MEGADIM. Tevunot Press JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES. Number 50 Tammuz 5769

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1 MEGADIM JOURNAL OF BIBLICAL STUDIES Number 50 Tammuz 5769 Tevunot Press

2 All Rights Reserved Tevunot Press Herzog College Gush Etzion Alon Shevut Tel Fax ISSN

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS Amnon Bazak Yoel Bin-Nun Yosef s Method in Interpreting Three Pairs of Dreams 11 Moshe s Identity Struggle Which Son Was Not Circumcised, and Why? 21 Mordechai Sabato And Do the Hands of Moshe Make War? 39 Jonathan Grossman Yaaqov Medan Jonathan Jacobs Elhanan Samet Divine Command and Human Initiative: The Deep Structure of Numbers Why Such a Great Wrath? A Study of the Concubine at Gibeah Narrative 79 The Death of the Son of David and Bat-Sheva (2Sam 12) 135 The Distinction between Happy are all who fear the Lord and So shall the man who fears the Lord be blessed (Psalm 128) 143 Yehuda Shaviv The Repetition of Vayomer 163 Yosef Ofer Abraham Shammah Mnemonic signs in the Masora of the Aleppo Codex 171 Processes of Formulation and Changes in Ramban s Critical Attitude towards Avram s Descent to Egypt (Genesis 12) 199 Indexes of Megadim 1-50 Index of Authors 221 Subject Index 239

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5 ENGLISH SUMMARIES This issue, which appears in a special format, is the fiftieth issue of Megadim the jubilee issue. Twenty three years ago in Nisan 5746 the first issue appeared, and in it we wrote: This journal opens a stage for students of the Bible, each person in his own way, according to his own analysis, in his own approach. [...] We have named the journal Megadim following the verse in Song of Songs (7:14): The mandrakes (megadim) yield their fragrance, at our doors are all choice fruits; both freshly picked and long-stored have I kept, my beloved for you. As in the case of a newborn infant, we did not know the character and future of the journal. Over the years it grew and developed, its fragrance was recognized, its nature became known, and it developed a reputation of its own. An examination of the fifty issues that have appeared will find discussions of a wide range of subjects and from a number of perspectives. This variety reflects the methods and the subjects that have engaged the traditional study of Bible in recent generations, which includes both the old and the new, in varying doses according to the preference of each writer. We hope that we will be able to continue and publish a wide range of articles, also in areas that have not been treated sufficiently until now, and using methods of analysis and investigation that have not been expressed fully yet. All of the articles in this jubilee issue were written by members of the faculty of the Herzog College, among them members of the editorial board and editors of the journal in the past and present. The articles deal with the Torah, Prophets and Writings, general subjects, Masora and exegesis. The following is a brief description of the contents: A. Bazak discusses the meaning of three pairs of dreams in the story of Yosef his dreams, those of Pharaoh s ministers, and those of Pharaoh himself. He says that the primary innovation in Yosef s interpretation was his understanding of the number of elements in the dream (such as eleven stars, three vines, seven cows) as representing units of time. According to Bazak Yosef himself recognized this principle only gradually, and only after the dreams of the ministers did he realize the meaning of his own dream. An additional interpretative principle that Yosef learned is the role of the

6 individual in shaping the reality revealed in the dream and that the dream is not an absolute deterministic decree. Y. Bin-Nun discusses Moshe s identity struggle from his birth until his return to Egypt from Midian. In his opinion Moshe saw himself as an Israelite, and that is why he did not circumcise his firstborn son in Midian, so that the ceremony would be performed only in order to make him an Israelite. Against this background the writer clarifies certain details in the encounter with God at the inn: the meaning of the warning to Pharaoh my son, my firstborn Israel... behold I slay your firstborn son, Moshe s error in not circumcising his son, and Zipporah s words in that passage. M. Sabato analyzes the story of the war with Amalek (Exodus 17). He finds a tension between the story of the preparation for the war (verses 8-10) and the description of the war itself (verses 11-13). In the story of preparation the plan is for an immediate victory using the divine staff, but the description of the war itself points out a slow and problematic victory that reflects the heavily burdened hands of flesh and blood. In his opinion this story implies a criticism of Moshe, who initiated use of the staff on his own. Such a use is liable to blur the distinction between the messenger and the one who sends him. The second part brings Moshe to recognition of the limits of his power and a process of correction in his submission to God. In this context the writer also interprets the concluding verses (14-16) and additional details. J. Grossman discusses the redaction of the passages in Numbers This section begins with the sin at Baal Peor and ends with the command to take vengeance on the Midianites in the wake of that sin. In between are six passages that appear to break the continuity. The author finds these passages arranged in pairs, each of which expresses the tension between a divine command and human initiative. This redaction is connected to the aforementioned sin and the war with Midian, which also reflects the same tension; the writer derives lessons from this tension. Y. Medan engages in a complex and detailed analysis of the story of the concubine at Gibeah (Judges 19-21). The writer attempts to clarify the position of the narrator, his evaluation and judgment, with regards to each character in the story, the surprising interactions in the story and the astonishing role of the urim ve-tumim. The unusual way of the writer is notable for its complexity, its close attention to the voice of the verses, its

7 awareness of the sages interpretation in Halakha and Aggadah and its moral sensitivity. The lengthy article is divided into four sections providing different approaches to this difficult episode. J. Jacobs provides a literary analysis of the scene in which the son of David and Bat-Sheva dies and the literary and ideological contribution of this scene to the entire story of David s sin. In this writer s opinion David s sin was on three levels personal, national and divine, and the process of repentance and amend expressed by the death of the child also takes place on these three levels. E. Samet analyzes Psalm 128 ( Happy are all who fear the Lord... ), one of the psalms of wisdom, from the structural point of view. In his opinion, like many psalms this one consists of two parallel parts of similar length, each containing a few stanzas. The first part praises the way of life of the God-fearing and the second half describes God s blessing upon him. This analysis has exegetical ramifications throughout the psalm, some specific and some general, which he also discusses. Y. Shaviv, following earlier writers, reconsiders the question of the repetition of the verb vayomer (and he said) when the speaker is one and the same, yet no other speaker intervenes between the two speeches. He gives examples from Genesis and Exodus, and concludes, following earlier exegetes and scholars, that there is more than one way to interpret this phenomenon, and each case should be interpreted in its own context. Y. Ofer collected all the Masoretic notes in the Masora Magna of the Aleppo Codex that contain mnemonic signs of the verses that they include, in total 68 notes. He categorizes them as initials, verses that serve as signs etc. He also tries to discern the signs made by the Masorete Aharon Ben Asher himself and those that he inherited from his forebears. A. Shammah discusses the famous criticism of Ramban regarding Avram s descent to Egypt and his presenting Sarai as his sister. The writer finds that Ramban s commentary is not uniform, and reflects a difficult struggle over the meaning of the passage. In his opinion, Ramban changed his mind and his various interpretations are reflected in the lack of uniformity in the commentary. In fact, in his later sermon Torat Hashem Temima he retracted some of his criticism and no longer regarded the descent to Egypt as a sinful act.

8 At the end of this issue are indexes to 50 issues of Megadim. The indexes are according to authors names and subjects. The Editorial Board For the information of our readers: In the website of Megadim (which operates within the website of the Herzog College: many articles may be found in full, as well as indexes of author's names, and of references to the books of the Bible. These indexes are continually updated and may be downloaded as Word files.