#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
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VERSE: Gn10-25a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn04-01a Gn10-25a Gn21-01a
Ex12-35c Ex24-01a
==================== PAST means PAST PERFECT ===================
BACKGROUND
----------
Most people are familiar with the 3 Hebrew tenses. Thus, for
example, for the root, Sh-M-R, TO WATCH, we have SHMARTI means
I WATCHED, ESHMOR means I WILL WATCH and SHOMAYR means I AM
WATCHING.
TEXT
----
But an OVERTURNING PREFIX VAV plus the FUTURE tense also means
the past: For example, VA-ESHMOR means I WATCHED
(not I WILL WATCH)
RASHI
-----
Rashi sees a difference between these 2 past tenses
-- VA-ESHMOR means I WATCHED (PAST ABSOLUTE)
-- SHAMARTI means I HAD WATCHED (PAST PERFECT)
THE LIST
--------
Here is a LIST of verses where PAST PERFECT (HAD WATCHED)
vs PERFECT is used (WATCHED). Footnotes indicate how
Rashi or logic would translate the verse
REFERENCES
----------
Two previous postings on this issue occur at
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h5n7.htm
http://www.Rashiyomi.com/h4n13.htm
================================================================
VERSE TEXT WITH PAST PERFECT WHY PPERFECT
======== ========================================== ============
Gn01-02 The earth HAD ALREADY been astonishing *1
Gn01-05 God HAD ALREADY called the darkness NIGHT *1
Gn04-01a Adam HAD ALREADY (sexually) known his wife *2
Gn10-25a Yaktan HAD ALREADY had children *3
Gn21-01a God HAD ALREADY remembered Sarah *4
Gn25-34 Jacob HAD ALREADY given Esauv food *5
Ex12-35c God HAD ALREADY given grace to the Jews *6
Gn37-36 And the MDANIM HAD ALREADY sold Joseph *7
Ex24-01a And God HAD ALREADY told Moses to come up *8
NOTES
-----
*1 This is the source for the often cited midrash that
----------------------------------------------------
God created many worlds before he created this one
----------------------------------------------------
That is the text explictly states THE WORLD HAD ALREADY
BEEN DARK. Thus contrary to popular belief the world
was NOT created 6000 years ago. Instead Adam, the first
prophet was created. For more details and references see
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gen-1.htm
*2 Thus Rashi sees the Biblical sequence as follows
-----------------------------------------
-Gn02 God creates Adam
-Gn02-end Adam and eve were naked
-Gn04 Adam and even had children
-Gn03 Snake tries to get Eve to sin
-----------------------------------------
-- The idea that the event of Gn04 (birth of children)
preceded the event of Gn03 (Snakes seduction) is
inferred from the explicit Biblical statement
AND ADAM HAD ALREADY KNOWN HIS WIFE
--Rashi explains why the temporal sequence was interrupted:
By putting the seduction of the snake after the nakedness
of Adam and Eve the Torah indicates WHY he sinned (Because
the SNAKE saw her naked--Rashi explains he wanted her
sexually)
*3 Notice that the Biblical text sometimes uses passive (HAD
CHILDREN) and sometimes uses active(HAD ALREADY GIVEN BIRTH)
The Bible alternates style to indicate temporal order.
Here is a rendition of Gn10-21:32
----------------------------------------------------------
SHAYM had (passive) ..ARPACHSHAD ...ARAM
ARAMs children were ....
ARPACHSHAD HAD GIVEN BIRTH to....
EVER had (passive) SPLIT because the world SPLIT up
His brother YAKTAN HAD GIVEN BIRTH to.....in the EAST
----------------------------------------------------------
Notice eg that ARPACHSHAD is mentioned before ARAM (older
brother) but his children are mentioned AFTERWARDS (Hence
the past perfect to indicate order reversal)
Similarly the Bible explicitly identifies that YAKTAN
lived in the EAST, the place where the TOWER OF BABEL
was built (Gn11-01).
By using the PAST PERFECT, the Bible indicates that
YAKTANS children (Tower of Babel) happened before
SPLIT (which was the reason for splitting up the world
(See Gn11-09).
This would place the Tower of Babel at 340 years after
the Mabul.
Thus EVER was a prophet---since he named his child
by an event that happened at the end of SPLITS life.
Most probably prophets were warning of the doom that
would happen and noone listened.
*4 The sequence of events is
------------------------------------------------------------
Gn18 Angels promise Abraham a son next year
Gn19 Destruction of Sedom and Amorah
Gn20 Avimelech repents from seducing Sarah;Abe prays for him
Gn21 Sarah HAD GIVEN birth
------------------------------------------------------------
Sarah gave birth way before then (HAD GIVEN). The purpose
of the order reversal is to teach a moral lesson:
------------------------------------------------------
Abraham prayed for Avimelech to have children (End of Gn20)
And hence Abraham merited to have a child himself (Gn21-01)
HE WHO PRAYS FOR HIS FRIEND WILL BE ANSWERED FIRST
------------------------------------------------------
*5 This is not a Rashi but is a famous answer to Bible
critics who claim that Jacob teased Esauv to get the
Birthright. The Bible however clearly states JACOB
HAD ALREADY GIVEN ESAUV FOOD (The discussion of
selling the birthright took place later)
*6 The Biblical text states
----------------------------------------------
God HAD ALREADY made the Jews pitied
They now loaned utensils before leaving
----------------------------------------------
Rashi explains that
-- they had already been pitied--ie they had
already obtained loans of utensils
-- Now they obtained second loans (They made
believe they lost the previous utensils and
they got second loans).
So the verse concludes THEY LOANED OUT EGYPT
(That is they took all their wealth)
*7 This simple but elegant example was provided by Harry
Rashbaum in my Shomray Emunah Rashi class
*8 The verse explicitly States GOD HAD ALREADY TOLD MOSES
TO COME UP. Thus the Rashi position that these events
happened prior to the giving of the 10 commandments
is based on grammar (I see no way to defend the
alternate view of the Ramban).
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RASHI RULE USED: GRAMMAR
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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 12 Number 17
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 12 Number 17