Commentators:Character Consolidation/1

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Character Consolidation

Introduction

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Consolidation of Characters

 I. Identification of three or more different names as the same person:

II. Identification of two characters with different names as the same person:

III. Identification of two characters with the same or similar names as the same person:

IV. Identification of anonymous people with known personalities:

  • Naamah as Noach's wife – Bereshit Rabbah 23:3
  • Og as the fugitive from Sedom – Bavli Niddah 61a
  • Eliezer and Yishmael as Avraham's servants – Bereshit Rabbah 48:13, Vayikra Rabbah 20:2
  • Dinah as Shimon's wife and Asenat's mother – Bereshit Rabbah 80:11
  • Menashe as Yosef's steward – Bereshit Rabbah 91:8
  • Datan and Aviram as the sinners in Egypt and the wilderness – Shemot Rabbah 1:30, Tanchuma Buber Beshalach 24
  • Calev and Pinchas as Yehoshua's spies – Tanchuma Buber Shelach 1
  • Eved Melekh HaKushi as Barukh – Pirke DeRabbi Eliezer 53

V.  Identification of one anonymous person with another:

  • Paroh in Shemot 1-2 with Paroh of Bereshit 37-50 and Paroh of Shemot 3-15 – see Melekh Chadash.
  • The officers of the nation in Egypt with the princes or seventy elders – Bemidbar Rabbah 12:16, Shemot Rabbah 5:20

Consolidation of Objects

I. Identification of objects with other objects:

  • Esav's clothing with the leather garments of Adam and Chavah – Bereshit Rabbah 63:13
  • Yaakov and Yehudah's staff with Moshe's staff – Yalkut Shimoni Chukat 763

II. Identification of places with known places:

III. Identification of unknown dates with known ones:

  • Angel's visit to Lot – 15 Nisan
  • Giving of the Decalogue – 6 Sivan
  • Moshe's descent with the 1st Tablets – 17 Tammuz
  • Moshe's descent with the 2nd Tablets – 10 Tishrei
  • Night of the return of the spies – 9 Av

Analysis

I. Why does the Midrash identify characters?

  • Omnisignificance – explains why details are mentioned – Ramban Shemot 6:23
  • Solve exegetical problems – see our discussion of Yitro's names in Shemot 18.
  • Avoiding theological problems –
  • Demonstrate reward and punishment – see Nechama Leibowitz in עיונים בספר במדבר pp.95-96.
  • Character development and embellishment –

II. Textual Hooks

III. Difficulties with methods:

  • Why would Tanakh use different names in different places?