The Bush Beneath The Flame

And the bush beneath the flame? Look very closely, for you will see that in The Prince of Egypt, as in the words of Philo and Midrash Rabbah, it is a thornbush [0:43; forty-three minutes into the film].

Philo, in his On The Life of Moses I (XII 65), described it as "a bush or briar, a very thorny plant, and very weak and supple," and went on to state what it represented: "the oppressed people, and the burning fire was a symbol of the oppressors; and the circumstance of the burning bush not being consumed was an emblem of the fact that the people thus oppressed would not be destroyed by those who were attacking them, but that their hostility would be unsuccessful and fruitless to the one party, and the fact of their being plotted against would fail to be injurious to the others."

The physical nature of the bush was clearly a tremendous inspiration, in that it has presented many sages with the basis of a teaching or two, and Midrash Rabbah contains several of them. Rabbi Joshua ben Karhah (Exodus II:5) tells us the purpose of this particular plant: "To teach you that no place is devoid of God's presence, not even a thorn-bush."

We also read of several other metaphors. Rabbi Eliezer said: "Just as the thorn-bush is the lowliest of all trees in the world, so Israel were lowly and humble in Egypt..."

And Rabbi Jose taught: "Just as the thorn-bush is the prickliest of all trees and any bird that goes into it does not come out unscathed, so was the servitude of Egypt more grievous before God than all other servitudes in the world..."

Rabbi Johanan passed along this thought: "Just as one makes of thorns a fence for a garden, so Israel is a fence to the world. Moreover, just as the thorn-bush grows near any water, so Israel grew only in virtue of the Torah that is called water...Further, just as thorns grow in the garden and by the river, so Israel participates both in this world and the world to come. Also, just as the thorn-bush produces thorns and roses, so among Israel are there righteous and wicked."

Following these, Midrash Rabbah presents the words of Rabbi Phinehas ben Hama the priest, who said: "Just as when a man puts his hand into a thorn-bush he does not at first feel it, but when he takes it out it scratches, so when Israel came into Egypt nobody perceived them, but when they went out, they departed with signs and wonders and battle."

And, just when it seems that all has been said on the subject, Rabbi Judah ben Shalom adds, "Just as a bird does not feel when it flies into a thorn-bush, but when it flies out its wings are torn to pieces, so when Abraham came to Egypt nobody noticed him, but when he departed, the Lord smote Pharaoh with plagues."

The Prince of Egypt's thorn bush seems miraculous in another respect--for it continues to grow, and blossoms appear when all is said and done [0:49; forty-nine minutes into the film]. We find this same image in the words of Rabbi Simeon bar Yohai.

A similar idea is found in Midrash ha-Gadol, as quoted by James L. Kugel in his book, The Bible As It Was. Kugel notes that the traditional Hebrew text uses the phrase labbat 'es in reference to the "burning fire." He notes that the first word of that phrase sounds something like the word for "blossom," (libleb), and in addition, has an irregular Hebrew spelling, which "even more directly suggested the connection with 'blossom.'"