LEL and IsMAlil, ISEN-El.l.SA.
9. Brachylogij (n~i:ip ~1"I). The Scriptures some- times express themselves briefly, and words must be supplied. Thus, e. g. Ill bin, where it ought to be in CSD PZni, and David's sold was consumed, UJES being omitted: again, 1 Chron. xvii, 5, where nTIXI
-,:c^ -1 l=nix bx bn-x:3 ought to be -bnr^ n-^nxi
•^Z-C-zh '^Z'CZ-C^ bn-X bx ^smx-S, "And I went from tent to tent, and from tabernacle to tabernacle," the words ■jbiin"!: and "311"!:^ being omitted.
10. liejjetition (^^yC X"n":j 121). The Scriptures repeat a thing in order to indicate thereby something special. Thus it is said in Jer. vii, 4, "Trust ye not in lying words, saying. The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord ;" the last phrase is repeated tliree times, to indicate that though his iicojile Israel celebrate feasts in the temple three times in the year, the Lord will not regaril it because they do not amend their ways.
11. The separation and order of the roses (111D p?n:;j) are designed to convey some explanation. Thus verses 18 and 19 of 2 Chron. xxx ought to be dif- ferently placed (comp. Rashi, &A loc).
12. A subject often explains itself while it imparts in- formation on other subjects (XiJ^SDI 1"C?3 X2w 121 -iizh). Thus, " Its en,', it shall arise like that of a ser- pent" (.ler. xlvi, 22), indicates that the serpent must have raised a tremendous cry after the curse which the Lord pronounced against it, since we are nowhere else told tiiat there was any occasion on which it cried ; and that Egypt raises an etiually loud cry — thus serving to give information upon another subject, and at the same time explaining itself (ccnnp. Soto, 9 b).
13. .4 general statement is made first, and is followed by a single remarl; which is simply to particidarize the general. This ride is called 1^X1 mrr^ 1''inX'J ^^3 -rrxi b'r 1::1B Xbx. and is illustrated by Gen. i. 27, where the creation of man is recorded in general terms — "Male and female created he them;" while ii. 7, which describes the creation of Adam, and ii, 21, wliich speaks of the creation of Eve, are simjily the particulars of i, 27, and not another record or contradiction.
14. A great and incomprehensible thing is represented by something small to render it intelligible. This ride is
called -;n: -T-xn r^nrnb pps nbrrr b'l; im
r" -■'w X"n"i'. and is illustrated by Dent, xxxii, 2 — "My doctrine shall dro]) as the rain;" where the great doctrines of revelation are compared with the less sig- nificant rain, in order to make them comprehensible to man ; and liy .\mos iii. «— •• When the lion roareth. w ho i doth not fear? the L)rd speaketh." etc.: where the lion ^ is compared with the Deity, to give man an intelligible idea of the jiower of (iod.
1.5. When two Scriptures seem to contradict each other, a third Scripture will reconcile them (n''2"r2 TiJ
-r-5'-'n 2T:n xr^a ir riT rx sit rx c-"i-n=^n
C'^iT'S'^S i'lll'^l). Thus it is said in 2 Sam. xxiv, 9,
MIDRASH
245
MIDRASH
" There were in Israel eight hundred thousand valiant men," in contradiction to 1 Chron. xxi, 5, where "a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword" — three hundred thousand more are said to have been among all Israel. The apparent con- tradiction is reconciled by xxvii, 1, where it is said, "The children of Israel after their number; to wit, the chief fathers and captains of thousands and hundreds, and their officers who served the king in all matters of the courses, who came in and went out, was, month by month, through all the months of the year, twenty-four thousand in each course." From this it is evident that the number of these servants for twelve months amount- ed to two lumdred and eighty-eight thousand, and as the chief fathers of Israel consisted of twelve thousand, ■we obtain the three hundred thousand who were noted in the registers of the king, and therefore are not men- tioned in 2 Sam. xxiv, 9. Thus the two apparently contradictory Scriptures are reconciled by a third Script- ure. It deserves to be noticed that this ancient inter- pretation is now generally followed, and that it is es- poused by Dr. Davidson, Sacred Ilermeneutics (Edinb. 1843), p. "546, etc.
16. An expression used for the first time is explained hy the passage in which it occurs (Iwlp^n inT^lO "13"1). Thus, e. g., Hannah is the lirst who in her prayer ad- dresses God as " Lord of Hosts ;" whence it is concluded that the superfluous expression hosts indicates that she must have argued to this effect — " Lord of the universe, thou hast erected two worlds (r.1X32); if I belong to the nether world I ought to be fruitful, and if to the upper I ought to live forever." Hence the expression is designed for this passage (Berachotk, 31 b).
17. A circumstance is not fully described in the pas- sage in which it first occurs, but is explained elsewhere
("inxnip^an onsn^^i i-sipris ^"isr'a iD^xa "im).
Thus it is stated in Gen. ii, 8, where the garden of Eden is first mentioned, that there were in it all manner of fruit ; but it is not to be gathered from this passage that there was anything else in the garden ; while from Ezelc. xxviii, 13, where this passage is further explained, it is evident that there were also precious stones in Paradise.