Did Pharaoh Repent? on the Development and Transformation of an Aggadic Motif

This article focuses on the shifts in the portrayal of Pharaoh in aggadic midrashic compositions, mostly those connected with Exodus 13:17. Tannaitic Midrashim from the Roman period create the motif of "Pharaoh's repentance." Aggadic Midrashim from the Byzantine period reject, in turn, this motif. At the end of the Byzantine period, perhaps influenced by the Islamic reading of the biblical Pharaoh, the motif of "Pharaoh's repentance" returns to the fore and even enjoys some literary development. The dynamic changes that these interpretations underwent reflect shifts in the internal spiritual life of the sages and in their interchanges with the surrounding cultures.