אבן עזרא — ויחפרו כל מצרים סביבת היאר מים לשתות

Q — Did Israel suffer from the makkot, or were they spared from all of them? Chazal (Shemot Rabba 9) read that even from dam Israel profited — they had water from the Egyptians' jars in exchange for payment, becoming wealthy from the makkah.

A — Ibn Ezra rejects this on a single methodological principle: "אחר הכתוב נרדוף" — follow the text. The Torah explicitly notes the distinction between Israel and Egypt only at arov, dever, barad, choshech, and makkat bechorot. The absence of any such distinction at dam, tzefarde'a, kinim, sh'chin, and arbeh proves there was no distinction: Israel was hit too. Even the pasuk in our parsha — "ויחפרו כל מצרים" — includes Israel ("כל מצרים" covers both, like Avraham's 318 included the natives). Why the difference? "אלה השלש מעט הזיקו" (the first three didn't cause death); arov, dever, barad threatened life — God spared Israel; sh'chin had no fatality, arbeh struck crops that wouldn't matter to Israel anyway since they were leaving. Five makkot hit Israel, five distinguished. Rambam later disagreed and held all ten distinguished — Ibn Ezra preceded him by a generation.