By Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin
PIKESVILLE, MARYLAND — By asking questions and seeking answers, we learn. By learning, we improve our behavior and serve as examples for others to do likewise. As a result, we improve not only humans but the entire world. The first of the eleven biblical portions of the book Shemot, Exodus – the name is from the Greek, now in English – Exodus 1:1 to 6:1, also called Shemot, gives many examples, some of which follow.
The first sentence raises many questions
Ten of the eleven portions in the book of Exodus and many portions in other of the five books of Moses begin with the Hebrew letter vav. Why? How should it be translated?
Lexicographer Reuben Alcalay defines the letter vav as “and,” “also,” “but,” “therefore,” and “then.”Most translators use “and,” which does not seem appropriate in modern English. Perhaps “then” is better, but it is rarely used. I left it out in my translation of the Bible in my Targum books. The best way to understand its usage is to realize that this is how people spoke and wrote when the Bible was composed.
Surprisingly, Rabbi Salomon ben Issaac de Troyes (Rashi) interprets v’eleh as teaching that just as laws in the former portion were given at Mount Sinai, so the statutes following Exodus 21:1 were given at Sinai. Is he interpreting the vav? Why? Does he think the vav adds something when it appears in 21:1, despite being the same word v’eleh as in Exodus 1:1? Does he believe the vav always adds a lesson? We do not know why he said what he said.
I like to think he realized the vav added nothing but wanted to use it to stress his sermon concerning the importance of the laws in this portion. They are as if declared at Mount Sinai.
The Names
Why does the Torah mention the words “the names”? It is not necessary. The Torah could have just said that These Israelites came to Egypt. Again, this is the ancient writing style.
However, Rashi followed Rabbi Akiva’s mindset, who said that the Torah introduces a new lesson whenever it says something unnecessary. So, Rashi comments that God loved the Israelites so much that He mentioned them in various ways whenever He could. Rabbi Ishmael differed from Rabbi Akiva.
Rabbi Akiva felt that since the Bible is a word-for-word and letter-for-letter revelation from God and God is perfect, He can say precisely what is meant to be said and would never include superfluous or non-relevant material in the divine book. Thus, whenever an idea is repeated in the Bible, or there is an unusual word or change in spelling, God must have placed it to teach a lesson.
Rabbi Ishmael disagreed. He felt that “the Torah [intended for humans] speaks in human language.” For example, as people repeat themselves for emphasis, to gain attention and clarity, or to make their statement more flowery or poetic, so does the Torah. Nothing should be read into repetitions, of which there are many. If God meant to teach an additional lesson, God wouldn’t have hidden it in a repetition that doesn’t mean or even imply what people read into it; God would have made an explicit statement.
Bnai Yisrael
Most translators opt for “children of Israel,” even though the term is ambiguous. Since only males are mentioned in this verse, it could also mean “sons of Israel.” I prefer “Israelites.” Again, this term was used to describe how people spoke and wrote in the early period.
Why are only males mentioned? Some say that women were considered unimportant. I think the Torah mentioned the sons who became tribal leaders. They are introduced because the tribes play a significant part in what follows.
Seventy persons mentioned in Genesis 1:5
Although the Torah asserts that Jacob’s household who came to Egypt numbered seventy souls, the Rabbis noted that only sixty-nine individuals are listed in Genesis 46. Rashi comments that the seventeenth person was Moses’s mother, born as the family entered Egypt. See also Midrash Genesis Rabbah 94:9.
Why did Rashi and the midrash need to identify the seventieth person? Do they reject the view, which I think is correct, that numbers in the Torah frequently have other meanings than numerical?
The number 40, for example, appears in the Bible over 150 times. Of these, the words 40 days and 40 nights are found 24 times. Each time, they denote a significance for God and his people. They often represent testing, trial, and transformation periods and signify a period of preparation or completion. Forty could also, at times, signify two-generations.
In contrast, seventy represents a more extended period, even a lifetime. It appears at least sixty times in the Bible and is considered significant. It comprises the sum of two perfect numbers: seven, which represents perfection, and ten, which reminds us of God’s laws.
Why the New Testament has 75
Why does the New Testament book Acts 7:14 increase the number to 75? “Then Joseph sent and called his father Jacob and all his relatives to him, seventy-five people.” We do not know.
Biblical language and behavior
We saw that the language used in the Torah was ancient Hebrew, not the Hebrew of 2025. This is understandable. If Shakespeare could write his widely accepted plays in Modern English, would his audience have accepted them?
It is doubtful. They would have thought Shakespeare was mocking them by writing in gibberish, and the Israelites in Moses’ day would have reacted similarly.
Language was only one problem. While the Torah allows the continuation of misguided behaviors such as slavery and sacrifices because of the mindset of the ancient people when the laws were promulgated, the rabbis understood that the Torah wanted better behavior. Therefore, the Torah allowed what the people considered proper but hinted that the rules must be changed.
For example, Exodus 21-1-24:1 begins with laws concerning a Hebrew slave. It continues with laws when a man sells his daughter as a slave, a death sentence to a person who kills another, the law of an accidental killing, the rule that holding on the altar does not protect a murderer, injuries are punished “an eye for an eye,” and striking a father or mother and kidnapping result in the death penalty. The rabbis changed all of these listed laws because, which may surprise many, the rabbis saw multiple hints in the Torah that the Torah wanted the change.
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Rabbi Dr. Israel Drazin is a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Army Chaplain Corps and the author of more than 50 books.