The 6 usages of the word >THE<:#3 of 35
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RULE
====
The word >THE< can be used in 4 ways

--to refer to something that immediately follows

  eg Dt04-32c >Has anyone heard THIS GREAT THING-that God
  saved a nation enslaved in another nation with great miracles<

  Thus the phrase >THIS GREAT THING< refers to the verse that
  follows >That God saved a nation enslaved in another nation<
  In other words the >GREAT THING< is Gods freeing one nation
  from another.

--to refer to a concept, story or thing mentioned ELSEWHERE
  (but not immediately afterwards)

  eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim<
  refers to the NEFILLIM nation mentined in Gn06-04

--to refer to the best known of a class

  eg  Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain

--to refer to a qualitative best

  eg Dt05-18a >You will do the good and upright< -- ie compromise





GOALS:
=====
A person completing this module will be able to correctly
identify the specific usages of >THE< in the Bible.


TODAYS UNIT
===========
In the next few days unit we bring verses where
>THE< refers to a concept mentioned in some >OTHER VERSE<

The most straightforward example is the reference in
Nu28-06a that speaks about the >HOLIDAY OF BIKURIM<
A simple search shows that >BIKURIM< occurs by the
Holidays in Lv23-17 where it refers to the holiday
of Shavuoth. Hencewe interpret >THE HOLIDAY OF
BIKURIM< in Nu28-06a to refer to SHAVUOTH.


REFERENCE:
=========
This module comes from the following digest in the
Rashi-is-Simple series



http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n14.htm


#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*

EXAMPLES 6-7:
============

---------------------------------------------------------
  In the following verses >THE< refers to a known concept
  that is mentioned elsewhere
---------------------------------------------------------

EXAMPLE 6:   Nu13-33a THE Nefilim*1
==========
This refers to the identical phrase in
Gn06-04 where it refers to >Sons of Prophets<



EXAMPLE 7:  Nu04-13a THE Altar
=========
This refers to the identical phrase in
Ex27-01   where it refers to the >Copper Altar<*2




-------------------------NOTES--------------------------------

*1 This footnote shows how Rashi used Agaddic material

   The simple meaning of the text is that the word >THE NEFILLIM<
   refers to >THE NEFILLIM< mentioned in Gn06-04. Furthermore,
   the >NEFILLIM< in Gn06-04 are described as a gang of people
   that came from judges grabbing women.

   But the Hebrew word for JUDGES used there is E-L-O-H-I-M. So
   it seems reasonable to interpret this word as referring to
   prophecy. It then seems reasonable to interpret the verse
   that >THE STUDENTS OF PROPHETS HAD FAILED IN THEIR SPIRITUAL
   GOALS AND WERE NOW INSTEAD TAKING WOMEN<

   The Legend expresses this metaphorically >The NEFILLIM
   refers to the angels AZAZEL etc that FELL FROM HEAVEN<

   This is simply a metaphor. >ANGELS< means >PROPHETS<
   >FELL FROM HEAVEN< means >FALLEN FROM THE PROPHETIC PATH<
   >AZAZEL< literally means >HELL< a fitting name for such
   people.

   Thus NEFILIM refers to people who defected from prophecy
   (Cf the example of the Saul who later sought advice
   from witches).

   Thus although the Rashi is a bit fantastic nevertheless
   Rashi is based on a solid simple meaning; and when
   the legend is properly interpreted it seems reasonable.

   To sum up Rashi has two components
   ---a simple component--that THE NEFILLIM references Gn06-04
   ---a reasonable supplement--that these NEFILLIM were
      defected prophets
   A person who doesnt fully believe the reasonable component
   should instead focus on the simple component. In my
   TRADITION article (Winter 1980) I call this the principle
   of STAGES.

*2 There are 2 altars--the copper altar and the gold altar

   The copper altar is referred to as >THE ALTAR< while
   the gold altar is not so referred. Hence Rashi cleverly
   interprets the verse as referring to the COPPER ALTAR.
   (Cf Ex27-01 vs Ex30-01--notice how it is the COPPER
   ALTAR that has the word >THE< while the Gold altar
   does not have THE!

   So Rashi bases himself on GRAMMAR not on LOGIC
   As the Rav (Soloveitchick) has said >When learning
   Chumash it is best to avoid the stormy waters of
   philosophy and stick to the placid waters of grammar<


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