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Authors: Daniel Boyarin
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rich in meaning by many passages, [for] it declares that He revealed Himself to them with every manner of weapon:
He revealed Himself to them as a warrior girt with his sword, as it is said, "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O warrior" [Ps. 45:4]; He revealed Himself to them as a cavalry officer, as it is said, "And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly" [Ps. 18:11];
He revealed Himself to them in coat of mail and helmet, as it is said, "And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail," etc. [Isa. 59:17]; He revealed Himself to them with a spear, as it is said, ''At the shining of Thy glittering spear'' [Hab. 3:11], and it says, "Draw out also the spear, and the battleax," etc. [Ps. 35:3];
He revealed Himself to them with bow and arrows, as it is said, "Thy bow is made quite bare," etc. [Hab. 3:9], and it says, "And He sent out arrows, and scattered them," etc. [2 Sam. 22:15];
He revealed Himself to them in buckler and shield, as it is said, "His truth is a shield and a buckler," etc. [Ps. 91:4], and it says, "Take hold of shield and buckler," etc. [Ps. 35:2]. 14
This text is particularly interesting to us, because it is one of the few places where we find a comment by the rabbis on their hermeneutic method. 15 We have here an explicit statement on the nature of midrashic reading. It is founded on the idea that gaps and indeterminacies in one part of the canon may be filled and resolved by citing others. R. Yehuda says that the way to interpret our verse is to consider it in the light of many other verses. This is a reflex of the general rabbinic principle that the "words of Torah are poor in their own context [lit., in their place] and rich in another context.'' 16 Far from being limited to interpretation in its context, the verse is considered as impoverished in meaning when read only there . As Goldin has put it, "the idiom and idea of this verse are made concrete and are illuminated by a number of verses in other parts of Scripture.'' 17 Or to put it in other terms, a metaphor describing God's nature or activities is explicated by reference to other verses from the Prophets and Writings in which the metaphor is made more specific or concrete. The collected verses form a paradigm, the paradigm, that is, of God's weapons. 18
Syntagmatic reconstruction, in which narratives are constructed around a verse or concatenation of verses, provides an even more striking example of the way biblical references may be used to generate new/old meaning. The case at hand in the Mekilta is remarkable in that its speaker, R. Yehuda, uses precisely the same formula to introduce his interpretive discourse as above:
And the angel of God, going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud moved from before them and went behind them [Exod. 14:19]. R. Yehuda said: Here is a verse made rich in meaning by many passages. He made of it a mashal; 19 to what is the matter similar? To a king who was going on the way, and his son went before him. Brigands came to kidnap him from
in front. He took him from in front and placed him behind him. A wolf came behind him. He took him from behind and placed him in front. 20 Brigands in front and the wolf in back he [He] took him and placed him in his [His] 21 arms, for it says, "I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them on My arms" [Hos. 11:3].
The son began to suffer; he [He] took him on his shoulders, for it is said, "in the desert which you saw, where the Lord, your God carried you" [Deut. 1:31]. The son began to suffer from the sun; he [He] spread on him His cloak, for it is said, "He has spread a cloud as a curtain'' [Ps. 105:39].
He became hungry; he [He] fed him, for it is said, "Behold I send bread, like rain, from the sky'' [Exod. 16:4].
He became thirsty, he [He] gave him drink, for it is said, "He brought streams out of the rock" [Ps. 78:16]. 22 [Lauterbach, I, pp. 224–225]
R. Yehuda's stated purpose is to comment on the verse, "And the angel of God, etc."
He revealed Himself to them as a warrior girt with his sword, as it is said, "Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O warrior" [Ps. 45:4]; He revealed Himself to them as a cavalry officer, as it is said, "And He rode upon a cherub, and did fly" [Ps. 18:11];
He revealed Himself to them in coat of mail and helmet, as it is said, "And He put on righteousness as a coat of mail," etc. [Isa. 59:17]; He revealed Himself to them with a spear, as it is said, ''At the shining of Thy glittering spear'' [Hab. 3:11], and it says, "Draw out also the spear, and the battleax," etc. [Ps. 35:3];
He revealed Himself to them with bow and arrows, as it is said, "Thy bow is made quite bare," etc. [Hab. 3:9], and it says, "And He sent out arrows, and scattered them," etc. [2 Sam. 22:15];
He revealed Himself to them in buckler and shield, as it is said, "His truth is a shield and a buckler," etc. [Ps. 91:4], and it says, "Take hold of shield and buckler," etc. [Ps. 35:2]. 14
This text is particularly interesting to us, because it is one of the few places where we find a comment by the rabbis on their hermeneutic method. 15 We have here an explicit statement on the nature of midrashic reading. It is founded on the idea that gaps and indeterminacies in one part of the canon may be filled and resolved by citing others. R. Yehuda says that the way to interpret our verse is to consider it in the light of many other verses. This is a reflex of the general rabbinic principle that the "words of Torah are poor in their own context [lit., in their place] and rich in another context.'' 16 Far from being limited to interpretation in its context, the verse is considered as impoverished in meaning when read only there . As Goldin has put it, "the idiom and idea of this verse are made concrete and are illuminated by a number of verses in other parts of Scripture.'' 17 Or to put it in other terms, a metaphor describing God's nature or activities is explicated by reference to other verses from the Prophets and Writings in which the metaphor is made more specific or concrete. The collected verses form a paradigm, the paradigm, that is, of God's weapons. 18
Syntagmatic reconstruction, in which narratives are constructed around a verse or concatenation of verses, provides an even more striking example of the way biblical references may be used to generate new/old meaning. The case at hand in the Mekilta is remarkable in that its speaker, R. Yehuda, uses precisely the same formula to introduce his interpretive discourse as above:
And the angel of God, going before the camp of Israel, moved and went behind them. And the pillar of cloud moved from before them and went behind them [Exod. 14:19]. R. Yehuda said: Here is a verse made rich in meaning by many passages. He made of it a mashal; 19 to what is the matter similar? To a king who was going on the way, and his son went before him. Brigands came to kidnap him from
in front. He took him from in front and placed him behind him. A wolf came behind him. He took him from behind and placed him in front. 20 Brigands in front and the wolf in back he [He] took him and placed him in his [His] 21 arms, for it says, "I taught Ephraim to walk, taking them on My arms" [Hos. 11:3].
The son began to suffer; he [He] took him on his shoulders, for it is said, "in the desert which you saw, where the Lord, your God carried you" [Deut. 1:31]. The son began to suffer from the sun; he [He] spread on him His cloak, for it is said, "He has spread a cloud as a curtain'' [Ps. 105:39].
He became hungry; he [He] fed him, for it is said, "Behold I send bread, like rain, from the sky'' [Exod. 16:4].
He became thirsty, he [He] gave him drink, for it is said, "He brought streams out of the rock" [Ps. 78:16]. 22 [Lauterbach, I, pp. 224–225]
R. Yehuda's stated purpose is to comment on the verse, "And the angel of God, etc."
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