Difference between revisions of "The Story of the Spies in Bemidbar and Devarim/2"
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<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 ho all suggest that these are all cases ofthe same literary trend.</li> | <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 ho all suggest that these are all cases ofthe same literary trend.</li> | ||
− | <li>Ramban 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> | ||
</category> | </category> |
Version as of 12:49, 9 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 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 ho all suggest that these are all cases ofthe same literary trend.
- Ramban notes also the similar phenomenon in which Torah might mentions a command but not its fulfillment or the opposite.8
Local Harmonization
Many other commentators relate to each difference individually, without trying to account for all of the changes together. Some examples follow: