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<h1>The Births and Relative Ages of Yaakov's Children</h1> | <h1>The Births and Relative Ages of Yaakov's Children</h1> | ||
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<p>A first approach, taken by many Midrashim, reads the text both literally and chronologically, and resolves all issues by positing that events were supernatural. This allows for seven month pregnancies, youngsters capable of massacring cities, and eight year old parents. Others take a more rationalist approach, preferring to resolve the problems by suggesting minor chronological changes in the order of the recorded events. They assert that some of Yaakov's wives' pregnancies overlapped, that Yaakov spent some years in Shechem before Dinah was raped, and that the story of Yehuda and Tamar occurred before the sale of Yosef. A final approach expands the time frame in which Yaakov's children were born, making Shimon, Levi, and Yehuda older during the subsequent events.</p> | <p>A first approach, taken by many Midrashim, reads the text both literally and chronologically, and resolves all issues by positing that events were supernatural. This allows for seven month pregnancies, youngsters capable of massacring cities, and eight year old parents. Others take a more rationalist approach, preferring to resolve the problems by suggesting minor chronological changes in the order of the recorded events. They assert that some of Yaakov's wives' pregnancies overlapped, that Yaakov spent some years in Shechem before Dinah was raped, and that the story of Yehuda and Tamar occurred before the sale of Yosef. A final approach expands the time frame in which Yaakov's children were born, making Shimon, Levi, and Yehuda older during the subsequent events.</p> | ||
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<category name="">Premature & Precocious | <category name="">Premature & Precocious | ||
<p>The pregnancies for each and every one of Yaakov's children were extraordinarily short, and were thus able to fit within a seven year time span. Similarly, Yaakov's children reached physical and sexual maturity at supernaturally early ages, and this accounts for the very young ages of Shimon and Levi and Yehuda's descendants when they sired offspring in the subsequent stories.</p> | <p>The pregnancies for each and every one of Yaakov's children were extraordinarily short, and were thus able to fit within a seven year time span. Similarly, Yaakov's children reached physical and sexual maturity at supernaturally early ages, and this accounts for the very young ages of Shimon and Levi and Yehuda's descendants when they sired offspring in the subsequent stories.</p> | ||
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<point><b>Crux of the position</b> – The approach adopted by the Midrashim adheres to a very literal chronological order of all of the verses and chapters, and explains away all questions by assuming that the events were supernatural or miraculous. Or, as Ralbag describes the Midrashic method, "וזה כולו היה ממנהגם, להפליג בחוזק ההשגחה האלהית ולפרסם עניינה אל ההמון".</point> | <point><b>Crux of the position</b> – The approach adopted by the Midrashim adheres to a very literal chronological order of all of the verses and chapters, and explains away all questions by assuming that the events were supernatural or miraculous. Or, as Ralbag describes the Midrashic method, "וזה כולו היה ממנהגם, להפליג בחוזק ההשגחה האלהית ולפרסם עניינה אל ההמון".</point> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
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<category name="">Achronological Order | <category name="">Achronological Order | ||
<p>The Torah favors thematic order over chronological order and therefore presents the pregnancies and births as consecutive, even though they needed to overlap with each other to fit into the seven year time frame. Similarly, positing achronology resolves the difficulties in the later stories of Sefer Bereshit, with the story of Shimon and Levi in Shechem transpiring only many years after Yaakov returned from Lavan's home, and Yehuda's first marriage occurring several years before the sale of Yosef.</p> | <p>The Torah favors thematic order over chronological order and therefore presents the pregnancies and births as consecutive, even though they needed to overlap with each other to fit into the seven year time frame. Similarly, positing achronology resolves the difficulties in the later stories of Sefer Bereshit, with the story of Shimon and Levi in Shechem transpiring only many years after Yaakov returned from Lavan's home, and Yehuda's first marriage occurring several years before the sale of Yosef.</p> | ||
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<point><b>Crux of the position</b> – This approach attempts to solve difficulties in the narrative by positing relatively minor rearrangements of the order of the events, both within the same story as well as between stories. It avoids supernatural explanations.</point> | <point><b>Crux of the position</b> – This approach attempts to solve difficulties in the narrative by positing relatively minor rearrangements of the order of the events, both within the same story as well as between stories. It avoids supernatural explanations.</point> | ||
</category> | </category> | ||
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<category name="">Expanded Time Frame | <category name="">Expanded Time Frame | ||
<p>The births of Yaakov's first twelve children took place over a period of almost fourteen years, rather than seven. This approach subdivides over whether it is the starting line or end point which needs to be adjusted to gain the additional years.</p> | <p>The births of Yaakov's first twelve children took place over a period of almost fourteen years, rather than seven. This approach subdivides over whether it is the starting line or end point which needs to be adjusted to gain the additional years.</p> | ||
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<point><b>Crux of the position</b> – Ralbag adopts a more rationalist position, according to which babies were carried to full term and physical maturity was reached at ages which correlate with modern experience.<fn>See Ralbag's formulation "ולפי המנהג הטבעי".</fn> In order to do so, he significantly challenges the simple reading of a number of texts and posits that selected verses are out of order.</point> | <point><b>Crux of the position</b> – Ralbag adopts a more rationalist position, according to which babies were carried to full term and physical maturity was reached at ages which correlate with modern experience.<fn>See Ralbag's formulation "ולפי המנהג הטבעי".</fn> In order to do so, he significantly challenges the simple reading of a number of texts and posits that selected verses are out of order.</point> | ||
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<opinion name="">Yosef Born Later | <opinion name="">Yosef Born Later | ||
<p>Yosef was born only after the completion of Yaakov's first fourteen years working for Lavan, and the twelve children were born over a span of up to twelve years. The incident with Shechem happened only much later when Shimon and Levi were already twenty years old.</p> | <p>Yosef was born only after the completion of Yaakov's first fourteen years working for Lavan, and the twelve children were born over a span of up to twelve years. The incident with Shechem happened only much later when Shimon and Levi were already twenty years old.</p> | ||
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<point><b>Fitting in all of the births</b> – Jubilees' more elastic time frame affords ample time for all of the pregnancies,<fn>Jubilees offers a detailed accounting including exact days, months, and years.</fn> and even provides enough of a break between Leah's pregnancies to enable her to nurse each of her children for almost a year and a half<fn>Jubilees accomplishes this by additionally postulating both that there was overlap between the pregnancies of Bilhah, Zilpah, and Leah and that Zevulun and Dinah were twins – see above.</fn> before becoming pregnant again.<fn>Jubilees makes a lone exception in the case of Yissakhar. After his birth, Jubilees says that Leah handed him over to a nursemaid. It is unclear why Jubilees felt a need to maintain this, as the interval between the births of Yissakhar and Zevulun (according to him) was no shorter than that between Leah's other children.</fn></point> | <point><b>Fitting in all of the births</b> – Jubilees' more elastic time frame affords ample time for all of the pregnancies,<fn>Jubilees offers a detailed accounting including exact days, months, and years.</fn> and even provides enough of a break between Leah's pregnancies to enable her to nurse each of her children for almost a year and a half<fn>Jubilees accomplishes this by additionally postulating both that there was overlap between the pregnancies of Bilhah, Zilpah, and Leah and that Zevulun and Dinah were twins – see above.</fn> before becoming pregnant again.<fn>Jubilees makes a lone exception in the case of Yissakhar. After his birth, Jubilees says that Leah handed him over to a nursemaid. It is unclear why Jubilees felt a need to maintain this, as the interval between the births of Yissakhar and Zevulun (according to him) was no shorter than that between Leah's other children.</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>Shimon and Levi</b> – According to Jubilees, Shimon and Levi were over twenty<fn>Jubilees asserts that several years elapsed between Yaakov's leaving Lavan's home and his arrival in Shechem.</fn> when they killed the males of Shechem<fn>See also Demetrius and Ralbag cited above and <aht source="TestamentofLevi2-2">Testament of Levi</aht>. As with Demetrius above, this reconstruction is likely motivated by the position (also found in Qumran) that the age of majority, which would allow the term "אִישׁ" to apply to Shimon and Levi, was twenty (see Shemot 30:12-14). Cf. Chazal's position above that Shimon and Levi were 13 or 14.</fn> and Dinah was twelve.<fn>This allows Jubilees to account for Dinah's description as a נַּעֲרָה. Cf. Demetrius who says that Dinah was sixteen at the time.</fn></point> | <point><b>Shimon and Levi</b> – According to Jubilees, Shimon and Levi were over twenty<fn>Jubilees asserts that several years elapsed between Yaakov's leaving Lavan's home and his arrival in Shechem.</fn> when they killed the males of Shechem<fn>See also Demetrius and Ralbag cited above and <aht source="TestamentofLevi2-2">Testament of Levi</aht>. As with Demetrius above, this reconstruction is likely motivated by the position (also found in Qumran) that the age of majority, which would allow the term "אִישׁ" to apply to Shimon and Levi, was twenty (see Shemot 30:12-14). Cf. Chazal's position above that Shimon and Levi were 13 or 14.</fn> and Dinah was twelve.<fn>This allows Jubilees to account for Dinah's description as a נַּעֲרָה. Cf. Demetrius who says that Dinah was sixteen at the time.</fn></point> | ||
− | <point><b>Yehuda's offspring</b> – In contrast to Ralbag's position above, this approach has little impact on the chronology of the Yehuda story and is not motivated by an attempt to address this issue. According to Jubilees,<fn>We do not possess R. D"Z Hoffmann's commentary on Bereshit 38-50.</fn> Peretz was only one year old when they descended to Egypt, and Chetzron and Chamul were not alive to be counted among the seventy souls who arrived.<fn>This approach would appear to be incompatible with the Biblical text which counts Chetzron and Chamul in the list of seventy. However, see <multilink><aht source="Cassuto">U. Cassuto</aht><aht source="Cassuto">Sifrut Mikrait veSifrut Kenaanit, pp.108-117</aht><aht parshan="Umberto Cassuto">About U. Cassuto</aht></multilink> and <a href="http://www.etzion.org.il/vbm/archive/9-parsha/13vayigash.php">R. | + | <point><b>Yehuda's offspring</b> – In contrast to Ralbag's position above, this approach has little impact on the chronology of the Yehuda story and is not motivated by an attempt to address this issue. According to Jubilees,<fn>We do not possess R. D"Z Hoffmann's commentary on Bereshit 38-50.</fn> Peretz was only one year old when they descended to Egypt, and Chetzron and Chamul were not alive to be counted among the seventy souls who arrived.<fn>This approach would appear to be incompatible with the Biblical text which counts Chetzron and Chamul in the list of seventy. However, see <multilink><aht source="Cassuto">U. Cassuto</aht><aht source="Cassuto">Sifrut Mikrait veSifrut Kenaanit, pp.108-117</aht><aht parshan="Umberto Cassuto">About U. Cassuto</aht></multilink> and <a href="http://www.etzion.org.il/vbm/archive/9-parsha/13vayigash.php">R. Yaacov Medan</a> who suggest that Chetzron and Chamul were born in Egypt but were mentioned in the list as they later replaced Er and Onan who had died before the descent.</fn></point> |
<point><b>"מָלְאוּ יָמָי" and "מַלֵּא שְׁבֻעַ זֹאת"</b> – Jubilees and R. D"Z Hoffmann both understand "מָלְאוּ יָמָי" to mean that Yaakov had completed his first seven years of work before marrying Leah. Consequently, they both interpret "מַלֵּא שְׁבֻעַ זֹאת" to refer to the seven days of nuptial celebration.<fn>R. D"Z Hoffmann points to Shofetim 14:12 as a Biblical source for "שִׁבְעַת יְמֵי הַמִּשְׁתֶּה".</fn></point> | <point><b>"מָלְאוּ יָמָי" and "מַלֵּא שְׁבֻעַ זֹאת"</b> – Jubilees and R. D"Z Hoffmann both understand "מָלְאוּ יָמָי" to mean that Yaakov had completed his first seven years of work before marrying Leah. Consequently, they both interpret "מַלֵּא שְׁבֻעַ זֹאת" to refer to the seven days of nuptial celebration.<fn>R. D"Z Hoffmann points to Shofetim 14:12 as a Biblical source for "שִׁבְעַת יְמֵי הַמִּשְׁתֶּה".</fn></point> | ||
<point><b>"וַתַּעֲמֹד מִלֶּדֶת"</b> – Jubilees has a three year hiatus between the births of Yehuda and Yissachar, while R. D"Z Hoffmann posits only a single year interruption.<fn>This is likely a function of the fact that Jubilees spreads the twelve births out over twelve years, while R. D"Z Hoffmann's time frame is likely shorter.</fn></point> | <point><b>"וַתַּעֲמֹד מִלֶּדֶת"</b> – Jubilees has a three year hiatus between the births of Yehuda and Yissachar, while R. D"Z Hoffmann posits only a single year interruption.<fn>This is likely a function of the fact that Jubilees spreads the twelve births out over twelve years, while R. D"Z Hoffmann's time frame is likely shorter.</fn></point> | ||
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Version as of 02:56, 26 June 2014
The Births and Relative Ages of Yaakov's Children
Exegetical Approaches
Overview
In attempting to make sense of the various chronological issues relating to the the births and lives of Yaakov's children, commentators offer an array of possibilities. Interestingly, many of them are remarkably consistent in the methodologies they apply to resolve each of the issues.
A first approach, taken by many Midrashim, reads the text both literally and chronologically, and resolves all issues by positing that events were supernatural. This allows for seven month pregnancies, youngsters capable of massacring cities, and eight year old parents. Others take a more rationalist approach, preferring to resolve the problems by suggesting minor chronological changes in the order of the recorded events. They assert that some of Yaakov's wives' pregnancies overlapped, that Yaakov spent some years in Shechem before Dinah was raped, and that the story of Yehuda and Tamar occurred before the sale of Yosef. A final approach expands the time frame in which Yaakov's children were born, making Shimon, Levi, and Yehuda older during the subsequent events.
Premature & Precocious
The pregnancies for each and every one of Yaakov's children were extraordinarily short, and were thus able to fit within a seven year time span. Similarly, Yaakov's children reached physical and sexual maturity at supernaturally early ages, and this accounts for the very young ages of Shimon and Levi and Yehuda's descendants when they sired offspring in the subsequent stories.
Achronological Order
The Torah favors thematic order over chronological order and therefore presents the pregnancies and births as consecutive, even though they needed to overlap with each other to fit into the seven year time frame. Similarly, positing achronology resolves the difficulties in the later stories of Sefer Bereshit, with the story of Shimon and Levi in Shechem transpiring only many years after Yaakov returned from Lavan's home, and Yehuda's first marriage occurring several years before the sale of Yosef.
Expanded Time Frame
The births of Yaakov's first twelve children took place over a period of almost fourteen years, rather than seven. This approach subdivides over whether it is the starting line or end point which needs to be adjusted to gain the additional years.
Yaakov Married Earlier
Yaakov married Leah immediately upon starting working for Lavan, and thus Yaakov's first twelve children were born over the course of thirteen years. As a result, Shimon and Levi were about twenty at the time of the incident in Shechem, and there is additional time for Yehuda's descendants to sire their own offspring before descending to Egypt.
Yosef Born Later
Yosef was born only after the completion of Yaakov's first fourteen years working for Lavan, and the twelve children were born over a span of up to twelve years. The incident with Shechem happened only much later when Shimon and Levi were already twenty years old.