Lemekh and His Wives in Art/0/he
למך ונשיו באמנות
סקירה
דמותו של למך מוזכרת בתורה רק בקצרה, בסצנה בה הוא נושא נאום לנשותיו, בו הוא רומז על מעשה רצח, אך לא מפרט מעבר לכך. ארבעת היצירות המובאות כאן, הציור של ויליאם בלייק,1 תחריט העץ של יוליוס שנור פון קרולספלד,2 החריטה של אלכסנדר מאסטרס,3 והמיניאטורה מתוך Speculum Humanæ Salvationis,4 כולן מתארות אירוע זה. היצירות נבדלות זו מזו בכמעט כל פרט, מבחירת הדמויות הכלולות ביצירה, עד לרגשות אותם הן מביעות והמעשים אותם הן עושות. המגוון הרחב מהווה עדות לכך שישנם דרכים רבות מאוד להבין סיפור זה.
ציורים מנוגדים
בלייק
בציורו של בלייק מלא בפאתוס, למך מוכה היגון נמצא בקדמת הבמה, ומורט את שיערותיו בייסורים בעודו מביט בגופה השרועה על הרצפה לרגליו. נשותיו עומדות לצידו, חובקות זו את זו בצערן המשותף, ומביטות בבעלן ובקורבן.
שנור
Schnorr's Lemekh stands in stark contrast to that of Blake. He is not tormented and distraught, but rather proud and defiant. He runs home to his waiting wives and family, his bloody sword raised in a sign of victory. They look up at him with admiration.
Alexander Master
Alexander Master depicts Lemekh as a hunter. He stands to the viewer's left, holding his bow and arrow, aiming to shoot. Near him a young boy lies face down on the ground, while a second man lies a bit further away with an arrow through his heart. This Lemekh's emotions are hard to read, and contain neither signs of despair nor of pride.
Speculum
This depiction differs from the others in that it contains no hints of violence on the part of Lemekh at all, no sword and no dead bodies. Instead, a somewhat foolish-looking Lemekh stands in between his two wives, who raise their fists at him and pull on his hair. Lemekh lifts his hands as if to say, "enough, what do you want from me?"
Relationship to the Biblical Text
The artists' choices reflect certain ambiguities in the Biblical text and different possible interpretive stances:
How Many Dead Bodies?
While Alexander Master depicts two dead bodies, and Blake includes just one, Schnorr and the Speculum do not portray any at all.5 Which choice is most supported by the Biblical text? Lemekh's words, "כִּי אִישׁ הָרַגְתִּי לְפִצְעִי וְיֶלֶד לְחַבֻּרָתִי" are ambiguous. Taken literally, one might assume that both a child and older man were killed,6 but it is also possible that the two halves of the verse are simply poetically parallel and speak of but one victim.7 Alternatively, Lemekh's words do not constitute a statement at all but rather a rhetorical question, "Have I killed a man...", in which case there should be no deaths to view.8
Boast or Lament?
Blake's Lemekh is dismayed at his actions, whereas Schnorr's figure seems proud, and happy to share his feat. What was the Biblical Lemekh feeling? Again the text is ambiguous, and depends both on how one interprets the phrases "לְפִצְעִי" and "לְחַבֻּרָתִי" and what tone one ascribes to Lemekh's words. Thus, for example, ספורנו reads Lemekh as expressing sincere regret and explains that he is telling his wives, "I have killed a man and it will be a wound to me" (I will always hurt for my deed). ר׳ יוסף אבן כספי, in contrast, asserts that Lemekh is boasting to his wives that to retaliate for a mere bruise, he has killed a man.
Lemekh's Wives
In Blake's image Lemekh's wives appear almost as distraught as he, hugging each other in their pain. In the Speculum, such anguish is absent, replaced by aggression, as the two wives torment their husband. Though Bereshit shares nothing of Adah and Zilah's reactions, both depictions fit various commentaries on the story. The תנחומא suggests that Lemekh had killed his own relatives, his ancestor, Kayin, and his son, Tuval Kayin. As such, a mournful response by his wives is expected. According to ר׳ יוסף קרא and שד״ל, though, Lemekh is reacting to his wives and not vice versa. Due to their constant harassment, he questions why he deserves such a fate if he is an innocent man, never having killed another.9
Murder Weapon
Schnorr depicts Lemekh wielding a sword while Alexander Master accouters him with a bow and arrow. Blake's image, in contrast, shows no weapon at all. Here, too, Tanakh is not explicit. When Lemekh says, "אִישׁ הָרַגְתִּי לְפִצְעִי וְיֶלֶד לְחַבֻּרָתִי" is he speaking of the motivation for the murder or the method thereof? מ״ד קאסוטו suggests the latter, asserting that Lemekh killed the man by just bruising or wounding him, using no weapon at all. Alternatively, the context of the verses, the creation of metallurgy, might suggest that actually weapons had just been invented, and the killing was done via sword or the like.
