{"id":78353,"date":"2020-08-02T17:44:56","date_gmt":"2020-08-02T14:44:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=78353"},"modified":"2020-08-02T17:44:56","modified_gmt":"2020-08-02T14:44:56","slug":"two-complementary-blessings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/two-complementary-blessings\/","title":{"rendered":"Two Complementary Blessings"},"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":[],"acf":{"old_id":"78353","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":73524,"related_cahpter":"537","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Or is it a blessing and a curse?\u00a0\r\n\r\n","content":"

After what most scholars understand as a debate regarding what Israel’s response should be to the impending Assyrian invasion, Micah concludes as follows:<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe remnant of Jacob shall be, In the midst of the many peoples, Like dew from the LORD, Like droplets on grass… The remnant of Jacob Shall be among the nations, In the midst of the many peoples, Like a lion among beasts of the wild, Like a fierce lion among flocks of sheep, Which tramples wherever it goes And rends, with none to deliver\u201d (verses 7-8).<\/span><\/p>\n

Micah now frames the choice facing the people with two stark similes. He bluntly declares that there will be a remnant \u2013 implying a previous destruction. The question is what role the survivors will play. The first simile in verse 6, compares the Jewish people to dew from heaven and raindrops that fall gently upon the grass. In the second simile in verse 7, the Jewish people are lions that rule the animals.\u00a0 Micah emphasizes the contrast by the almost identical openings. The two similes draw from ancient blessings of Israel’s forefathers \u2013 Isaac blessed his children to be like dew from heaven (Gen. 27:28-29), and Jacob tribal blessing to Judah was that “you are a lion\u2019 whelp, \u2026 you return from the prey” (Gen. 49:9).<\/span><\/p>\n

So are the Jewish people gentle like the rain, or fierce like the lion? The two similes actually serve to complement each other, representing two views of the role of the Jewish people among the nations. The opening blessing that God gives to Abraham emphasizes that the blessing was not for him or his descendants alone, was universal in scope, extending to all of humanity that so desired it. The simile itself points towards the positive effect that the Jewish people have on humanity \u2013 dew and rain are valued not in and of themselves, but for the benefits that they bring to nature and the world.<\/span> Dew is linked in the Bible to blessing and fertility (Gen. 27:28; Hos. 14:5), and the Tanakh often uses rain showers as a metaphor for either the king’s presence or for Divine teachings (Deut. 32:2; Ps. 72:6).<\/span><\/p>\n

The metaphor is verse 7 is that of a marauding lion. In the ancient Near East, the comparison to lions, whether of gods or kings, was a common metaphor.<\/span> Micah here metamorphosed the Jewish people from a defenseless and cowering sheep to a raging lion. After graphically describing how the lions seize their prey, drag it underfoot and then tear it for meat, Micah concludes that “there will be no rescuer.”<\/span><\/p>\n

In the context of the verse, Micah is referring to the nations of the world. However, we suggest an alternative reading:<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the remnant of Jacobs shall be among the nations as dew\/raindrops<\/span><\/p>\n

< OR IF ><\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

the remnant of Jacobs shall be among the nations as marauding lions \u2013 <\/span>[then]<\/span><\/em> there will no rescuer\u00a0<\/span>[for the Jewish people]<\/span><\/em>.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

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