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VERSE: Gn25-20c
RASHIS COVERED: Gn25-20c Gn26-15a
===================== Gn25-20c ============================
SUCCINCT SUMMARY
----------------
Rashi-s goal in a verse is frequently to shed meaning
by examining OTHER VERSES.
EXAMPLE 1
---------
Rashi critically examines the meaning of Aleph-Resh-Mem.
Apparently cities (NY, Chicago etc) can have suburbs called
the ARAM (ARAM-NY, ARAM-CHICAGO). Apparently these refer
to UNDEVELOPED HIGHLANDS. They are also called PADAN from
PDH to redeem--since people in debt can start aNEW
and redeem their former debts
EXAMPLE 2
---------
The Bible tells us that the Philistines had closed up
the wells that Abraham dug. Why? Rashi illumines this verse
by a similar situation by the Egyptians. The Egyptians were
concerned about the Jewish birth rate--the Jews might
multiply and take over. Similarly the Philistines were
concerned about water availability since it was a red flag
for troops to pass thru their land. In both cases the good
(of children or water) was overrided by a paranoic concern
that could have been dealt with otherwise.
===========================================================
ITEM DETAIL
======================== ==================================
RASHI RULE CLASS: OTHER VERSES
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS INFERRED MEANING
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #5
SEE BELOW LIST250b
List of verses with ARAM as a word before city names
---------------------- ------------------------------
RASHI SUBRULE CLASS FURTHER DETAILS
RASHI WORKBOOK PRINCIPLE #1
SEE BELOW LIST210a
List of verse pairs with 1 verse illuminating another verse
===========================================================
======================= LIST250b ==========================
List of verses with ARAM. The list suggests that ARAM
is an ATTRIBUTE of CITIES e.g. NY vs NY-HIGHLANDS*10
===========================================================
VERSE City #1 City #2 City #3
======= ================ ============== ===================
Nu23-07 Aram (by itself)
1C19-06 Aram-Naharaim Aram-Maacah Aram-Tzovah
P060-02 Aram Naharaim Aram Tzovah
1C18-05 Aram Darmeseck Help King of Tzovah
1C18-05 Tzovah (by itself)
NOTES
-----
-------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES -------------------
*10 ARAM would come from the root ROM = HIGH.
Thus when the word ARAM is placed before a city it
would refer to the HIGHLANDS.
In Gn25-20c the word PADAN is placed before the city
name. Rashi gives two explanations. The 2nd explanation
is that PADAN means the FIELDS. So PADAN would be
like ARAM, the HIGHLANDS.
I would suggest that certain cities had virgin land
on their outskirts. People in debt could come and
develop these lands and start over again. Thus
I would suggest that PADAN comes from the root PDH
to REDEEM since people could REDEEM their lives
In summary: Both PADAN and ARAM are words that
are SOMETIMES added before the name of a city.
It would seem that they should be translated as
THE HIGHLANDS--fertile land where people could
start over again.
Note how we have very few verses. It is not
fully possible to be CERTAIN of the meaning of
these words. We made a shrewd guess based on the
roots involved. The shrewd guess seems reasonable
Thus this Rashi is a good example of what to do
when you dont have enough evidence.
===============================================================
=================== LIST210a ==================================
We present a list of verses where
further details of the verse are presented
from other verses.
The classical example is the Passover Hagaddah
example: The verse Dt26-05d, ONLY A FEW JEWS
WENT DOWN TO EGYPT, is illumined by Gn46-27
which states that 70 PEOPLE WENT DOWN TO EGYPT.
Thus the technique of OTHER VERSES teaches
us that A FEW JEWS(Dt26-05d) means 70(Gn46-27)
===============================================================
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE OTHER VRSE DETAILS
======== ======================== ========== ==================
Gn26-15a Philistines closed wells Ex01-10 Prevent inflows*7
Gn23-02a Abraham CAME Gn21-33:34 CAME from BeerShva
Gn23-02b Chevron=CITY OF 4 Ju01-10*12 City of 4 Giants
Gn23-09a Chevron=Cave of Doubles Gn49-29:31 Doubles=Couples*12
Gn23-15a $400 between US?So what? Gn23-06 Abe distinguishd*6
Gn18-04c Guests rest under TREE Gn21-33 Shady fruit tree*5
Dt32-12a Gd by himself gave peace Ju11-23*4 Conquest=gODS act
Dt32-12b No other gods with Him 2K18-33*4 Conquest=gODS act
Dt29-09b All Jews here, TRIBES,*3 Nu02-02 Each Jew has tribe
Lv01-12a the THANK YOU OFFERING Ps127-01 4 Thank Yous
Lv01-05a Slaughter Sacrifice 2Chr30-17 A Levite Can
Dt26-05d A FEW Jews came to Egypt Gn46-27 70 people came
Gn21-23b I treated you NICELY Gn20-15 I gave you LAND
Dt25-13b Dont have big STONES Lv19-36 Big STONE WEIGHTS
Gn26-05e because ABRAHAM OBEYED Gn22-18 He offered Isaac
Nu24-07c Jews greater than AGAG 1S15-33*2 AGAG,King Amalayk
Lv21-18a Blemish priests no-serve Mal01-08 It is disgusting*1
Ex13-17c Jews afraid of war Nu14-42 Defeat of Jews
Ex17-10b Chur 1Ch2-18:19 Kalevs son
Ex35-30a Chur 1Ch2-18:19 Kalevs son
Ex24-14c Chur 1Ch2-18:19 Kalevs son
NOTES
-----
*1 Lv21-18 says
- Blemished priests dont serve BECAUSE blemished
- priests dont serve
Mal01-08 amplifies this
- Would you give a blemished animal to your governor?
- Would he like it? Would he grant your favor?
*2 Rashis approach to the verse is literal--Bilam was
a prophet and he foresaw the defeat of Amalayk by
the Jews.
Therefore the next phrase in the verse--
---------------------------------------
His(Jewish) Kingdom will be higher than AGAG
and his (Jewish) reign will go higher
---------------------------------------
This next phrase (GO HIGHER) would refer to
the Kings after Shaul--to David and Solomon
who had greater Kingdoms and greater victories
than Shaul*10
*3 So the point of the verse is that not only
were the nation of individual Jews there but
that each Jew had his/her very own tribe.
Already the Patriarch Jacob laid down the
modern idea that Jews must be able to live
with people they are compatable with.
In fact the layout of tribes given by
Jacob (Gn49) and Moses (Nu02) are basically
the same (See http://www.rashiyomi.com/gn50-13a.htm)
Thus Rashi borrowed the idea of JEWS BY TRIBE
and applied it to Dt29-09
*4 Thus we see these other verses as indicating
that reference to gOD should be interpreted as
CONQUEST BY gOD. Hence the verse reads
---------------------------------
God by Himself gave the Jews rest
There were no other gods
---------------------------------
In other words the Jews did not lose battles
and achieved prosperity without political
alliances.*11
*5 We could also refer to Gn18-01 THE HEAT OF THE DAY
Thus a requirement for guests was to have SHADY
trees where they could rest. Gn21-33 describes
Abrahams trees as being of the AYSHEL variety
which indicates peace and tranquility (from
adequate food and shade)
*6 Gn23-06 states about Abraham YOU ARE A PRINCE OF GOD
Gn23-10 states about Eprohn HE WAS ESTABLISHED IN THE CITY
So the two verses indicate that Both Eprohn and Abraham
were distinguished people. And it is normal when
distinguished people bargain that they make light of
large sums.
*7 Here is the point:
- If a land has OPEN wells then maurading troops would
be attracted to go thru that land. Hence the
Philistines closed the wells because of their
paranoic concerns
- Similarly Pharoh enslaved the Jews because they
were reproducing quickly; he was paranoically
worried about a takeover.
In both cases the good (of wells/people) was cancelled
by a paranoic concern.
----------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES -------------------
*10 It is also possible to have a poetic approach to
these verses. Thus
- AGAG from GAG would refer to the ROOF nations,
that is, nations who think that they are self
sufficient (Their own ROOF) and dont need God.
The ROOF nations include AMALAYK under King AGAG
They would also include the MAGOG kingdom under
king GOG (See Ez38) which the Jews will defeat
in Messianic times.
The second phrase in the verse
---------------------------------------
His(Jewish) Kingdom will be higher than AGAG
and his (Jewish) reign will go higher
---------------------------------------
would therefore refer to King Messiah
*11
The use of words to refer to RELATED ITEMS is
a literary device call SYNECHDOCHE or METONOMY
*12 Actually Ju01-10 and Nu13-22 speak about the 3 children
of THE GIANT. So Rashi suggests that the 3 children+
father=4 giants.
Rashi however cites Gn49-29:31 showing that 3 couples
were buried in Chevron (Abe-Sarah, Isaac-Rivkah,Jacob-Leah)
Rashi conjectures (reasonably) that Adam-Chava were also
buried there making the total 4.
How are we to take this second explanation of Rashi? After
all isnt the explicit reference to the 4 giants sufficient?
It would appear to me that the simplest explanation is
that
- The cities name was Chevron
- It was known for the 4 giants and was nicknamed DURING
THEIR LIFETIME as the CITY OF 4
- However (and this is Rashis point) there would be no
need to retain the name of CITY OF 4 after their death
- The fact that 4 important couples were buried there
facilitated keeping the name CITY OF 4
In summary
- CITY OF 4 was a sort of joke nickname because of 4 giants
- but the name CITY OF 4 LATER became an important name
because of the 4 couples
Additional support to this explanation is that the city
is also called the CAVE OF DOUBLES (referring to the
couples buried there).
==============================================================
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Volume 19 Number 20
#*#*#*#*# (C) 2001, RashiYomi Inc. Dr Hendel President #*#*#*#*#
Volume 19 Number 20