Most people know that the Biblical meaning of a word is determined
by its underlying three-letter root. The Biblical root can be conjugated
in different a) persons, b) tenses, c) pluralities, d) genders, e) constructions
and f) modalities. For example I watched has a different conjugation then
I will be watched even though both phrases will use the same 3 letter
Hebrew root.
Rashi explains that the infinitive form can
also indicate attribution. Hence Rashi translates
Nu35-32b discussing the prohibition of bribes
from residents of the refuge cities, as
And you shall take no ransom for him who has fleed to his city of refuge, that he should come back to live in the land, until the death of the priest.
Advanced Rashi:
We have followed our custom of embedding the Rashi
comment in the body of the translation. Rashi also
discusses the possibility of translating the Hebrew
as the infinitive. In such a case the verse would read
And you shall take no ransom to flee to his city of refuge, that he should come back to live in the land, until the death of the priest.
Rashi rejects this as not making sense: Why should a person
outside the refuge city need to bribe to
come back to live in the land?
For this reason Rashi interprets the infinitive
form as indicating attribution. Rashi also brings several
other examples.
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