Difference between revisions of "The Story of the Spies in Bemidbar and Devarim/2"
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<category name="Purposeful Recasting"> | <category name="Purposeful Recasting"> | ||
Purposeful Recasting | Purposeful Recasting | ||
− | <p> | + | <p>The differences are intentional changes made by Moshe so as to best get across his message to the new generation. Moshe purposefully presented the story in a way that would emphasize the nation's fault, ensuring that they learned to take full responsibility for their actions, and understood why they had spent forty years in the desert.<fn>In addition, since Moshe was simply repeating a known story, he did not need to repeat every detail of the original telling.</fn> This can account for many of the changes:</p> |
+ | <mekorot><multilink><a href="RDavidZviHoffmannDevarim1-22" data-aht="source">R. David Zvi Hoffmann</a><a href="RDavidZviHoffmannDevarim1-22" data-aht="source">Devarim 1:22</a><a href="R. David Zvi Hoffmann" data-aht="parshan">About R. David Zvi Hoffmann</a></multilink>, N. Leibowitz<fn>See N. Leibowitz, Iyyunim BeSefer Devarim (Jerusalem, 1995): 16-22.</fn></mekorot> | ||
<point><b>Initiator</b> – Moshe highlights how the initial request came from the people, not Hashem, thereby preempting anyone from saying that they were just doing what God commanded.</point> | <point><b>Initiator</b> – Moshe highlights how the initial request came from the people, not Hashem, thereby preempting anyone from saying that they were just doing what God commanded.</point> | ||
<point><b>Description of spies</b> – In Devarim, the spies are not given names or titles to minimize their importance and the possibility of anyone attributing all blame to their leaders.</point> | <point><b>Description of spies</b> – In Devarim, the spies are not given names or titles to minimize their importance and the possibility of anyone attributing all blame to their leaders.</point> | ||
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Two Perspectives on One Story – Two Missions | Two Perspectives on One Story – Two Missions | ||
<p>R. Yaacov Medan<fn>See R. Yaacov Medan, <a href="http://www.herzog.ac.il/tvunot/fulltext/mega10_medan.pdf">"בכייה לשעה ובכייה לדורות"</a>‎, Megadim 10 (1990): 21-37.</fn> accounts for the changes in the two books by positing that each is telling the story from a different perspective. He suggests that the spies were sent on a dual mission: a military reconnaissance mission as well as a surveying mission to determine the tribal inheritances. Sefer Devarim tells of the former, while Sefer Bemidbar focuses on the latter. Many of the differences are thus understandable:</p> | <p>R. Yaacov Medan<fn>See R. Yaacov Medan, <a href="http://www.herzog.ac.il/tvunot/fulltext/mega10_medan.pdf">"בכייה לשעה ובכייה לדורות"</a>‎, Megadim 10 (1990): 21-37.</fn> accounts for the changes in the two books by positing that each is telling the story from a different perspective. He suggests that the spies were sent on a dual mission: a military reconnaissance mission as well as a surveying mission to determine the tribal inheritances. Sefer Devarim tells of the former, while Sefer Bemidbar focuses on the latter. Many of the differences are thus understandable:</p> | ||
− | <point><b> | + | <point><b>Initiator</b> – Hashem commanded the "holy" scouting mission so that the princes could evaluate the land and allocate it amongst the tribes, but the nation themselves initiated the spying mission in their desire to prepare for the conquest.</point> |
<point><b>Who is sent?</b> The scouting mission necessitated that the twelve princes of each tribe be chosen as representatives, while the military mission could have sufficed with anonymous men.</point> | <point><b>Who is sent?</b> The scouting mission necessitated that the twelve princes of each tribe be chosen as representatives, while the military mission could have sufficed with anonymous men.</point> | ||
<point><b>Moshe's instructions</b> – In Bemidbar, Moshe tells the spies to appraise the quality of the land, its trees and agriculture, as the division of the land required such knowledge. In Devarim, he instead tells them to determine the route of conquest, crucial for their military strategy.</point> | <point><b>Moshe's instructions</b> – In Bemidbar, Moshe tells the spies to appraise the quality of the land, its trees and agriculture, as the division of the land required such knowledge. In Devarim, he instead tells them to determine the route of conquest, crucial for their military strategy.</point> |
Version as of 02:06, 8 June 2020
The Story of the Spies in Bemidbar and Devarim
Exegetical Approaches
Purposeful Recasting
The differences are intentional changes made by Moshe so as to best get across his message to the new generation. Moshe purposefully presented the story in a way that would emphasize the nation's fault, ensuring that they learned to take full responsibility for their actions, and understood why they had spent forty years in the desert.1 This can account for many of the changes:
Two Perspectives on One Story – Two Missions
R. Yaacov Medan3 accounts for the changes in the two books by positing that each is telling the story from a different perspective. He suggests that the spies were sent on a dual mission: a military reconnaissance mission as well as a surveying mission to determine the tribal inheritances. Sefer Devarim tells of the former, while Sefer Bemidbar focuses on the latter. Many of the differences are thus understandable:
Local Harmonization
Many other commentators relate to each difference individually, without trying to account for all of the changes together.