*1 The 2 Rashis on Gn25-29a Gn25-29b both describe
property disputes on the wells


*2 Biblical money has the following analogy with English
------------------------------
Penny    = Perutah
Quarter  = Kesitah = 1/6 Dinar
Dollar   = Dinar
5 Dollar = Selah = 4 Dinar
------------------------------
We of course use poetic lisence to translate Kesitah as
a Quarter (since it really is a sixth)

*1 This is a novelty of mine: Y-A-F does not mean
THIRSTY but rather refers to the more intense
DEHYDRATED

*2 Rashis point is that ESAUV was EXHAUSTED from
hunting, not THIRSTY*10

*10 Rashi states
------------------------------------------
Esauv was exhausted from killing (animals)
------------------------------------------

We interpret KILLING as referring to KILLING
ANIMALS (not people). Rashis point is that
Esauv was EXHAUSTED not THIRSTY. For had he
been thirsty Jacob's request for the birthright
in exchange for food would have been unethical
blackmail. Rashi knew that AYF means EXHAUSTED
from the numerous verses referring to Esauvs
hunting skills.

*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.

*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.

*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).