Commentators:Character Consolidation/1
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Character Consolidation
Introduction
Consolidation of Characters
I. Identification of three or more different names as the same person:
- Moshe – Vayikra Rabbah 1:3
- Yitro – Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael Shemot 18:1, see our discussion in Shemot 18.
- Beor and other evil doers – Bavli Sanhedrin 105a
- Sichon and other Canaanite kings – Bavli R"H 3a
- Shelomo – Shir HaShirim Rabbah 1:1
- Nevat and other evil doers – Bavli Sanhedrin 101b
- Sancheriv and other Assyrian kings – Bavli Sanhedrin 94a
- Koresh and other Persian kings – Seder Olam Rabbah 30, Bavli R"H 3b
II. Identification of two characters with different names as the same person:
- Yiskah as Sarah – Seder Olam Rabbah 21, Bavli Sanhedrin 69b
- Malkizedek as Shem – Bereshit Rabbah 56:10
- Keturah as Hagar – Bereshit Rabbah 61:4
- Shifrah and Puah as Yocheved and Miryam/Elisheva – Shemot Rabbah 1:13
- Efrat as Miryam – Shemot Rabbah 1:17
- Pinchas as Eliyahu – Targum Yerushalmi (Yonatan) Shemot 6:18
III. Identification of characters with the same or similar names as the same person:
- Haran the father of Yiska with Haran the brother of Avraham – Bavli Sanhedrin 69b
- Potiphar and Potiphera – Bavli Sotah 13b
- Hirah and Hiram – Bereshit Rabbah 85:4
- Calev the son of Chetzron with Calev the son of Yefuneh – Yerushalmi Yevamot 10:7 (see Ibn Ezra Short Commentary Shemot 24:14)
- Ovadyah the steward of Ahav with Ovadyah the prophet – Bavli Sanhedrin 39b
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 Shemot 10, 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 – Identifying anonymous or unknown figures 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 and parallels
III. Difficulties with methods:
- Why would Tanakh use different names in different places?
