tell us about the verse "I do not know Hashem": "At that moment, he took out a book of deities, began to read – the god of Edom, the god of Moab, the god of Sidon, and them all, I have read all the texts, and your God's name is not among them," (Tanchuma Va'era 5). This description is also preserved in Egyptian writings: "From Egyptian sources, we learn that Pharaoh would sometimes read and review the list of gods found in an institution called 'House of Life'" (Dr. Chaim Gabrahu, 'Pharaoh King of Egypt', Machanaim 105).

We see that the legends of the sages preserve and document historical events from thousands of years ago, passed down through tradition from teacher to student. Even if these stories seemed questionable and astonishing, they were never doubted, but rather passed along. Sometimes they can only be understood after many years. If there is emptiness, it is from us.