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>The differences are intentional changes made by Moshe so as to best get across his message to the new generation.</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 guilt of the nation rather than the sin of the individual spies.</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> | + | <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="RDavidZviHoffmannDevarim1-26" data-aht="source">Devarim 1:26</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>Moshe's message</b> – N. | + | <point><b>Moshe's message</b> – N. Leibowitz explains that Moshe wanted to ensure that the nation learned to take full responsibility for their actions and understood why they had spent forty years in the desert. This agenda can account for many of the changes:</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>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> | ||
<point><b>Positive or negative report?</b> Moshe relays only the positive aspect of the spies' report, emphasizing instead the ensuing complaints of the nation.</point> | <point><b>Positive or negative report?</b> Moshe relays only the positive aspect of the spies' report, emphasizing instead the ensuing complaints of the nation.</point> | ||
<point><b>Prayer</b> – In Devarim, Moshe omits his prayer where he attempts to minimize the nation's sin and achieve forgiveness, since his goal is to highlight rather than hide the nation's mistakes.</point> | <point><b>Prayer</b> – In Devarim, Moshe omits his prayer where he attempts to minimize the nation's sin and achieve forgiveness, since his goal is to highlight rather than hide the nation's mistakes.</point> | ||
− | <point><b>Punishment</b> – | + | <point><b>Punishment</b> – The spies' punishment is not mentioned in the retelling, thereby emphasizing instead the wrongdoing of the people themselves.</point> |
+ | <point><b>Moshe's instructions</b> – since Moshe was simply repeating a known story, he did not need to repeat every detail of the original telling</point> | ||
+ | <point><b>The scouted area</b></point> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
<category name="Two Perspectives"> | <category name="Two Perspectives"> |
Version as of 03:26, 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 guilt of the nation rather than the sin of the individual spies.
Two Perspectives on One Story – Two Missions
R. Yaacov Medan2 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.