Why are words REPEATED REPEATED:#14 of 14
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OVERVIEW:
========
This module deals with Rashis which comment on verses with
>REPEATED WORDS<. There are 4 basic techniques for interpreting
>REPEATED WORDS<
The basic idea for interpreting >REPEATED WORDS<
was succinctly formulated by the MALBIM
--------------------------------------------------------
When a word is >REPEATED< unnecessarily then the
sentence with that word refers to >NON-STANDARD NUANCES<
The examples will illustrate how this is implemented
--------------------------------------------------------
REFERENCE:
=========
Todays summary is copied verbatim from the longer
Rashi-is-Simple series. You can find the whole posting
at
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/gn47-02a.htm (Will be up Sunday)
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
VERSE: Gn47-02a
RASHIS COVERED: Gn47-02a Nu04-04a Ex31-15a Lv13-49a
Lv13-49b Gn28-11b Gn37-15a Gn22-11a Gn46-02a
Nu08-19a Ex01-01a Gn45-03a Nu17-28a Nu05-12a
Ex15-01b Gn08-21b Gn26-13a Dt33-18a Gn39-11b
Gn22-17a Gn22-17b Gn26-28a Gn32-13a Dt13-16a
Ex12-09c Dt15-08b Gn17-13a Dt16-20a Ex31-15b
RULE:
====
The following module presents the 3 dozen or so Rashis dealing
with verses that >REPEAT< words. For example instead of saying
>it is HOLY< the verse might say >it is a HOLY OF HOLIES<; or
instead of saying >If a PERSON does such and such< the verse
might says >If a PERSON PERSON does such and such<
There are 4 primary methods of dealing with >REPEATED WORDS<
METHOD 1:--REPETITION EMPHASIZES THE CHOICEST AND BEST
========
EXAMPLE: Nu04-04a refers to the >HOLY OF HOLIES< which is
the holiest and most inaccessible part of the temple (you
could only enter it once a year). (An alternate reading
of Rashi refers this to the Temple Utensils which are the
holiest objects in Judaism)
METHOD 2:--REPETITION INDICATES ENDEARMENT
========
EXAMPLE: Gn22-11a >God said ABRAHAM ABRAHAM< or Song-of-Songs-4-1
>Wow you are BEAUTIFUL Wow you are BEAUTIFUL baby<. You obviously
use Repetition with people you like; by contrast you are formal
and terse with people you dont care for (This example on
Repetition comes from my TRADITION article,>PSHAT & DERASH<,Win80
NOTE: Professor Horowitz refers to this as a >conversation
opener<. I would further add that it is a >conversation opener
with someone you like<
METHOD 3:--REPETITION INDICATES EVEN IN ANY CIRCUMSTANCES
========
EXAMPLE: Nu17-28a >Anyone who comes NEAR NEAR to the temple will
be cut off<. The emphasis in the repeated >NEAR NEAR< indicates
that a person is punished not only for brazenly coming near but
even eg if they came near because it was crowded near the temple
and the person was doing it only for convenience.
NOTE: Both method 3 and method 1 indicate >EMPHASIS<. However
the >EMPHASIS< in method 1 is >RESTRICTIVE<(it restricts the
meaning to the CHOICEST and BEST) while the emphasis
in >method 3< is >BROADENING<(It includes more cases). Method
1 is usually accompanied by other words of emphasis such as
>THE< or >OF< (the holy OF holies) and hence is >RESTRICTIVE<
Pure >REPETITION< however is >BROADENING< (This was Malbims
principle on Repetition presented in his collection of rules
called the Morning Star)
METHOD 4:-REPETITION INDICATES MORE CASES IN the SUBJECT,OBJECT..
=========
EXAMPLE: In Gn22-17b God promises to >MULTIPLY MULTIPLY you<
Rashi explains that Abraham would MULTIPLY and have many children
and similarly Abrahams descendants would ALSO have many children.
COMMENT
=======
We do deal with >REPEATED WORDS/PHRASES<. We do not
deal (here) with the interesting topic of >REPEATED VERSES<
The methods of >REPEATED VERSES< may be found in our
>DOUBLE PARSHAS< rule(See the BY-RULE pulldown on the Rashi
website at http://www.RashiYomi.Com/by-verse.htm) Finally
we deal with words that are perceived as >REPEATED< because
pronouns were not used the 2nd time (Examples are indicated
below)
-GRAND SUMMARY-
METHOD 1:
========
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>REPETITION< can indicate the >CHOICEST< and >BEST<
This is particularly true if the >REPETITION< has
an indicator of emphasis such as >of< or >the<
(Original posting at http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h6n11.htm)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE MEANING OF REPETITION
======== =============================== =======================
Nu04-04a The HOLY of HOLIES Holiest part of temple
Ex31-15a A SABBATH of SABBATHS*1 Even cooking prohibited
Lv13-49a Y-R-K-R-K (GreenReen) The GREENEST of GREENS*2
Lv13-49b A-D-M-D-M (Reded) The REDEST of REDS*2
Gn28-11a He prayed by THE PLACE..PLACE*3 >THE PLACE<=the Temple
Gn37-15a And a MAN found him..THE MAN.*4 >THE MAN<=AProphet/Angel
NOTES
=====
*1 Ex31-15b further points out that all holidays which are
referred to as >SABBATH of SABBATH< (Ex31-15, Lv23-32)
have prohibitions of both WORK and EATING. By contrast
all holidays which are only called >SABBATH< (Lv23-23
and Lv23-39) only have a prohibition of Work but not
a prohibition of COOKING. This is fully discussed at
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h6n12.htm)
*2 This is fully discussed in http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n23.htm
Ibn Ezra seems to disagree and state that GReenReen means a
light green (which would contradict this list). But as I
show in that posting, Ibn Ezra retracted what he said in his
commentary on Ps45-03. In fact Ibn Ezra simply points out
that he was testing the consistency of this rule against all
doubled roots. To make a long story short we reviewed all
roots & found possible problems with only 2 verses, Ps38-11
and Songs6-1. However we can properly translate these verses
Ps38-11 would be translated as >My heart FLUTTERS (intense
back and forth motion)<; Similarly Songs6-1 would be
translated as >Dont avoid me simply because I am very
SUNBURNED (an intense form of DAWN-COLOR)<
* {LIST}
LIST of root doublings from Ibn Ezra Ps 45-3
=============================================
ROOT MEANING MEANING WHEN ROOT LETTERS WHICH TWO
ARE DOUBLED ROOT LETTERS
ARE DOUBLED
===== ============= ========================= ============
SChR Beginning Dawn Ending Dawn (reddish)*a 2,3
SChR Motion about Total revolving 2,3
SGH Grow Wild intense growth 1,2
YFH Pretty Very Pretty 1,2
FOOTNOTES:
==========
*a The Ibn Ezra takes SChR = Black and SChRChReTH =
TAN, a weakened black. Note that we take that ENDING DAWN
is a more intense form of BEGINNING DAWN. The person whose
face is ENDING DAWN is Sunburned.
{END OF LIST}
{LIST}
FURTHER LIST of root doublings and a demonstration that
the doubling refers to >INTENSITY<
==============================================================
ROOT MEANING VERSE MEANING WHEN ROOT LETTERS WHICH TWO
ARE DOUBLED ROOT LETTERS
==== ====== ======== ========================= ============
TLL Lump Song5-11 Braided hair (many lumps!) 1,2
CDD Sparks Is54-12 Sparkling stone (like a sun) 1,2
COL Measure Gn16-12 Subsidize, Support 1,3
CRH Dig 2S6-14 Dance*a 1,2
TzNH Cold Ex16-33 Thermos (Preserves cold)*b
FOOTNOTES:
==========
*a Note that it is the MOTIONS of Dancing that are INTENSE forms
of the MOTIONS of digging. Digging and Dancing of course have
nothing to do with each other. One of the challenging things in
research on meaning is how a whole assortment of principles may
coalesce on a single word.
*b See our Rashi is Simple archives on v2-16-33: A thermos
is a doubly insulated can that preserves cold (hence the doubling
of TzN). In light of the principle we mention here we would say
that TzNH just means cold while TzNTzNeTH or thermos means
INTENSELY PRESERVING COLD
{END OF LIST}
*3 I have combined Radack and Rashi to make this readable.
Radack cites 4 verses where >PLACE< can refer to >GOD<
corresponding to the attribute of >OMNIPRESENCE<. However
this would sound better if we interpret >PLACE< to mean
the >PLACE OF GOD<. eg Ez03-12 would be translated as
>Blessed be God from HIS PLACE OF HOLINESS< (The 4
verses where >PLACE< means >PLACE OF HOLINESS< are Gn28-11,
Ez03-12, Dt33-27, Es04-14) The key point here is to
emphasize both the >REPETITION< and the word >THE place<
*4 Again the emphasis is on both the >REPETITION< and the word
>THE<. Thus the verse would be translated as >And a MAN
found Joseph and he was wandering in the field and THE
MAN (ie a Prophet or Angel) asked him WHAT DO YOU SEEK<
(NOTE: The way we interpret this verse it would simply
be another dream like the previous 2 dreams of Joseph)
METHOD 2:
========
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>REPETITION< can indicate >ENDEARMENT & CLOSENESS<
(Originally posted at http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n6.htm)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE MEANING OF REPETITION
======== ================================ =======================
Songs4-1 You are BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL*5 He Liked Her
Gn22-11a The Angel called ABRAHAM ABRAHAM Abraham is DEAR to God
Gn46-02a God said Jacob Jacob Jacob is DEAR to God
Nu08-19a Tell the JEWS..JEWS..JEWS..JEWS. Jews are DEAR to God
Ex01-01a Repetition of Tribal Genealogy*6 Tribes are DEAR to God
Gn45-04a Joseph told BROTHERS..BROTHERS*5 Joe close to brothers
NOTES
=====
*5 See http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h1n6.htm for original posting
See my article >PSHAT & DRASH<
Winter 1980, TRADITION where I develop the Songs4-1 example
As I note in the article the major emphasis is that he likes
her. The Songs Rabbah however gives 10 specific instances
of WHY someone might be liked (eg God loves the Jews because
they do commandments in both public and private).
Similarly the REPEATED >BROTHERS< in Gn45-03a simply denotes
that Joseph still liked his brothers (Despite what they did
to him). Rashi simply picks one example of this closeness:
Joseph still kept his religion (Rashis actual language is
that >Joseph showed them he was circumcised< but we have
interpreted this symbolically).
*6 Ex01-01:07 REPEATS the genealogies of the tribes given in
Gn46-08:27. This >REPETITION< denotes the >ENDEARMENT<
of the tribes to God. (Notice that this repetition is
NOT a conversation opener (like the other examples) but
still denotes endearment).
METHOD 3:
========
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>REPETITION< can indicate >EVEN IN NON STANDARD CIRCUMSTANCES<
Equivalantly it can indicate >NON STANDARD MEANINGS< of an object
(See http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h2n20.htm which also brings
numerous non-Rashi references from Baba Metzia 31)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE MEANING OF REPETITION
======== ================================ =======================
Nu17-28a All who come NEAR NEAR ... Even if it was crowded
Nu05-12a A MAN MAN who suspects his wife Even a paranoic man*6
Ex15-01b God is GREAT GREAT in war*7 Overthrows HORSE& RIDER
Gn08-21b God will not destroy not destroy No matter how evil*8
Gn26-13a & Isaac >GREW GREW< Even his manure*9
Dt33-18a DAN..DAN ZVULUN..ZVULUN Even if weaklings*10
Gn39-11b he left his GARMENT GARMENT Garment of sin*11
NOTES
=====
*6 In other words >MAN MAN< denotes >ANY MAN< even someone
very paranoic (I might think that God wouldnt allow his
Great Name to be erased for a Paranoic man--therefore
we are told otherwise). The Numbers-Rabbah Midrash gives
several explanations--Rashi simply cites from the first in
the list(and thereby encourages people to learn the
rest). We have selected the interpretation closest to the
paradigm of the list.
For an extensive but technical discussion see
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h2n19.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h4n13.htm
*7 Rashis language is >Ordinary military greatness consists
of overpowering the RIDER not the HORSE. But God throws
BOTH HORSE and RIDER in the sea--hence we have a non-
standard example of GREATNESS which is indicated by
the REPETITION.
*8 The implication is that God will never destroy the
world no matter how evil man becomes. (Rashis language
is that >God took an oath not to destroy the world<
But all that Rashi meant was the emphasis that God
would not destroy the world in any circumstances)
*9 >GROWTH< is usually associated with assets and workers
Rashi points out here that Isaac >GREW IN ALL RESPECTS<
>EVEN< his manure was coveted.
*10 Rashi here cites a fundamental controversy in approach
to REPETITION. Genesis Rabbah 95:04 and Baba Kama 92a
both deal with the problem that of the 12 tribes
blessed by Moses only 5 of them have their names
repeated in the blessing (in Dt33). Thus eg it says
>And to DAN Moses said/blessed: May DAN be like a lion<
Thus this blessing REPEATS the word DAN while other
blessings use pronouns when re-refering to the tribes.
Genesis Rabbah suggests that these 5 people were the
>STRONGEST< of the tribes (So REPETITION denotes
the CHOICEST). By contrast, Baba Kamma suggests that
these 5 were the >WEAKEST< (So REPETITION denotes
that they are tribes in >ANY< circumstances EVEN
though they are not as strong as the other tribes).
After reviewing this controversy in Gn47-02a Rashi
decides in Dt33-18a in favor of the TALMUD.
Using the above LISTS we can easily understand why.
>REPETITION< can only denote >CHOICEST< if there is
some other EMPHASIS INDICATOR like >THE< or >OF<
This is discussed in METHOD 1 above. By contrast
METHOD 3 shows that ordinary REPETITION broadens
the meaning of a word to include non standard
circumstances. Hence the implication would be
>You are my tribe EVEN if you are a weakling and
are not what I expect<.
*11 First: The word >garment< is not repeated (>Garment Garment<)
Rather the word is used twice in the verses without using
a pronoun (ie it says >And she grabbed him by his GARMENT
and he left his GARMENT in her hand<). REPETITION that
comes from an omitted pronoun is also REPETITION.
Next: The simplest explanation would be that >GARMENT<
would refer to >GARMENT< in the sense of the Monica
Lewinsky >GARMENT<---in other words a >GARMENT< with
non-standard items which indicate sin (Recall that
Potipheras wife had been making advances on Joseph
daily; Joseph was only 17; he was all alone and without
friends; the rest is clear...). In summary the simplest
interpretation is that >Garment< refers to a >non standard
meaning of garment< denoting sin (A similar use of
garment occurs in Dt22-17 >and the man will accuse his
newly married wife of having been unfaithful and they
will spread the GARMENT before the city officials(to
prove her innocence)<
METHOD 4:
========
-----------------------------------------------------------------
REPETITION can indicate an >ENLARGED MEANING<
-It can indicate more DOERS of an activity
-It can indicate more RECEIVERS of an activity
-It can indicate more PLACES/TIMES where an activity takes place
-----------------------------------------------------------------
VERSE TEXT OF VERSE MEANING OF REPETITION
======== ================================ =======================
Gn22-17a I will >BLESS BLESS< you*12 Bless you & descendants
Gn22-17b I will >MULTIPLY MULTIPLY< you Multiply you & children
Gn26-28a We have >SEEN SEEN< God with you God with you & parents
Gn32-13a I will be >GOOD GOOD< to you*12 Good to you & parents
Dt13-16a >HIT HIT< this city by sword*13 HIT even by fire
Ex12-09c >COOK COOK< it in water*14 COOK even in any liquid
Dt15-08b >GIVE GIVE< to the slave Even LOAN*15
Gn17-13a >CIRCUMCISE CIRCUMCISE< Even not on 8th day*16
Dt16-20a >JUSTICE JUSTICE< pursue*17 Even if faulty verdict
NOTES
=====
*12 In this example >TO WHOM< the activity is done is
enlarged. The activity is done to the person & relations
In the 1st 4 examples the sentence is taken to refer not
only to the person spoken to but >ALSO< to his
children or parents (& hence the repetition)
*13 In this example, >HOW< you implement the activity
is enlarged. You can do it by sword or by fire.
You >should< initially hit by >sword<; but if you cant
(eg there are no swords) then hit it in >ANY< way (eg
burn the city). Hence the REPEATED WORD >HIT HIT<
*14 In this example >HOW< you implement the activity
is enlarged. You can do it by water or liquid.
You >should< initially cook by water; but if you cant
(eg a water shortage) then cook it >ANY< way possible
(eg cook it in liquid). Hence the REPEATED WORD >COOK<
*15 If this example >HOW< you do the activity is enlarged.
You can do it by charity or by loan.
eg If the slave is proud and doesnt want to take
charity then >GIVE< him by loaning(hence the double
language)
*16 In this example >WHEN< you do the activity is enlarged.
Sometimes you circumcise on the 8th day & sometimes on
other days. The Talmud Sabbath 135b and Rambam
Circumcision 1:5 gives several examples one of which is
the following: >If you purchased a slave for her
children ...then the children are circumcised on
the day that they are born<(Technically speaking it
may be more desirable to derive this law from a
comparison of Gn17-12 and Gn17-13 which function as
>REPEATED VERSES< (not repeated words). But this will
suffice for now).
*17 In this example >TO WHOM< you do the activity is enlarged
You can do justice to either an innocent or guilty person
Eg If the person really was >guilty< but he was accidentally
acquitted and then you found out then you should still
pursue the >JUST< verdict even though he doesnt deserve it
(Note that this verse could equally have been placed in
METHOD 3). Note that Rashi actually says >JUSTICE JUSTICE:
Give him a nice court<. But we have cited the law in Rambam
Courts Chapter 11-1 which is more focused and specfic and
is consistent with the other Rashis.
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*