We have explained in our article
Biblical Formatting located on the world wide web at
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/biblicalformatting.pdf,
that the Biblical Author indicates bold, italics, underline by using
repetition. In other words if a modern author wanted to emphasize
a word they would either underline, bold or italicize it. However when the Biblical
author wishes to emphasize a word He repeats it. The effect - whether
thru repetition or using underline - is the same. It is only the
means of conveying this emphasis that is different.
Verse Lv20-04a discussing the idolatrous rite of Molech where
a person temporarily burns his children to prepare them for adult life where
people frequently get temporarily burned, states
And if the people of the land do at overlook-overlook their eyes from that man, when he giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death;
Rashi comments on the repeated underlined phrase: overlook-overlook:
If they overlook in any manner however small.
To fully capture the intent of Rashi I would therefore translate the prefix letter
Beth in the verse as meaning cause rather then when (The prefix
beth can equally mean cause and when.) The verse would then read
And if the people of the land do at overlook [in any degree however small] their eyes from that man, [thereby] causing him to giveth of his seed unto Molech, and put him not to death; then I ...
We can understand Rashi's comment more fully as follows:
If courts overlook minor crimes (instead of punishing people for them), then
people don't take seriously temporary overlookings of the law. In such a situation
a person would not think it that serious if he temporarily (for a moment) burned
his son thus symbolically affirming that adults get burned in life and this is part
of life. However the emotional trauma to the child - who was burned unnecessary -
is an idolatrous rite and is a serious crime since the child has been irreparably
emotionally damaged.
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