Deuteronomy 3:23-29

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Sedra 2, Va-Etchanan

Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11


The Yehudit version of the Tanach is subdivided into Sidrot for weekly reading, where the Christian version is subdivided into chapters; and the two do not very often match. On this occasion we begin a new [Yehudit] Sedra at the mid-point of a [Christian] chapter, and for this reason I have divided my text in two parts.

Chapter 3 (cont)


3:23 VA ET'CHANAN EL YHVH BA ET HA HI LEMOR

וָאֶתְחַנַּן אֶל יְהוָה בָּעֵת הַהִוא לֵאמֹר

KJ: And I besought the LORD at that time, saying,

BN: And I petitioned YHVH at that time, saying,


ET'CHANAN: CHANUN is "mercy"; the grammatical structure is the Hitpa'el or reflexive: "I asked YHVH for his mercy" would be a literal translation. The phrase is obviously liturgical, and the next verse endorses that. The context however is not litrugical, though no doubt Mosheh did indeed pray: the context is Mosheh being told that he cannot go with his people into Kena'an, and literally pleading with YHVH to change his mind.

Why does the Nikud add a chirik (the dot under the second letter), turning what is clearly written as HA HU (masculine, with a Vav) into HA HI (feminine, with a Yud)? Is ET a feminine noun? Answering which is not helped by the plural of OT being OTOT (cf Genesis 1:14), which is the normal feminine ending, though there are masculine words which take the feminine ending, and vice-versa; but on this occasion we know that it is feminine, and you can find multiple confrmations of this in the various texts by clicking here.

   So the answer to my question - and I should have dealt with this at Deuteronomy 1:9, where the same issue arose - is that there is an error in the god-text, though presumably it was a human scribe in Ezra's time who made it. The Masoretes, adding the pointing, have seen the error, but rather than changing the god-script, which is not permissible in orthodox circles, they have added the chirik as a way of, literally, pointing it out. And it may not even have been a scribal error - the Vav and the Yud are remarkably similar letters, and the tail of the latter only needs to be extended a fraction for it to appear to be a Vav; we have witnessed this numerous times through these texts.

3:24 ADONAY YHVH ATAH HACHILOTAH LEHAROT ET AVDECHA ET GADLECHA VE ET YADCHA HA CHAZAKAH ASHER MI EL BA SHAMAYIM U VA ARETS ASHER YA'ASEH CHE MA'ASEYCHA VE CHI GEVUROTECHA

אֲדֹנָי יְהוִה אַתָּה הַחִלּוֹתָ לְהַרְאוֹת אֶת עַבְדְּךָ אֶת גָּדְלְךָ וְאֶת יָדְךָ הַחֲזָקָה אֲשֶׁר מִי אֵל בַּשָּׁמַיִם וּבָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה כְמַעֲשֶׂיךָ וְכִגְבוּרֹתֶךָ

KJ: O Lord GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might?

BN: My Lord YHVH, you have begun to show your servant your greatness, and your strong hand; for what god is there in heaven or on earth that can do according to your works, and according to your mighty acts?


ADONAY YHVH: One of the problems that many Reform Jews have with more traditional styles of Judaism, is the superstitions over the pronouncing of the divine name, and this is in part because superstitions of any kind are supposedly prohibited, but mostly because the alternate names are both incorrect and unhelpful. So, here, there is the word ADONAI (אֲדֹנָ֤י), which means "my lord", and is the way that one addresses a king; and then there is YHVH (יְהוָ֥ה), which is the name of the deity, but which some traditional Jews will not pronounce, prefering to say "Adonay" instead. In Exodus 34:6 and 7 there is a liturgical phrase "YHVH YHVH El rachum ve chanun", which would be sung in synagogue today (on Yom Kippur in fact) as "Adonay, Adonay..." though really it should be sung as "YHVH, YHVH..."

3:25 E'BERAH NA VE EREH ET HA ARETS HA TOVAH ASHER BE EVER HA YARDEN HA HAR HA TOV HA ZEH VE HA LEVANON

אֶעְבְּרָה נָּא וְאֶרְאֶה אֶת הָאָרֶץ הַטּוֹבָה אֲשֶׁר בְּעֵבֶר הַיַּרְדֵּן הָהָר הַטּוֹב הַזֶּה וְהַלְּבָנוֹן

KJ: I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon.

BN: Let me go over, I beseech you, and see the good land that is beyond the Yarden, that goodly hill-country, and Levanon.


E'BERAH: Beg, beseech, implore. Mosheh does not simply accept the divine prohibition.


3:26 YA YIT'ABER YHVH BI LEMA'ANCHEM VE LO SHAMA ELAYI VA YOMER YHVH ELAI RAV LACH TOSEPH DABER ELAI OD BA DAVAR HA ZEH

וַיִּתְעַבֵּר יְהוָה בִּי לְמַעַנְכֶם וְלֹא שָׁמַע אֵלָי וַיֹּאמֶר יְהוָה אֵלַי רַב לָךְ אַל תּוֹסֶף דַּבֵּר אֵלַי עוֹד בַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה

KJ: But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes, and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter.

BN: But YHVH was angry with me for your sakes, and would not listen to me; and YHVH said to me: Let this be sufficient for you; speak no more to me about this matter.


RAV LACH: Translating this into English is impossible, because Jewish culture is so different from non-Jewish. I have left it in the standard translation; but to get the tone right, this should be rendered, with the slightest tinge of frustration bordering on anger, as: "Alright, Mosheh, enough already. I don't want to hear any more about this."

LEMA'ANCHEM: This is Mosheh being utterly disingenuous again, in permanent denial of his own failings - actually he's very reminiscent of Donald Trump at these times, hailing people as wonderful when he hires them, tweeting their stupidity and incompetence when he fires them: never his fault. No, Mosheh, YHVH was angry with you "for your sake", for your failing, not the people's - the people cannot be at fault if they are being well-led. And mostly he is angry with you over what happened at Merivah.


3:27 ALEH ROSH HA PISGAH VE SA EYNEYCHA YAMAH VE TSAPHONAH VE TEYMANAH U MIZRACHAHAH U RE'EH VE EYNEYCHA KI LO TA'AVOR ET HA YARDEN HA ZEH

עֲלֵה רֹאשׁ הַפִּסְגָּה וְשָׂא עֵינֶיךָ יָמָּה וְצָפֹנָה וְתֵימָנָה וּמִזְרָחָה וּרְאֵה בְעֵינֶיךָ כִּי לֹא תַעֲבֹר אֶת הַיַּרְדֵּן הַזֶּה

KJ: Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan.

BN: Go up to the summit of the mountain, and look out westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and see it with your eyes; for you will not be going over this Yarden.


PISGAH: As noted several times previously, Pisgah in not the name of this mountain; the word means "summit" and applies to any hill or mountain.


3:28 VE TSAV ET YEHOSHU'A VE CHAZKEYHU VE AMTSEYHU KI HU YA'AVOR LIPHNEY HA AM HA ZEH VE HU YANCHIL OTAM ET HA ARETS ASHER TIREH

וְצַו אֶת יְהוֹשֻׁעַ וְחַזְּקֵהוּ וְאַמְּצֵהוּ כִּי הוּא יַעֲבֹר לִפְנֵי הָעָם הַזֶּה וְהוּא יַנְחִיל אוֹתָם אֶת הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר תִּרְאֶה

KJ: But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.

BN: But mentor Yehoshu'a, and encourage him, and give him authority; for he shall lead this people across, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see.


3:29 VA NESHEV BA GEY MUL BEIT PE'OR

וַנֵּשֶׁב בַּגָּיְא מוּל בֵּית פְּעוֹר

KJ: So we abode in the valley over against Bethpeor.

BN: So we camped in the valley opposite Beit Peor.


BEIT PE'OR: See the link.

pey break

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