Dictionary:Changing Meanings/0

Lexical: Changing Meanings

This topic has not yet undergone editorial review

Within the Biblical Period

There are many words whose meaning might have changed from one period within Tanakh to another:

• בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – In most of Sefer Bereshit¹ and the opening verses of Sefer Shemot² the term  refers to the sons of Yaakov, whereas afterwards it refers to the nation of Israel.  The turning point might be Shemot 1:9, which uniquely states "עַם בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל",‎³ perhaps to clarify that the people have become a nation.⁴  There are several cases in which the meaning of the term is ambiguous:
• Bereshit 32:33 "לֹא יֹאכְלוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶת גִּיד הַנָּשֶׁה" – See the debate in Bavli Chulin 100b whether this refers to something Yaakov's sons accepted upon themselves or whether this was a prohibition first commanded to the nation at at Sinai and placed in Sefer Bereshit to provide the reasoning.⁵
• Bereshit 36:30
• שבת
• חדש – In Torah the word refers to a month, while in Neviim it also takes on the meaning of "Rosh Chodesh", the first of the month.⁶

Biblical vs. Rabbinic Hebrew

• אמה – In Tanakh, the word אמה means either maidservant (when spelled without a dagesh) , or a unit of measure (when spelled with a dagesh in the "mem"). In Rabbinic Hebrew, it may be used to refer also to the forearm itself. See the dispute in Bavli Sotah 12b regarding the meaning of the phrase "וַתִּשְׁלַח אֶת אֲמָתָהּ וַתִּקָּחֶהָ" in Shemot 2:5.
• בית - In Tanakh, this root generally refers to either a physical house or a family or household. In Rabbinic Hebrew it is also understood more narrowly to refer specifically to a wife. See Sifra Vayikra 16:32 who adopts this later meaning to Vayikra 16:17, explaining, "וְכִפֶּר בַּעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ" to mean "and he will atone for himself and his wife".
• דָּמִֽים – In Tanakh this word is related to blood /life whereas in MIshnaic Hebrew it also takes the meaning of "money".⁷
• מס – Hoil MosheShemot 1:11Bemidbar 31:28About R. Moshe Yitzchak Ashkenazi suggests that "מס" in Tanakh refers to a labor tax rather than a monetary one.⁸ The term for a monetary tribute is מנחה  or מכס.  This relates to a dispute among commentators regarding how to understand the role of the "tax officers" mentioned in Shemot 1:1. Though many assume this refers to those who oversaw the forced labor, Ralbag suggests it refers to collection of a fiscal payment.  Ralbag opines that only those who could not afford the monetary fine were forced to labor for Paroh. See discussion in Who was Enslaved in Egypt.
• –

Biblical vs. Modern Hebrew

¹ See Bereshit 42:5, 45:2 and 46:5. In several other verses () the meaning of the term is ambiguous.  See discussion below.

² The phrase "בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל" in Shemot 1:1 clearly refers to the sons of Yaakov but verse 7 is ambiguous and could refer either to Yaakov's sons or to the entire Israelite nation. This depends on whether the verse is still part of the opening summary of Sefer Bereshit (cf. Bereshit 47:27) or is referring to events after the brothers' death.

³ This is the only place in Tanakh in which this exact term is used and there are only two other places in Tanakh (Shemot 3:10, 7:4) where Hashem uses a similar term, "עַמִּי בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל".

⁴ See R. Hirsch on Shemot 1:1 and 9 who implies this.

⁵ Compare also R"Y Bekhor Shor, Radak and Ralbag's reading of the verse.

⁶ See, for instance, Shemuel I 20:5, Melakhim II 4:23, Yeshayahu 1:13, Yeshayahu 66:23, Yechezkel 45:17, Amos 8:5, and Tehillim 81:4.  The phrase "יוֹם הַחֹדֶשׁ" also refers to Rosh Chodesh and appears 4 times in Tanakh, once in Shemot 40:2, where it is accompanied by the clarification, "בְּאֶחָד לַחֹדֶשׁ", and in Shemuel I 20:34, Yechezkel 46:1 and 46:6.

⁷ See . 'משנה מעשר שני א':ה, משנה בבא מציעא ה':ג'

⁸ The context of many verses would support this.  See, for instance, Shemot 1:11, Devarim 20:11, Yehoshua 16:10, Melakhim 1 5:27, and Melakhim I 9:16 which all explicitly speak of a labor force. See also Shofetim 1:28-35 or Yeshayahu 31:8 which speak of people being taken as "מס".  One possible exception to this usage in Esther 10:1.