Difference between revisions of "The Story of the Spies in Bemidbar and Devarim/2"
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<category>Literary Variation | <category>Literary Variation | ||
<p>The differences between the two accounts are not fundamental, but simply the result of literary variation. When recounting events, Torah is often brief in one place and lengthy in another, relying on the reader to fill in the gaps from knowledge of the combined accounts.</p> | <p>The differences between the two accounts are not fundamental, but simply the result of literary variation. When recounting events, Torah is often brief in one place and lengthy in another, relying on the reader to fill in the gaps from knowledge of the combined accounts.</p> | ||
− | <mekorot>perhaps <multilink><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Kara</a><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">Shofetim 13:12</a><a href="R. Yosef Kara" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Kara</a></multilink></mekorot> | + | <mekorot>perhaps <multilink><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Kara</a><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">Shofetim 13:12</a><a href="R. Yosef Kara" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Kara</a></multilink>,<fn>As R. Yosef Kara is not directly addressing our question, it is unclear if he thinks this approach accounts for all the differences between the accounts or only a select few.</fn> perhaps <multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBemidbar16-2" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit31-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 31:3</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBemidbar13-30" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:30</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBemidbar13-33" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:33</a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBemidbar16-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 16:2</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink><fn>As R"Y Bekhor Shor is addressing one specific point, tt is unclear to what extent he would apply this approach to other differences between the accounts.</fn></mekorot> |
<point><b>The initiator</b> – R"Y Kara claims that both Hashem and the nation requested that the spies be sent.<fn>He is not explicit, but might be assuming that there were two stages.  First the nation asked to send spies and then Hashem agreed to their request.</fn> The Torah omitted the nation's request in Bemidbar knowing that this detail would be supplied in Devarim. As such, the two accounts do not contradict but rather complement each other.</point> | <point><b>The initiator</b> – R"Y Kara claims that both Hashem and the nation requested that the spies be sent.<fn>He is not explicit, but might be assuming that there were two stages.  First the nation asked to send spies and then Hashem agreed to their request.</fn> The Torah omitted the nation's request in Bemidbar knowing that this detail would be supplied in Devarim. As such, the two accounts do not contradict but rather complement each other.</point> | ||
+ | <point><b>Moshe's encouragement</b> – R"Y Bekhor Shor suggests that Bemidbar13:30, "וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת הָעָם אֶל מֹשֶׁה". means that Calev hushed the people so that they could hear Moshe's words of encouragement. The content of Moshe's speech is only alluded to in Bemidbar, as it is relayed in full in Devarim..</point> | ||
<point><b>Other omissions</b> – The other differences (omissions/additions) are explained in the same manner.  Details are mentioned only in one version for brevity's sake. [The reader is either already familiar with them from Bemidbar, or will be filled in upon reading Devarim.]</point> | <point><b>Other omissions</b> – The other differences (omissions/additions) are explained in the same manner.  Details are mentioned only in one version for brevity's sake. [The reader is either already familiar with them from Bemidbar, or will be filled in upon reading Devarim.]</point> | ||
− | <point><b>Choice of details mentioned</b> – | + | <point><b>Choice of details mentioned</b> – One of the disadvantages of this approach is that it does not account for why certain details are mentioned in both accounts and others only in one.  Moreover, it does not explain why each account contains the specific details that it does.</point> |
<point><b>Biblical parallels</b><ul> | <point><b>Biblical parallels</b><ul> | ||
− | <li>Our story is one of many in which a character repeats an incident to another and some of the details are found only in the original story or only in the retelling. See, for example, <multilink><a href="RambanBereshit42-21-22" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanBereshit42-21-22" data-aht="source">Bereshit 42:21-22</a><a href="RambanBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="RambanDevarim1-37" data-aht="source">Devarim 1:37</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink> on Bereshit 42:21, <multilink><a href="RadakBereshit41-17" data-aht="source">Radak</a><a href="RadakBereshit41-17" data-aht="source">Bereshit 41:17</a><a href="R. David Kimchi (Radak)" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Kimchi</a></multilink> on Bereshit 41:17, <multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit31-3" data-aht="source">R"Y Bekhor Shor </a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit31-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 31:3</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>on Bereshit 31:3, and <multilink><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">R"Y Kara</a><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">Shofetim 13:12</a><a href="R. Yosef Kara" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Kara</a></multilink> on Shofetim13:12 | + | <li>Our story is one of many in which a character repeats an incident to another and some of the details are found only in the original story or only in the retelling. See, for example, <multilink><a href="RambanBereshit42-21-22" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanBereshit42-21-22" data-aht="source">Bereshit 42:21-22</a><a href="RambanBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="RambanDevarim1-37" data-aht="source">Devarim 1:37</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink> on Bereshit 42:21, <multilink><a href="RadakBereshit41-17" data-aht="source">Radak</a><a href="RadakBereshit41-17" data-aht="source">Bereshit 41:17</a><a href="R. David Kimchi (Radak)" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Kimchi</a></multilink> on Bereshit 41:17, <multilink><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit31-3" data-aht="source">R"Y Bekhor Shor </a><a href="RYosefBekhorShorBereshit31-3" data-aht="source">Bereshit 31:3</a><a href="R. Yosef Bekhor Shor" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Bekhor Shor</a></multilink>on Bereshit 31:3, and <multilink><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">R"Y Kara</a><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">Shofetim 13:12</a><a href="R. Yosef Kara" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Kara</a></multilink> on Shofetim13:12 who suggest that these are all cases of the same literary trend.</li> |
<li><multilink><a href="RambanShemot10-2" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanBereshit42-21-22" data-aht="source">Bereshit 42:21-22</a><a href="RambanShemot10-2" data-aht="source">Shemot 10:2</a><a href="RambanBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="RambanDevarim1-37" data-aht="source">Devarim 1:37</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink> notes also the similar phenomenon in which Torah might mentions a command but not its fulfillment or the opposite.<fn>See Ramban on Bereshit 31:7, 44:7, Shemot 4:17, 10:2, 11:1, Bemidbar 20:14, 21:13, Devarim 1:45, and 3:23 and the discussion in <a href="Invoking Hashem's Name Without Explicit Divine Sanction" data-aht="page">Invoking Hashem's Name Without Explicit Divine Sanction</a>.</fn></li> | <li><multilink><a href="RambanShemot10-2" data-aht="source">Ramban</a><a href="RambanBereshit42-21-22" data-aht="source">Bereshit 42:21-22</a><a href="RambanShemot10-2" data-aht="source">Shemot 10:2</a><a href="RambanBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="RambanDevarim1-37" data-aht="source">Devarim 1:37</a><a href="R. Moshe b. Nachman (Ramban, Nachmanides)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Moshe b. Nachman</a></multilink> notes also the similar phenomenon in which Torah might mentions a command but not its fulfillment or the opposite.<fn>See Ramban on Bereshit 31:7, 44:7, Shemot 4:17, 10:2, 11:1, Bemidbar 20:14, 21:13, Devarim 1:45, and 3:23 and the discussion in <a href="Invoking Hashem's Name Without Explicit Divine Sanction" data-aht="page">Invoking Hashem's Name Without Explicit Divine Sanction</a>.</fn></li> | ||
</ul></point> | </ul></point> | ||
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<point><b>Who is sent?</b> <multilink><a href="RYosefKaraBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Kara</a><a href="RYosefKaraBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">Shofetim 13:12</a><a href="R. Yosef Kara" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Kara</a></multilink> and <multilink><a href="RashbamBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Rashbam</a><a href="RashbamBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="R. Shemuel b. Meir (Rashbam)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shemuel b. Meir</a></multilink> suggest that the words "כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם" refer not to princes, but volunteers ("שנשא אותם לבם ללכת"). <multilink><a href="ChizkuniBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Chizkuni</a><a href="ChizkuniBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach (Chizkuni)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach</a></multilink>, instead, rereads Bemidbar 13:2, "אִישׁ אֶחָד אִישׁ אֶחָד לְמַטֵּה אֲבֹתָיו תִּשְׁלָחוּ כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם" to mean that each prince chose someone from his tribe to go on the mission.<fn>According to him, the subject of the verb "תִּשְׁלָחוּ" is the princes, not the nation.  He reads the verse as if there is a comma after the phrase "לְמַטֵּה אֲבֹתָיו", so that the second clause reads: "תִּשְׁלָחוּ כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם".</fn> According to both readings, none of those who went were princes, but simply "שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲנָשִׁים אִישׁ אֶחָד לַשָּׁבֶט", as described in Devarim.<fn>It is likely that all these commentators are not really addressing the differences between the books (as they ignore the fact that Sefer Bemidbar still emphasizes that the chosen men were "heads", a description missing in Devarim) but rather a different exegetical difficulty: the fact that the princes listed here are different then those mentioned as playing a role in Bemidbar 1-10. Considering that our story occurs only a month after the events of those chapters, it is strange that new tribal representatives are mentioned here.</fn></point> | <point><b>Who is sent?</b> <multilink><a href="RYosefKaraBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">R. Yosef Kara</a><a href="RYosefKaraBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="RYosefKaraShofetim13-12" data-aht="source">Shofetim 13:12</a><a href="R. Yosef Kara" data-aht="parshan">About R. Yosef Kara</a></multilink> and <multilink><a href="RashbamBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Rashbam</a><a href="RashbamBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="R. Shemuel b. Meir (Rashbam)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Shemuel b. Meir</a></multilink> suggest that the words "כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם" refer not to princes, but volunteers ("שנשא אותם לבם ללכת"). <multilink><a href="ChizkuniBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Chizkuni</a><a href="ChizkuniBemidbar13-2" data-aht="source">Bemidbar 13:2</a><a href="R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach (Chizkuni)" data-aht="parshan">About R. Chizkiyah b. Manoach</a></multilink>, instead, rereads Bemidbar 13:2, "אִישׁ אֶחָד אִישׁ אֶחָד לְמַטֵּה אֲבֹתָיו תִּשְׁלָחוּ כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם" to mean that each prince chose someone from his tribe to go on the mission.<fn>According to him, the subject of the verb "תִּשְׁלָחוּ" is the princes, not the nation.  He reads the verse as if there is a comma after the phrase "לְמַטֵּה אֲבֹתָיו", so that the second clause reads: "תִּשְׁלָחוּ כֹּל נָשִׂיא בָהֶם".</fn> According to both readings, none of those who went were princes, but simply "שְׁנֵים עָשָׂר אֲנָשִׁים אִישׁ אֶחָד לַשָּׁבֶט", as described in Devarim.<fn>It is likely that all these commentators are not really addressing the differences between the books (as they ignore the fact that Sefer Bemidbar still emphasizes that the chosen men were "heads", a description missing in Devarim) but rather a different exegetical difficulty: the fact that the princes listed here are different then those mentioned as playing a role in Bemidbar 1-10. Considering that our story occurs only a month after the events of those chapters, it is strange that new tribal representatives are mentioned here.</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>The scouted area</b> – See <a href="The Spies – Where Did They Tour" data-aht="page">The Spies – Where Did They Tour</a> for the opinion that the phrase "וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת" does not refer to the area scouted, but only to the borders of the land in which they scouted.<fn>The verse should thus be read as incorporating an implied word: "וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ [שגבולותיה] מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת."</fn> As such, according to both accounts the spies only visited the southern region of the land.</point> | <point><b>The scouted area</b> – See <a href="The Spies – Where Did They Tour" data-aht="page">The Spies – Where Did They Tour</a> for the opinion that the phrase "וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת" does not refer to the area scouted, but only to the borders of the land in which they scouted.<fn>The verse should thus be read as incorporating an implied word: "וַיָּתֻרוּ אֶת הָאָרֶץ [שגבולותיה] מִמִּדְבַּר צִן עַד רְחֹב לְבֹא חֲמָת."</fn> As such, according to both accounts the spies only visited the southern region of the land.</point> | ||
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</category> | </category> | ||
</approaches> | </approaches> | ||
</page> | </page> | ||
</aht-xml> | </aht-xml> |
Latest revision as of 12:25, 22 October 2022
The Story of the Spies in Bemidbar and Devarim
Exegetical Approaches
Purposeful Recasting
The differences introduced in Devarim are intentional changes made by Moshe so as to best get across his message to the new generation. Moshe purposefully presents the story in a way that emphasizes the guilt of the nation rather than the sin of the individual spies.
Two Perspectives
The variations between the two books can be explained by positing that each is telling the story from a different perspective, with Sefer Bemidbar focusing on one aspect of the mission and Sefer Devarim on another.
Literary Variation
The differences between the two accounts are not fundamental, but simply the result of literary variation. When recounting events, Torah is often brief in one place and lengthy in another, relying on the reader to fill in the gaps from knowledge of the combined accounts.
- Our story is one of many in which a character repeats an incident to another and some of the details are found only in the original story or only in the retelling. See, for example, Ramban on Bereshit 42:21, Radak on Bereshit 41:17, R"Y Bekhor Shor on Bereshit 31:3, and R"Y Kara on Shofetim13:12 who suggest that these are all cases of the same literary trend.
- Ramban notes also the similar phenomenon in which Torah might mentions a command but not its fulfillment or the opposite.11
Local Harmonization
Many other commentators relate to each difference individually, without trying to account for all of the changes together. Some examples follow: