#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
-----------------------------------------------------------
| Rashi is Simple Version 2.0 |
| (C) Dr Hendel, Summer 2000 |
| http://www.RashiYomi.Com |
| PERMISSION to reprint WITH this header if NOT for profit |
------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE: Ex13-05a
RASHIS COVERED: Ex13-05a Ex33-02a Ex34-11a Dt19-08a
Ex23-28a Dt20-17a
OVERVIEW:
========
Recall that God promised the Israelites the land of Israel
which was occupied by 7 nations. And indeed, these so called
>7 nations< are mentioned in 10 Biblical verses. But in
only >ONE< of them are all 7 mentioned. In half the verses
only 6 are mentioned. Furthermore Gods actual promise
to Abraham mentions 10 nations! Finally a few verses mention
2 or 3 or 5 nations. Rashi deftly explains guiding principles.
This set of Rashis is instructive since a variety of
explanatory vehicles are used. More specifically
---in some verses Rashi says >I dont know<;
---in some verses Rashi cites other verses to support reasons
---in some verses Rashi gives ingenious unsupported explanations
{LIST}
The 10 verses which list the nations that the Jews conquered.
Only one of them mentions 7 nations. The other verses mention
anywhere from 2 to 7 nations. Rashi explains why
================================================================
VERSE HOW MANY NATIONS ARE MENTIONED WHY DEVIATION FROM 7
======= ================================ ======================
Dt07-01 The 7 nations the Jews inherited
Gn15-19 God promised Abraham 10 nations 3 in Messiahs time *1
Ex03-17 Only 6 of 7 nations mentioned 1 nation fled *2
Nu13-29 Only 3 nations mentioned Regionally specific *3
Ex13-05 5 nations mentioned No reason given *4
NOTES
=====
*1 Rashi on Dt19-09a explicitly notes that Dt19-08:09 mentions
adding 3 lands in Messiahs time thus explaining the
discrepancy between the 10 and 7
*2 Rashi says this on Ex33-02a Ex34-11a. Rashi notes that
the Girgashi fled Canaan to Africa when Joshua came in.
The 5 verses where only 6 nations are mentioned are:
Ex03-17 Ex23-23 Ex33-02 Ex34-11 Dt20-17
{LIST}
The other 5 verses where the nations are mentioned are:
=======================================================
VERSE # of NATIONS REASON FOR DEVIATION FROM 7
======= ============ ===========================
Gn15-19 10 nations 3 extra in Messiahs time
Ex13-05 5 nations No reason given!
Ex23-28 3 nations Only nations >outside Israel<
Nu13-29 3 Nations Only nations >in the mountains<
{END OF LIST}
*3 Nu13-29 explicitly identifies these 3 nations as belonging
to a certain region. Hence it is not surprising that Rashi
borrows this idea of regional specificity on Ex23-28a--
Rashi points out that Ex23-28 which is discussing how the
Tzirah insect will poison the nations (So the Jews can
conquer them without weapons) only applies to Transjordan
and to the borders of Israel (Since this insect only lives
outside Israel).
Thus Rashis point is developed thru a comparison of verses
**and** the idea of >regional specficity< which is made
explicit in Nu13-29.
*4 We expect Rashi to explain >WHY< only 5 nations are mentioned
Undoubtedly there is a reason. But Rashi simply says he
doesnt know of a reason.
Rashi supplements this implied statement of ignorance with
a statement that >All 7 nations were called CANAANITES<
presumably because Canaan was the father of several of these
nations (some of which were his descendants (Gn10-15)). Also
the list of 5 nations in Ex13-05 is complemented by the
list of 1 nation in Ex13-11 >When God brings you to the
land of CANAAN< thus bolstering Rashis point that it is
not necessary to mention all 7 nations(Ex13-05a)
The following additional points on this enigmatic verse
were made by my Shomrey Emunah Rashi class.
--Ruth Shain asked for an analytic formulation of Rashis
treatment of Ex13-05. I responded with the following
analogy. The word NY can refer either to the >CITY<
of NY or to the >STATE< of NY. Thus in the following
sentence >I travelled to NY, ALBANY, BINGHAMTON...<
the word >NY< refers to the >CITY<. But in the following
sentence >I am Governor of NY and ALBANY< the word >NY<
refers to the >STATE< of NY (of which Albany is the
capital). Hence Rashis analytic point is that CANAAN
in this sentence doesnt mean the >STATE< of Canaan
but rather the whole >CANAANITE COUNTRY<
--Dr Howard Klein pointed out that Stone also cites
my cross reference to Gn10-15. Finally Dr Klein
actually advanced an explanation for why only
these 5 nations are mentioned in Ex13-05: Only
these 5 nations are actual descendants of
Canaan as listed in the genealogies of Noach
in Gn10-15 and surrounding verses.
I immediately caught on and suggested that this
was sort of a poetic hint by God: >Just as I
just took you out of one tribal nation (Egypt)
so too I will bring you to another tribal
nation and conquer it--to Canaan and his 4
sons< This would explain why the emphasis
in Ex13-05 is only on those of the 7 nations
that were direct descendants of Canaan.
Finally I pointed out to Dr Klein that Rashi
only advances explanations that can be backed
by lists. Since this explanation (that God
took us out of one tribal nation and will
bring us to another) is a one-time explanation that
cannot be backed by a LIST, Rashi did not bring it.
{END OF LIST}
FURTHER COMMENTS:
=================
Dt20-17 says that we are prohibited from allowing survivors
for the 6 nations that we will inherit >AS GOD HAS PROMISED
US<.
Rashi on Dt20-17a points out that the capped words >AS GOD
HAS PROMISED US< refers back both to the Original promise
to Abraham (Gn15-19) as well as eg to Dt07-01 which mention
>ALL SEVEN NATIONS<. Hence by using this >CROSS REFERENCE<
(AS GOD HAS COMMANDED US) the verse reincludes all 7
nations. Such uses of cross references are common in the
Bible. The interested reader is referred to the following
url with many examples of rashis based on cross references
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/ov.htm
Finally we close with a conjecture on a problem Rashi did not
mention. Why is it that Gn15-19 refers to the >REFAIM< nation
but everywhere else this nation seems to be referred to
as the >CHIVI< nation. Basically we suggest that >REFAIM<
was a generic name for >ANY POWERFUL NATION< (cf Dt02-20)
Here is a possible argument
We find that
--the Philistines gathered in Refaim Valley (2Sam5-19)
--the Philistines also occupied Givon (1Ch14-16)
--but the Chivi came from Givon. (Jos9-3,Jos11-19)
So perhaps the Chivi was one of the Refaim states. Since
the Chivi made a peace treaty with Joshua(Jos9) and the rest
of the Refaim were destroyed it would make sense to call
the Chivi, Refaim after their destroyed parent nation.
SUMMARY:
=======
Again I believe that this set of Rashi is very instructive
in that many types of explanations are given (those with
reasons, those with conjectures, those with supports and
some without any explanation).
RULE USED: DOUBLE PARSHAS
---------------------------------------------------
WARNING: The following additional references may be too wordy
However they frequently contain additional information & lists
The hyperlinks only work on the main website
Volume 8 Number 8
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
Volume 8 Number 8