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      2. RASHI METHOD: WORD MEANING
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: The meaning of words can be explained either by
      • (2a) translating an idiom, a group of words whose collective meaning transcends the meaning of its individual component words,
      • (2b) explaining the nuances and commonality of synonyms-homographs,
      • (2c) describing the usages of connective words like also,because,if-then, when,
      • (2d) indicating how grammatical conjugation can change word meaning
      • (2e) changing word meaning using the figures of speech common to all languages such as irony and oxymorons.
      This examples applies to Rashis Gn41-19b
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w33n6.htm
      Brief Summary: EMPTY FLESHED means EMACIATED (EMPTY is RELATED to LACK OF FULLNESS AND SUPPORT)

Students of Rashi must bear in mind that Rashi could sometimes use universal principles applicable in all languages. This particularly applies to the meaning methods.

    The synechdoche principle basically says that any language can use a good example to name an entire category. For example, in English,
  • the word honey can mean anything sweet.
  • Similarly bread can refer to any food.
  • Man can refer to any person (male of female)
  • day can refer to the entire 24 hour period
  • heart can refer to the entire person as in e.g., (Ps 43)My heart yearns for you, God which really means My entire person yearns for you God
  • The loss of a person can refer to the destruction of that person (Dt28-22i)

    The metonomy principle basically says that a word can be named by something related to it. Metonomy is closely related to synechdoche. Some typical examples of metonomy would be
  • hot refers to temper or pashion
  • going to bed refers to intimacy
  • by sweat will you obtain bread metonomycally refers to by hard word will you obtain food
  • He is a man of the cloth refers to the clergy
  • the pen is mightier than the sword means that publication can have greater impact than military means

Verse Gn41-19b discussing Pharoh's dream of the 7 full and emaciated cows states And, behold, seven other cows came up after them, poor and very ill-favoured and emptied, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt for badness. Rashi explains: The Bible uses the word empty to indicate emaciation. Indeed an empty package has no support and is indented in appearance similar in look to an emaciated person. The emaciated person is not actually empty. Hence empty is a metonomy; emptyness is related, but not actually equal, to, the emaciated appearance. 


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