{"id":59924,"date":"2019-07-22T16:04:33","date_gmt":"2019-07-22T13:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=59924"},"modified":"2023-02-14T13:50:04","modified_gmt":"2023-02-14T11:50:04","slug":"the-blind-and-the-lame","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/the-blind-and-the-lame\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blind and the Lame"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/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":[366,834,635],"acf":{"old_id":"59924","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"268","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Did they represent Isaac the blind, and Jacob, who limped? Or something else entirely?","content":"

In this chapter, all of Israel comes to acknowledge David\u2019s reign and, perhaps as a consequence of his broader acceptance, he decides to move his capital from Hebron, which was strictly Judean, to the more broad-based Jerusalem\u2014then known as Jebus. As he approached the city, however, he received the following enigmatic message: \u201cYou will not enter here until you remove the `<\/span>ivrim<\/span><\/em> and the <\/span>pischim<\/span><\/em>\u201d (6). While there are various ways in which these critical words have been translated, the consensus (including, inter alia, King James and the Jewish Publication Society) is that the former are \u201cthe blind\u201d and the latter are \u201cthe lame.\u201d Just who were these blind and lame who were ostensibly preventing David\u2019s conquest of Jebus?<\/span><\/p>\n

Rashi (and others), following the Midrash, explained:<\/span><\/p>\n

[Jebus\u2019s inhabitants] were from the descendants of Abimelech [King of the Philistines]. They had two idols, one [depicting] a blind person and one [depicting] a lame person. They were made to represent Isaac [who was blind] and Jacob [who limped]. [Placed] in their mouths was the oath Abraham swore to Abimelech [to be gracious to his descendants up to four generations, Genesis 21:23-24]<\/span><\/p>\n

Equally perplexing is David\u2019s retort: \u201cWhosoever strikes a Jebusite and reaches the [water] pipe (<\/span>tzinor<\/span><\/em>), and the blind and lame who are despised by David, wherefore they say \u2018neither blind nor lame shall enter the house\u2019\u201d (8). Rashi, in keeping with his previous remark, identified the <\/span>tzinor<\/span><\/em> as a tower or spire, explaining that it was there that the Jebusite idols were kept, and it had to be taken first.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yosef Ibn Caspi (14<\/span>th<\/span> century), however, took a highly original track, combining both verses to produce the following interpretation:\u00a0 Inside the entrance to Jebus, as to every walled city, was a pool of water that was frequented by the wretched of society, such as the blind and the lame. The Jebusites were actually taunting David, saying, \u201cYour chances of conquering the city are as poor as they are to overcome these wretches, who, alone, can defeat you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

After the successful conquest, David solidified his rule by building a royal palace, in which he was assisted by Hiram, King of Tyre, whose assistance would be welcomed later in the construction of the first Temple by Solomon (1 Kings 5). David also took additional wives and concubines and although it is not specifically indicated, chances are that some or even all of those marriages were politically inspired.<\/span><\/p>\n

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