divisive stop. Whereby, it would read, "The sceptre shall not be withdrawn from Judah, nor a legislator from between his feet, eternally" (and here is a stop); and then it declares, this shall be, when Shiloh (or the Messiah) "comes, whom all nations will gather to, and obey;" as Isaiah says, “ To him will the nations seek." 32 Onkelos gives the same interpretation; which as R. Bechayai observes, in For ever, when the Messiah * עד עלמא דייתי משיחא all correct copies is comes;" of which Daniel testifies the eternal duration, shall never be destroyed.' 9933 "A kingdom which 4th. The learned Aben Ezra understands waw to mean, staff, or symbol of office, and Shiloh to be David. The verse would then translate, "The staff (symbol of office) shall not depart from Judah, nor a scribe from between his feet, until his son (David) comes, to whom will be the gathering of the people;" which was verified, for the standard of Judah always had precedence. At the death of Joshua, when Israel enquired, "Who shall go up first?" they were answered, "Judah." David, it is prophesied, shall gather the people; and so he did, for all submitted to his government; and saying, "Until David comes," does not exclude the time after his advent, for his successors, as well as himself, were of the tribe of Judah; but is a mode of speech similar כי לא אעזבך אשר אם עשיתי,to what the Lord is said to have used to Jacob &c. "For I will not leave thee, until I have done what I have spoken to thee of."34 This promise is clearly, not that he would abandon him after such indicated time, but a common phrase often used, such as saying to a person, he should not want bread, until he got fields and vineyards. R. Levi ben Gershon considers it in the same manner. 5th. The learned R. Moses of Gerona understands paw to mean sceptre," and establishes the prophecy thus: "The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a scribe from between his feet until his son comes;" that is, the Messiah: that is, at whatever period, Israel should have a king, he should always be of the tribe and lineage of Judah; so that the patriarch did not prophecy that they would always have, but when they should have one, he would be of the house of, and descended from, Judah; and once having it, the sceptre should not be taken from him, that is to be given to another; as R. Judah bar Besalel very properly argues," A sceptre cannot be said to be taken away from a king, until it is given to another. As to congregating the people at that period, not only Israel, but all the nations of the earth shall be tributary to and obey him." Or if translated by "breaking up of the people," it means that all people shall be broken to pieces by him. That the Lord promised that the kingdom should ever remain with Judah is proved, by the verse which says, "The Lord God of Israel gave the king dom over Israel to David for ever, to him and to his sons; "35 for which reason, R. Solomon Alcabes observes, that as Israel asked for a king, before the proper time, he gave them one- -Saul-from another tribe, whose reign soon ended; and of whom Hosea said, "They have set up kings, but not by me," 36 because the Divine gift was only conceded to Judah. The Ashmoneans, who wanted to usurp a kingdom they had no right to, were slain, and deprived of it by their enemies. R. Obadiah Sphorno is of the same opinion; alledging, that what the Lord promised of David, saying, "My mercy shall not depart from him, as I took it from Saul,"37 means, that he would not deprive him of it to give to another, as he had taken it from Saul to give to him. 32 Isa. 11:10. 33 Dan. 2:44. 34 Gen. 28:15. 35 2 Chron. 13:5. 36 Hos. 8:4. 6th. R. Bechayai considers Shiloh to mean Moses; for Moses and Shiloh are numerically, both 345; he therefore says, that Jacob herein prophesied the approaching redemption from Egypt: it would then read, "The wand (of command) shall not be taken from Judah, until Shiloh (that is Moses) comes," then it will be taken away from Judah and given to Moses (who was of the tribe of Levi); and thus it is said, "And he was king in Jeshurun." 38 It is also predicted that he should "gather the people," as the same verse in Deuteronomy says, "when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together," besides, it was most likely that the Patriarch would say something relative to his children's redemption from Egypt. 7th. The same author also gives another interpretation to the text; the translation of which would be, "The sceptre shall not be withdrawn until Shiloh ('s sun) sets;" that is, until the tabernacle of Shiloh should be rejected and it occurred so; for no sooner was that the case, than the prophet Samuel anointed David as king; and the Psalmist testifies it in saying, "He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent which he placed among men, Moreover he refused the tabernacle of Joseph, and chose not the tribe of Ephraim; but chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which he loved;" "He chose David also his servant," 39 we here see that as soon as Shiloh was forsaken, David was elected, and anointed as king. 8th. R. Joel ben Soeb understands this paw to be "the rod of chastisement;" and the text would then be "Punishment shall not be withdrawn from Judah," that is, Israel called '1' (Jews); and "legislators from between his feet," means, the never-ceasing oppression towards them of those who rule by statutes and laws, "until Shiloh come," that is, the Messiah; and him all people will obey, for he will have the empire of the world. 40 Don Isaac Abarbanel, in his commentary on Samuel, holds the same opinion, with this difference, that "legislator from between his feet," implies, that although punishment will not be withdrawn, they will not forget the Law on that account; but shall have legislators between their feet, or near them; as the Psalmist, treating on the persecutions of Israel, says, "All this is come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.' And there is no ground for the opposition offered to this opinion, in saying, that in a blessing Jacob would not have prognosticated evil; for, being a prophet, his duty would require his declaring both good and evil: as we see he said of Simeon and Levi, "Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce,' but, nevertheless, he prophesied comfort to these also, and animated all his children to bear their sufferings patiently, as they would not be everlasting, but only until the coming of the Messiah; when dominion would belong to them, and all nations would obey them, including those which had oppressed them. This version also coincides. "41 9th. R. Hezekiah understands Shiloh to mean Ahijah the Shilonite; and lays it down thus, "The wand (or staff of command) shall not be withdrawn from Judah, nor a legislator from beneath his feet, until Shiloh comes:" this happened in the case of Ahijah, who tore Jeroboam's garment into twelve pieces, for then the absolute command of the whole was taken away from Judah, and the kingdom was divided; which the holy history states occurred in the time of Jeroboam, as well as "the gathering of the people," for all but the tribes of Judah and Benjamin flocked to him. (See 1 Kings 11:29-31; 12:20. 10th. Don Isaac Abarbanel, availing himself of the text of our sages, 38 Deut. 33:5. 39 Ps. 78:60, and on. 40 Ps. 44:18. 41 Gen. 49:7. H explains it thus: aw means some command or jurisdiction, however small it may be; and this is what the prophecy of the patriarch refers to, for Judah was always the headmost of his brothers-in the selling of Joseph he said, "What profit is it if we slay our brother?" and was obeyed-he begged Jacob to send Benjamin with him, which he did, although he had refused the same request to Reuben-he it was who addressed Joseph in behalf of all; and this tribe had always the foremost place-his banner ever led the van-at the dedication of the altar, Nachshon's, of the tribe of Judah, was the first offering -in the war, on the death of Joshua, Judah advanced the first, and directed it-in the division of the Holy Land, Judah was first apportioned—when Saul numbered the people, Judah was numbered separately as a mark of dignity, and although Saul was king, Judah had always a preeminence over the other tribes, and much more so at the time of King David-when the people divided, Judah remained with the house of David; and even after Judah was carried captive to Babylon, they always had a head and prince of the seed of David; so in the time of the Ashmoneans, as Josephus relates, the head of the 10 or senate, was always a chief of the house of Judah; and the same in the latter captivity in Spain and France, the heads of Israel have ever been of the house and seed of David, as, according to R. Isaac ben Guiat, (the Abarbanels were,) who says that on the destruction of the Second Temple, two families of that lineage went into those parts, one named Bené David, and the other the Abarbanels, so that in this sense the prophecy of the patriarch is confirmed. To this may be added, what R. Isaac Arama adduces to this purpose; which is, that R. Benjamin of Tudela asserts in his travels, that at Bagdad he saw a great number of Israelites; and that at a certain time they made a procession with a prince they had among them, of the house of David, proclaiming before him, "Make place for the son of David!" Don Isaac Abarbanel, on the 12th chapter of Zechariah, refers to the assertion of Aben Ezra, that in his time, there was in the said city of Bagdad, a lineage of the house of David. In "Shebeth Judah" it is related, that in Persia great honours were paid to the princes of the house of David; to which also R. Guedaliah Yahia refers, in his "Shalshelet a Cabala ;" and it may yet be that it is done to the present day in places unknown to us. According to this exposition, the Scripture saying "until when," is not for a limited period; that is, that this species of command should last until the Messiah comes, and no longer, as the phrase is of an affirming, or more forcible addition, to what it refers to, as "until he left numbering,' ,"42 and Down "unto the heart of heaven;"43 so, that to strengthen the prophecy it says, this dominion will last until the advent of the Messiah. And thus we see to the present day, in many places, where the Jews have any jurisdiction, those of Judah are the chief; and which dominion, although small, will continue until the Messiah comes, when it will be great, for all people will obey him. It may also be said, that in this the patriarch prophesied, that although the Ten Tribes would be captives to the king of Assyria and carried by him to countries unknown to us; the tribe of Judah should never be withdrawn (that is, lost sight of), nor taken from human communication, and wherever they might be would always have legislators at their feet, that is, sages that should instruct them; the verse would then run thus, " And the tribe (or identity) shall not be withdrawn from Judah, nor legislators from between their feet, until Shiloh come, and to him will be the gathering of the people." Or it may be said that in the same manner as the Lord promises in various places to David, that he should possess the kingdom for ever, and yet we see that at present he has it not, (as all the promises of God are conditional,) so was this to Jacob, and for the sins of Israel the kingdom is lost to them; but they will again possess it, either by returning to God, and crying with all their heart to him, as they did in the Egyptian captivity, or the Lord will do it as He promised through his prophets for His holy name's sake. In either way the contradiction is reconciled, for the patriarch did not prophesy that there should always be a king, for we see he was carried into captivity; but it is to be understood (as shewn) demonstrating the different meanings which the words of this verse admit of, and from which arises the ambiguity attached to it, and the various interpretations given to it. E-XODU S. QUESTION 69. Exod. 2:18. And when they came to Rehuel their father. 21. And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter. Num. 10:29. And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Rehuel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, &c. The contradiction appears manifest, for if Rehuel is said to have given his daughter Zipporah to Moses for wife, and that he was his father in law, how does it state in the other place, that it was Hobab the son of Rehuel the Midianite who stood in that relation to Moses? RECONCILIATION. To conciliate these verses some may read the latter one thus:-And Moses said to Hobab, the son of Rehuel, the " Midianite, Moses' father in law," that is, Rehuel the Midianite was Moses' father in law, and not Hobab; but this opinion does not agree with the verse in Judges, "The children of Hobab the father in law of Moses ;"1 which clearly states Hobab, and not Rehuel, to have been the father in law of Moses. The idea of the author of Siphré is, that Hobab and Rehuel are different names of the same person, and the Scripture saying, the daughters came to Rehuel their father, is owing to Holy writ giving the title of father to grandfathers, as fully explained in Question 39; and the following examples demonstrate it-Jacob in his prayer before the meeting with Esau says, "The God of my father Abraham," who was his grandfather. Mephibosheth is called the son of Saul, whereas he was the son of Jonathan, Saul's son. 3 Laban is termed the son of Nahor, although he was his grandson. In the same way Laban said of the children of Jacob, "Thy daughters are my daughters, and thy sons my sons."4 As also in "Pirque" of R. Eliezer, it is observed of the saying of Jacob, "Ephraim and Manasseh shall be to me as Reuben and Simeon;" so that Rehuel was the father of Hobab or Jethro, and no doubt arises from its saying that he gave Zipporah his daughter to Moses for wife; for under his sanction as an elder and a grandfather, the marriage took place. Hobab was the identical Jethro, his change of name taking place when he entered the flock of Israel, and became one of that people; a custom preserved to the present day by the Hebrews, for the name a person may have borne previous to circumcision, is changed when he becomes a son of the covenant. R. Levi ben Gershon, Don Isaac Abarbanel, R. Bechayai, and Nachmanides adopt this opinion. R. Simeon bar Menassiah asserts in Yalcut,5 that the 1 Jud. 4:11. 2 Gen. 32:9. 3 2 Sam. 19:25. 4 Gen. 31:43. 5 Art. 169. |