Biblical Parallels Index – Bemidbar 15
Overview
This index is meant to help the reader explore Biblical parallels, be they two accounts of the same event or law, stories with similar motifs and themes, or units of text which are linguistically similar and perhaps alluding one to the other. The page includes links to tools that aid in comparison, primary sources that touch upon the parallels, and summaries of and links to articles which analyze them in depth.The Stick-Gatherer and the Blasphemer
The Tanakh Lab demonstrates that the chapter most linguistically similar to Vayikra 24 is Bemidbar 15,1 with the majority of the parallels related to the stories of the blasphemer and wood gatherer. In both stories an unnamed person sins, it is initially unknown what his punishment should be, but he is ultimately stoned by the nation outside the camp.
Tools
- Use the Tanakh Lab to compare the two stories and analyze their linguistic parallels.
Articles
- See The Law of the Blasphemer, by R. Amnon Bazak, for comparison and contrast of this story with that of the wood-gatherer in Bemidbar 15. R. Bazak notes three differences between the stories: the context of laws that is found only by the story of the blasphemer, the nation's unique placing of hands on the blasphemer's head, and the fact that the blasphemer is brought to Moshe alone while the wood gatherer is brought before the entire congregation. Analysis of these points and the larger blasphemer story reveals a message about the danger of assimilation and how it affects the sanctity of Israel.
- See The Stick-Gatherer by Rabbanit Sharon Rimon who notes several differences between the stories which help shed light on the message of the story of the wood gatherer. While the story of the blasphemer focuses on the individual and his sin, the focus of the wood gatherer narrative is really the nation who discovers the sin. The point of the story is to show the nation's development into a community who cares about observance of Torah and wants to ensure that all its members do so as well. [See also המקושש - כתיקון לחטא המרגלים, based on a lecture by Rabbanit Rimon which makes similar points, adding that the lesson of responsibility for one another serves as a corrective to the sin of the spies.2]
- See The Triple Threat to Social Order by Ezra Sivan who compares these two stories and also the story of Achan in Yehoshua 8. Looking to modern social science and findings about the dynamics of societal interactions learned from the "Prisoner's Dilemma" , he suggests that together, the three stories highlight three threats to social order: greed, fear of greed, and rage.
Tzitzit and Priestly Garments
There are several common features of both tzitzit and the priestly garments, perhaps suggesting that the two "uniforms" share a similar goal.
Tools
- The tzitzit are marked by having a פְּתִיל תְּכֵלֶת (blue cord). The concordance demonstrates that of the 49 times that the word "תְּכֵלֶת" appears in Tanakh, over 40 are found in the context of the Tabernacle or Mikdash.
Articles
- Listen to פרשת ציצית - פרשת השליחות, by R. Yosef Zvi Rimon, which discusses the literary and thematic connections between the spies’ sin and the mitzvah of tzitzit, and the symbolism of tzitzit on its own. R. Rimon draws many connections between tzitzit and the priestly garments, including: the use of the color תכלת; the similarity of the ציץ (the golden headdress of the priest) and ציצית, both of which are meant to represent and impart holiness, the permissibility of using wool and linen hybrids in both priestly garments and tzitzit; and the connection of these mitzvot to the numbers four and eight.