Tagged Questions
2
votes
1answer
40 views
Singular and plural language in Vaikra 10:1
In parashat shemini, chapter 10, verse 1 it is written:
וַיִּקְחוּ בְנֵי אַהֲרֹן נָדָב וַאֲבִיהוּא אִישׁ מַחְתָּתוֹ וַיִּתְּנוּ בָהֵן אֵשׁ וַיָּשִׂימוּ עָלֶיהָ קְטֹרֶת וַיַּקְרִיבוּ לִפְנֵי ...
3
votes
1answer
96 views
Why use an active verb with no subject?
In parshat Noach, perek 7, pasuk 23, The opening word "וַיִּמַח" is presented as an active verb, attested to by the presence of the word אֶת (I am summarizing the discussion of rashi and the ...
6
votes
1answer
85 views
What does מִלְמַעְלָה in Gen 7:20 mean?
Genesis 7:20, describing the flood, says:
חֲמֵשׁ עֶשְׂרֵה אַמָּה מִלְמַעְלָה, גָּבְרוּ הַמָּיִם; וַיְכֻסּוּ, הֶהָרִים.
Almost everybody translates the first clause as some approximation of ...
2
votes
0answers
32 views
Singular and plural language in Deut. 4:25
Why does the Pasuk (Deut. 4:25) switch between singular and plural when building up to the consequences of what "you will [do]"?
"When you (sing.) will have children and grandchildren, and you (pl.) ...
3
votes
1answer
74 views
ReEh in singular (Deut. 11:26)
The Ba'al HaTurim to Deut. 11:26 cites Bab. Megillah 31b in saying that all the blessings and curses in "Mishneh Torah" (usually this means Sefer Devarim - Deuteronomy) are written in singular, and ...
4
votes
1answer
94 views
Psalm 145: Which Person?
Psalm 145 makes up the bulk of the oft recited prayer known as Ashrei. It is an alphabetic acrostic (missing the letter nun) about the greatness of God.
The verses beginning with Alef, Bet, Dalet, ...
5
votes
2answers
101 views
Yumatu and the plural in Dev 24
Devarim 24:16 makes a statement which is central to Jewish theology. The posuk makes clear that a father will not be put to death for the sins of his son and that a son will not be put to death for ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views
Why does Rashi comment on some verb-לו phrases and not others?
A feature of lashon hakodesh (Biblical Hebrew) is that a verb is sometimes followed by "לו", inflected for the person, number, and gender of the subject, without the "לו" indicating an object of the ...
5
votes
3answers
89 views
Why does Yitzchak's blessing of Yaakov refer to Yaakov's mother's *sons*?
B'reishit 27:29 reads:
Let peoples serve thee, and nations bow down to thee. Be lord over thy brethren, and let thy mother's sons bow down to thee. Cursed be every one that curseth thee, and ...
5
votes
2answers
73 views
Shifting subjects and objects in Gen 12:15
There are three statements in Genesis 12:15:
וַיִּרְאוּ אֹתָהּ שָׂרֵי פַרְעֹה וַיְהַלְלוּ אֹתָהּ אֶל פַּרְעֹה וַתֻּקַּח הָאִשָּׁה בֵּית פַּרְעֹה
And Pharaoh's princes saw her, and they ...
7
votes
4answers
395 views
Does “ki” have four meanings or one?
There is a well-known statement by Resh Lakish in Gitin (90) that
כי" משמש בד' לשונות: אי, דלמא, אלא, דהא"
"ki" expresses four meanings...
There has been discussion over the ages as to what ...
9
votes
2answers
120 views
verb + its infinitive
Many, many times in Tanach, including Chumash, a verb has its infinitive nearby. Examples include B'reshis 2:16 מִכֹּל עֵץ הַגָּן אָכֹל תֹּאכֵל (I think that's the first example in Chumash) and ...
