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      3. RASHI METHOD: GRAMMAR
      BRIEF EXPLANATION: Rashi explains verses using grammar principles, that is, rules which relate reproducable word form to word meaning. Grammatical rules neatly fall into 3 categories
      • (a) the rules governing conjugation of individual words,Biblical roots,
      • (b) the rules governing collections of words,clauses, sentences
      • (c) miscellaneous grammatical, or form-meaning, rules.
      This examples applies to Rashis Dt02-16a
      URL Reference: (c) http://www.Rashiyomi.com/w34n5.htm
      Brief Summary: WHEN ALL DRAFTABLE MEN DIED THEN GOD SPOKE TO ME. Rashi: This teaches God only spoke to Moses for the sake of the community.

The multi-verse rule simply states that some Biblical sentences span multiple verses. Knowledge of the multi-verse rule enables one to see distinct Biblical sentences as contributing meaning to each other. Today's example illustrates this.

Verses Dt02-16:17 state So it came to pass, when all draftable men had completed dying from the nation, [then] the Lord spoke to me, saying. We have indicated Rashi's comment, that the two verses form one sentence, by interpolating the typeset word then, indicating causal or temporal connection between the two verses. Rashi further elaborates: Why does the verse emphasize the causal relation that God spoke to Moses after the draftable men [who accepted the slander of the spies] completed dying? This causal relation indicates that God only prophetically spoke to Moses for the sake of the community. As long as people were dying and not going to enter Israel there was no need for God to speak to Moses.

    Advanced Rashi: We have studied Dt02-16:17 using three Rashi methods:
  • The meaning method taught us that the phrase men of war is an idiom meaning draftable men.
  • The reference method taught us that the draftable men who completed dying refers to the 20+ year olds who accepted the slander of the spies on whom death was decreed. The reference method further teaches us that 20 is age of military drafting. These references in turn enable us to decipher the idiom.
  • The grammar method taught us that the two verses - one speaking about the cessation of dying of draftable men and the other speaking about God delivering prophecy to Moses - were causally connected because God only spoke to Moses for the sake of the community.


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