nkr-1


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#       10 YEAR Ayelet DAILY-RASHI-YOMI CYCLE             #
#                 December 7th, 2001                     #
#          Rashis 1132-1135 Of 7800 (14.6%)               #
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    =============  HOT ITEMS ================================
   CONGRATULATIONS: We have completed the GRAMMAR MODULE
   I hope to have the GRAND SUMMARY UP SUNDAY.
    The 6 Rashi Goals    http://www.RashiYomi.Com/rules-01.htm
   ENGLISH RASHI:       http://www.mnemotrix.com/metsudah
   THE WHITE PAPERS:    http://www.RashiYomi.Com/white.htm
   =========================================================

GOALS
=====
This module studies Rashis translations of the 6-7 meanings
of the word Nun-Kaph-Resh.

TODAYS UNIT
===========
Today we go over the 6 basic meanings of NKR. Tomorrow
we will review subtle nuances of these meanings.

THE LONG FOOTNOTES
===================
Todays module is a bit longer than usual. I bring it
to show how intricate and beautiful controversies among
Rishonim on word meanings can be. This will only last
2 days.

The LONG FOOTNOTES are for those who want more analysis.
You can comfortably skip LONGER FOOTNOTES on a first reading
If you read the list below you will know the 6 meanings of
NKR (If you read the longer footnotes you will also find
out which Rishonim helped us in these translations and
why we rejected other translations).

REFERENCE:
=========
Todays unit comes from the following postings

http://www.Rashiyomi.com/gn42-08a.htm (Up Sunday)
http://www.Rashiyomi.Com/h12n9.htm    (Up Sunday)

#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#


THE 6 MEANINGS OF N-K-R
 

EXAMPLE 1: Gn42-08a Joseph RECOGNIZED his brothers
EXAMPLE 2: Dt32-27a The non jewish nations will IGNORE me(God)
EXAMPLE 3: Ex22-08d He shouldnt sell her to an OTHER FAMILY
EXAMPLE 4: Gn42-07a Joseph DISGUISED himself

BACKGROUND
----------
The root Nun-Kaph-Resh has 6 meanings, possibly 7. A rare
delicacy in learning Chumash is to review all verses containing
a word and in that light to analyze the suggestions of meaning
among the Rishonim.

THE TEXT
--------
The root Nun-Kaph-Resh is a peach of an example. Anyone who
wishes to learn how to learn tenach should study this posting
over and over again. We see everything here:
- Controversy on the meaning of individual verses
- Controversy on the number of meanings
- illustration of how to (occasionally) decide among Rishonim

THE LISTS
---------
We present two lists: In this first list we
- present the 6 meanings of NKR.
- we show how each meaning relates to the basic meaning
- give an illustrative verse with this meaning
The basic meanings of NKR are RECOGNIZE & UNRECOGNIZABLE*13

The second list below this one
- presents the 6 meanings
- gives the actual text of verses illustrating these meanings
- correlates meaning with grammatical mode: Thus
--- NKR means RECOGNIZE in the ACTIVE MODE (KAL)
--- NKR means IGNORE(Not RECOGNIZE) in the INTENSIVE MODE(PIEL)
--- NKR means DISGUISE(non-recognize the self) in HITPAEL

Throughout, footnotes show how these lists are dependent on
selecting competing translations of Rishonim. In other words
the quest for a unifying meaning leads naturally to selecting
certain meanings over others.Similarly, consistency may require
ignoring suggestions of Rishonim on individual verses. This is
covered in the footnotes which also cover possible meanings
of NKR which are not universally accepted*10. Here is the list
MEANING VERSE How meaning relates to RECOGNITION

Recognize Gn42-08a Basic meaning
Ignore*1 Dt32-27a To IGNORE something = make it UNRECOGNIZABLE
Disguise*2 Gn42-07a To DISGUISE = to make yourself UNRECOGNIZABL
Other*3 Ex22-08d The OTHER one is someone not RECOGNIZED
Friend 2Kn12-06 Your FRIENDS are those you RECOGNIZE
Favoritism Isa03-09 Favoritism=RECOGNIZING undeserving people*4

COMMENTS

*1  The verses with the intensive form of NKR which mean IGNORE
    are as follows
    -------------------------------------------------------------
    Jer19-04 They(the Jews) deserted me and TREATED THIS (TEMPLE)
    LIKE A FOREIGN PLACE (That is they IGNORED me)*11
    -------------------------------------------------------------

    -------------------------------------------------------------
    Job21-29 Its public knowledge known by all who travel the
    road of life: You cant act like the idea is FOREIGN TO YOU
    (that is YOU CANT IGNORE IT)
    -------------------------------------------------------------
    There are several other takes on this verse but the above
    seems to be mainstream.*12

    -------------------------------------------------------------
    Dt32-27a I will not destroy the Jews lest their enemies treat
    Me(God) as someone Foreign (that is LEST THEY DENY I DID IT)
    -------------------------------------------------------------

 *2 Some other verses with the reflexive mode of NKR meaning
   disguise are
   --------------------------------------------------------
   And as she came into the door the prophet said: Come!
   Why do you need to DISGUISE yourself (I know who you
   are). I have harsh words for you (1K14-06)
   --------------------------------------------------------

   --------------------------------------------------------
   Also: through his (Good) deeds a rascal can DISGUISE
   himself if his actions are pure and upright(Prv20-11)
   (There are many takes on this verse)
   --------------------------------------------------------

*3 The usual English translation is FOREIGN. Rashi suggests
   OTHER. The point being, that OTHER is softer in tone
   than FOREIGN. Examples are presented in LIST 2. We
   argue there that neither translation (FOREIGN or OTHER)
   is perfect (Because 2 languages can never fully
   translate). But OTHER fits better in many verses.

*4 Radacks father believes the root of the word in this
   verse is not NKR and means BRAZENNESS. Radack himself
   suggests that the root is NKR & the phrase
   really means,GUILT, not FAVORITISM. Literally the
   phrase means IT SHOWS IN THEIR FACE and refers to
   self-evident GUILT

-------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES -----------------------

*10 There is a suggestion the N-K-R might also mean SURROUND.

   Radack and Rashi give 1Sam23-7 as an example
   --------------------------------------------------------
   And Saul said God has SURROUNDED David to my hand
   because David went into a walled city (Which is easily
   conquerable)
   --------------------------------------------------------

   Ralbag dissents. There is no need to create a whole extra
   meaning for one verse. Ralbag uses the fact that
   N-K-R can mean IGNORE. Ralbag translates 1Sam23-7 as
   --------------------------------------------------------
   And Saul said: God has IGNORED David by letting him go
   into a walled city (Because now I can capture him)
   --------------------------------------------------------

   To complicate matters Rashi, dissenting from Radack
   brings a 2nd verse where N-K-R means SURROUND.
   ---------------------------------------------------
   Ovadia 1-11 ...You (Esauv) should not have looked on
   (Without doing anything) when your brother Israel
   was surrounded (and conquered)
   ---------------------------------------------------

   But Radack disagrees that Ovadia 1-11 is a 2nd example
   Radack translates N-K-R in Ovadia 1-11 as meaning MADE FOREIGN
   --------------------------------------------------------------
   You Esauv should not have just looked on without doing
   anything on the FOREIGN day of the Jews (When
   they went into foreign lands)
   --------------------------------------------------------------

   It emerges that if we take the Ralbags & Radacks translations
   we do not need an extra meaning to N-K-R

   A Real controversy among the Rishonim.

*11 Radack makes a pun on this verse: Since NKR refer to FOREIGN
    gods, therefore the phrase THEY FOREIGNED THIS PLACE could
    mean THEY BROUGHT FOREIGN IDOLS INTO THIS PLACE.

    But the idea that the intensive form of NKR means BRING
    IDOLS is inconsistent with the other 2 verses mentioned
    in footnote #1. So we do not treat this Radack as mainstream.

*12 The Ibn Ezra translates the intensive form of NKR in this
    verse the same way he translates NKR in the active
    ------------------------------------------------------
    This is public knowledge among all who travel the road
    of life AND YET YOU STILL DONT RECOGNIZE IT(even though
    it is well known)
    ------------------------------------------------------

    But the identification of the intensive and active form
    of NKR is inconsistent with other verses. Hence we do
    not regard this Ibn Ezra as mainstream.

*13 Many verbs have contradictory meanings. Thus
    Shin-Resh-Shin means  To ROOT  and also TO UPROOT.
    Frequently it is the grammatical mode (Such as the
    Piel Intensive mode) which transfers the negative
    meaning. Thus NKR means UNRECOGNIZABLE only in the
    the PIEL and HITPAEL modes.


#*#*#*# (C) RashiYomi Inc., 2001, Dr. Hendel, President #*#*#*#*#

THE 6 MEANINGS OF N-K-R
EXAMPLE 1: Gn42-08a Joseph RECOGNIZED his brothers EXAMPLE 2: Dt32-27a The non jewish nations will IGNORE me(God) EXAMPLE 3: Ex22-08d He shouldnt sell her to an OTHER FAMILY EXAMPLE 4: Gn42-07a Joseph DISGUISED himself BACKGROUND ---------- The root Nun-Kaph-Resh has 6 meanings, possibly 7. A rare delicacy in learning Chumash is to review all verses containing a word and in that light to analyze the suggestions of meaning among the Rishonim. THE TEXT -------- The root Nun-Kaph-Resh is a peach of an example. Anyone who wishes to learn how to learn tenach should study this posting over and over again. We see everything here: - Controversy on the meaning of individual verses - Controversy on the number of meanings - illustration of how to (occasionally) decide among Rishonim THE LISTS --------- We present two lists: In this first list we - present the 6 meanings of NKR. - we show how each meaning relates to the basic meaning - give an illustrative verse with this meaning The basic meanings of NKR are RECOGNIZE & UNRECOGNIZABLE13 The second list below this one - presents the 6 meanings - gives the actual text of verses illustrating these meanings - correlates meaning with grammatical mode: Thus --- NKR means RECOGNIZE in the ACTIVE MODE (KAL) --- NKR means IGNORE(Not RECOGNIZE) in the INTENSIVE MODE(PIEL) --- NKR means DISGUISE(non-recognize the self) in HITPAEL Throughout, footnotes show how these lists are dependent on selecting competing translations of Rishonim. In other words the quest for a unifying meaning leads naturally to selecting certain meanings over others.Similarly, consistency may require ignoring suggestions of Rishonim on individual verses. This is covered in the footnotes which also cover possible meanings of NKR which are not universally accepted10. Here is the list
MEANING	VERSE	How meaning relates to RECOGNITION
Recognize	Gn42-08a	Basic meaning
Ignore*1	Dt32-27a	To IGNORE something = make it UNRECOGNIZABLE
Disguise*2	Gn42-07a	To DISGUISE = to make yourself UNRECOGNIZABL
Other*3	Ex22-08d	The OTHER one is someone not RECOGNIZED
Friend	2Kn12-06	Your FRIENDS are those you RECOGNIZE
Favoritism	Isa03-09	Favoritism=RECOGNIZING undeserving people*4

COMMENTS
1 The verses with the intensive form of NKR which mean IGNORE are as follows ------------------------------------------------------------- Jer19-04 They(the Jews) deserted me and TREATED THIS (TEMPLE) LIKE A FOREIGN PLACE (That is they IGNORED me)11 ------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------- Job21-29 Its public knowledge known by all who travel the road of life: You cant act like the idea is FOREIGN TO YOU (that is YOU CANT IGNORE IT) ------------------------------------------------------------- There are several other takes on this verse but the above seems to be mainstream.12 ------------------------------------------------------------- Dt32-27a I will not destroy the Jews lest their enemies treat Me(God) as someone Foreign (that is LEST THEY DENY I DID IT) ------------------------------------------------------------- 2 Some other verses with the reflexive mode of NKR meaning disguise are -------------------------------------------------------- And as she came into the door the prophet said: Come! Why do you need to DISGUISE yourself (I know who you are). I have harsh words for you (1K14-06) -------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------- Also: through his (Good) deeds a rascal can DISGUISE himself if his actions are pure and upright(Prv20-11) (There are many takes on this verse) -------------------------------------------------------- 3 The usual English translation is FOREIGN. Rashi suggests OTHER. The point being, that OTHER is softer in tone than FOREIGN. Examples are presented in LIST 2. We argue there that neither translation (FOREIGN or OTHER) is perfect (Because 2 languages can never fully translate). But OTHER fits better in many verses. 4 Radacks father believes the root of the word in this verse is not NKR and means BRAZENNESS. Radack himself suggests that the root is NKR & the phrase really means,GUILT, not FAVORITISM. Literally the phrase means IT SHOWS IN THEIR FACE and refers to self-evident GUILT -------------------- LONGER FOOTNOTES ----------------------- 10 There is a suggestion the N-K-R might also mean SURROUND. Radack and Rashi give 1Sam23-7 as an example -------------------------------------------------------- And Saul said God has SURROUNDED David to my hand because David went into a walled city (Which is easily conquerable) -------------------------------------------------------- Ralbag dissents. There is no need to create a whole extra meaning for one verse. Ralbag uses the fact that N-K-R can mean IGNORE. Ralbag translates 1Sam23-7 as -------------------------------------------------------- And Saul said: God has IGNORED David by letting him go into a walled city (Because now I can capture him) -------------------------------------------------------- To complicate matters Rashi, dissenting from Radack brings a 2nd verse where N-K-R means SURROUND. --------------------------------------------------- Ovadia 1-11 ...You (Esauv) should not have looked on (Without doing anything) when your brother Israel was surrounded (and conquered) --------------------------------------------------- But Radack disagrees that Ovadia 1-11 is a 2nd example Radack translates N-K-R in Ovadia 1-11 as meaning MADE FOREIGN -------------------------------------------------------------- You Esauv should not have just looked on without doing anything on the FOREIGN day of the Jews (When they went into foreign lands) -------------------------------------------------------------- It emerges that if we take the Ralbags & Radacks translations we do not need an extra meaning to N-K-R A Real controversy among the Rishonim. 11 Radack makes a pun on this verse: Since NKR refer to FOREIGN gods, therefore the phrase THEY FOREIGNED THIS PLACE could mean THEY BROUGHT FOREIGN IDOLS INTO THIS PLACE. But the idea that the intensive form of NKR means BRING IDOLS is inconsistent with the other 2 verses mentioned in footnote #1. So we do not treat this Radack as mainstream. 12 The Ibn Ezra translates the intensive form of NKR in this verse the same way he translates NKR in the active ------------------------------------------------------ This is public knowledge among all who travel the road of life AND YET YOU STILL DONT RECOGNIZE IT(even though it is well known) ------------------------------------------------------ But the identification of the intensive and active form of NKR is inconsistent with other verses. Hence we do not regard this Ibn Ezra as mainstream. 13 Many verbs have contradictory meanings. Thus Shin-Resh-Shin means To ROOT and also TO UPROOT. Frequently it is the grammatical mode (Such as the Piel Intensive mode) which transfers the negative meaning. Thus NKR means UNRECOGNIZABLE only in the the PIEL and HITPAEL modes.