{"id":57972,"date":"2019-06-20T22:50:24","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T19:50:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=57972"},"modified":"2023-01-15T08:56:50","modified_gmt":"2023-01-15T06:56:50","slug":"saul-consolidated-the-monarchy-and","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/saul-consolidated-the-monarchy-and\/","title":{"rendered":"Saul Consolidated The Monarchy, And\u2026?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"entry-content\"><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[366,361],"acf":{"old_id":"57972","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"246","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"An odd word sparks interesting speculation","content":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are so many items of interest in this chapter that it was quite a challenge to single out only one for comment.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Just a glimpse of the proverbial road not taken would include, first of all, the array of delightful place names such as Migron (2), Botzetz &amp; Seneh (4), and Michmash (5). The chapter also encompasses the episode of Jonathan and his armor bearer\u2019s commando raid against the Philistines (6 ff.) and how they successfully employed an early form of psy-ops (9 ff.). Same for their unwitting disobedience to Saul\u2019s counterproductive order to abstain from all food (24), his subsequent rash vow to punish any violator \u201ceven my son Jonathan\u201d (39, highly reminiscent of Jephthah\u2019s rash vow in Judges 11), and how their lives were spared by popular acclaim (45).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What I have chosen to focus on is verse 47:<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 30px;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saul consolidated the monarchy over Israel and fought against all his enemies on all sides: Moab, Ammon, Edom, the kings of [Aram] Zobah, and the Philistines; and wherever he turned, <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">yarshi`a<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have deliberately left the last word untranslated because that is the crux of the matter. While a host of medieval exegetes and English translations have labored mightily to turn it to Saul\u2019s advantage (e.g., King James: \u201che vexed them,\u201d English Standard: \u201che routed them,\u201d JPS: \u201che put them to the worse\u201d), the undeniable fact is that the Hebrew literally means \u201che [Saul] was wicked.\u201d While \u201cwicked\u201d (from the Old English wicca, meaning wizard) has the slang meaning of excellent, the Hebrew <\/span><em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">rasha<\/span><\/em><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><em>`<\/em> does not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The sole exception to this history of interpretation (and not for the only time) was Malbim (1809-1879), who manipulated grammar to his advantage. He substituted the object of the sentence for its subject and attached it to the following verse, yielding (in paraphrase): Saul fought against all these enemies. Indeed, in whatever direction a wicked one (i.e. an external enemy) confronted him, he acted valiantly.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":57973,"id":57973,"title":"isam14-yarshia","filename":"isam14-yarshia.jpg","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/isam14-yarshia.jpg","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/saul-consolidated-the-monarchy-and\/isam14-yarshia\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"isam14-yarshia","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":57972,"date":"2019-06-20 19:50:06","modified":"2019-06-20 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