What Does the Word Pesach (פסח) Mean?

Pesach (פסח) is commonly translated as “Passover” and taken to be a reference to God physically “passing over” the Israelite houses during the slaying of the firstborn.

Rabbi Saul Lieberman notes in Hellenism in Jewish Palestine[1] (page 51) that “the verb פסח certainly means to step over, to skip, but from the Prophets the Rabbis proved that it also signified to protect, and their translation makes much better sense of Ex. 12:23.”  He notes that in the Septuagint the verb is translated as “protect” in Ex. 12:13 and 12:27, but as “pass by” in Ex. 13:23.

Professor Nachum Sarna in the JPS Torah Commentary on Exodus (12:11) says that “to have compassion” is “[t]he oldest, and apparently the most reliable” understanding of the term, as compared to understandings of “protect” or “skip over.”

It seems to me that the understandings of “protect” and “to have compassion” are relatively close to each other.  Hebrew terms such as חוס and חייס, which we will see used below in comments and translations on the word פסח )and, by the way, probably relate to the use of lettuce – חסה – at the seder, see e.g. JPS comment on Ex. 12:8) can have both connotations of protection and compassion,[2] and obviously compassion for an individual or group can manifest itself in the form of providing protection to that individual or group. Perhaps there is also little practical difference from the translation “pass over,” as God would have passed over the house out of compassion for and in order to protect the Israelites.  Nonetheless, I think there is a significant difference in imagery at least between the “pass over” and “protect” translations.  In the “pass over” translation, God strikes the Egyptians and leaves the Israelites alone.  With the “protect” translation, it seems that God sends out a deadly force and then protects the Israelites from that force.

Below is a selection of verses using the term פסח as well as rabbinic texts supporting each translation, based on the footnotes to the JPS commentary on Exodus 12:11 and comments of Rabbi Lieberman.  Texts are from Bar Ilan Responsa Version 24 unless otherwise noted.

Note: Translations of Targum Yonatan are from J. W. Etheridge (London, 1862),  which is available on Sefaria.  Otherwise, the translations below are my own unless otherwise noted.  My translations of Targum Onkelos were significantly assisted by the translation by Israel Drazin and Stanley M. Wagner (Jerusalem, Gefen Publishing House, 2011).  The root פסח and חוס is often left deliberately untranslated.

 

BIBLICAL VERSES

Exodus 12:11 שמות פרק יב פסוק יא

וְכָכָה תֹּאכְלוּ אֹתוֹ מָתְנֵיכֶם חֲגֻרִים נַעֲלֵיכֶם בְּרַגְלֵיכֶם וּמַקֶּלְכֶם בְּיֶדְכֶם וַאֲכַלְתֶּם אֹתוֹ בְּחִפָּזוֹן פֶּסַח הוּא לַיקֹוָק:

Thus shall you eat it (the paschal offering): your belts tightened, your shoes on your feet, and your staffs in your hands; and you shall eat it hastily, it is a פסח to the Lord.

The context in this verse does not provide any help in understanding the term פסח.

 

Exodus 12:13 שמות פרק יב פסוק יג

וְהָיָה הַדָּם לָכֶם לְאֹת עַל הַבָּתִּים אֲשֶׁר אַתֶּם שָׁם וְרָאִיתִי אֶת הַדָּם וּפָסַחְתִּי עֲלֵכֶם וְלֹא יִהְיֶה בָכֶם נֶגֶף לְמַשְׁחִית בְּהַכֹּתִי בְּאֶרֶץ מִצְרָיִם:

And the blood will be for you a sign for you upon the doors wherein you reside, and I will see the blood and פסח on you (alt: over you), so that you will not have a destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt.

Here, פסח is something that God does to the Israelites.  However, the verse is just as easily understood as God passing over the Israelites or God protecting or having mercy on the Israelites.

 

Exodus 12:23 שמות פרק יב פסוק כג

וְעָבַר יְקֹוָק לִנְגֹּף אֶת מִצְרַיִם וְרָאָה אֶת הַדָּם עַל הַמַּשְׁקוֹף וְעַל שְׁתֵּי הַמְּזוּזֹת וּפָסַח יְקֹוָק עַל הַפֶּתַח וְלֹא יִתֵּן הַמַּשְׁחִית לָבֹא אֶל בָּתֵּיכֶם לִנְגֹּף:

And the Lord will come through to smite Egypt and see the blood on the lintel and two doorposts, and the Lord will פסח on the door (alt: over the door) and not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to smite.

It seems to me that protect (or perhaps take pity) works better here than “pass over,” as God seems to be doing something to the door that stops the plague from entering.  Above we noted that R. Lieberman writes that the protection “makes much better sense” in this context, though he also notes that the Septuagint, which translates פסח in Ex. 12:13 and Ex. 12:27 as “protect” here uses “pass by.”

 

Exodus 12:27 שמות פרק יב פסוק כז

וַאֲמַרְתֶּם זֶבַח פֶּסַח הוּא לַיקֹוָק אֲשֶׁר פָּסַח עַל בָּתֵּי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּנָגְפּוֹ אֶת מִצְרַיִם וְאֶת בָּתֵּינוּ הִצִּיל וַיִּקֹּד הָעָם וַיִּשְׁתַּחֲווּ:

And you shall say: It is a פסח offering to the Lord, who פסחed on (alt: over) the houses of the Children of Israel when [the Lord] plagued the Egyptians but saved our houses, and the nation bowed and prostrated.

The context in this verse does not provide any help in understanding the term פסח.

 

1 Kings 18:21 מלכים א פרק יח פסוק כא

וַיִּגַּשׁ אֵלִיָּהוּ אֶל כָּל הָעָם וַיֹּאמֶר עַד מָתַי אַתֶּם פֹּסְחִים עַל שְׁתֵּי הַסְּעִפִּים אִם יְקֹוָק הָאֱלֹהִים לְכוּ אַחֲרָיו וְאִם הַבַּעַל לְכוּ אַחֲרָיו וְלֹא עָנוּ הָעָם אֹתוֹ דָּבָר:

And Elijah approached the entire nation and said “for how long will you פסח between two opinions, if [you will follow] the LORD your God, follow Him, and if [you will follow] Ba’al, follow Him, but the people did not say a word to him.

Here, פסח must have some sense of “being on top of” and is often used to support the “pass over” translation.

 

Isaiah 31:5 ישעיהו פרק לא פסוק ה

כְּצִפֳּרִים עָפוֹת כֵּן יָגֵן יְקֹוָק צְבָאוֹת עַל יְרוּשָׁלִָם גָּנוֹן וְהִצִּיל פָּסֹחַ וְהִמְלִיט:

As birds hover,[3] so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem; defend and save, פָּסֹחַ and deliver.

This verse is a significant source for the rabbis’ understanding of the term פסח.  Here, it cannot mean “to pass over.” Given the other verbs in the sentence, “protect” is probably the best understanding of פסח here, though “be compassionate toward” could work as well.  Note that Rashi on Ex. 12:13 (below in the section for texts supporting the translation “compassion” uses this verse in support of translating ופסחתי as וחמלתי (“I will have compassion”).

If we are interested in finding an understanding of פסח that could fit both 1 Kings 18:21 and Isaiah 31:5, perhaps it is “hover over.”  Hence, in Kings hovering would serve as a metaphor for vacillating between two positions whereas in Isaiah 31:5 (and in our texts from Exodus 12) hovering would serve as a metaphor for providing protection.

RABBINIC SOURCES SUPPORTING THE TRANSLATION “COMPASSION”
(Per JPS footnote 30)

JPS indicates that the following commentaries support the translation “compassion,” though I think many of them could just as easily support the translation “protected,” and, as noted above, I am not sure there is a great difference between these two meanings.

Targum Yonatan to Ex. 12:11 תרגום המיוחס ליונתן – תורה שמות פרק יב פסוק יא

וּכְדָא הִילְכָתָא תֵיכְלוּן יָתֵיהּ בְּזִמְנָא דָא וְלָא לְדָרַיָא חַרְצֵיכוֹן יְהוֹן מְזַרְזִין מְסַנֵיכוֹן בְּרִיגְלֵיכוֹן וְחוּטְרֵיכוֹן בִּידֵיכוֹן וְתֵיכְלוּן יָתֵיהּ בִּבְהִילוּ דִשְׁכִינַת מָארֵי עַלְמָא מְטוּל דְּחַיְיסָא מִן קֳדָם יְיָ לְכוֹן הוּא:

And according to this manner you shall eat it, this time, but not in (other) generations: your loins shall be girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staves in your hands; and you shall eat in the fear of the majesty of the Lord of the World; because mercy hath been shown to you from before the Lord.

The word פסח is translated into Aramaic as חייס (here translated by Etheridge into English as “mercy”), which generally means to be compassionate/merciful toward, though perhaps this also could be rendered “because it is the Lord’s protection for you.”

 

Targum Yonatan to Ex. 12:13 תרגום המיוחס ליונתן – תורה שמות פרק יב פסוק יג

וִיהֵי דַּם נִכְסַת פִּסְחָא וּגְזֵרַת מְהוּלְתָּא מְעַרַב לְכוֹן לְמֶעֱבַד מִנֵּיהּ אָת עַל בָּתַּיָא דְּאַתּוּן שַׁרְיָן תַּמָּן וְאֶחֱמֵי יַת זְכוּת דְּמָא וְאֵיחוּס עֲלֵיכוֹן וְלָא יִשְׁלוֹט בְּכוֹן מַלְאָךְ מוֹתָא דְּאִתְיַהַב לֵיהּ רְשׁוּתָא לִמְחַבְּלָא בְּמִקְטְלִי בְּאַרְעָא דְּמִצְרָיִם:

And the blood of the paschal oblation, (like) the matter of circumcision, shall be a bail for you, to become a sign upon the houses where you dwell; and I will look upon the worth of the blood, and will spare you; and the angel of death, to whom is given the power to destroy, shall have no dominion over you in the slaughter of the Mizraee.

 Here, the phrase “and פסח on you (or over you)” is translated again using the root חוס, which JPS takes (I think correctly) to be best translated as “have mercy,” but it also supports the idea of God actively protecting Israel (as Etheridge’s translation suggests with the rendering “will spare you”).

 

Targum Yonatan to Ex. 12:27 תרגום המיוחס ליונתן – תורה שמות פרק יב פסוק כז

וְתֵימְרוּן נִכְסַת חַיְיסָא הוּא קֳדָם יְיָ דְחַס בְּמֵימְרֵיהּ עַל בָּתֵּי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּמִצְרַיִם בְּחַבְּלוּתֵיהּ יַת מִצְרָאֵי וְיַת בָּתָּנָא שֵׁיזִיב וְכַד שָׁמְעוּ בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל יַת פִּתְגָמָא הָדֵין מִפּוּם משֶׁה גָּחְנוּ וּסְגִידוּ:

You shall say, It is the sacrifice of mercy before the Lord, who had mercy in His Word upon the houses of the sons of Israel in Mizraim, when He destroyed the Mizraee, and spared our houses. And when the house of Israel heard this word from the mouth of Mosheh, they bowed and worshipped.

The paschal offering is translated as the “offering of חייס” (here translated by Etheridge to English as “the sacrifice of mercy”), and God’s פסחing of the Israelites’ houses is translated as חס (here translated to English as “had mercy”).  I would think one could understand נכסת חייסא as “offering of protection” (i.e. an offering commemorating God’s protection of the Israelites”) and דחס as “who protected,” so that this translation probably isn’t strong support for the translation “mercy” as opposed to “protect.”

 

Targum Onkelos to Ex. 12:13 תרגום אונקלוס שמות פרק יב פסוק יג

ויהי דמא לכון לאת על בתיא דאתון תמן ואחזי ית דמא ואחוס עליכון ולא יהי בכון מותא לחבלא במקטלי בארעא דמצרים:

And the blood will be a sign for you on your houses wherein you are, and I will see the blood and I will חוס on you and there will not be a destructive death within you as I kill in the land of Egypt.

The term ופסחתי is translated “I will חוס on you,” which I think can easily be taken to connote either compassion or protection.

 

Targum Onkelos to Ex. 12:23 תרגום אונקלוס שמות פרק יב פסוק כג

ויתגלי יי לממחי ית מצראי ויחזי ית דמא על שקפא ועל תרין ספיא וייחוס יי על תרעא ולא ישבוק מחבלא למיעל לבתיכון לממחי:

And God will come to strike Egypt and see the blood on the lintel and two doorposts and will חוס on your door and not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to destroy.

 

Targum Onkelos to Ex. 12:27 תרגום אונקלוס שמות פרק יב פסוק כז

ותימרון דיבח חיס הוא קדם יי דחס על בתי בני ישראל במצרים כד מחא ית מצראי וית בתנא שיזיב וכרע עמא וסגידו:

And you will say: It is a חיס offering before the Lord who חסed on the houses of the Children of Israel in Egypt when [the Lord] destroyed the Egyptians but spared our houses and the nation bowed and worshiped.

 

Mehilta Bo 7 (commenting on Ex.12:13) מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל בא – מסכתא דפסחא פרשה ז

NB: The text in the ellipses is the comment of Rabbi Josiah and is reproduced below among texts supporting the translation “passed over.” Part of the preceding section of this midrash is also below with the texts supporting the “protect” translation.

ופסחתי עליכם. … רבי יונתן אומר ופסחתי עליכם עליכם אני חס ואני איני חס על המצרים …

And I will … פסח on you (alt: over you): … Rabbi Yonatan says: “I will פסח on you” means “I will חס on you but will not חס on the Egyptians …

I think the חס here might be slightly more easily understood as “have mercy.”  There would be little reason for God to say that God would not protect the Egyptians, who were the target of the attack, whereas it would make sense for God to say that God would not have mercy on the Egyptians during the attack.

 

Saadia Gaon Exodus 12 (selections) סעדיה גאון שמות פרק יב

Note: The Hebrew text was typed by me from the תורת חיים text as it was not in my Bar Ilan program.  JPS footnote 30 references Saadia on 12:11 but I didn’t find any relevant material there.

(יג) וראיתי וכו’, ואראנו וארחם עליהם.

(כג)  ופסח ה’ על הפתח, וירחם ה’ על מי שבתוכו.

(כז) זבח פסח, זבח חמלה.

(13) And I will see [the blood] etc., And I will see it and have mercy on them.

(14) And the Lord will פסח on the door (alt: over the door), and the LORD will have mercy on whoever is inside [the door].

(15) A פסח offering – An offering of compassion.

 

Rashi Exodus 12:13 רש”י שמות פרק יב פסוק יג

ופסחתי – וחמלתי, ודומה לו (ישעיהו לא ה) פסוח והמליט.

And I will – פסח I will have mercy, similarly (Isaiah 31:5)[4] “פָּסֹחַ and deliver.” 

Note the balance of this Rashi is found below with the texts supporting the “pass over” translation, which Rashi prefers.

 

Ibn Ezra Exodus 12:27 אבן עזרא שמות פרק יב פסוק כז

Note that JPS footnote 30 references Ibn Ezra 12:1, but I could not find anything relevant there.

(כז) ואמרתם זבח פסח מצאנו פסוח והמליט (ישעי’ לא, ה). והטעם כמו חמלה. ובעבור שהשם חמל על בכורי ישראל בעבור דם השה, נקרא השה פסח, כמו ושחטו הפסח (שמות יב כא). והגאון אמר, שהוא מגזרת פסח, כי הפסח ישען על רגלו התמימה, והמשחית כן עשה שהשחית בכורי בית המצרים, ופסח על בית שכנו העברי ולא השחיתו, וכמוהו עד מתי אתם פוסחים (מ”א יח, כא):

And you shall say: It is a פסח offering we find “פָּסֹחַ וְהִמְלִיט (פָּסֹחַ and deliver)” (Isaiah 31:5).  The meaning is like חמלה (compassion).  And since God was compassionate towards the firstborn of Israel because of the blood of the lamb, the lamb is called פסח, as in “they shall slaughter the פסח.” (Ex. 12:21) But the Gaon said that it is from פסח [meaning lame], because [an animal which is] lame relies on its good leg, and the destroyer did so in that the [the destroyer] killed the first born of Egypt and skipped over the Jewish neighbor’s house, similar to “for how long will you [be] jumping (פוסחים) [between two opinions]” (1 Kings 18:21).

 

Note JPS Footnote 30 also references Ibn Janah but I don’t have easy access to that.

 

RABBINIC SOURCES SUPPORTING THE TRANSLATION “PROTECT”
(Per JPS footnote 31 and R. Lieberman)

 

Tosefta Sotah 4:5 תוספתא מסכת סוטה (ליברמן) פרק ד הלכה ה

באברהם מהו אומ’ והוא עומד עליהם וגו’ אף המקום ברוך הוא הגין את בניו במצרים שנ’ ופסח ה’ על הפתח.

With regard to Abraham, what does it say, “he stood over them, etc.” (Gen. 18:8), so too the Omnipresent Blessed is He protected his (Abraham’s) children in Egypt, as it says, “the Lord will פסח on the door” (Ex. 12:13)

 

Septuagint to v. 13 and 17

I lack the relevant skills to analyze Septuagint text, but Rabbi Lieberman notes that in the Septuagint the verb פסח is translated as “protect” in Ex. 12:13 and 12:27.  A translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1851) can be found at https://biblehub.com/sep/exodus/12.htm.

Note JPS mentions Symmachus with regard to the “protect” translation.  I don’t have access to that text (nor the ability to read it in the original), but R. Lieberman translates Symmachus as saying “[The word] faseḥ means defence.”

 

Targum Yonatan to Ex. 12:23 תרגום המיוחס ליונתן – תורה שמות פרק יב פסוק כג

(כג) וְיִתְגְּלֵי יְקָרָא דַיְיָ לְמִימְחֵי יַת מִצְרָאֵי וְיֶחֱמֵי יַת אַדְמָא דְעַל אִסְקוֹפָא וְעַל תַּרְתֵּין סִיפַיָא וְיָגִין מֵימְרָא דַיְיָ עַל תַּרְעָא וְלָא יִשְׁבּוֹק מַלְאָכָא מְחַבְּלָא לְמֵיעוֹל לְבָתֵּיכוֹן לְמִימְחֵי:

And the presence of God will come to strike Egypt and will see the blood on the lintel and the two doorposts and God’s word will protect the door and not allow the destroying angel to enter your houses to destroy.

 

Mehilta Bo 7 (commenting on Ex.12:13) מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל בא – מסכתא דפסחא פרשה ז

NB: Portions of the next section of this text are quoted above in support of the translation “compassion” and below in support of the “skip over” translation.

וראיתי את הדם. היה ר’ ישמעאל אומר והלא הכל גלוי לפניו … ומה ת”ל וראיתי את הדם. אלא בשכר מצוה שאתם עושים אני נגלה וחס עליכם שנאמר ופסחתי עליכם. אין פסיחה אלא חייס שנאמר כצפרים עפות כן יגן יי’ צבאות על ירושלם גנון והציל פסוח והמליט (ישעיה לא ה):

And I will see the blood.  Rabbi Yishmael says: Isn’t everything revealed before Him?  … what does “And I will see the blood” teach?  [It teaches that God said that] as reward for the commandment that you fulfill I will come and חס you, as it says “and פסח on you (alt: over you).” פסחing means חייס, as it says, “As birds hover, so will the Lord of Hosts protect Jerusalem; defend and save, פָּסֹחַ and deliver” (Isaiah 31:5).

JPS and R. Lieberman both understand this comment to support understanding פסח as “protect,” which I think is the better understanding of פסח in Isaiah 31:5.  However, note that Rashi on Ex. 12:13 (above in the section for texts supporting the translation “compassion”), presumably taking his queue from this passage, references Isaiah 31:5 in support of translating ופסחתי as וחמלתי (“I will have compassion”).

 

Rabbi Saul Lieberman Hellenism in Jewish Palestine p. 50-51

 

SOURCES SUPPORTING THE TRANSLATION “SKIP OVER”
(Per JPS footnote 32)

JPS notes Jubilees 49:2-4 as supporting “skip over.”  I’m not sure I see anything in Jubilees strongly pointing toward this translation.  Text is available at https://www.sefaria.org/Book_of_Jubilees.49.

 

Septuagint to v. 23

I lack the relevant knowledge to break down Septuagint text, but Rabbi Lieberman notes that in the Septuagint the verb פסח is translated as “pass by” in Ex. 12:23.  A translation of the Septuagint by Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton (1851) can be found at https://biblehub.com/sep/exodus/12.htm.

 

Joseph. Ant. 2.14.6

Text from https://www.sefaria.org/The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews.2.14.6?ven=The_Antiquities_of_the_Jews,_translated_by_William_Whiston,_1825&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en

… Whence it is that we do still offer this sacrifice in like manner to this day, and call this festival Pascha which signifies the feast of the passover; because on that day God passed us over, and sent the plague upon the Egyptians; for the destruction of the first-born came upon the Egyptians that night, so that many of the Egyptians who lived near the king’s palace, persuaded Pharaoh to let the Hebrews go. …

 

JPS mentions Aquila to Ex. 12:11 and 12:27 with regard to the “pass over” translation.  I don’t have access to that text (nor the ability to read it in the original), but R. Lieberman notes that Aquila translates פסח in these verses as “skipping over.”

 

Mehilta Bo 7 (commenting on Ex.12:13) מכילתא דרבי ישמעאל בא – מסכתא דפסחא פרשה ז

NB: The remainder of this comment, which quotes Rabbi Yonantan is found above in the section of texts supporting the translation “compassion.”   Part of the preceding section of this text is above in the section of texts supporting the translation of “protect.”

ופסחתי עליכם. ר’ יאשיה אומר אל תקרי ופסחתי אלא ופסעתי שהב”ה מדלג על בתי בניו במצרים שנאמר קול דודי הנה זה בא מדלג על ההרים (שה”ש =שיר השירים= ב ח) ואומר הנה זה עומד אחר כתלנו וגומר. …

And I will … פסח on you (alt: over you).  Rabbi Josiah says: Do not read this as ופסחת (and I will פסח) but rather ופסעתי (and I will step[5]), for the Holy One Blessed Is He skips over the houses of His children among [living] among the Egyptians, as it says, “My beloved’s voice approaches, skipping on the mountains” (Song of Songs 2:8), and it says, “Here he stands behind our wall.” (Song of Songs 2:9).

Rashi Exodus 12:13 רש”י שמות פרק יב פסוק יג

Note the beginning of this Rashi is found above with the texts supporting the “compassion” translation.

ופסחתי – … ואני אומר כל פסיחה לשון דלוג וקפיצה. ופסחתי מדלג היה מבתי ישראל לבתי מצרים, שהיו שרוים זה בתוך זה, וכן (מלכים א’ יח כא) פוסחים על שתי הסעיפים, וכן כל הפסחים הולכים כקופצים, וכן (ישעיהו לא ה) פסוח והמליט, מדלגו וממלטו מבין המומתים:

And I will – פסח … But I say that any פסחing is the language of skipping and jumping. [So that] ופסחתי  [means] [God] skipped from the houses of Israel to the houses of Egypt, for they were intermingled with each other, and so too [is the meaning of the term in 1 Kings 18:21) “פוסחים על שתי הסעיפים (= jumping between two opinions)” and so too all people who are lame walk as jumpers, and so too (Isaiah 31:5)[6] “פָּסֹחַ and deliver” [means] means (God) makes (Jerusalem?) skip and escape from among those who are being killed.

 

JPS also mentions that the “pass over” translation is supported by Rashbam[7] (See on  Ex. 12:11), Bekhor Shor[8], Joseph Kimhi, and Radak.

 

CONCLUSION

Regardless of the exact translation of the verb, פסח reminds us of God’s compassion for us and protection of us.  The Tosefta referenced above tells us that we merited God’s פסח at the slaying of the first born because our ancestor Abraham protected his visitors.  Just as we see ourselves as personally having been saved from Egypt (Mishnah Pesahim 10:5, which is recited at the seder), so may we see ourselves as responsible for continuing this virtuous cycle by having compassion for and acting to protect all who are in need of that compassion and protection.

 

FOOTNOTES

[1] A selection of text from R. Lieberman is below in the section titled “Rabbinic Sources Supporting the Translation ‘Protect.’”

[2] Jastrow translates the term “חוס” as “[to bend over, have affection for (v. Jon. IV, 10),] to protect, spare, have consideration for (with על)”.

[3] R. Lieberman translates this phrase as “As birds hovering.” Brown, Driver, and Briggs (BDB) under עוף translate עָפוֹת in this verse as “hover (projectingly).” The JPS Tanakh (1985) translates “Like the birds that fly.” It seems to me that the BDB translation fits best with the comparison that God “יָגֵן (will protect)” Israel.  Thank you to my teacher Hakham Isaac Sassoon for noting that my original translation (“As the birds that fly”) was different from R. Lieberman’s translation and suggesting an explanation of my chosen translation.

[4] See full verse of Isaiah 31:5 above.

[5] In the פסע entry, Jastrow renders “read not, and I will pass, but I will step over (leap, skip), the Lord skipped over.”

[6] See full verse of Isaiah 31:5 above.

[7] רשב”ם שמות פרק יב פסוק יא

(יא) פסח הוא לי”י – שהמלאך ידלג ויניח בית ישראל להכות בכורות שבבתי הגוים:

Translation available on Sefaria at https://www.sefaria.org/Rashbam_on_Exodus.12.11.1?ven=Eliyahu_Munk,_HaChut_Hameshulash&vhe=Rashbam_on_Torah_–_Daat&lang=bi&with=all&lang2=en.

[8] בכור שור שמות פרק יב (selections)

(יא) פסח הוא: לשון דילוג ומהירות.

(יג) ופסחתי [עליכם]: לשון דילוג, כמו “ופסעתי עליכם”, וכן “עד מתי אתם פוסחים”, ואותיות הגרון מתחלפות.