The 6 usages of the word >THE<:#32 of 35
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RULE
====
The words >THE< can be used in 4 ways
--THE can refer to a proper noun
--THE can refer to something that is mentioned nearby
eg Dt04-32c >Has anyone heard THE GREAT THING-that God
saved a nation enslaved in another nation with great miracles<
Thus the phrase >THE GREAT THING< refers to the verse that
follows >That God saved a nation enslaved in another nation<
--THE can refer to a concept, story or thing mentioned
ELSEWHERE (but not immediately afterwards)
eg Nu13-33a >We saw there THE Nefilim<
This refers to the NEFILLIM nation mentined in Gn06-04
--THE can refer to the best known of a class
eg Dt01-07e >THE Mount< -- This refers to The Kings Mountain
GOALS:
=====
A person completing this module will be able to correctly
identify the specific usages of >THE< in the Bible.
TODAYS UNIT
===========
We are finishing this unit on >THE<. I hope you have
enjoyed it. In the last few days we will bring
miscellaneous examples illustrating all 4 usages of
>THE<. Be sure and look for the GRAND SUMMARY which
will reexamine all examples.
REFERENCE:
=========
This module comes from the following digest in the
Rashi-is-Simple series
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n14.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n16.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n18.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n19.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n20.htm
http://www.Rashiyomi.Com/h9n21.htm
http://www.RashiYomi.Com/h9n22.htm
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*
EXAMPLE 73: Ex21-02c
====================
BACKGROUND:
-----------
The Bible is discussing slaves and their right to go free
THE VERSE:
----------
Ex21-02c On the 7th year send him to THE-FREE
THE RASHI:
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THE-FREE is an idiom meaning FREEDOM. Thus the verse means
>He will become a FREE MAN on the 7th year<
NOTES:
------
Rashis points is that FREE could mean eg having a Sabbatical.
THE-FREE means having a new status---FREEDOM. In a similar
manner 2Kings15-08 speaks about THE HOUSE OF FREEDOM, an
idiom for A-RETREAT. (A RETREAT is a place that is intrinsically
free) For a similar phrase see also Ez27-20
>The clothes of a FREEMAN<
EXAMPLE 74: Ex22-30c
====================
Background:
-----------
The verse is mentioning the requirement of making wounded
animals UNKOSHER. So e.g. an animal that is missing an arm
or leg is unkosher EVEN if it is slaughtered properly
Since we cant eat these animals the Bible discusses what
can be done with them.
The Verse:
----------
Ex22-30c Give these carcasses to THE dogs
The Rashi
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The verse does not say >Give these carcasses TO DOGS< but
rather says give these carcasses >TO THE DOGS< emphasizing
that these are KNOWN DOGS.
In fact using the 4 usages of >THE< Rashi identifies these
dogs with dogs mentioned elsewhere in the Torah. >THE DOGS<,
says Rashi, refers to the dogs that were silent when the
Jews left Egypt---as the Jews were leaving Egypt these dogs
refused to bark and did not freighten the Jews. See Ex11-07
>And as the Jews leave no dog will bark<.
Rashi has a moral point here: These dogs did not freighten
the Jews and hence as a reward they are given the non-kosher
food that Jews cant eat.
FURTHER COMMENTS
----------------
To make the above Midrash reasonable I would translate >DOGS<
as referring to people who are >RIF-RAFS<. There were Aliens
in Egypt but they refused to make fun of the Jews when they
left. Hence the Torah says to give the Non-kosher carcasses
to these nations that refused to make fun of us. A support
for this idea that >DOGS< means >Aliens< is found in Dt14-21
which states >Dont eat non-kosher foods...rather give it
to the ALIEN in your midst or sell it to a foreigner<
We can align these two verses
------------------------------------------------------------
Dt14-21 Dont eat non-kosher give it to the ALIEN
Ex22-30 Dont eat field-meat throw it to the DOGS
*1
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Thus it seems reasonable to interpret DOGS as ALIENS and
then interpret Ex11-07 as saying that the DOG ALIENS did
not bark (harass) the Jews.
The law would then be that these DOG ALIENS get first
preference on any non-kosher food, and afterwards if there
are no dog-aliens we sell them to other non-jews.
Perhaps!?
#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2001 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*