#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
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VERSE: Nu12-01a
There are about 8 Rashis on this verse. The best approach is
to discuss them all together. There are 3 main points and
3 subsidiary points in Rashi. Here is a summary of Rashis
interpretation The defense is presented afterward
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SUMMARY: "And Miryam instigated a conversation with Aaron concerning
Moses' divorce of his beautiful wife---And they said 'Who does he
(Moses) think he is--he is not the only prophet---we are also prophets
and have not separated from our mates"
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(Rashi points out that her intention was to bring Moses and
Tzipporah back together; nevertheless she was punished for
Slandering him--from this we learn that anyone
slandering even for good reasons is severely punished)
Here are the main arguments of Rashi
(1) Moses divorced Tzipporah
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Nu12-01 they spoke about
the beautiful wife he HAD TAKEN
because he HAD TAKEN a beautiful wife
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The repeated phrase HAD TAKEN emphasizes that HE HAD TAKEN her
but was now divorced(Rashi)
(2) The Hebrew word C-S-H means BEAUTIFUL
This is learned from CONTEXT
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Nu12-01 They spoke about the C-S-H wife he had divorced
And they said 'Is he the only one who was a prophet'
We also were prophets and did not divorce our wives
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From context we infer that the Hebrew word C-S-H is a LAUDATORY
term--it could mean NICE, BEAUTIFUL, RELIGIOUS, etc.*1*2
(3) The Hebrew root D-B-R(Speak) when used with the preposition IN
means to SPEAK ABOUT a TOPIC *3
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Hence Rashi adds the phrases in Brackets
"Nu12-01 And they spoke [ABOUT THE DIVORCE] of the beautiful
wife Moses took. And they said Is Moses the only prophet..
we also are prophets [AND HAVE NOT SEPARATED FROM OUR WIVES]"
(4) Miscellaneous points
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See footnotes *4
NOTES
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*1 There are 2 supportive proofs that C-S-H means BEAUTIFUL
But since these are not backed by lists it is preferable
to say we learn its meaning from context
*1a C-S-H can mean a "GEMMED WIFE" (who wears Jewelry), since
C-S-H (Africa) was known for its mineral riches(Job28-19,
Ps68-32, Isa45-14)
*1b C-S-H occasionally does mean BEAUTIFUL as in Ps7-1, Nu12-01,
Am9-7, Jer38-7:12
*2 From the repetition Nu12-01 "concerning the C-S-H wife he took
because he took a C-S-H wife", we infer that C-S-H=BEAUTIFUL
should be interpreted broadly. She was DOUBLE BEAUTIFUL (both
physically and religiously)
*3 The following {LIST} shows how the meaning of D-B-R varies by its
connective word.
D-B-R WITH(ITO) means a DIALOG
D-B-R TO(EL) means COMMAND or DECREE
D-B-R IN(B) means SPEAK ABOUT A TOPIC
Hence the proper interpretation is not "They spoke about
Tzipporah" but rather "they spoke about the topic of
Tzipporah (ie her divorce)"
{LIST}
VERSE PREPOSITION TEXT
======= =========== ====
Gn17-23 ITO *1 Dialog treaty of circumcision (Gn17-01:07)
Gn21-2 ITO *1 Dialog concerning having children(Gn17-15:21)
Gn35-13 ITO *1 Dialog treaty with Jacob (Gn35-01:14)
Gn42-30 ITO *1 Dialog of Joe & brothers (Gn42-09:18)
Ex06-28 EL *2 ..when God spoke to Moses in Egypt
Lv10-11 EL *2 ..to teach all commandments spoken to Moses
Jer51-12 EL *2 ..God is doing what he decreed on Babel
Dt20-02 EL *2 ..the Priest will Sermonize(?) the army...
Jud16-10 EL *2 ..you told me falsehoods
Dt06-07 B *3 Speak about Torah topics
1S25-39 B *3 Spoke about the Topic of marrying Avigail
Job19-18 B *3 I was the topic of their conversation
Nu21-05 B *3 THey spoke about the topic of God and Moses
Nu12-01 B *3 Miriam & Aaron spoke about the topic of Moses
*4a There are 3 methods by which Miryam found out about Moses divorce
-They actually divorced (vs separated)(This is Rashis approach)
-Tzipporah stopped wearing Jewelry(This led to talk about it)
-Miryan overheard how other prophets separated from their wife
(Rashi seems to prefer the "divorce" explanation)
*4b The actual text says "And SHE spoke, Miryan and Aaron"
Rashi points out that whenever a SINGULAR PREDICATE (SHE) is used
with a plural subject (MIRYAN and AARON) it means that the
first mentioned person (MIRYAM) instigated the action and the
other people followed suit (This is a general principle..but
we did not defend it with a list)(Rashi uses this to explain
why Miryam was punished and not Aaron)
*4c The actual text says "And they CITED about Moses" (It should have
said "And they SPOKE about Moses...". The use of the word CITED
in an ordinary conversation indicates that it was a 'delicate
topic'(getting Moses and Tzipporah back together)---hence they
prepared a speech (Citation) to get Moses and Tzipporah back
back.
The defense that D-B-R means CITE, occurs in other postings
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Volume 2 Number 14
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
Volume 2 Number 14