SUCCINCT SUMMARY
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One of Rashis 10 main methods is the explanation of meaning
the same way a dictionary explains meaning. We call this
the WORD MEANING method.
Rashi had 10 vehicles to explain meaning. Today we examine
three of them.
EXAMPLE: NAMING BY APPEARANCE - WORM WOOL
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All languages allow naming by appearance. For example
the phrase ORANGE shirt names the color ORANGE by a
fruit having that color. Similarly (Lv14-04f) WORM WOOL
refers to wool died with worms blood that appears red.
LIST810b presents other words named by appearance
EXAMPLE: SYNONYMS--TEAR
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In the synonyms method Rashi seeks not to explain meaning
but rather assumes the meaning is known and Rashi seeks
to clarify the nuances between words with similar meaning.
To understand Rashi on Lv13-45a we require the RADACK
book of ROOTS: QR& and PRM both mean to TEAR
- QR& refers to general tearing
- PRM refers to tearing at the seams (RADACK)
The root PRM is very rare occurring only 3 times in the
Bible.
LIST955z below presents lists of synonym pairs explained
by Rashi.
EXAMPLE: 2-4 Letter roots
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At times Rashi would identify the meaning of a 3 letter
root by viewing the three letter root as composed of its
two letter components and one letter. By analyzing the
meaning of the two letter root and the remaining letter
Rashi would arrive at the meaning of the 3 letter root.
Rashi believed that for purposes of grammatical conjugation
three letter roots were used while for purposes of meaning
two letter roots are used.
EXAMPLE: PR& = Pasture like
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The Hebrew root PR& refers to letting hair grow
wild. It comes from the root R& which refers to
pastures. Wild hair looks like a pasture. The initial
PAY simply intensifies the meaning: HERE (Pay) is
a PASTURE(R&) = WILD GROWTH.
LIST910p below presents other roots with initial PAY
EXAMPLE: BHQ = breakout
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The Hebrew root BQ means to SPLIT. The Hebrew
letter HAY means THE and intensifies. The
combination, BHQ means A GOOD EXAMPLE OF A SPLIT,
that is, a BREAKOUT. It refers to a breakout of
ordinary white looking flesh against a background
of inflammations.
LIST910q below presents roots with 2nd letter hey
EXAMPLE: CRB = burn
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The root CRB only occurs 2-3 times in the Bible. It
refers to a BURN. It comes from the two letter root
CRH which means TIGHT and refers to TIGHTNESS of skin
accompanying a burn. The terminal letter BETH simply
indicates the SOURCE or HOUSE (Beth) of the activity.
So CRB, the BURN, is the SOURCE that HOUSES, TIGHTNESS
LIST910r below presents roots with terminal Beth.
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