Biblical Hebrew How to Understand the Ancient Language - Without Having to Learn Hebrew SAM PLE Choice Words from the Story of The Sale of Joseph Biblical Hebrew Study Book Editor-in-Chief Yigal Tzadka [email protected] Content Advisor David Smith Cover Photo: Brothers Sell Joseph into Slavery. Konstantin Flavitsky, 1855. The story of the sale of Joseph is one of the most dramatic stories in the Bible. This is not a simple topic and many commentators have tried to deal with it over the years. Also, many artists have focused on this topic, like in this painting by Konstantin Flavitsky. English Editor Tiki Krakowski Hebrew Editor Orly Kihaly Graphic Design Nechama Levine Publisher Good Times Ltd. +972-2-643-7153 52 Hechalutz Street Jerusalem 96269 Subscriptions Liora Tzadka [email protected] Website www.BiblicalHebrewToday.com Dear Readers, © All rights reserved. Copying material from this publication without written permission is strictly forbidden. If you have any questions, or if you’d like us to focus on a specific Biblical word or paragraph, please let us know. Write to us at yigal@hebrewtoday. com and we’ll try to address your questions, either by email or in the next issue of our Biblical Hebrew Study Book. Important Note The study book you are holding is sanctified due to the holy texts printed in its pages. Please take care of the study book accordingly, and treat it with respect. 2 The Source (Genesis 37:23-26) אשׁ�ר בָּא יוֹסֵף ֲ ַ ו�י�הִי כּ.23 23. Vayehi ka’asher ba Yosef ;אחָיו ֶ אֶל 1 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, el echav ו�יּ�פְשׁ�יטוּ אֶת יוֹסֵף that they stripped Joseph vayafshitu et Yosef תּנ ְתּוֹ ָ ֻ אֶת כּ of his coat, et kutanto אֶת כְּתֹנ ֶת ַהפַּסִּים the coat of many colours et ktonet hapasim .אשׁ�ר עָל ָיו ֲ that was on him; asher alav. ו�יּ�קָּח ֻהוּ.24 24. Vayikachuhu ;ו�יּ�שׁ�ל ִכוּ אֹתוֹ ַהבֹּ�ה and they took him, and cast him into the pit vayashlichu oto haborah ,ו�הַבּוֹר �ק and the pit was empty, vehabor rek .אֵין בּוֹ ָמי�ם there was no water in it. en bo mayim. אכָל לֶחֶם ֱ ֶ ו�יּ�שׁ�בוּ ל.25 25. Vayeshvu le’echol lechem 3 And they sat down to eat bread; ו�יּ�שׂ�אוּ עֵינ ֵיהֶם ו�יּ��אוּ and they lifted up their eyes and looked, vayis’u eineyhem vayir’u ו� ִהנּ ֵה אֹ�חַת י�שׁ� ְמעֵאל ִים and, behold, a caravan of Ishmaelites vehineh orchat Yishme’elim ;ָבּאָה ִמגִּלְעָד came from Gilead, ba’ah miGil’ad וּג ְ ַמלּ ֵיהֶם נֹשׂ�אִים with their camels bearing ugemalehem nos’im ט�נְכֹאת וּצְ�י ו spicery and balm and ladanum, .הוֹלְכִים ל ְהוֹ�יד ִמצְ�י�מָה going to carry it down to Egypt. nechot utsri valot holchim lehorid Mitsraymah. אחָיו ֶ ו�יּ�אמֶר י�הוּד ָה אֶל.26 26. And Judah said unto his brethren: Vayomer Yehudah el echav מַה ֶבּצַע ‘What profit is it mah betsa אחִינוּ ָ כִּי נַהֲ�ג אֶת if we slay our brother ki naharog et achinu .ו�כִסִּינוּ אֶת דּ ָמוֹ and conceal his blood? vechisinu et damo. 4 Selected Words from the Source ( כְּתֺנֶת ַה ַפּסִּיםktonet hapasim) coat of many colours (37:23) The word ( כְּתֺנֶתktonet) coat comes from the word ( ֻכּ ְתנָהkutna) cotton. This indicates to us what material Joseph’s coat was made from. This is the same coat that Jacob gave to Joseph in verse 3. Incidentally, the word כְּתֺנֶתhas all but Striped tunic in Egytpian art disappeared from the Hebrew language, though there are some who use it to describe pajamas. In the English translation, the phrase “of many colours” is used to describe ַפּסִּים, however, it is not an exact translation. The correct translation is “stripes.” But what were these stripes that were on the coat and why did Jacob need them? Obviously, this was a more tailored piece of clothing, and it showed that Jacob favored Joseph over the rest of the brothers. However, the stripes showed something else. During Biblical times, members of royalty wore clothing with stripes. We can see this in the story of Amnon and Tamar, the children of King David. In Samuel II, 13:18, the text describes the clothing that Tamar wore: 2 ת ַהבְּתוֶּ תּל ְ ַבּשׁ�ן� בְנוֹת ַה ֶמּל ִ ו�עָל ֶי ָה כְּתֹנ ֶת פַּסִּים כִּי כֵן ve’aleha ktonet pasim ki chen tilbashna vnot hamelech habetulot Now she had a garment of many colours upon her; for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were virgins apparelled 5 Did Jacob know that he was dressing a future prince? Is this how he showed the rest of the brothers that he took Joseph’s dreams (that he would rule over his brothers) seriously? ( אְֺרחַתorchat) caravan (of) (37:25) This word comes from the word ( אוֹרַחorach) which means a way, path. In other words, this is describing a caravan, a group of people traveling on a certain path. In this case, they happen to be Ishmaelites. Caravan of camels. Sculpture: David Gerstein. Photo: Dr. Avishai Teichner ִשׁ ְמעֵאלִים ְ ( יYishme’elim) Ishmaelites (37:25) This word obviously comes from the name Ishmael - the son of Hagar, Abraham’s Egyptian maidservant. This name is composed of two words: ִשׁמָע ְ ( יyishma) he will hear ( אֵלel) God As you may recall, when Hagar fled from Abraham’s house, an angel of God revealed itself to her and told her that she was pregnant and that she would give birth to a son. He established the name of the child before it was born, and said that God heared her troubles (Genesis 16:11). טָ( נְכֺאת וּ ְצרִי וnechot utsri valot) spicery and balm and ladanum (37:25) Throughout history, the area around the Land of Israel produced spices, medical incense and other similar things. For thousands of years, 6 caravans traveled to Egypt, and later to Rome, laden with this precious and unique merchandise. So, what did the Ishmaelites carry on their camels? נְכֺאת- spicery Different spices The various interpreters have not been able to identify what נְכֺאתis exactly. Some botanists think that is a carob product, such as carob powder or carob honey. In various historical descriptions carob honey is described as one of the expensive products that were exported from the area around Egypt to Europe. Other scholars think that נְכֺאתis a type of wax, which was rare at the time and was used in a certain type of drawing technique in ancient Egypt. However, the most common interpretation of the word is that נְכֺאתis a general word for spices, just as the translation has it - spicery. ְצרִי- balm These are various medicinal herbs that were used in the ancient Near East. As Jeremiah said to the daughters of Egypt: 3 ;עֲל ִי גִלְעָד וּקְחִי צֳ�י בְּתוּל ַת בַּת ִמצְ�י�ם ָ תּעָל ָה אֵין ל ְ לַשּׁ�ו�א הִ�בֵּית �פ ֻאוֹת ali Gil’ad ukchi tsori betulat bat Mitsra’yim lashav hirbet refu’ot te’ala ein lach Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin daughter of Egypt; in vain dost thou use many medicines; there is no cure for thee (Jeremiah 46:11) 7 The prophet mentions the provenance of the balm - the Hills of Gilead, which are east of the Jordan River - which fits in with our story, since it says that the caravan of Ishmaelites was coming from Gilead. It is interesting to read medical sources from the Land of Israel that describes balm. The Muslim scholar al-Muqaddasi (945-1000) described balm as a medical product made of many ingredients. He said that some of the ingredients were derived from poisonous animals such as snakes and scorpions. He even notes that those animals were caught near Jericho, where they would milk their poison, or make a powder out of their dried bodies, in order to mix it with the powder of plants, which were harvested near Jerusalem. There were scholars who understood the balm to be a plant that was used in the making of incense. In ancient Jewish literature, the balm is listed as an ingredient in the incense that was used by the High Priest in the Holy Temple. Various botanists think that the balm was made out of the legendary balsam tree that grew near Ein Gedi (near the Dead sea). In an exhibit on King Herod the Great in Jerusalem, a small jar with the word balsam, is displayed. The archaeologists Small jar of balsam perfume found at the Herodion think that this is the last remnant of this perfume. ט - ladanum It is not clear what ladanum is. There are those who think that it is a type of pitch that was used in healing. Other think that it is a mixture or powder made of inedible fruits and trees, such as oak trees. In any case, 8 it seems that in Biblical times, ladanum was expensive and important. Indeed, Jacob would later send Joseph, who was then a prince of Egypt, ladanum balm (Genesis 43:11). These two products have been called “the song of the earth”- i.e. the choicest products of the land. During the Second Temple period, it was thought that ladanum was a type of medical potion that needed to be taken in small doses. ( ֶבּצַעbetsa) profit (37:26) Judah, who was also trying to help Joseph, wanted to delay the inevitable and asked: “What do we gain by killing our brother?” He uses the word ֶבּצַעwhich is translated as “profit.” This is a neutral translation, which does not convey the meaning of ֶבּצַע. It does not indicate whether this is a positive or negative thing. However, in Biblical Hebrew, the word ֶבּצַעhas a negative connotation and it is generally translated that way. Here too, in the case of Judah, the text wanted to steer us toward the understanding that something bad is happening here - and the use of the word ֶבּצַעemphasizes that. This word also means a part of a whole. When someone takes a part of a whole for himself, he takes a part for himself. When a person embezzles money, he takes for himself part of the whole, but in a ‘non-kosher’ way. Here is an example of the word ֶבּצַע: 4 ;טנּ ָם ו�עַד גּ ְדוֹל ָם כּ ֻלּוֹ בּוֹ ֵצעַ ָבּצַע ַ ְכִּי ִמקּ וּ ִמנָּבִיא ו�עַד כֹּהֵן כּ ֻלּוֹ עֹשׂ�ה שּׁ�קֶר ki miktanam ve’ad gdolam kulo botse’a batsa uminavi ve’ad kohen kulo oseh shaker For from the least of them even unto the greatest of them every one is greedy for gain; and from the prophet even unto the priest every one dealeth falsely (Jeremiah 6:13) 9 A GLIMPSE OF OUR HISTORY Good Times Publishing Ltd. is a publication house which started its journey in 1984 as a family-owned business, publishing educational material for the Israeli school system. 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