Difference between revisions of "Philosophy:Miracles/2"
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<li><b>"וְהָעֹרְבִים מְבִאִים לוֹ לֶחֶם וּבָשָׂר"</b> – Radak brings an opinion that suggests that the word "הָעֹרְבִים" in this verse should be translated as "merchants", pointing to similar usage in Yechezkel 27:28. As such, it was nt ravens, but human merchants who provided Eliyahu with food.</li> | <li><b>"וְהָעֹרְבִים מְבִאִים לוֹ לֶחֶם וּבָשָׂר"</b> – Radak brings an opinion that suggests that the word "הָעֹרְבִים" in this verse should be translated as "merchants", pointing to similar usage in Yechezkel 27:28. As such, it was nt ravens, but human merchants who provided Eliyahu with food.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
− | <point><b>Immutability of nature</b> – This desire to minimize miracles stems, in part, from a belief in the immutability of the laws of nature.<fn>See Rambam Moreh Nevuchim 2:29 where he states that, on the whole, the natural order of the world does not change. He points out that this does not mean that Hashem can not bring miracles when He wants to, only that Hashem normally does not. He adds that even when supernatural miracles occur, changing the natural order to some extent, they are temporary phenomena, usually of short duration. [It should be noted that Rambam maintains that even the resurrection of the dead in Messianic times will only be temporary.]</fn> If Hashem set the laws of nature, they should be unchanging. as He Himself says, "עֹד כׇּל יְמֵי הָאָרֶץ זֶרַע וְקָצִיר וְקֹר וָחֹם וְקַיִץ וָחֹרֶף וְיוֹם וָלַיְלָה לֹא יִשְׁבֹּתוּ" (Bereshit 8:22).<fn>See also Kohelet 1:9, " מַה שֶּׁהָיָה הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה וּמַה שֶּׁנַּעֲשָׂה הוּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂה וְאֵין כׇּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ", which might suggest that a "new" phenomenon can never be created. See Ralbag who writes,  "הנה התבאר.. שהם יראו שלא יתכן שיתחדש על דרך המופת אם לא מה שיתכן שיתחדש על המנהג הטבעי באורך הזמן". Ralbag suggests that a miracles can't create a phenomenon that could not otherwise happen in nature; it can simply speed up the process.</fn> Moreover, since natural law attests to the perfection of Hashem's Creation, any change thereof appears to suggest that Creation was not perfect, and that Hashem had not foreseen all that was necessary.<fn>This last point would not be an issue for Ralbag, who does not believe that Hashem knows all of man's particulars regardless.</fn> | + | <point><b>Immutability of nature</b> – This desire to minimize miracles stems, in part, from a belief in the immutability of the laws of nature.<fn>See Rambam Moreh Nevuchim 2:29 where he states that, on the whole, the natural order of the world does not change. He points out that this does not mean that Hashem can not bring miracles when He wants to, only that Hashem normally does not. He adds that even when supernatural miracles occur, changing the natural order to some extent, they are temporary phenomena, usually of short duration. [It should be noted that Rambam maintains that even the resurrection of the dead in Messianic times will only be temporary.]</fn> If Hashem set the laws of nature, they should be unchanging. as He Himself says, "עֹד כׇּל יְמֵי הָאָרֶץ זֶרַע וְקָצִיר וְקֹר וָחֹם וְקַיִץ וָחֹרֶף וְיוֹם וָלַיְלָה לֹא יִשְׁבֹּתוּ" (Bereshit 8:22).<fn>See also Kohelet 1:9, " מַה שֶּׁהָיָה הוּא שֶׁיִּהְיֶה וּמַה שֶּׁנַּעֲשָׂה הוּא שֶׁיֵּעָשֶׂה וְאֵין כׇּל חָדָשׁ תַּחַת הַשָּׁמֶשׁ", which might suggest that a "new" phenomenon can never be created. See Ralbag who writes,  "הנה התבאר.. שהם יראו שלא יתכן שיתחדש על דרך המופת אם לא מה שיתכן שיתחדש על המנהג הטבעי באורך הזמן". Ralbag suggests that a miracles can't create a phenomenon that could not otherwise happen in nature; it can simply speed up the process.</fn> Moreover, since natural law attests to the perfection of Hashem's Creation, any change thereof appears to suggest that Creation was not perfect, and that Hashem had not foreseen all that was necessary.<fn>This last point would not be an issue for Ralbag, who does not believe that Hashem knows all of man's particulars regardless.</fn></point> |
− | <point><b> | + | <point><b>Views on Divine providence</b> – Views on Divine providence might also play a role in the minimizing of miracles.  The less one views Hashem as actively involved in running the world, the less likely one is to suggest that He intervenes all the time through miracles. Thus, Rambam and Ralbag who posit that on the whole the world is run via nature, are more likely to view Biblical events as being as natural as possible. Moreover, since they view Divine providence to be directly related to a person's righteousness (or how in line they are with the Active Intellect), they will be likely to reinterpret any miracle which relates to an undeserving individual.</point> |
− | <point><b>Purpose of miracles</b></point> | + | <point><b>Purpose of miracles</b> – Abarbanel posits that miracles are brought in accord with a need</point> |
<point><b>Superiority of Moshe</b> – Another motivating factor to minimize very specific miracles relates to the declaration in Devarim 34:10-11 that Moshe's miracles were unsurpassed by any other prophet. As such, miracles such as the sun standing still, or reviving the dead, which might otherwise rival those of Moshe, might be re-interpreted. See <a href="Moshe's Epitaph – Signs and Wonders" data-aht="page">Moshe's Epitaph – Signs and Wonders</a> for elaboration.</point> | <point><b>Superiority of Moshe</b> – Another motivating factor to minimize very specific miracles relates to the declaration in Devarim 34:10-11 that Moshe's miracles were unsurpassed by any other prophet. As such, miracles such as the sun standing still, or reviving the dead, which might otherwise rival those of Moshe, might be re-interpreted. See <a href="Moshe's Epitaph – Signs and Wonders" data-aht="page">Moshe's Epitaph – Signs and Wonders</a> for elaboration.</point> | ||
<point><b>Human agency</b></point> | <point><b>Human agency</b></point> | ||
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<point><b>Mixing up of languages</b> – <multilink><a href="IbnEzraBereshitSecondCommentary11-8" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraBereshitFirstCommentary11-7" data-aht="source">Bereshit First Commentary 11:7</a><a href="IbnEzraBereshitSecondCommentary11-8" data-aht="source">Bereshit Second Commentary 11:8</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink> suggests that it is likely that the people did not begin speaking in many different languages overnight, but that the process of language development took place over multiple generations in a natural way.</point> | <point><b>Mixing up of languages</b> – <multilink><a href="IbnEzraBereshitSecondCommentary11-8" data-aht="source">Ibn Ezra</a><a href="IbnEzraBereshitFirstCommentary11-7" data-aht="source">Bereshit First Commentary 11:7</a><a href="IbnEzraBereshitSecondCommentary11-8" data-aht="source">Bereshit Second Commentary 11:8</a><a href="R. Avraham ibn Ezra" data-aht="parshan">About R. Avraham ibn Ezra</a></multilink> suggests that it is likely that the people did not begin speaking in many different languages overnight, but that the process of language development took place over multiple generations in a natural way.</point> | ||
<point><b>Longevity of early humans</b></point> | <point><b>Longevity of early humans</b></point> | ||
− | <point><b>Lot's Wife</b> – R"Y Bekhor Shor and | + | <point><b>Lot's Wife</b> – R"Y Bekhor Shor, Radak and Abarbanel assert that the verse is not describing the miraculous metamorphosis of Lot's wife into a salt figurine but rather how her tarrying resulted in her being caught up in the destruction of the city.  She was covered in a mound of salt from the fire and brimstone that descended on the city, just like everyone else who perished in Sedom.</point> |
<point><b>The Plagues in Egypt</b><ul> | <point><b>The Plagues in Egypt</b><ul> | ||
<li>Ibn Kaspi and <multilink><a href="AbarbanelShemot7-14" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelShemot7-14" data-aht="source">Shemot 7:14</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink> explain the plagues from the plague of frogs forward to have been caused by a simple chain of effects spawned by the plague of blood. The blood spoiled the waters of the Nile, leading the frogs to invade the country; their deaths, then, invited insects in the form of "כנים" and so forth.<fn>For a more modern variation of the idea that the plagues were natural phenomenon, leading from one to another in a domino effect, see Greta Hort, “The Plagues of Egypt,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 69 (1957): 84–103 and ZAW 70 (1958): 48–59.  Her article is summarized in N. Sarna, Exploring Exodus (New York, 1996): 69-73. See also, Ziony Zevit, “Three Ways to Look at the Ten Plagues,” Bible Review 6:3 (1990): 16-23 and JS Marr and CD Malloy, "An Epidemiologic Analysis of the Ten Plagues of Egypt," Caduceus 12:1 (1996): 7-24.</fn></li> | <li>Ibn Kaspi and <multilink><a href="AbarbanelShemot7-14" data-aht="source">Abarbanel</a><a href="AbarbanelShemot7-14" data-aht="source">Shemot 7:14</a><a href="R. Yitzchak Abarbanel" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yitzchak Abarbanel</a></multilink> explain the plagues from the plague of frogs forward to have been caused by a simple chain of effects spawned by the plague of blood. The blood spoiled the waters of the Nile, leading the frogs to invade the country; their deaths, then, invited insects in the form of "כנים" and so forth.<fn>For a more modern variation of the idea that the plagues were natural phenomenon, leading from one to another in a domino effect, see Greta Hort, “The Plagues of Egypt,” Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft 69 (1957): 84–103 and ZAW 70 (1958): 48–59.  Her article is summarized in N. Sarna, Exploring Exodus (New York, 1996): 69-73. See also, Ziony Zevit, “Three Ways to Look at the Ten Plagues,” Bible Review 6:3 (1990): 16-23 and JS Marr and CD Malloy, "An Epidemiologic Analysis of the Ten Plagues of Egypt," Caduceus 12:1 (1996): 7-24.</fn></li> | ||
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<li><b>Clothing</b> – Ibn Ezra and Shadal suggest that the clothing of the nation lasted for forty years, not due to a miracle, but because they had left with several sets.<fn>Ibn Ezra also raises the possibility that the manna caused less sweat than other food, leading to less wear and tear on the clothing.</fn> For further discussion of the degree to which the nation led a miraculous existence throughout the sojourn in the Wilderness, see <a href="Realia:Life in the Wilderness" data-aht="page">Life in the Wilderness</a>.</li> | <li><b>Clothing</b> – Ibn Ezra and Shadal suggest that the clothing of the nation lasted for forty years, not due to a miracle, but because they had left with several sets.<fn>Ibn Ezra also raises the possibility that the manna caused less sweat than other food, leading to less wear and tear on the clothing.</fn> For further discussion of the degree to which the nation led a miraculous existence throughout the sojourn in the Wilderness, see <a href="Realia:Life in the Wilderness" data-aht="page">Life in the Wilderness</a>.</li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
− | |||
<point><b>Splitting the Jordan</b> – Y. Braslavy<fn>See יוסף ברסלבי, "נס כריתת הירדן (יהושע א'-ד')", בית מקרא יג, ד (תשכ"ח): 23-38.</fn> suggests that the Jordan split via natural means. The water's overflowing caused trees and the like to uproot and fall into the riverbed, effectively creating a dam which blocked the water flow below.</point> | <point><b>Splitting the Jordan</b> – Y. Braslavy<fn>See יוסף ברסלבי, "נס כריתת הירדן (יהושע א'-ד')", בית מקרא יג, ד (תשכ"ח): 23-38.</fn> suggests that the Jordan split via natural means. The water's overflowing caused trees and the like to uproot and fall into the riverbed, effectively creating a dam which blocked the water flow below.</point> | ||
<point><b>Stopping of the Sun at Givon</b> – R. Moshe ibn Chiquitilla posits that though the sun set, Hashem ensured that its light continued to reflect and provide illumination. Some modern scholars, instead, understand the verses to refer to a solar eclipse<fn>See חזי יצחק, דניאל ויינשטוב, עוזי אבנר, "'<a href="http://www.adssc.org/sites/default/files/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A9%20%D7%91%D7%92%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%9F%2016.pdf">שמש בגבעון דום וירח בעמק אילון – ליקוי חמה טבעתי ב-30 באוקטובר 1207 לפנה"ס?</a>', בית מקרא ס"א (תשע"ו): 196-238.</fn> or that the sun's positioning blinded the enemy.<fn>See A. Malamat, "Early Israelite Warfare and the Conquest of Canaan", Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies (1978):19-21.</fn> For further elaboration, see <a href="Stopping of the Sun at Givon" data-aht="page">Stopping of the Sun at Givon</a>.</point> | <point><b>Stopping of the Sun at Givon</b> – R. Moshe ibn Chiquitilla posits that though the sun set, Hashem ensured that its light continued to reflect and provide illumination. Some modern scholars, instead, understand the verses to refer to a solar eclipse<fn>See חזי יצחק, דניאל ויינשטוב, עוזי אבנר, "'<a href="http://www.adssc.org/sites/default/files/%D7%A9%D7%9E%D7%A9%20%D7%91%D7%92%D7%91%D7%A2%D7%95%D7%9F%2016.pdf">שמש בגבעון דום וירח בעמק אילון – ליקוי חמה טבעתי ב-30 באוקטובר 1207 לפנה"ס?</a>', בית מקרא ס"א (תשע"ו): 196-238.</fn> or that the sun's positioning blinded the enemy.<fn>See A. Malamat, "Early Israelite Warfare and the Conquest of Canaan", Oxford Centre for Postgraduate Hebrew Studies (1978):19-21.</fn> For further elaboration, see <a href="Stopping of the Sun at Givon" data-aht="page">Stopping of the Sun at Givon</a>.</point> | ||
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<point><b>Prophecy and Nature</b></point> | <point><b>Prophecy and Nature</b></point> | ||
<point><b>National vs. individual miracles</b></point> | <point><b>National vs. individual miracles</b></point> | ||
+ | <point><b>Motivating factors</b> – As above this position, too, is motivated by</point> | ||
</opinion> | </opinion> | ||
</category> | </category> |
Version as of 07:02, 4 December 2018
Miracles
Exegetical Approaches
Minimized Miracles
There is an attempt to minimize the miracles mentioned in Tanakh, either by suggesting that certain seemingly supernatural phenomenon did not occur at all, or by suggesting that the events did not contravene the laws of nature.
Reduce the Number of Miracles
Certain verses in Tanakh which appear to describe a violation of the laws of nature are reinterpreted and understood not to have happened in reality.
- Bilam's donkey – According to Rambam and Ralbag, Bilam's entire encounter with the donkey and angel only took place in a prophetic dream, so here, too, no animal spoke.
- Gidon's signs – Rambam3 asserts that the signs performed for Gidon with the wet and dry fleece took place only in a dream.
- Physical manifestations of angels – According to Rambam and Ralbag, angels are incorporeal beings whose physical manifestation to man, a material being, would be a violation of the laws of nature. As such, they reinterpret many stories which mention angels appearing or speaking as being prophetic dreams.4
- Sun standing still – Ralbag5 maintains that due to the speed of the nation's victory over their enemies, there was a perception that time stood still and that the day had been lengthened, though in reality it had not.6
- Reviving the "dead" - According to one opinion brought (and rejected) by Radak,7 the boy that Eliyahu revived had never died, but was only unconscious. He was so sick, and his pulse and breathing were so faint (or non-existent) that his mother thought him dead.8 Thus, though Eliyahu only resuscitated the boy,9 it was perceived as if he miraculously brought him back from the dead.
- Sun standing still – R. Walfish10 suggests that the description of the sun's standing still is simply a metaphoric way of expressing how the forces of nature aided Israel in battle.11 For elaboration, see Stopping of the Sun at Givon.
- Miracles in the End of Days – According to Rambam, the prophecies regarding changes in nature in the end of days, such as Yeshayahu 11:6-7, should be understood metaphorically as referring to world peace, and not as actual changes in the behavior of animals.12
- Lot's wife – According to Ralbag the referent of the word "וַתְּהִי" in the phrase "וַתְּהִי נְצִיב מֶלַח" is not Lot's wife but the land. The verse shares how she witnessed the land of Sedom become a mound of salt. For elaboration, see Lot's Wife and Her Fate.
- "מלאכים" – Ralbag points out that the word "מלאך" merely means a messenger13 and thus need not refer to celestial beings who supernaturally appear in physical form to man, but might instead refer to human prophets.14
- "וְהָעֹרְבִים מְבִאִים לוֹ לֶחֶם וּבָשָׂר" – Radak brings an opinion that suggests that the word "הָעֹרְבִים" in this verse should be translated as "merchants", pointing to similar usage in Yechezkel 27:28. As such, it was nt ravens, but human merchants who provided Eliyahu with food.
Reduce the Supernatural Element
Stories which mentions wondrous, seemingly unnatural events, happened in reality, but never violated the laws of nature. Divine intervention is noticeable only in the timing or extent of the phenomena.
- Snake in Eden – An anonymous explanation brought by Ibn Ezra suggests that Chava understood the snake's hissing to mean what the Torah says in his name, but that the snake did not actually speak.19
- Bilam's donkey – Shadal explains the speech of the donkey similarly, suggesting that Bilam understood its brays, not that it used human speech.
- Ibn Kaspi and Abarbanel explain the plagues from the plague of frogs forward to have been caused by a simple chain of effects spawned by the plague of blood. The blood spoiled the waters of the Nile, leading the frogs to invade the country; their deaths, then, invited insects in the form of "כנים" and so forth.20
- Shadal, R. D"Z Hoffmann, and Cassuto further point out that many of the plagues are known natural phenomenon that occasionally strike Egypt,21 stating that the miracle was simply in the timing and severity of the plagues. For further elaboration, see The Plagues – Natural or Supernatural?
- Manna – As early as Josephus, there have been attempts to identify the manna that fell in the Wilderness with similar natural phenomena known in contemporary times. See, for example, the opinion of Chivi brought (and rejected by) Ibn Ezra, and R. D"Z Hoffmann's exploration of the points of contact and contrast between the "manna" collected by Beduins from the Tamarisk tree and Biblical manna.23
- Selav – See Ramban, Hoil Moshe and R. D"Z Hoffmann who claim that Hashem employed nature in bringing the "שְׂלָו", with the latter referencing modern accounts of quail migrations.24 Some modern scholars25 further attempt to explain the deaths of those who gorged on the quail in Bemibar as also being (at least partially) a natural consequence of their actions rather than a miraculous Divine punishment.26 For discussion, see שְׂלָו – Fish or Fowl.
- Clothing – Ibn Ezra and Shadal suggest that the clothing of the nation lasted for forty years, not due to a miracle, but because they had left with several sets.27 For further discussion of the degree to which the nation led a miraculous existence throughout the sojourn in the Wilderness, see Life in the Wilderness.
Supernatural Miracles
Stories of miracles should be understood literally as historical accounts of what happened.
Face Value
Miracles in Tanakh are understood to have occurred as described.
- Ramban views miracles as proof that nature is not unchanging, and therefore that the belief in the eternity of the world is false.
- All miracles were preordained during creation, and the laws of nature contain specific exceptions for each and every miracle. According to Rambam, nature is immutable, and therefore all miracles must have been set in nature from the day of creation.
- According to Rambam, Avraham's did not receive any guests in reality, but rather the whole story happened in a prophetic vision. Ibn Kaspi and Abarbanel elaborate on this, explaining the angels' appearance to Lot in the following chapter as either a continuation of Avraham's vision, or a separate dream of Lot. For further detail, see the Divine Prophecy approach of Avraham's Guests – Angels or Men?
- According to Rambam, Yaakov's various encounters with angels all happened in a dream.33
Embellished
Many of the miracles described n Tanakh are embellished, and described as even more miraculous than they originally seem.