1. Josephus Flavius, Jewish Antiquities, 1.5, 3.143, 11.346, 12.4, 12.259, 12.276-12.277, 13.314, 13.352, 14.264, 17.278, 19.60, 20.175 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.5. 2. Now I have undertaken the present work, as thinking it will appear to all the Greeks worthy of their study; for it will contain all our antiquities, and the constitution of our government, as interpreted out of the Hebrew Scriptures. 1.5. He also deprived the serpent of speech, out of indignation at his malicious disposition towards Adam. Besides this, he inserted poison under his tongue, and made him an enemy to men; and suggested to them, that they should direct their strokes against his head, that being the place wherein lay his mischievous designs towards men, and it being easiest to take vengeance on him, that way. And when he had deprived him of the use of his feet, he made him to go rolling all along, and dragging himself upon the ground. 3.143. and above those loaves were put two vials full of frankincense. Now after seven days other loaves were brought in their stead, on the day which is by us called the Sabbath; for we call the seventh day the Sabbath. But for the occasion of this intention of placing loaves here, we will speak to it in another place. 11.346. 7. Now when Alexander was dead, the government was parted among his successors, but the temple upon Mount Gerizzim remained. And if any one were accused by those of Jerusalem of having eaten things common or of having broken the Sabbath, or of any other crime of the like nature 12.4. He also seized upon Jerusalem, and for that end made use of deceit and treachery; for as he came into the city on a Sabbath day, as if he would offer sacrifices he, without any trouble, gained the city, while the Jews did not oppose him, for they did not suspect him to be their enemy; and he gained it thus, because they were free from suspicion of him, and because on that day they were at rest and quietness; and when he had gained it, he ruled over it in a cruel manner. 12.4. 5. When this epistle was sent to the king, he commanded that an epistle should be drawn up for Eleazar, the Jewish high priest, concerning these matters; and that they should inform him of the release of the Jews that had been in slavery among them. He also sent fifty talents of gold for the making of large basons, and vials, and cups, and an immense quantity of precious stones. 12.4. But when Judas saw that Alcimus was already become great, and had destroyed many of the good and holy men of the country, he also went all over the country, and destroyed those that were of the other party. But when Alcimus saw that he was not able to oppose Judas, nor was equal to him in strength, he resolved to apply himself to king Demetrius for his assistance; 12.259. Our forefathers, upon certain frequent plagues, and as following a certain ancient superstition, had a custom of observing that day which by the Jews is called the Sabbath. And when they had erected a temple at the mountain called Gerrizzim, though without a name, they offered upon it the proper sacrifices. 12.276. who taught them to fight, even on the Sabbath day; and told them that unless they would do so, they would become their own enemies, by observing the law [so rigorously], while their adversaries would still assault them on this day, and they would not then defend themselves, and that nothing could then hinder but they must all perish without fighting. 12.277. This speech persuaded them. And this rule continues among us to this day, that if there be a necessity, we may fight on Sabbath days. 13.314. 3. But Aristobulus repented immediately of this slaughter of his brother; on which account his disease increased upon him, and he was disturbed in his mind, upon the guilt of such wickedness, insomuch that his entrails were corrupted by his intolerable pain, and he vomited blood: at which time one of the servants that attended upon him, and was carrying his blood away, did, by Divine Providence, as I cannot but suppose, slip down, and shed part of his blood at the very place where there were spots of Antigonus’s blood, there slain, still remaining; 13.352. 2. When Cleopatra heard of her son’s attempt, and that his Egyptian expedition did not succeed according to his expectations, she sent thither part of her army, and drove him out of that country; so when he was returned out of Egypt again, he abode during the winter at Gaza 14.264. Accordingly, it was decreed by the senate and people, that in this affair that concerned the Romans, no one of them should be hindered from keeping the Sabbath day, nor be fined for so doing, but that they may be allowed to do all things according to their own laws.” 17.278. 7. But because Athronges, a person neither eminent by the dignity of his progenitors, nor for any great wealth he was possessed of, but one that had in all respects been a shepherd only, and was not known by any body; yet because he was a tall man, and excelled others in the strength of his hands, he was so bold as to set up for king. This man thought it so sweet a thing to do more than ordinary injuries to others, that although he should be killed, he did not much care if he lost his life in so great a design. 20.175. But the Jewish citizens depending on their wealth, and on that account despising the Syrians, reproached them again, and hoped to provoke them by such reproaches. |
|
2. Josephus Flavius, Jewish War, 1.10, 1.146, 1.331, 1.370, 1.373, 1.376, 1.613, 2.60, 2.268, 2.376, 2.454, 2.456-2.457, 2.463, 2.476, 2.517, 2.580, 3.341, 3.485, 4.34, 4.76, 4.501, 4.503, 4.649, 4.662, 5.377, 6.59, 6.252, 6.296, 6.303, 6.331, 7.120, 7.159, 7.185, 7.318 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 1.146. nor had the Romans succeeded in their endeavors, had not Pompey taken notice of the seventh days, on which the Jews abstain from all sorts of work on a religious account, and raised his bank, but restrained his soldiers from fighting on those days; for the Jews only acted defensively on Sabbath days. 1.331. 4. After this he marched through Jericho, as making what haste he could to be avenged on his brother’s murderers; where happened to him a providential sign, out of which, when he had unexpectedly escaped, he had the reputation of being very dear to God; for that evening there feasted with him many of the principal men; and after that feast was over, and all the guests were gone out, the house fell down immediately. 1.373. 4. “The present dread you are under seems to me to have seized upon you very unreasonably. It is true, you might justly be dismayed at that providential chastisement which hath befallen you; but to suffer yourselves to be equally terrified at the invasion of men is unmanly. As for myself, I am so far from being affrighted at our enemies after this earthquake, that I imagine that God hath thereby laid a bait for the Arabians, that we may be avenged on them; for their present invasion proceeds more from our accidental misfortunes, than that they have any great dependence on their weapons, or their own fitness for action. Now that hope which depends not on men’s own power, but on others’ ill success, is a very ticklish thing; for there is no certainty among men, either in their bad or good fortunes; 1.376. And indeed it is proper beforehand to be thus provident; but when we come to action, we ought to erect our minds, and to make our enemies, be they ever so wicked, believe that neither any human, no, nor any providential misfortune, can ever depress the courage of Jews while they are alive; nor will any of them ever overlook an Arabian, or suffer such a one to become lord of his good things, whom he has in a manner taken captive, and that many times also.And 1.613. Antipater complied with this last advice, for Providence hurried him on [to his destruction]. So he passed over the sea, and landed at Sebastus, the haven of Caesarea. 2.268. Now these Jews exceeded the others in riches and strength of body; but the Grecian part had the advantage of assistance from the soldiery; for the greatest part of the Roman garrison was raised out of Syria; and being thus related to the Syrian part, they were ready to assist it. 2.376. Who is there among you that hath not heard of the great number of the Germans? You have, to be sure, yourselves seen them to be strong and tall, and that frequently, since the Romans have them among their captives everywhere; 2.454. And thus were all these men barbarously murdered, excepting Metilius; for when he entreated for mercy, and promised that he would turn Jew, and be circumcised, they saved him alive, but none else. This loss to the Romans was but light, there being no more than a few slain out of an immense army; but still it appeared to be a prelude to the Jews’ own destruction 2.456. for indeed it so happened that this murder was perpetrated on the Sabbath day, on which day the Jews have a respite from their works on account of Divine worship. 2.457. 1. Now the people of Caesarea had slain the Jews that were among them on the very same day and hour [when the soldiers were slain], which one would think must have come to pass by the direction of Providence; insomuch that in one hour’s time above twenty thousand Jews were killed, and all Caesarea was emptied of its Jewish inhabitants; for Florus caught such as ran away, and sent them in bonds to the galleys. 2.463. o the daytime was spent in shedding of blood, and the night in fear,—which was of the two the more terrible; for when the Syrians thought they had ruined the Jews, they had the Judaizers in suspicion also; and as each side did not care to slay those whom they only suspected on the other, so did they greatly fear them when they were mingled with the other, as if they were certainly foreigners. 2.476. o when he had gone over all his family, he stood upon their bodies to be seen by all, and stretching out his right hand, that his action might be observed by all, he sheathed his entire sword into his own bowels. This young man was to be pitied, on account of the strength of his body and the courage of his soul; but since he had assured foreigners of his fidelity [against his own countrymen], he suffered deservedly. 2.517. 2. But as for the Jews, when they saw the war approaching to their metropolis, they left the feast, and betook themselves to their arms; and taking courage greatly from their multitude, went in a sudden and disorderly manner to the fight, with a great noise, and without any consideration had of the rest of the seventh day, although the Sabbath was the day to which they had the greatest regard; 3.341. but as the city was first taken, he was assisted by a certain supernatural providence; for he withdrew himself from the enemy when he was in the midst of them, and leaped into a certain deep pit, whereto there adjoined a large den at one side of it, which den could not be seen by those that were above ground; 3.485. 3. As Titus was saying this, an extraordinary fury fell upon the men; and as Trajan was already come before the fight began, with four hundred horsemen, they were uneasy at it, because the reputation of the victory would be diminished by being common to so many. 4.34. and bore up against the enemy’s attacks, who came running down from the top of the city; and without showing any dread at the multitude of the men or of their darts, he endured all, until the enemy took notice of that divine courage that was within him, and remitted of their attacks; 4.34. in the meantime, the zealots grew tumultuous, and had much ado to abstain from drawing their swords, although they designed to preserve the appearance and show of judicature to the end. They were also desirous, on other accounts, to try the judges, whether they would be mindful of what was just at their own peril. 4.76. However, there arose such a Divine storm against them as was instrumental to their destruction; this carried the Roman darts upon them, and made those which they threw return back, and drove them obliquely away from them; 4.501. but Titus, by a Divine impulse, sailed back from Greece to Syria, and came in great haste to Caesarea, to his father. 4.503. 3. And now there arose another war at Jerusalem. There was a son of Giora, one Simon, by birth of Gerasa, a young man, not so cunning indeed as John [of Gischala], who had already seized upon the city 4.649. where Domitian, with many other of the principal Romans, providentially escaped, while the rest of the multitude were entirely cut to pieces, and Sabinus himself was brought to Vitellius, and then slain; the soldiers also plundered the temple of its ornaments, and set it on fire. 4.662. After this he rested at Rhinocolura, and from thence he went to Raphia, which was his fourth station. This city is the beginning of Syria. For his fifth station he pitched his camp at Gaza; 5.377. and when was it that God, who is the Creator of the Jewish people, did not avenge them when they had been injured? Will not you turn again, and look back, and consider whence it is that you fight with such violence, and how great a Supporter you have profanely abused? Will not you recall to mind the prodigious things done for your forefathers and this holy place, and how great enemies of yours were by him subdued under you? 6.59. There followed him eleven others, and no more, that resolved to imitate his bravery; but still this was the principal person of them all, and went first, as excited by a divine fury. 6.252. At which time one of the soldiers, without staying for any orders, and without any concern or dread upon him at so great an undertaking, and being hurried on by a certain divine fury, snatched somewhat out of the materials that were on fire, and being lifted up by another soldier, he set fire to a golden window, through which there was a passage to the rooms that were round about the holy house, on the north side of it. 6.296. So these publicly declared that the signal foreshowed the desolation that was coming upon them. Besides these, a few days after that feast, on the one and twentieth day of the month Artemisius, [Jyar] 6.303. Hereupon our rulers, supposing, as the case proved to be, that this was a sort of divine fury in the man, brought him to the Roman procurator 6.331. nay, you know that the [strong] Germans themselves are our servants. Have you stronger walls than we have? Pray, what greater obstacle is there than the wall of the ocean, with which the Britons are encompassed, and yet do adore the arms of the Romans. 7.159. for he having now by Providence a vast quantity of wealth, besides what he had formerly gained in his other exploits, he had this temple adorned with pictures and statues; 7.185. Yet, after all this pains in getting, it is only valuable on account of one virtue it hath, that if it be only brought to sick persons, it quickly drives away those called demons, which are no other than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into men that are alive and kill them, unless they can obtain some help against them. 7.318. but after this, on a sudden the wind changed into the south, as if it were done by Divine Providence, and blew strongly the contrary way, and carried the flame, and drove it against the wall, which was now on fire through its entire thickness. |
|
3. Josephus Flavius, Against Apion, 2.20-2.27 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
| 2.21. for he says, that “when the Jews had travelled a six days’ journey, they had buboes in their groins: and that on this account it was that they rested on the seventh day, as having got safely to that country which is now called Judea; that then they preserved the language of the Egyptians, and called that day the Sabbath, for that malady of buboes in their groin was named Sabbatosis by the Egyptians.” 2.21. Accordingly our legislator admits all those that have a mind to observe our laws, so to do; and this after a friendly manner, as esteeming that a true union, which not only extends to our own stock, but to those that would live after the same manner with us; yet does he not allow those that come to us by accident only to be admitted into communion with us. /p 2.22. And would not a man now laugh at this fellow’s trifling, or rather hate his impudence in writing thus? We must, it seems, take it for granted, that all these hundred and ten thousand men must have these buboes! 2.22. 32. Nay, indeed, in case it had so fallen out, that our nation had not been so thoroughly known among all men as they are, and our voluntary submission to our laws had not been so open and manifest as it is 2.23. But, for certain, if those men had been blind and lame, and had all sorts of distempers upon them, as Apion says they had, they could not have gone one single day’s journey; but if they had been all able to travel over a large desert, and, besides that, to fight and conquer those that opposed them, they had not all of them had buboes in their groins after the sixth day was over; 2.23. while they made use of other men as their servants for all the necessaries of life, and had their food prepared for them by the others: and these good and humane actions they do for no other purpose but this, that by their actions and their sufferings they may be able to conquer all those against whom they make war. 2.24. for no such distemper comes naturally and of necessity upon those that travel; but still, when there are many ten thousands in a camp together, they constantly march a settled space [in a day]. Nor is it at all probable that such a thing should happen by chance: this would be prodigiously absurd to be supposed. 2.24. uch as these, that they may be allowed to be as numerous as they have a mind to have them; that they are begotten one by another, and that after all the kinds of generation you can imagine. They also distinguish them in their places and ways of living, as they would distinguish several sorts of animals: as some to be under the earth; as some to be in the sea; and the ancientest of them all to be bound in hell; 2.25. However, our admirable author Apion hath before told us, that “they came to Judea in six days’ time;” and again, that “Moses went up to a mountain that lay between Egypt and Arabia, which was called Sinai, and was concealed there forty days, and that when he came down from thence he gave laws to the Jews.” But then, how was it possible for them to tarry forty days in a desert place where there was no water, and at the same time to pass all over the country between that and Judea in the six days? 2.25. 36. Wherefore it deserves our inquiry what should be the occasion of this unjust management, and of these scandals about the Deity. And truly I suppose it to be derived from the imperfect knowledge the heathen legislators had at first of the true nature of God; nor did they explain to the people even so far as they did comprehend of it: nor did they compose the other parts of their political settlements according to it 2.26. And as for this grammatical translation of the word Sabbath, it either contains an instance of his great impudence or gross ignorance; 2.26. and perhaps there may be some reason to blame the rigid severity of the Lacedemonians, for they bestowed the privilege of their city on no foreigners, nor indeed would give leave to them to stay among them; 2.27. for the words iSabboand iSabbathare widely different from one another; for the word Sabbath in the Jewish language denotes rest from all sorts of work; but the word Sabbo, as he affirms, denotes among the Egyptians the malady of a bubo in the groin. /p 2.27. And to be sure Apollonius was greatly pleased with the laws of the Persians, and was an admirer of them, because the Greeks enjoyed the advantage of their courage, and had the very same opinion about the gods which they had. This last was exemplified in the temples which they burnt, and their courage in coming, and almost entirely enslaving the Grecians. However, Apollonius has imitated all the Persian institutions, and that by his offering violence to other men’s wives, and castrating his own sons. |
|
4. Josephus Flavius, Life, 275, 159 (1st cent. CE - 1st cent. CE)
|
5. Babylonian Talmud, Megillah, 9a (3rd cent. CE - 6th cent. CE)
| 9a. כאן בגופן שלנו כאן בגופן שלהן,אמר ליה אביי במאי אוקימתא לההיא בגופן שלהן מאי איריא מקרא שכתבו תרגום ותרגום שכתבו מקרא אפילו מקרא שכתבו מקרא ותרגום שכתבו תרגום נמי דהא קתני עד שיכתבנו אשורית על הספר בדיו,אלא לא קשיא הא רבנן הא רשב"ג,אי רשב"ג הא איכא יונית אלא לא קשיא כאן בספרים כאן בתפלין ומזוזות,תפלין ומזוזות מ"ט משום דכתיב בהו (דברים ו, ו) והיו בהוייתן יהו מאי תרגום שכתבו מקרא איכא בשלמא תורה איכא (בראשית לא, מז) יגר שהדותא אלא הכא מאי תרגום איכא,אלא לא קשיא כאן במגילה כאן בספרים מגילה מ"ט דכתיב בה ככתבם וכלשונם מאי תרגום שכתבו מקרא איכא,אמר רב פפא (אסתר א, כ) ונשמע פתגם המלך רב נחמן בר יצחק אמר (אסתר א, כ) וכל הנשים יתנו יקר לבעליהן,רב אשי אמר כי תניא ההיא בשאר ספרים ורבי יהודה היא דתניא תפלין ומזוזות אין נכתבין אלא אשורית ורבותינו התירו יונית,והכתיב והיו אלא אימא ספרים נכתבים בכל לשון ורבותינו התירו יונית התירו מכלל דתנא קמא אסר,אלא אימא רבותינו לא התירו שיכתבו אלא יונית ותניא א"ר יהודה אף כשהתירו רבותינו יונית לא התירו אלא בספר תורה,ומשום מעשה דתלמי המלך דתניא מעשה בתלמי המלך שכינס שבעים ושנים זקנים והכניסן בשבעים ושנים בתים ולא גילה להם על מה כינסן ונכנס אצל כל אחד ואחד ואמר להם כתבו לי תורת משה רבכם נתן הקב"ה בלב כל אחד ואחד עצה והסכימו כולן לדעת אחת,וכתבו לו אלהים ברא בראשית (בראשית א, א) אעשה אדם בצלם ובדמות (בראשית א, כו),ויכל ביום הששי וישבות ביום השביעי (בראשית ב, ב) זכר ונקבה בראו (בראשית ה, ב) ולא כתבו בראם,הבה ארדה ואבלה שם שפתם (בראשית יא, ז) ותצחק שרה בקרוביה (בראשית יח, יב),כי באפם הרגו שור וברצונם עקרו אבוס (בראשית מט, ו) ויקח משה את אשתו ואת בניו וירכיבם על נושא בני אדם (שמות ד, כ),ומושב בני ישראל אשר ישבו במצרים ובשאר ארצות ארבע מאות שנה (שמות יב, מ) וישלח את זאטוטי בני ישראל (שמות כד, ה) ואל זאטוטי בני ישראל לא שלח ידו (שמות כד, יא) | 9a. bHere,the mishna is referring to Torah scrolls written in another language bin our script,i.e., in Hebrew letters. bThere,the ibaraitais referring to Torah scrolls written in another language bin their script,in the letters of another alphabet., bAbaye said toRava: bHow did you establish that ibaraita /i, i.e., that it is referring to Torah scrolls written in another language bin their script?If it is so, bwhydid the ibaraita bspecifically teachthat the legal status of a Hebrew verse in the bBible that one wrotein Aramaic btranslation, ora verse written in Aramaic btranslation that one wrotein the Hebrew of the bBible,is not that of sacred writings? The legal status of bevena Hebrew verse in the bBible that one wrotein the Hebrew of the bBible anda verse written in Aramaic btranslation that one wrote inAramaic btranslationare balsonot that of sacred writings, bas it is taughtat the end of the ibaraita /i: A Torah scroll renders the hands impure bonly if one writes it in iAshurit /iscript, bon aparchment bscroll,and bin ink. /b, bRather,the matter must be explained differently. This is bnot difficult. Thisruling in the mishna is according to bthe Rabbis,who permit writing Torah scrolls in any language, and bthatruling in the ibaraitais according to bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel. /b,The Gemara asks: If the ibaraitais according to bRabban Shimon ben Gamliel,in addition to iAshurit /i, bisn’t there Greekin which the Torah may also be written? bRather,say this is bnot difficult. Here,the mishna is referring to Torah bscrolls,which may be written in any language; bthere,the ibaraitais referring to phylacteries and imezuzot /i, which may be written only in Hebrew, using Hebrew script.,The Gemara asks: With regard to bphylacteries and imezuzot /i, what is the reasonthat they must be written in Hebrew? The Gemara explains: It is bbecause it is written with regard to them: “Andthese words bshall be”(Deuteronomy 6:6), indicating that bas they are so shall they be,without change. The Gemara raises a difficulty: If the ibaraitais referring to phylacteries and imezuzot /i, bwhatAramaic btranslation that one wrotein the Hebrew of the bBible is there? Granted,in the bTorah there isa verse written in Aramaic translation: b“ iYegar sahaduta /i”(Genesis 31:47); bhowever, here,in phylacteries and imezuzot /i, bwhatverses in Aramaic btranslation are therethat could be written in Hebrew?, bRather,say this is bnot difficult. Here,the ibaraita bis referring tothe bMegilla,the Scroll of Esther, which must be written in Hebrew; bthere,the mishna bis referring toTorah bscrolls,which may be written in any language. The Gemara asks: bWhat is the reasonthat the bMegillamust be written in Hebrew? It is due to the fact bthat it is written with regard tothe Megilla: b“According to their writing, and according to their language”(Esther 8:9), without change. The Gemara asks: But if the ibaraitais referring to the Megilla, bwhatAramaic btranslation that one wrotein the Hebrew of the bBible is there?The entire Megilla is written in Hebrew., bRav Pappa saidthat it is written: b“And when the king’s decree [ ipitgam /i] shall be publicized”(Esther 1:20), and that ipitgamis essentially an Aramaic word. bRav Naḥman bar Yitzḥak saidthat it is written: b“And all the wives will give honor [ iyekar /i] to their husbands”(Esther 1:20), and iyekaris Aramaic for honor., bRav Ashisuggested a different explanation and bsaid: When that ibaraita bis taughtit is taught bwith regard to the rest ofthe bbooksof the Bible, other than the Torah. bAnd it isin accordance with the opinion of bRabbi Yehuda, as it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: bPhylacteries and imezuzotare written only in iAshurit /i; and our Rabbis permittedwriting them in bGreekas well.,The Gemara asks: How did our Rabbis permit this? bIsn’t it writtenwith regard to phylacteries and imezuzot /i: b“Andthese words bshall be”(Deuteronomy 6:6), indicating that their language may not be changed. bRather, saythat this is what the ibaraitais saying: Torah bscrolls are written in any language; and our Rabbis permittedwriting them bin Greekas well. Once again the Gemara asks: Our Rabbis bpermitted? By inference,apparently bthe first itannaprohibitswriting a Torah scroll in Greek. However, he explicitly permits writing a Torah scroll in any language., bRather, sayin explanation of the ibaraita /i: bAnd our Rabbis permitted them to be written only in Greek. And it is taughtin another ibaraitathat bRabbi Yehuda said: Even when our Rabbis permitted Greek, they permitted it only in a Torah scroll,and not for other books of the Bible, which must be written only in Hebrew.,The Gemara continues: bAndthis was bdue to the incident of King Ptolemy, as it is taughtin a ibaraita /i: There was ban incident involving King Ptolemyof Egypt, bwho assembled seventy-two Eldersfrom the Sages of Israel, band put them into seventy-twoseparate brooms, and did not reveal to them for whatpurpose bhe assembled them,so that they would not coordinate their responses. bHe enteredand bapproached each and every one, and said toeach of bthem: Write for mea translation of bthe Torah of Moses your teacher. The Holy One, Blessed be He, placed wisdom in the heart of each and every one, and they all agreed to onecommon bunderstanding.Not only did they all translate the text correctly, they all introduced the same changes into the translated text., bAnd they wrote for him: God created in the beginning [ ibereshit /i],reversing the order of the words in the first phrase in the Torah that could be misinterpreted as: “ iBereshitcreated God” (Genesis 1:1). They did so to negate those who believe in the preexistence of the world and those who maintain that there are two powers in the world: One is iBereshit /i, who created the second, God. And they wrote: bI shall make man in image and in likeness,rather than: “Let us make man in our image and in our likeness” (Genesis 1:26), as from there too one could mistakenly conclude that there are multiple powers and that God has human form.,Instead of: “And on the seventh day God concluded His work” (Genesis 2:2), which could have been understood as though some of His work was completed on Shabbat itself, they wrote: bAnd on the sixth day He concludedHis work, band He rested on the seventh day.They also wrote: bMale and female He created him, and they did not writeas it is written in the Torah: “Male and female bHe created them”(Genesis 5:2), to avoid the impression that there is a contradiction between this verse and the verse: “And God created man” (Genesis 1:27), which indicates that God created one person.,Instead of: “Come, let us go down, and there confound their language” (Genesis 11:7), which indicates multiple authorities, they wrote in the singular: bCome, let me go down, and there confound their language.In addition, they replaced the verse: “And Sarah laughed within herself [ ibekirba /i]” (Genesis 18:12), with: bAnd Sarah laughed among her relatives [ ibikroveha /i].They made this change to distinguish between Sarah’s laughter, which God criticized, and Abraham’s laughter, to which no reaction is recorded. Based on the change, Sarah’s laughter was offensive because she voiced it to others.,They also altered the verse: “For in their anger they slew a man and in their self-will they slaughtered an ox” (Genesis 49:6), to read: bFor in their anger they slew an ox and in their self-will they uprooted a trough,to avoid the charge that Jacob’s sons were murderers. Instead of: “And Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon a donkey” (Exodus 4:20), they wrote: bAnd Moses took his wife and his sons, and set them upon a carrier of people,which could be understood as referring to a horse or a camel rather than the lowly donkey.,Instead of: “And the residence of the children of Israel, who resided in Egypt, was four hundred and thirty years” (Exodus 12:40), which when read literally is imprecise, for they did not dwell in Egypt that long, they wrote: bAnd the residence of the children of Israel, who resided in Egypt and in other lands, was four hundred years.Instead of: “And he sent the youth of the children of Israel, who brought burnt-offerings” (Exodus 24:5), which evokes the question of why young men were sent to perform that service, they wrote: bAnd he sent the elect [ iza’atutei /i] of the children of Israel.The same term was substituted again several verses later, rendering the verse: “And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand” (Exodus 24:11), as: bAnd upon the elect of the children of Israel He laid not His hand. /b |
|
