The 6 meanings of AL:#3 of 5
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# 10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE #
# Apr 25, 2001 #
# Rashis 720-722 Of 7800 (9.2%) #
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GOALS:
=====
A person completing this module will be able to correctly
identify the specific usages of >AL< in the Bible.
AL is normally translated as ON. In reality it has 6
meanings.This module also beautifully illustrates how
our early commentaries complement each other; what one
commentator misses the other supplements.
OVERVIEW:
=========
==============The Hebrew AL Has 6 meanings====================
Most people think that the Hebrew word AL means ON.
In reality the Hebrew word AL has 6 meanings. They are...
==============================================================
AL can mean Verse Sample Text with this meaning
=========== ======== ==============================
ON Gn03-14 Crawl ON your belly
WITH Ex12-09e Eat it WITH Matzoh & Marror
IN Ex29-03 Place the Matzoh IN the basket
TO 1S01-10 Channah prayed TO God
NEAR Gn18-08 Abraham stood NEAR his guests
AFTER Lv03-05a Offer the Peace offering AFTER the Daily*1
==============================================================
TODAYS UNIT
===========
In todays unit we present LISTS showing that AL
can mean TO, IN and NEAR.
REFERENCE:
=========
This module comes from the following digests in the
Rashi-is-Simple series
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n23.htm
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
=============Examples where the Hebrew AL means NEAR=========
The Hebrew word AL has 6 meanings. A lesser known meaning is
NEAR. In the verses below we have translated AL as NEAR.
Verse references that end with a letter (e.g. Gn49-13b) refer
to translations brought by Rashi. Other verses are brought
by the Mideval Grammarian Radack in his book ROOTS
=============================================================
AL VERSE Translation of verse with AL translated NEAR
==== ====== ===============================================
NEAR Nu02-20 NEAR them was the tribe of MENASHEH
NEAR Gn18-08 Abraham stood NEAR his guests
NEAR Is06-02 Standing-angels are NEAR God
NEAR Ex14-09 The Jews were camped NEAR the sea
NEAR Lv24-07 Place incense NEAR the stacks of breadloafs*2
NEAR Gn49-13b May his borders be NEAR Tzidon(a ship nation)*3
===============================================================
EXAMPLE 6: Gn49-13b May his borders be NEAR Tzidon
=============Examples where the Hebrew AL means TO===========
The Hebrew word AL has 6 meanings. A lesser known meaning is
TO. In the verses below we have translated AL as TO.
Verse references that end with a letter (e.g. Ex26-24c) refer
to translations brought by Rashi. Other verses are brought
by the Mideval Grammarian Radack in his book ROOTS
=============================================================
AL VERSE TRANSLATION OF VERSE WITH al TRANSLATED to
==== ====== ===============================================
TO Ex26-24c The boards shall be even from bottom TO top
TO 1S01-10 And Channah prayed TO God
TO Jos02-08 And Rachav went up TO them on the roof
TO Jer18-11 Speak to the Jews and TO the Jerusalemites*4
TO Jer23-35 Say TO your friend & to your brothers as follows*4
TO Ps48-15 God will lead us TO the day of death *5
================================================================
EXAMPLE 7:Ex26-24c The boards shall be even from bottom TO top
=============Examples where the Hebrew AL means IN===========
The Hebrew word AL has 6 meanings. A lesser known meaning is
IN. In the verses below we have translated AL as IN.
Verse references that end with a letter (e.g. Gn19-17a) refer
to translations brought by Rashi. Other verses are brought
by the Mideval Grammarian Radack in his book ROOTS
=============================================================
AL VERSE TRANSLATION OF VERSE WITH al TRANSLATED to
==== ====== ===============================================
IN Ex29-03 Place the Matzohs IN the basket
IN Is38-20 God saves us;we will sing ...IN Gods house
IN Ex28-11 Etch IN the stones the Names of the tribes
IN Gn19-17a your fleeing should be INvolved with your life*6*7
IN Gn27-40 your life shall be INvolved with the sword*6
NOTES
=====
*6
EXAMPLE 8: Gn19-17a your fleeing should
be INvolved with your life
These last two examples probably appear STRETCHED to the
reader. A more flowing translation would be
-----------------------------------
flee FOR your life
-----------------------------------
-----------------------------------
you will live BY your sword
-----------------------------------
Those readers who speak Hebrew know that The Hebrew letter
BETH when prefixed to a word can mean IN, FOR, BY etc.
Thus it is difficult to UNIFORMLY translate all these
verses the same way into English. To approximate this
Hebrew Uniformity we have translated all verses with the
word IN.
*7 Rashi points out that the sentence emphasizes that he should
---------------------------------------
Flee to save his LIFE, not his PROPERTY
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---------------------------NOTES--------------------------------
*1 This list affords us a beautiful example of how the early
Jewish commentaries complemented each other. Radack only
lists the first 5 meanings in his excellent book THE ROOTS,
while Rashi also lists a 6th meaning, AL can mean AFTER.
A list of examples for each of these meanings is provided
below
*2 Lv24-07
Radack says the incense was placed NEAR the stack of bread.
Rashi seems to indicate that the incense was placed ON TOP
of each stack. Thus this appears to be a controversy of
the Rishonim on a legal matter.
*3 Gn49-13b
Rashi has 2 points: (a) The Hebrew word AL means NEAR; (b)
the word THIGH means BORDER.
See http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ex25-31a.htm which brings
the following Rashis where THIGH means BORDER:Ex25-31d,
Ex40-22a, Ex40-22b, Lv01-11a.
*4 These verses have both the Hebrew words EL and AL in parallel
and they both mean TO.
*5 RADACK suggests that a proper translation would be
--------------------------------------------------
God will lead us UNTIL the day of death
--------------------------------------------------
However Radack brings NO other examples where the Hebrew
word AL means UNTIL. Therefore I have included this
meaning of the Hebrew word AL--UNTIL--with the LIST of
verses where the Hebrew word AL means TO.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*