{"id":38595,"date":"2018-08-25T23:07:34","date_gmt":"2018-08-25T20:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=38595"},"modified":"2022-03-20T09:48:53","modified_gmt":"2022-03-20T07:48:53","slug":"always-a-hebrew-man","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/always-a-hebrew-man\/","title":{"rendered":"Always A Hebrew Man"},"content":{"rendered":"
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At the end of Chapter 31 we read the details of Jacob and Laban\u2019s parting covenant:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. And Jacob said to his brethren, \u201cgather stones.\u201d And they took stones and they made a heap and they ate there on the heap. 47. And Laban called it \u201c<\/span>yagar sahaduta<\/span><\/em>\u201d <\/span><\/i>(Aramaic meaning: “the heap of the testimony\u201d) and Jacob called it <\/span>\u201c<\/span><\/i>Gal-ed<\/span><\/em>.\u201d (Hebrew meaning the same). 48. And Laban said, \u201cThis heap is a testimony between me and you this day\u2014therefore he called its name, \u2018<\/span>Gal-ed<\/span><\/em>.\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why is it important to make note of Laban\u2019s Aramaic name for the place? And why is the Hebrew name repeated? Obadiah Sforno (1475-1550), an Italian Biblical commentator, provides a compelling interpretation. What the text is teaching us is that Jacob did not stop speaking Hebrew. He was naming the place in which his destruction was averted using his native tongue. Surprisingly, Laban also adopts the Hebrew name. This, according to Sforno, was a submission to Jacob\u2019s choice of language\u2014he was agreeing to call the place by its Hebrew name.<\/span><\/p>\n

    This might be a simple instance of \u201cto the victor go the naming rights.\u201d Laban came to Gal-ed ready to destroy Jacob, but God prevented him. Jacob was \u201cvictorious\u201d\u2014he was able to continue on to Canaan without losing anything to his devious father-in-law. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

    Yet, I think there\u2019s something even more significant going on here. Jacob came to Laban a vulnerable refugee, but he never chose the path of assimilating to his new world. By not ceasing to speak his native Hebrew, he never ceased being a Hebrew. Though in exile, his world continued to be shaped by the tongue of his forefathers, Abraham and Isaac. Being linguistically at odds with the dominant culture he could not live a settled existence\u2014he was always ready to return.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Refugees who are not able to adapt and adopt the language of their new home experience tremendous loneliness and depression. Jacob willingly chose this path\u2014his determination to return never waned. Laban was finally forced to acknowledge Jacob\u2019s true place at their last confrontation.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":82447,"id":82447,"title":"","filename":"ps34-hebrew-letters.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/ps34-hebrew-letters.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/alphabetic-vagaries\/creative-hebrew-alphabet-texture-background\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"creative-hebrew-alphabet-texture-background","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":82446,"date":"2020-10-30 13:16:11","modified":"2022-05-18 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