SUCCINCT SUMMARY
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A powerful but simple Rashi method is the CITATION or CROSS-
REFERENCING of an OTHER VERSE for the purpose of adding
FURTHER DETAILS to a verse we are studying. We call this
the OTHER VERSE method. There are three submethods to the
OTHER VERSE method.
If the verse actually CITES or refers to an OTHER VERSE we
call this the SUBMETHOD of CITATION.
If the OTHER VERSE explains the meaning of
some term in the first verse we call this the SUBMETHOD
of MEANING.
If the first verse does not cite an other verse and if
no meaning is explained then we call this the SUBMETHOD
of FURTHER DETAILS since the 2nd verse either confirms
the first verse or typically adds FURTHER DETAILS to
the first verse
Today we illustrate all three methods.
The follwing example nicely illustrates the CITATION
submethod.
EXAMPLE Dt01-08c
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Verse Dt01-08c
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Come and inherit the land which
God promised your Ancestors
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob
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This verse is CITING the OTHER VERSES
where God swore to give the 3 Patriarchs, Israel
The following verses are cited
ABRAHAM Gn15-18
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At that day God created a convenant with
Abraham as follows: TO YOUR DESCENDANTS
I HAVE GIVEN THIS LAND
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ISAAC Gn26-03
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Sojourn in this land and I will bless you
FOR TO YOU AND YOUR DESCENDANTS I HAVE
GIVEN ALL THESE LANDS and I will (thereby)
fulfill the oath I took to Abraham
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JACOB Gn28-13
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And behold God was standing over him and He said:
I am the God of your father Abraham and your father
Isaac: The land you sleep on, to you will I give
it and to your descendants
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The following example nicely illustrates the
MEANING submethod.
EXAMPLE Dt02-17c
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Dt02-17c states
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[God punished the people who listened to the
spies. God also was against them to remove
them from the camp] And it was when all
the MEN OF WAR died from the camp.
--------------------------------------------
Notice the unusual term MEN OF WAR. Rashi
clarifies the meaning of this verse by
citing two other verses.
First Rashi cites the following verse which
shows that God punished the PEOPLE ABOVE
20 YEARS OF AGE. Nu14-29 states
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In this desert will your carcasses fall;
all counted people among your numbers WHO
ARE 20 YEARS OF AGE AND ABOVE
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Finally Rashi cites the following verse
which explains that 20 YEARS OF AGE
was the MINIMUM age for ENTRY INTO THE ARMY
Nu01-03 states
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From 20 years of age and above; whoever
[can] go out to the Israli army; these
you and Aaron shall count according to
their army-post
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From these three verses we infer that
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People who God punished = 20 and above
20 and above = Army age
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These verses illuminate the meaning
of the phrase MEN OF WAR; it means
PEOPLE OF ARMY AGE
The last two examples illustrate the FURTHER
DETAIL method
EXAMPLE: Dt01-31b
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Dt01-31b states
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And in this desert where you personally saw that
GOD CARRIES YOU AS A PERSON CARRIES HIS SON
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FURTHER DETAILS on the meaning of the phrase
GOD CARRIES YOU AS A PERSON CARRIES HIS SON
is illuminated by the other verse Ex14-19
--------------------------------------------
[The Jews had just exited Egypt; Egypt
regretted letting them free and pursued
them. The following text relates the pursuit]
And the Angel of God, which went in FRONT
of the Jewish camp, journeyed and went in
BACK of them;[Similarly] the pillar of
fire went from in front to the back
--------------------------------------------
Rashi explains with an analogy:
-----------------------------------------
A person and his father were walking in
the forest. Suddenly they hear wild animals
in back of them pursuing them. The father,
who had been leading his son in front now
goes in back so that the wild animals
should bump into him first, not his son
-----------------------------------------
In other words, Rashi sees Ex14-19
as providing a FURTHER DETAIL to the concept
of GOD CARED FOR YOU LIKE A FATHER. God had
fought for the Jews who were helpless like
children.
EXAMPLE Dt02-15a
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Dt02-15 states
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[God punished the people who listened
to the spys] And the Hand of God was
also against them to destroy them from
the Jewish camp until they were eliminated
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Rashi clarifies why God made a special
effort to rid them from the camp
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Over and above the punishment given
to them there was concern that these
people, who accepted the slander of the
spies and didn't believe that God could
give them Israel, there was concern, that
these people influence their children to
sin and further delay the entry into Israel
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Although Rashi does not EXPLICITLY cite
an other verse, the above reasoning of
Rashi reminds me of Nu32-05:08
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The Gaddites and Reubenites asked: If
it is OK with you we would like to live
in the lands we just conquered and not
go into Israel. And Moses said: The
rest of Israel will go to war and you
will sit hear? And why should you
rattle the hearts of the Jews from going
to the land which God promised. This is
exactly what your fathers did when I sent
spies from Kadesh Barnayah
---------------------------------------
Thus the other verse provides support for
the idea that there is concern of factions
arising and "stirring up trouble."
LIST210x below presents verses illumined by FURTHER
DETAILS from OTHER VERSES. LIST270a below presents
verses which CITE other verses. Finally, LIST250g
below summarizes the OTHER VERSES explaining the
meaning of the phrase MEN OF WAR
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