THE GOD = Judicial Process:#2 of 4
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In this small module we will examine the Biblical phrase
        >THE ELO-HIM (Not just "ELO-HIM" but "THE ELO-HIM")
which occurs several times in Tnach.




Rashis' basic thesis is that
        >THE ELO-HIM = Judicial Process
That is THE ELO-HIM refers either to God or to Human
judicial process.




We will break up the examples into two sets. The first
set, in last issue, were
        >obvious examples---
where
        >THE ELO-HIM
obviously refers to
        >Judicial process.
The second set, which will occur in this and the next
issue will be
        >non-obvious examples.
This breaking of data sets into OBVIOUS and NON OBVIOUS
examples is a hallmark of advanced data analysis.
In fact the skillful use of
        >OBVIOUS vs NON OBVIOUS EXAMPLES
is one of the hallmarks of a true Biblical scholar.

#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*# (C) Dr Hendel, 2000 *#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#*#

EXAMPLE 4:Gn06-09c
------------------

>Gn06-09c       >Noach WALKED with "THE JUDGE"

>RASHI          >By Abraham it says
                        >walk BEFORE me Gn24-40
                >By Noach it however says
                        >walked WITH me Gn06-09c
                >
                >What is the difference between
                >walked WITH vs BEFORE
                >
                >Noach was like someone who came
                >to synagogue now and then while Abraham
                >was like a congregational pastor who
                >devoted his life to the synagogue.
                >
                >In a nutshell:
                        >Walked BEFORE = Total Devotion
                        >Walked WITH = invovled with



We have to explain how Rashi knew that Abraham was
totally devoted to God while Noach was just so so.
Of course this is obvious since Abraham was a patriarch



But if we follow the interpretation that
        >THE JUDGE = God in his Judicial Capacity
then we can simply note that
        >Abraham frequently
                >CALLED PEOPLE TO GOD

          -------------------------------------------------
          |QUESTION 1:                                    |
          |----------                                     |
          |Can you find verses showing that Abraham did   |
          |indeed                                         |
          |     >Call people to God                       |
          |Can you find comparable verses by Noach?       |
          |How many verses can you find? What tools would |
          |you use? (Answer below)                        |
          -------------------------------------------------
        >Noach never CALLED PEOPLE TO GOD
Rashi (Gn-06-09) identifies this calling to God with
        >rebuke for sins--recognition of God as Judge!
Rashi states
    >Noach did not urge his generation to repent
    >Abraham however taught people the way of God(Gn18-19)
However Noach did, for the flood,
        >build the ark
        >bring all the animals there
So rashi is simple:
Noach recognized Gods judgement (he walked WITH God)
But he did not rebuke people (Walk BEFORE God).




Example 5: Gn44-16a
-------------------

Recall that after Joseph's brothers brought down Binyamin
to Egypt Joseph planted some silver in their briefcases
in order to frame them. When they were caught they said
to Joseph

>Gn44-16a

       >The Judge (ie God) has found our sin(of selling
       >Joseph)--we will now be slaves to our lord
       >(just as we sold him into slavery)

>RASHI

                >The phrase
                        >The Judge
                >refers to God (not to Joseph).


Why did Rashi interpret
        >The Judge
as referring to
        >God
and not to
        >Joseph.




There are 2 possible approaches--philosophical and
grammatical.The PHILOSOPHICAL approach would cite
        >Gn42-21 But we feel guilty on not hearing Joseph's
        >screams when he pleaded with us
In other words the interpretation
        >The JUDGE = God
is consistent with the emotional milieu of Joseph's brothers




By contrast the GRAMMATICAL approach emphasizes that
        >THE JUDGE = Judicial Process
Joseph's finding planted silver in their briefcases could
obviously NOT be termed Judicial a process.Rather the
judicial process must refer to the brothers being JUDGED
for what they did to Joseph. Indeed
        >They sold him into slavery and now,
        >they themselves are being sold--

        >they avoided his screams of innocence and now
        >their screams of innocence are being avoided.

So indeed they spoke correctly when they said
        >We are being Judged Truly




Notice how in the end the GRAMMATICAL explanation is like a
seed that flowers into the PHILOSOPHICAL explanation. For
indeed their explicit statement that they felt guilty
        >makes sense
when combined with the grammatical observation that
        >THE JUDGE = Judicial Process


--------------------------------------------------------
ANSWERS:
-------
#1: Gn12-08, Gn13-04, Gn21-33, Gn26-35

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